The Old School

Of virgin birth... (a Christmas poem)

2010-12-25T12:37:00.000-07:00

Of virgin birth, of sinless life,
To rid the world of madness, strife,
We pause to pray, to give in kind.
Like holy men, his star we find.

But most of all, the awesome tale,
That God would condescend as male,
Of humankind, he journeyed toward
Our broken sphere. We call him “Lord.”

Where table full, or pantry lean,
Can we trust? Did he truly mean
To give us hope of better end,
Than where we sit with no true friend?

I say yes, and say yes again.
There is no other plan to win
My mind and will. Here justice swells
To right all wrongs, of this I tell.

My evil deeds press on my soul,
Only redemption makes me whole.
Advent reminds for what I grope,
Messiah’s grace, my only hope.

From this day and season I go
Ahead with fresh start and renewed soul,
With more love for foe, grace for all,
Until again I trip and fall.

May it not be next year - this time,
I’ve forgotten all I learned. Remind
Me - his place on earth is not sole
Of book, rite, holiday, or role.

His presence on the earth was more
Than a brief thirty-three year tour.
If to faith and love he bids me.
Now, it’s in me. It’s my turn. See?

(copyright 2010, Steven Chavis)

Knowing our fathers

2010-09-15T23:49:00.000-06:00

The word of the Lord which came to Zephaniah the son of Cushi, the son of Gedaliah, the son of Amariah, the son of Hezekiah, in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah.
--Zephaniah 1:1

Reading through the Jewish prophets, I almost overlooked the opening verse of Zephaniah. Once you run into those “Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim” verses, the eyes glaze over and you might want to skip ahead to other more readable parts of the Bible. Jews for Jesus notes that the 1982 Reader’s Digest condensed version of the Bible left out many genealogy portions. But genealogy is extremely important in Jewish life. People need roots.

Re-reading that verse 1, I thought of my own paternal ancestors and I could only go back two generations, to my father and his father. I want to know more. I am pursuing what I will henceforth refer to as “The Zephaniah Standard” – that’s four generations of fathers. For good or for bad, I want to know the men who spawned, ultimately but not finally, me. And I shall beware the narcissistic delusion that it’s all about me. But I very much want to know about these men.

(I want to know about my “mothers” too, but that’s another blog.) I’m also tracking a story about my mother’s father who spent a night in Lake Erie when he and some fishing buddies capsized. That’s a story of perseverance and survival that I want to pass on to my children and grandchildren.

In ancient days a man was known by his family. The family was central to one’s identity. The family was central to one’s business affairs. The trade was passed down within the family. The family’s reputation extended to all its members. That’s one reason the family’s honor was upheld and defended so vigorously. Shame also has a way of enduring through later generations. (Honor can also be abusive and controlling. Witness the brutality of Muslim “honor” killings. Is such behavior really Muslim? Again, a topic for another blog.)

In earlier times the family was a version of what is now known as “the network.” Across time, imagine your ancestors – your fathers - like the crowd of technicians and service people in the Verizon “can you hear me now” commercials. (One of my favorite Verizon “flash mob” videos here.) The book of Hebrews recounts many of the great heroes of Israel’s history, and then the author says, “… since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” (Hebrews 12:1)

I think we lose heart when we see ourselves standing alone. Conversely, we gain strength and courage when we remember we are “standing on the shoulders” of those who went before us. Thinking back to when you were a child, can you remember what fun it was to sit way up high on dad’s shoulders? We could see over the whole crowd from up there!

I’m checking in with my cousin, who’s the patriarch of the clan, and I’ll report back if I discover the identity of my grandfather’s father, and his father. How far back can you trace your fathers?

The next word on men in church

2010-09-08T20:08:00.000-06:00

Pastor Darren Patrick has a word for men. This YouTube video sets the scene for his upcoming book, Church Planter. Are men in the church endangered? Disappearing? After watching the video, what say you?

What's a "retrosexual?"

2010-09-03T17:21:00.000-06:00

What's a "retrosexual?" I love the definition from Lini Kadaba: "The retrosexual, however, wants to put the man back into manhood."

Read more at Merriman-Webster.

Church for Men is back!

2010-06-04T16:55:00.000-06:00

While at the big PK ranch a few years ago, I had the chance to meet a champion of the Christian men's movement, David Murrow, author of The Map: The Way of All Great Men and Why Men Hate Going to Church. He was busy with other things, I guess, but now his website ChurchforMen.com is back up.
He pitches his DVD and books, and there's only one post from last March, but there's quite a bit of solid material there for those who think about ways to encourage men. There's also a link to his YouTube channel, here, including a recent interview with Seattle pastor Mark Driscoll.

Let's pray for our pastors, TODAY!

Welcome back, David. Missed ya!

5 words that really matter...

2010-05-11T13:44:00.000-06:00

5 words that really matter: "Her mother and I do." What a blessing. Thanks all!

Just a note to say that walking that woman down the aisle was the culmination of a few things done right, and much grace from God. More to come later. I'm still recovering.

We need more “sloppy wet kisses” in church

2010-03-20T12:23:00.000-06:00

“How He Loves” is a rare worship song that has popular appeal on radio, as well as in congregations. But a controversy is raging over the lyric line “So Heaven meets earth like a sloppy wet kiss….” Meditating on that line brought me to an epiphany of sorts. We need more sloppy wet kisses in church. (More comments on the dust-up at this blog.)

More accurately, we need more passion in church, and especially among our married couples. Yes, I’m talking New Year’s Eve, Times Square, just-home-from-the-war passion.

Where are the men on the matter of passion in the church? Harold Velasquez, one time program director for Promise Keepers, lamented the plethora of “Jesus is my boyfriend” songs. He says men can better identify with “warrior” songs. Churchformen.com’s David Murrow agrees that when men sing, they would rather feel like they’re “stepping onto a battlefield. On the other hand, many praise songs make you feel as if you’re stepping into a bedroom.” Buried within that view is a big part of the issue. Christian men, and church members at large, have surrendered their passion to the world.

We’ve noticed young couples actually cuddling in church services. Arms around each other, holding hands, hands on thighs, looking at each other’s faces. This is very good, – a reflection of authentic, godly intimacy in a very intimate place, the sanctuary.

What’s the problem with PDAs (public displays of affection)? It’s not the affection. It’s the unrestrained affection between unmarried people. Checking myself here. Am I judging other people’s commitments? Maybe. But I also know firsthand that affection without commitment is emotional abuse. Rather than society’s gorging media overdose on physical lust, soap opera partner swapping, teen vampire hotties, soft-core at the checkout stand and hard core porn just-a-click-away, how about a more public representation of passionate affection between married couples?

(Much respect to Relevant Church in Tampa, FL for their “30-day Sex Challenge” back in 2008.)

Fully given to each other, married couples have the high privilege, calling and honor of fully possessing each other physically. It all happens behind closed doors. I say, let it out just a bit. The world is so confused by the abuse and misuse of sexuality, we need happy married couples to show us the way.

I was thinking about this “sloppy, wet kiss” when it all became clear to me. When Jesus came to earth, as an astounding display of God’s love for humanity, his arrival was more like a big ol’ affectionate smooch. Yes it was a “holy kiss,” but it came with the spilling of amniotic fluid, and labor pains, and a sticky, wet baby crying out to fill its lungs with air.

Was that demure? Is the birth of a baby ever discreet? I’ve witnessed four births, and I can tell you that they are noisy, raucous events. I’m thinking God’s love for us is unrestrained and enthusiastic, the way a young husband is with his bride. In fact, that’s exactly the way husbands are supposed to be toward their wives. Paul painted this picture powerfully in his letter to the church at Ephesus, chapter 5. Most of us throw up our hands, not able to figure out our marriages or “Christ and the church,” so we call it a “mystery.”

Instead of identifying with the bride of Christ in our devotions, husbands should be identifying with the Groom, Jesus - God - the Christ, the initiator of this cosmic love affair. Of course, husbands are not God, we are members of the church, the Body of Christ, the Bride. But men are supposed to see this relationship from the husband’s point of view.

It’s a brain buster, I know. We are so used to calling ourselves the Body of Christ, the Bride. But as men, we are never fully comfortable with this designation. And we do not have to be. Paul has set us free from identifying with the Bride. We are called to identify with the Groom. We are to be the initiators of spirituality in the marriage. Imagine what would happen to our faith if we considered what it really means to love someone the way God loves us.

There is no need to be soft, reactive, and beautiful. We can identify with the Groom by being resolute, initiating and strong in character (a most attractive attribute on men, I am told).

For worship leaders, it may seem to be a challenge to find songs for a congregation that reflect God’s heart toward us, but the Bible is full of God’s expressions of love toward his people. And you would be surprised how men join in on those parts. (Please comment with your suggestions.)

Here’s my vision of a “romantic” Sunday at church. (Any pastors who think they can get away with it, please let me know how it went.)

1) Your moment is in the middle of the worship set (if you’re one of those sing-first, preach-later kinds of churches), after a song ends.

2) Have the instruments play in the background, and call attention to the married couples in the audience.

3) Talk about the love between them, and the love God has for us.

4) Offer a word to the singles and those attending without their spouse: “don’t feel left out. Please help us celebrate the joy and holiness of marriage and cheer on the couples who are here this morning. And if you are married, you might want to tell your spouse about today’s service and do some ‘homework.’”

5) Instruct the couples to hold hands or put their arms around each other.

6) Now prepare them. Tell them, “Husbands, I’m going to ask you to kiss your wife, and kiss her like you haven’t since your wedding day. We will do this together on the count of three. Now look at your spouse. Men, think about how God loves us, and look at your wife with that kind of love. We need to show the young people how much fun it is to be in love and married.

7) Hold it. Anybody need a breath mint? (pass them out)

8) Are you ready? One – two – three! (And pastors, have your wife with you.)

9) Hit the cymbals! Strike the strings! It’s a mid-worship crescendo!

10) After this Sunday morning love-in, sing a great anthem of the church, and see how much gusto you get from all those thankful – Jesus-minded men, and their grateful, church-minded women.

I am for promoting the profile of marriage and romance within marriage in the public square. I am for modeling passion among Christians. I am calling for, asking for a holy imprimatur from the church for such a kiss. And I believe such a display of unconditional, "agape" love between married couples in the sanctuary of the church before so many witnesses is beyond physical "eros" love. It would indeed be holy before Almighty God and instigate more badly-needed affection between couples. Most importantly, I believe men who identify with Christ as Groom will more readily, easily, consistently love their wives as Christ loves the church.

I feel like I’ve been set free. I don’t have to sing like the Bride any more. From now on, I will sing like the God who loves his people. I will sing like the Groom. That identity will teach me how to love in a dramatically new way. I can’t wait to get to church. I might even kiss my wife without prompting - right there in church. Dig that P.D.A!

Sally Jenkins' Wash Post column: Tebow critics intolerant

2010-02-01T22:04:00.000-07:00

"Are you saving yourself for marriage?" Tebow was asked last summer during an SEC media day.

"Yes, I am," he replied.

The room fell into a hush, followed by tittering: The best college football player in the country had just announced he was a virgin. As Tebow gauged the reaction from the reporters in the room, he burst out laughing. They were a lot more embarrassed than he was.

"I think y'all are stunned right now!" he said. "You can't even ask a question!"

That's how far we've come from any kind of sane viewpoint about star athletes and sex. Promiscuity is so the norm that if a stud isn't shagging everything in sight, we feel faintly ashamed for him.

--Sally Jenkins, Washington Post sports columnist. Read the whole column: http://tinyurl.com/yb8dv5c

L'UNION FAIT LA FORCE

2010-01-22T21:04:00.000-07:00

"Union Makes Strength"

Let's stand with our neighbors and help them find their strength.

http://samaritanspurse.org/

http://www.hopetohaiti.com/

http://www.newdirections.org/

http://hopeforhaitinow.org/

What Tiger was thinking

2009-12-07T11:30:00.001-07:00

The headline “what was Tiger thinking” betrays the worst kind of naiveté. It’s not that I expect men to commit adultery. But it is certainly no surprise. Men are inclined toward pleasure and power. Money and fame facilitate pleasure and power. But love, the real thing, is made of tougher stuff.

Often rich and powerful men who stray say they did it simply because they could. Not because they wanted to in any calculated way. The opportunity was just there. Available. For men without such means, those opportunities are a fantasy, or passing fancy. Even Jesus of Nazareth was tempted in every way common to man.

What makes a man submit to such an opportunity? Or perhaps a better question is what makes a man resist. Years ago a friend told me he was presented with just such a pretty scenario. He was in a position of trust, she was of legal age. The liaison would have been legal, but not moral or ethical. And besides, he loved his wife. He told her, “Sorry, it’s just not worth it.”

Do men operate on a value system, ranking relative risks and rewards? Do men make choices based on danger? Do they just respond to “the feeling,” act on the passion of the moment, and pursue the brief desire of the eyes? Another ancient reference comes from the Apostle John who wrote about “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the boastful pride of life.”

Would our Favorite Golf Star been better off flying his family (or his wife) to the final day of all his tournaments? Ah, hindsight. (Or was it “hindsight” that got Tiger in trouble in the first place? Sorry, last joke.)

(photo by thelastminute/flickr)
Tiger’s well-crafted apology was one part contrition, one part plea for privacy. His tone was sorrowful. His account was sufficiently specific without dwelling on the details. Surprisingly, he approached the concept of repentance, as in “I will strive to be a better person…” This raises his score on the apology index (as opposed to, “I’m sorry if anyone was offended”).

Married men who freelance are basically childlike. Note Tiger’s playful banter 12 years ago, when he was just 21. The April 1997 GQ cover story “The Man. Amen” caught the sports billionaire on his way to the top of the sports world.

"What I can't figure out," Tiger Woods asks Vincent, the limo driver, "is why so many good-looking women hang around baseball and basketball. Is it because, you know, people always say that, like, black guys have big dicks?"

…being ferried by a limousine and being handled by beautiful women and being photographed for a magazine cover that will get him laid 296 times in the next year, if he so chooses, can be very exhausting work.

The story exalted young “Tiger of the Woods” as a sort of golf messiah. It is a lofty, precarious perch. Seven years after it was printed, Tiger was married, but it appears he never lost his appetite for women… until now.

Writer Charles P. Pierce concluded in GQ, “Can he blaspheme against his own public creation, his own unique role, as determined by his father, his management team and his shoe company? Can he blaspheme against the image coddled and nurtured by the paid evangelists of his own gospel?”

Yes, apparently.

As the world mutters and meddles in the Woods’ home life, I think they need a few of us to pray and hope that they work things out. I wished that for NASCAR glamour boy Jeff Gordon, NFL icon Tom Brady, Brad Pitt, Eddie Murphy and other guys I kind of envy, even though I have a 29 year marriage and they do not, yet.

The amount of the pre-nuptial terms ($300 million?) is wholly irrelevant. There is so much money on the table, neither he nor she has to worry about provision. Beware the lawyers who will be more than happy to handle the dissolution, and endless revisions to any settlement, and the most painful custody hearings to follow.

What is the price tag of true love, mutual respect, fidelity, a lasting marriage? Who values such things anymore? What are people willing to pay for such things? May the Woods couple work things out, God help them.

El Tigre is not yet the world’s greatest golfer (his 14 major victories, as compared to Jack Nicklaus’ 18), but verily he shall be. Unlike normal humans, I believe that great performers employ stress and off-field “distractions” to drive them in to their game. Pure anger over the tabloids, anger over the cheap women who betrayed him, and anger over his own stupidity will clarify things for him on the course. He will focus more deeply to overcome the chattering noise of gossip-mongers all over the world. Did you know that celebrities can literally hear the things we are saying about them?

If Mr. Woods meant what he said about “I have not been true to my values,” then his values have changed, and he may have discovered something as valuable to him as his game: family.

The Glories of Vinyl

2009-08-28T00:35:00.004-06:00

(image by carloseduardo22/photobucket)

A while back my 20-something son found a used turntable in pretty good shape on the Internet. He had no idea how delighted I was to receive it. It was a heartfelt gift from new school son to his old school dad. All it needed was a pre-amp and a stylus.

I finally pulled together the pieces, and I’ve been in 33-1/3 rpm – long playing heaven for three days now:

Andrae Crouch and the Disciples – Live in London.
Deodato’s “2001.”
Miles Davis.
Keith Green’s “He’ll Take Care of the Rest” (simply amazing).
Charles Mingus (my little home theater subwoofer couldn’t reproduce his bass playing. First more cowbell. Now MORE BASS!).
Billy Cobham (fastest drummer ever).
Stevie Wonder’s Music of My Mind (1972, after emancipation from Motown).
KRS-One (thoughtful rapper).
Kool & the Gang (one bad jazz combo, far beyond their disco hits).

My younger son watched the ritual – remove the sleeve from the jacket, slide the disc out, blow off dust, place gently on the turntable, raise the tonearm with the damping lever, move the cartridge head over the edge of the disc, lower the damping lever, watch and listen as the needle settles into the groove, beginning its trek toward the spindle.

He said, “yeah, that’s just like putting on a CD and hitting the play button. Simple, I get it.”

“No, you don’t,” I retorted. “It’s more work! It’s more manual, see?” He didn’t. Nor did he realize I’d be back in 18 minutes, bowing before my newly-activated audio component. Turning over the disc for 18 more minutes of vintage musical joy is not a chore. It’s devotion.

I won't get all religious on you. I'm a peacemaker in the analog-digital wars (can't we all get along?). But there is something so refreshingly organic about the clicks and pops that I put there from too-much-love.

(Uh-oh. More fusion. Weather Report. Chick Corea. Stanley Clarke. Mahavishnu Orchestra. I may never leave my living room.)

Back when my last turntable was working, we had a Bible study at our house. I got to talking about the blues and one of the guys seemed interested. When we were finished with the study, I broke out the Jay McShann and "Cleanhead" Vinson. My guests looked us strangely, and when the music started, they got scared, I think, and left the room.

(Oh wait. The Hawkins Family. Trend-setting gospel. Did you know faith preacher Kenneth Copeland sings like a bluesy Frank Sinatra? Steve Taylor. Daniel Amos. Rez Band. Underground. Serious Christian rockers. Yes, I have a Stryper LP.)

So, you all are invited. When I was a drinker, I didn’t like to drink alone. I don’t like my music alone either. The family’s keeping their distance for now, as I re-enter the world of My Music. But you’re welcome to visit.

(What’s that over there? Seven of my Hendrix records survived the last purge! What to do!?!)

On Leadership

2009-08-08T12:24:00.004-06:00

My world has been rocked again by a profound experience, the Willow Creek Leadership Summit . Beyond a short movie with a Bono interview (What! He couldn’t fly to Chicago for the afternoon?) and taped interview with Tony Blair, the in-person guests were top-to-bottom... top-notch.

Seriously, my head hurts a day later. My heart is broken in new places, and within hours of leaving, I was called on for a new, significant short-term leadership opportunity. Bill Hybels was spot-on: "God wants to do great things in our day."

A few more quotes:
“I don’t think anybody’s coming to church today looking for a mild dose of God.”
- Bill Hybels

“The trouble with organized religion is not the religion. It’s the organization.”
- Gary Hamel, Management Innovation Lab (MLab)

NYC’s Redeemer Presbyterian pastor Tim Keller taught the parable of the prodigal son, with some surprising conclusions: “There are two ways around God, rebellion (the younger brother) and religion (the older brother).”

Jessica Jackley, co-founded Kiva.org, the online microfinance website doing $100,000 per day in small business loans around the world. She described how both her mission and organization prosper from the creativity of staff and volunteers. “Co-creation requires less control, a flat structure (not much hierarchy) and open information (lots of idea sharing).”

“Against all odds, God shines the brightest.”
- Harvey Carey, pastor of Citadel of Faith Covenant Church , inner city Detroit

Harried pastors and leaders, busy adjusting to tight economic conditions, were encouraged by Dave Gibbons, pastor of Newsong Church, Irvine, CA, to put people first. “The best programming is life on life.”

“When you look at Africa, I want you to paint a new picture. See us as consumers, markets, financial partners, a place of opportunity.”
-Andrew Rugasira, founder of Good African Coffee

“What’s your cause? Does it move you to tears? Can it?”
- Wess Stafford, Compassion International

“Leadership is no longer ordering others. Today it is persuading others, influencing them toward common goals.”
- David Gergen, Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, advisor to four U.S. presidents

“Focus on the bright spots. Replicate what’s working.”
- Chip and Dan Heath, authors

“It’s hard. There’s always resistance to the journey of equality.”
- Bono

Tony Blair’s charge to church, business and NGO leaders: “Leadership is a blessing. It is a gift to others. It is worthwhile. It is your duty.”

Confessions are down, I must confess

2009-06-02T16:48:00.003-06:00

Confessions are down, and the Catholic Church is going to do something about it. The AP/Brietbart story says the Church will publish a guidebook on confession to boost the practice. Could a slick ad campaign be far behind? I hope so. I enjoy seeing religious, cause-related and spiritual messages compete for attention alongside all the “Buy me! Buy me!” hype.

MSN’s Slate Magazine on line tracked the same trend in Nov. 2005 in an article called “The Sin Box.”

Catholics are instructed to confess their serious sins to a priest at least once a year, and everyday faults (venial sins) may be confessed as needed, including violations of the 9th and 10th Commandments (“mere” lying and coveting respectively). I found the catechism (Part 2/Section 2/Chapter 2/Article 4/ VII - The Acts of the Penitent) on line at St. Charles Borromeo’s of Picayune, Miss.

Protestants and evangelicals don’t practice confession nearly as regularly, even though the Book of James (5:16) instructs followers of Christ to “confess your trespasses to one another.” I rediscovered the idea of confession as I studied accountability and its role in helping men practice Christianity.

The social networking websites, confessional blogs, and gossip media (TOO MUCH INFORMATION!) notwithstanding, America’s lax attitude toward confession is yet another indicator of soft Christianity that has little impact on followers or the onlooking general public.

What I tried to teach my children during discipline:
QUESTION NUMBER 1: Did you know the rule?
Unlike most country judges, ignorance of the law is an excuse. So it’s up to me to keep the rules (the letter of the law) and the heart attitude (spirit of the law) clear and understandable. As they get older and assume more responsibility (encounter more people, property, territory, experiences), they need a way to make decisions, a protocol for behavior, not just more and more rules. The over-reliance on rules rather than emphasizing pricipled behavior and sound judgment is killing our nation and making us the worst kind of fascist, nanny state.

(Here in Colorado, lawmakers just passed a “no texting while driving” law, due to a high profile traffic death of a child. Surely the State Patrol can write a strong enough ticket against “dangerous operation of a motor vehicle,” or “driving while distracted.” But I digress.)

In most cases, people know what they did wrong.

QUESTION NUMBER 2: Did you willfully break the rule?
Here’s where confession comes into play. The court of Dad looks very favorably upon a detailed, complete statement of willful wrongdoing. Such a confession will usually result in a punishment/penance of restoration/restitution, and a denial of privileges for a period of time to sufficiently remind the child of the root of their transgression.

Evasion, denial and outright lies will result in the most severe punishment, designed to inflict a stronger, more painful and enduring reminder. In dealing with an unrepentant sinner, it is also important to provide some way for the scofflaw to encounter the truth of the situation (the facts), the reality of his attitude (which drives bad behavior), and the path to redemption (hope, the second chance, a do-over, the nature of mercy).

That’s all. Just two questions are in play as we encounter our own sins (“missing the mark”).

Yes, confession is painful. I remember a preacher once said, “confession is good for the soul, but it’s bad for the reputation.”

Whether to a priest, pastor or peer, the regular practice of confession is not optional. I cross the line. God is offended and so are people. I must own it, put it on the table, make it right to the extent I can, receive forgiveness, and “go and sin no more.”

"Just enjoy your freedom"

2009-05-25T21:38:00.004-06:00

(Marines honor guard with casket of Pfc. Washalanta, photo by D. McDaniel, Oklahoman)

A civilian saw a soldier at the airport. Filled with gratitude, the civvy asked, “What can I do for you?” The soldier replied, “just enjoy your freedom.”

If one thinks too long about it, the weight of grief on a day like today can be overwhelming. Too many wars, too many families, too many empty chairs around the table.

From the President at Arlington Memorial Cemetery this Memorial Day:

Here lie Presidents and privates; Supreme Court justices and slaves; generals familiar to history, and unknown soldiers known only to God…

What is thing, this sense of duty? What tugs at a person until he or she says "Send me"? Why, in an age when so many have acted only in pursuit of the narrowest self-interest, have the soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of this generation volunteered all that they have on behalf of others? Why have they been willing to bear the heaviest burden?

Wisely, our poet-President declined to answer those ultimate questions. They are too lofty for us. More from President Obama...

Whatever it is, they felt some tug; they answered a call; they said "I'll go." That is why they are the best of America, and that is what separates them from those of us who have not served in uniform -- their extraordinary willingness to risk their lives for people they never met.

Wisely, he acknowledged that we are not all the same. We are different - those who accept the call and those who do not.

The text of the President’s speech here.

It is important to honor the fallen by remembering them and their sacrifice. For this citizen, the freedom they defend is more than some misty, sentimental ideal. The freedom I enjoy is manifest daily in freedom of speech and faith, movement, self-defense, due process, and opportunity. You know, the Constitution. Still worth fighting for.

4 reasons Chrysler should survive

2009-04-30T19:02:00.011-06:00

Your favorite Detroit ex-pat here, with a few reasons Chrysler should survive. I admit I’m a romantic “car guy” of sorts, one who has never owned a Chrysler product. Yet I’m affectionate toward the brand, and I hope and expect they will survive in some form. Here are four reasons why:

#1 - Vintage Styling
I will never forget visiting some family friends with my parents in the early 70s. Barely fitting in Uncle Ted's garage was Chrysler’s luxury standard, the Imperial. The breadth! The weight! I had never seen a push button transmission before. Uncle Ted gracefully maneuvered the long, wing-finned road yacht with its square steering wheel. That skipper's wheel was a physical marvel. It should not have worked. But it did.

#2 – the 1968 Dodge Charger
Muscle car defined. Deep. Throaty (with Hooker headers and Thrush mufflers). Square-edged like a man. One almost killed my cousin David, who was driving at the time. Dangerous. Wonderful.

#3 – the Dodge Ram pickup
I like the cowl. I like hood lines. Its sales followed the Ford and Chevy, but the Dodge Ram didn’t look like every other pickup. It looked classic when it was brand new.

#4 – the Dodge Viper
Ooh mama! Cute and fast, a real life “Lightning McQueen.” We saw Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway driving one around town when he was a car dealer. When the Viper came out, it hit the market like the Ford Pantera (at $10k in the early 70s). If you could have one, you grabbed it. It’s still sweet and fast.

Honorable mention: the Dodge Caravan / Chrysler Town & Country minivans.
Ugh. The minivan empowered countless American families, and may be single-handedly responsible for the growth of suburbia in the 1980s. The minivan may have also emasculated countless family dads who sacrificed horsepower and machismo for domestic duty.

Honorable mention: the PT Cruiser and Prowler
Again, number 3 of the Big 3 gets big time style points. Again, poor engineering and an inefficient engine (which typify too many Chrysler products) made it hard for otherwise cool rides to roll to the rescue for Chrysler.

Honorable mention: the Jeep
Thanks for saving the good-time, manly brand after American Motors went away. It was always a strong visual brand out here in the West, and it always exuded adventure. Driving is dangerous. Hitting the road is an adventure. At least the Jeep looks like it’s up to the task.

Today’s bankruptcy is not necessarily fatal for the new Chrysler-Fiat conglomerate. (I love the Fiat transmission box, by the way.) I hope the market continues to refine the brand, but keep those body engineers! They’ve got what makes American cars … American.

Navy SEALs chant

2009-04-17T18:41:00.004-06:00

(photo from scubareview.org)

I want to be a NAVY SEAL.

I want to cut off all my hair.

I want to be a NAVY SEAL.

Run with me if you dare.

When my granny was 91

She did PT just for fun.

When my granny was 92

She did PT better than you.

When my granny was 93

She did PT better then me.

When my granny was 95

She did PT to stay alive.

When my granny was 97

She up and died and went to heaven.

She met St. Peter at the Pearly Gates

Saying Gee St. Petey I hope I'm not late.

St. Petey said with a big ol' grin

Drop down granny and give me 10

Saying hey all the way

We run everyday

Hey all the way

That's the SEAL way!

from NavySEALs forum

Geek Culture: Sci-Fi, Superhero Movies and Comic Books

2009-04-07T23:27:00.002-06:00

(illustration of The Tick from toymania.com)

I've been browsing, inspectin' - X-men comics you know I collect 'em
The pens in my pocket - I must protect 'em
my ergonomic keyboard never leaves me bored
Shopping online for deals on some writable media - I edit Wikipedia
I memorized Holy Grail really well I can recite it right now and have you ROTFLOL

--Weird Al Yankovic "White and Nerdy"

It’s an intellectual free-for-all, an annual confab of pundits, theorists, free thinkers, party-liners, think-tankers, forecasters, futurists, historians, artists, writers, and all those who are willing to listen to 75 minute diatribes. It’s the Conference on World Affairs at the University of Colorado campus.

Left-leaning, sometimes predictable, yet interesting for its fresh look at the world. First full session for me this year, “Geek Culture: Sci-Fi, Superhero Movies and Comic Books.”

Jim Emerson, editor of RogerEbert.com said what ties super heroes together is a sense of regret, acceptance of their unique destiny, and great sacrifice to live the super hero life.

New York Post editorial page association editor Robert George (his blog is called "Ragged Thots") dropped some strong comic lore history on the folks, and then explained the peculiar difference between Bruce Wayne/Batman and Peter Parker/Spiderman. While Bruce Wayne is obsessed with vigilante justice as Batman, he grudgingly obliges his role as millionaire. Parker on the other hand would rather live his life as a normal young man, he reluctantly fulfills his duty as Spidey-hero. (Is this discussion getting geeky enough for you?)

George added that comic book heroes are “classic American mythology.” They help us solve our problems, explain our world.

Chicago Sun-Times/MacWorld columnist Andy Ihnatko answered the question from a coed “Am I a geek?” with the following definition: an obsession with mastering a certain thing, allowing for differences in others, willing to be different (as in dressing up in costume for a sci-fi convention), and not caring too much others think.

I guess Tina Turner was wrong. We do need heroes.

Male Hallmark cards

2009-04-01T18:13:00.004-06:00

From a friend - a tough guy, who hangs out with Navy SEALS, who chews low-carb nails for energy, who serves as technical consultant to the TV show "24" ... male Hallmark cards...

1. When you are sad --I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

Love it!

Prince - Ol' Skool Company

2009-03-28T14:53:00.003-06:00

Everybody talkin’ ‘bout hard times,
Like it just started yesterday
People I know, they been strugglin’
At least it seems that way

Fat cats on Wall Street – they got a bailout
Think it was A I G
700 billion – but my old neighborhood
Ain’t nothin’ changed but me

UrbanFaith.com picks up Old School article

2009-03-26T13:50:00.002-06:00

The Old School blog is making the rounds! We’re blessed to have the headline story for a few more minutes (!) at UrbanFaith.com . Our piece on domestic violence was prompted by the Chris Brown/Rihanna headline. I hope a few more read and hear the word. The next generation is counting on us.

UrbanFaith.com is subtitled “Where contemporary Christians discuss the news, people and ideas that shape our world,” bringing together many fresh Christ-centered voices on current affairs. Bookmark it!

Thank your abortion provider day - March 10

2009-03-07T21:23:00.008-07:00

Men, it's a key week to take a stand on the issue of abortion on demand.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009 has been declared "National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers" by Planned Parenthood. Here's a sample letter from Planned Parenthood Illinois.

Read the horrifying words of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger here. We must bring light to this persistant, convenient evil.

Americans United for Life wonders, "are there Hallmark cards for this?"

Frank Pavone of Priests for Life is one man standing up. See their latest commercial here.

Yeah, I'm pro-choice. If you love a woman, choose to get married. Choose to have sex. And if you're fortunate to become pregnant, choose to have a baby. Choose life!

(photo at top is actual hand of an aborted child, courtesy http://www.priestsforlife.org/.)

Domestic abuse slowly bleeding us to death

2009-02-17T16:08:00.004-07:00

For the purposes of this discussion, I'll assume I'm talking to the fellas on this one...

Have you ever had the urge to hit a girl? Most of us were raised with a mental line in our behavior code. Hitting females is over that line. But truth be told, the notion lurks stealthily beneath the surface.

The mental picture that forms in a man's head just before the cowardly deed tends to bubble up in times of stress. When a man feels powerless, he can always fall back on physical force, like a scared dictator with armies at his disposal.

Most men never give that stupid urge a second thought. It was scrubbed out of their behavior set, out of their psyche at a very young age. For some of us who are pursuing a practical, living Christian faith, the practice of self-control enters in to keep us from transmitting domestic abuse to another generation. Surely other faiths have a moral code that keeps men from violence against women.

The beheading of a Muslim woman in New York raises serious questions for the Islamic community, struggling with both the reality and the image of their treatment of women and Sharia law. See the commentary by M. Zuhdi Jasser at EnergyPublisher.com. The Christian church also has an infamous record when it comes to denial about domestic violence. We expect more from the "religious" community.

Young pop singer Chris Brown is being upbraided for his suspicious role in the injuries to his girlfriend Rihanna. Howard University Law professor Lisa Crooms explains her view as a mother trying to teach her son proper behavior in a commentary at TheRoot.com. It isn't surprising at all that Brown himself was raised in an abusive home, according to media reports.

Men, the cycle of violence that dessimates families STOPS WITH US. Let's deal with some anger management issues. Let's get a handle on control issues. Let's deal with the matter of respect, for self and for others. Let's set our children free from these chains that bind.

Check out the website for AMEND (Abusive Men Exploring New Directions). Get with some men who can help you tame the beast.

We've got to get this one right, and in this generation.

The risk of public prayer

2009-02-16T10:03:00.002-07:00

Public prayers are loaded with possibility, and risk.

I have been invited to speak and pray at National Day of Prayer gatherings in the past. The pressure is immense. Will the people agree? (Agreement is important in public prayers.) Will God hear? (The bottom line, right?) Will I be humble or proud in my utterance? (Gut-level, no-fooling-God humility is important in any kind of prayer.) Can I muster something prophetic or profound that will cause a deeper love for God and a more faithful walk with God?

The possibility of offering up transparent, honest words to God that represent the people, and that might be considered by a holy, listening God, is too good for most preachers to pass up.

But the risk of blathering on with petty, politically correct pieties (motherhood, apple pie, world peace) is also too good for most preachers to pass up.

Remember that preacher’s invocation at the Kansas state legislature that is still making the rounds on e-mail? Back in 1996, Wichita pastor Joe Wright delivered a “prayer of repentance” originally written by Louisville, Ky. pastor Bob Russell.

Occasionally, a preacher will hit the nail on the head. (I say this when I agree with what was said.) Colorado’s home school leader Kevin Swanson, who is also a pastor in eastern Colorado, offered a public prayer at the Colorado Right to Life rally on Jan. 22, 2009 at the state capitol. Scroll down to Jan. 22, 2009 on his blog: http://www.generationswithvision.com/blog.aspx

I’ll be watching for more of this man’s words.

Dangerous Man Day 2009 - communications workshop

2009-02-06T14:41:00.004-07:00

For those who attended my communications workshop at Dangerous Man Day 2009 (in Greeley or Denver), here's the link to my seminar notes. It's loaded with links, plus notes on how you might better tell your own story in the 21st century, with special emphasis on social networks.

It's posted over at my "business" blog, which is designed to help people be more effective at communications, public relations, marketing and media relations. I call it "Intel 10.0" because I think it's what you know that will help you change the ground you stand on, like a major earthquake.

Enjoy!

http://chaviscrew.blogspot.com/2009/02/telling-your-story-to-men-in-21st.html

Reflections on Roe v. Wade 36

2009-02-02T17:03:00.002-07:00

Thanks to EWTN (http://www.ewtn.com/), I was able to watch a replay of wall-to-wall coverage of the 2009 March for Life in Washington, D.C.

I heard the call for an end to the genocide of black babies from Pastor Luke Robinson (http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/jan/09012311.html) (Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church, Frederick, Md.). There is more on this untold story at http://blackgenocide.org/.

I heard women stand up and say they would be “Silent No More” about their abortion experience. Apparently, these women were not screamed at or called “murderer” by rabid protestors at abortion clinics. (http://www.silentnomoreawareness.org/)

I heard men tell their story and stand up for their role in 40 million abortions since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision on January 22, 1973.

I heard family members of Terry Schiavo describe her government-ordered starvation death in excruciating detail. (http://www.terrisfight.org/)

Over and over in my mind, I heard my young children ask me, “What did you do during the war, daddy?” I knew they meant the war for the unborn. Is my financial support enough? Is my public abortion confession enough? Where will this 21st century abolition movement move me?

After the announced closing of Guantanamo Bay, one of my pastors posted the following notice on his Facebook page: “No torture during this administration unless it’s a baby in the womb.”

I am undone.

Dangerous Man Day 2009 seminar - Mentoring

2009-02-01T03:06:00.004-07:00

Here are the notes from the Dangerous Man Day workshop on mentoring

(Greeley, CO Jan. 31, 2009 - Highlands Ranch, CO Feb. 7, 2009)

Discipling Younger Men – “Walk with me”

Seminar description:
After graduation, most young people leave the church. When they come back, will you be there? Get a handle on God’s call on your life to mentor a younger man.

Contents
-Four younger men
-From the Bible
-The Generations
-Fill in the Blanks
-The Value of Mentors
-Where to Mentor
-Steve’s Rules for Mentoring
-Tips and Techniques
-A Prayer for Mentors
-Bibliography
-Film List on Mentoring

Four younger men I’m spending time with:
-A young songwriter asked me for help with his poetry.
-A youth pastor poured out his heart to me about revival, and we’re reading a book together
-A young father just wanted an older guy to get a reality check on his new wife and his new baby and his new roles as husband and father.
-I heard a young man talk about his desire to write. He had a germ of an idea, and so we read our work to each other on a couple of Monday nights every month.

From the Bible
Eli to Samuel (I Samuel 1-3)
Elijah to Elisha (I Kings 19:19 – 21, II Kings 2:1 – 25)
Paul to Timothy (From house arrest in Rome to Timothy at Ephesus)
II Timothy 2:2 – FOUR GENERATIONS
“And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” Paul’s Second Letter to Timothy, chapter 2, verse 2 (65 A.D.)

Warnings
1:8 – Don’t be ashamed
1:13 – hold sound words
2:23 – avoid foolish disputes
3:2 – men will be lovers of selves
4:2 – be ready in season and out
4:5 – be watchful

Paul’s last epistle? His last written words? Relationships! (4:9-21)
Demas, Crescens, Titus, Luke, Mark, Tychicus, Carpus, Alexander, Prisca, Aquila, Onesiphorus, Erastus, Tro-phi-mus, Eubulus, Pudens, Linus, Claudia, … all the brethren…

BIG, GRAND PURPOSE (B.H.A.G.) - The Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20)
Disciple nations
Combat Fatherlessness
DEFEAT ISOLATION
Foster Inter-generational ministry

THE GENERATIONS
Builders (up to 1945) -- Tom Brokaw’s “The Greatest Generation”
Boomers (1946 – 1964) – we rule the world
Busters (1965 – 1983) or “Generation X”
Bridgers / Mosaics / Millennials (1984 – 2004) - coming of age in two different centuries.

A WORD ON INTER-GENERATIONAL MINISTRY FROM Enrichment Journal
Macintosh, Gary L., “Blending Builders, Boomers, Busters, and Bridgers,” EnrichmentJournal.com, 2002. Springfield, MO. http://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/200201/200201_046_blending.cfm

If builders have been the main leaders of your church, qualified boomers, busters, and bridgers must be allowed and encouraged to assume key positions of leadership throughout the church.

Throughout history it has been common for multigenerational families to live close together, even under the same roof. After World War II, the development of suburbs, freeways, (I insert air travel) and the resulting mobility of people broke geographic (and) generational ties. Families began to live in smaller nuclear units rather than in extended families. As we enter the 21st century, once again families are finding it economically advantageous for several generations to pool their resources and live together.

Encourage boomers, busters, and bridgers to take leadership. This includes the worship team, new-members committee, worship committee, music committee, small-group committee, activities (social/sports) committee, as well as regular boards and committees, such as elders, deacons, or trustees.

Vital, growing churches in the next decade will be those that can successfully reach, win, and keep multiple generations. For this to happen in existing churches, leaders need to make bold, long-term plans for blending builders, boomers, busters, and bridgers into a unified church. Of course, there are risks involved in attempting a blend, but the call of Christ to make disciples makes the risks worthwhile.

Fill in the blanks:
SIGNIFICANT RELATIVE (other than father): ________
FAVORITE SCHOOL TEACHER: ______________
MOST FORMATIVE COACH/MASTER/SINSEI: _______________
MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSON IN YOUR CRAFT/TRADE: ________

THE VALUE OF MENTORS
Lessons from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ grandfather (My Grandfather’s Son):
-Don’t do what I say, do what I do
-Old Man Can’t is dead. I helped bury him.
-The man he called “Daddy” always seemed to be preparing for rainy days. Maybe that’s why they never came.

Lessons from Morrie Schwartz about love and marriage (Tuesdays with Morrie):
-Respect the other person
-Know how to compromise
-Talk openly about what’s going on between you
-Have a common set of values – the most important value being the importance of marriage

Lessons from Robert Kiyasaki’s “rich dad” about money (Rich Dad, Poor Dad):
-If you can’t make up your mind decisively, then you’ll never learn to make money.

-Opportunities come and go. Being able to know when to make quick decisions is an important skill.
-Say “I can’t afford it” and your brain stops working. Say “how can I afford it” and your brain goes to work.
-Most people work for money. The rich have money work for them.

WHERE TO MENTOR?
AT WORK - Apprenticeships!
AT CHURCH - Youth ministry, young adult ministry, new dads, new husbands
AT HOME - Foster sons
SOCIAL CIRCLES - The sons of friends…
AT SCHOOL - Teacher to student, older to younger classmen

STEVE’S RULES FOR MENTORING
#1 -- YOU WILL HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT!
Howie and Bill Hendricks: Just pursue relationship.
Stu Weber’s RULE #1 FOR MENTORING: Be there.
Stu Weber adds, “Love them until they feel it.”

#2 -- TRANSPARENCY ADDS VALUE
Mentees want your help to “decode” life’s mysteries.
Your trial and error saves others countless hours and pain
Failures are badges, scars, stripes… these are medals!
the accountability that’s built inside the mentoring relationship - Stu Weber reminds us that we have to “Live out your own biblical values to the core.”

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
From Gordon Shea’s 50-minute Mentor:
Seven Types of Mentor Assistance
-Shifting context - “How about looking at the whole issue in a different way?”
-Listening – the sounding board, ask good questions
-Identify feelings – wisdom breaks through cover-ups, self-deception
-Production confrontation – “Have you thought about the cost of this action?”
-Provide information – Be a source of facts to help mentee make a good decision
-Delegate authority, give permission – empower, test, build mentee’s confidence
-Explore options – brainstorm ideas beyond the “tried and true”

Three things to avoid
-Criticizing
-Giving advice (too quickly, without being asked)
-Rescuing them from self-inflicted folly

A PRAYER FOR MENTORS
Almighty Father God,
Thank you for saving me, and training me with your word and your Holy Spirit. I seek to grow as your son. Help me fulfill your great commission to make disciples of all people. I submit to you my plans and my desires, and specifically my schedule and priorities. Conform my will to your will, Good Father. I trust you for divine appointments, and I trust you for younger men into whom I can pour my life lessons, spiritual truths and grace. In the name of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, so be it and AMEN.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Albom, Mitch. Tuesdays with Morrie. New York. Broadway, 1997.
Hendricks, Howard and Hendricks, William. As Iron Sharpens Iron. Chicago. Moody, 1999.
Kiyosaki,Robert. Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Scottsdale, AZ. TechPress, 1998.
Ravenhill, Leonard. Why Revival Tarries. Minneapolis. Bethany House, 1987.
Shea, Gordon. Mentoring. Menlo Park, CA. Crisp, 2002.
Thomas, Clarence. My Grandfather’s Son. New York. Harper Perennial, 2007.
Weber, Stu. Four Pillars of a Man’s Heart. Sisters, OR. Multnomah, 1997

Films with a “mentoring” message
Coach movies
Hoosiers (1986, PG) Gene Hackman’s legendary role as a legendary coach given a second chance with a 1950s high school basketball team.

Karate Kid (1984, PG) Wax on, wax off. The iconic tale of martial arts training, the hard way.

Coach Carter (2005, PG-13) Samuel L. Jackson plays the lead in the true story of Ken Carter, who benches the entire Richmond, CA high school basketball team until grades improve.

Mentor movies
Antwone Fisher (2002, PG-13) An angry, talented sailor is sharpened and soothed by a caring Naval psychiatrist (Denzel Washington).

Finding Forrester (2000, PG-13) The reclusive novelist (Sean Connery) finds talent in a young man.

Secondhand Lions (2003, PG) Michael Caine and Robert Duvall play the uncles every boy wishes he had. On a farm one summer, it’s a family favorite!

Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980, PG) Short and ancient, the character Yoda is introduced as guide for Luke Skywalker.

Teacher movies
Akeelah and the Bee (2006, PG) M-O-T-I-V-A-T-I-N-G. Keke Palmer plays Akeelah, bright but underperforming. Laurence Fishburne coaches her to the National Spelling Bee, and community redemption.

Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995, PG) Richard Dreyfuss leads in this sentimental favorite of dedicated music teacher’s 30-year career.

Stand and Deliver (1987, PG) Edward James Olmos in a tour-de-force performance as an inspirational Calculus teacher in East L.A. Based on a true story.

The Great Debaters (2007, PG-13) Denzel Washington plays debate coach Melvin Tolson, who trained small Wiley College in a national championship match against Harvard. A true and inspirational story.

To Sir, with Love (1967) Sidney Poitier is a novice teacher assigned to a school of young toughs in London.

Find out more about Dangerous Man Day at http://dangerousman.org/.

Bush leads and reads

2009-01-05T00:25:00.004-07:00

I laugh at David Letterman occasional bit “Great Moments in Presidential Speeches,” where great presidential sound bites are contrasted with a goofy quip, hiccup, or stammer by our current president… alas, the benefit of having every public moment recorded.

But former Bush confidante Karl Rove revealed last week in the Wall Street Journal that the President is a bit of a bibliophile. Rove’s New Year’s Eve 2005 resolution to read one book a week in 2006 became a competition in the Oval Office. Rove always wins, but the number and range of books our president is reading is impressive.

Among the President’s 2006 readings: biographies of Lincoln, Twain, LBJ and Genghis Khan, as well as Travis McGee novels and books on the Middle East and sports.

In 2007, "W" dropped to 51 books to Rove’s 76,including Krushchev’s Cold War and The Shia Revival. In 2008, leading the free world took its toll, with the President at 40 books, including Sears’ Gettysburg, U.S. Grant’s Personal Memoirs, and Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter.

Rove reports that the President reads the entire Bible annually and a daily devotional book. I have declined the annual Bible sprint in recent years, opting instead to see how slowly I can read those 66 books (more like J. Vernon McGee’s five-year “Through the Bible” approach).

I am similarly committing more time to reading and less to TV. After a couple of years of mental atrophy and sloth, I’m regaining my literary groove. My 2008 reading list is below, and challenge all my readers and writing circle partners to ante up and show me your stuff. I need the challenge to reach higher!

Good to Great – Jim Collins (business book)
Come On, People – Bill Cosby (call to discipline, self-determination)
Why Revival Tarries - Leonard Ravenhill (re-read his call to holiness, Christian character and courage)
Replay – Ken Grimwood (time traveling novel, “do-over” fantasy)
The Runner – Christopher Reich (WW2 novel)
The Divine Comedy aka Dante’s Inferno – Dante Alighieri (classic from 1300)
The Constant Gardener – John Le Carre novel on corporate espionage set in Kenya, Germany and Canada
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – Le Carre novel on cold war
The Looking Glass War – Le Carre novel on cold war
The Shack – William Young
Plus a couple of books for clients (Yes, I’m doing some book promotion now!)

First book read in 2009: My Grandfather’s Son by Clarence Thomas. Amazing memoir!

Chivalry lives!

2009-01-02T21:03:00.005-07:00

A print ad for Chivas Regal scotch got my attention in the Wall St. Journal recently. It’s part of a campaign called “Lives with Chivalry.” The risks of hard liquor aside, let’s look at how this effort to sell upscale booze exploits the virtue of chivalry.

The marketing blog utalkmarketing.com writes:
‘Live with Chivalry’ is a reaction against an age of individualism and over-reliance on materialism, and celebrates the concepts of masculine brotherhood, honour, class and sophistication. This 60-second TV spot shows pretty posh boys act like the gents that they are, giving people a hand up off the ground, carrying their girlfriend over a muddy puddle and pushing Rupert’s classic car (out of the mud).

Andrew Pentol reports at the travel-retail blog dfnionline.com :
“An independent international lifestyle consumer survey of 3000 respondents in 17 countries, carried out by leading research company BrainJuicer in August 2008 on behalf of Chivas Regal, revealed that chivalry is a quality valued around the world with 71% believing they would have a far better quality of life if the people around them adopted this new ideal. An overwhelming 95% of all men and women also said they found chivalrous qualities attractive in the opposite sex.”

New ideal?
*****************************

This past November, Stephenie Meyer’s blockbuster book franchise Twilight spawned a $70 million dollar box office opening. In an unusual twist for teen fiction – romance film lore, restraint played a central role for the characters. The vampire Edward showed his true love for Bella by NOT indulging his physical desire. (His passion for blood would surely kill the girl he loves.) Imagine that! True love requires self-denial.

Advertising agencies that are so gifted at moving people to spend $$ on "stuff" will continue to tie in products with historically enduring principles. Smart marketers will always try to associate with something more universal than their product alone.

The agency Euro RSCG is on to something. Stephenie Meyer is on to something. Chivalry shows up in the most unlikely places.

It's so hard to say goodbye

2008-12-09T22:14:00.003-07:00

The golden boy just could not do it. He could not retire with a win. Oscar De La Hoya, born in East L.A. 35 years ago to a family of fighters, decided a Golden Gloves belt was not enough. A national championship was not enough. His 1992 Barcelona Olympic gold medal was not enough.

Last weekend’s De La Hoya – Pacquiao fight was a strong argument for “quitting at the top of one’s game.” You’d think Ali’s career (two losses at the end by age 39), or Joe Louis’ career before him (losing to Marciano at age 37) settled the question. Pacquiao dominated for eight rounds, and the fight was stopped. "I don't have it any more," Oscar confessed.

Even with a 39 and 6 professional record (30 by KO), and winning more money than any fighter before him, we will sadly remember only his last fight. I pray that was his last fight. After winning and defending his title 20 times (in four weight classes), he’s split his last eight bouts. The bloom is off the golden boy.

Surely you've heard some overdone brawler utter, “Hey, I’m a fighter. That’s what I do. I fight.”

But Oscar De La Hoya is not just a fighter. He’s got movie star good looks, a promotions company, a community development firm, part of a soccer team, publishing concerns, endorsements, video game covers, an autobiography, three ex-wives, one current wife, and five children.

The 5’-10” De La Hoya will soon stand seven feet tall in bronze outside the Staples Center in L.A. (next to Magic Johnson and Wayne Gretzky). To quote James Bond, “the world is not enough.”

We can only hope his Golden Boy empire is part of the solution for the beleaguered and beat up boxing game. Then Oscar can make his trips to the bank with the same nobility he once carried in the ring.

HOW TO RETIRE
Esquire.com posted Bill Zehme’s remarkable 2002 profile of Johnny Carson’s retirement. Like most things Carson did, his exit from television and the spotlight was nearly flawless. Steve Martin tried to get Carson to appear during Martin’s hosting of the Oscars in 2001. Carson declined. “That's his very Midwestern morality and humility."

Retirement is not rightly the aim of a man’s life. After service for a number of years, in one trade or profession, a man ought to make a transition. If his labor was mundane, his hobby should be nearly perfected. A man needs to hone a craft. He ought to look for apprentices. In the interest of training others to go further, reach deeper, and take the practice to the “next level,” a man should do less and teach more.

There is a premium on the hard-won wisdom of a man. A gold watch says “thanks.” A protégé says “take that!”

Christmas change

2008-11-19T15:10:00.006-07:00

Having voted for change this fall, how will Americans change this Christmas? Fewer gifts? Smaller gifts? Retailers, many of whom depend upon the holidays for much of their annual profit, are forecasting a slim season. People are just too nervous to binge.

For years, I’ve been trying to re-orient our family away from stuff and toward more meaningful gifts. I have failed for a variety of reasons. I like stuff. I like new electronics. I like to lavish things on my wife and children. But what I really want to give them is a heart for others. It’s up to the dad to set the spiritual temperature in the home, and the generosity temperature. It’s hard to give generosity if you don’t have it.

We’ve done the gift boxes for Samaritan’s Purse. The kids loved filling the shoeboxes and decorating them. We’ve been talking about buying soccer balls or a goat through their on line catalog. SHIPPING DEADLINE IS NOV. 24.

Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree program is also very cool, totally righteous. Buying gifts for children of the incarcerated is another way of “visiting those who are in prison” (Matthew 25).

I just found a new project, which has true life-sustaining, life-improving potential. Charity: Water builds wells and teaches rural poor in Liberia (and elsewhere) about sanitation and hygiene.

Liberia should get lots of special attention from the U.S. as it was the landing place for mid-19th century black Americans who wanted to return to Africa. And, again, believers are charged to give water to the thirsty (Matthew 25). I cannot remember a time when I was thirsty and did not have a drink of clean water within seconds or minutes. But one-sixth of the people on the planet are thirsty for clean water every day of their lives. Thousands die daily for lack of it.

And for the month of December, maybe I’ll re-direct our entire family’s spare change to the Salvation Army’s red kettles.

I’ll keep trying to give away more and indulge less. I’ll get along without some new gadget for a bit longer. And when I do get my next toy, I won’t feel guilty about it, because a few more people are drinking clean water.

Election night quotes…

2008-11-06T23:43:00.001-07:00

John McCain
“Let there be no reason now for any American to fail to cherish their citizenship in this, the greatest nation on Earth.

“Today, I was a candidate for the highest office in the country I love so much. And tonight, I remain her servant. That is blessing enough for anyone…

“I call on all Americans, as I have often in this campaign, to not despair of our present difficulties, but to believe, always, in the promise and greatness of America, because nothing is inevitable here. Americans never quit. We never surrender. We never hide from history. We make history.”

Barack Obama
"It's the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day.”

“I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years - block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

"To those - to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America's beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.”

The President's job, since 1788

2008-11-04T19:07:00.004-07:00

"... in order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..."

What a whirlwind of intellectual and emotional conflict this long, long election season has been.

Competing interests, philosophical strife, personal wants and needs, deepest hopes and fears, all have been brought to the surface in the race between the John McCain-Sarah Palin ticket and Barack Obama-Joe Biden ticket (or all those third party candidates for whom you can vote “on principle”).

“… with a firm reliance on the Protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” Declaration of Independence

Inside the privacy of the voting booth/cubicle/dining room table, I suspect that most Americans will vote on their “lives” (meaning national security/strong defense/terrorism) and their fortunes (“who’s gonna get this economy humming again”). Our sacred honor is not as much a factor, except for, perhaps, evangelical Christians or the most principled among us. This factor makes today’s “moral” issues (abortion, traditional marriage, embryonic stem cell research) fringe issues. That may be why the major candidates gave so little attention to these matters.

Without confessing my own deep struggle between core theological and political views (mostly conservative) and personal identification with race and history (progressive-revisionist), I first had to come to peace with a decision (just make a decision!). I finally resolved the issue by voting my head and praying my heart. Weird and conflicted.

But what does the U.S. Constitution say? If you’re a “limited government” type like me, the Constitution will lead you to the conclusion that we are asking way more of our government than it and its President are empowered to provide. (A different bias will lead one to another conclusion.)

Article II of the Constitution (link to the National Archives ) outlines the job of the Executive branch of government, led by the President, and checked and balanced by the Legislative branch (Article I) and the Judicial branch (Article III). It’s tightly edited. I love that. It specifies what the President must do.

Section 1 outlines the “chusing” of the President, including all that jazz about the term length, Electors (“Electoral College”), citizenship, succession, compensation, and oath. (Pretty fascinating reading, and it proves why the Union is nowhere near a Constitutional crisis. Those founding fathers were sharp, and had contingencies all plotted out.)

Sections 2 and 3 of Article II include the meat of the presidential job description. Section 2 says we’re counting on our president to handle the military (as Commander-in-Chief), grant reprieves and pardons for unjust federal convictions, write treaties (which would cover international relations, including another ignored issue this campaign – immigration), and nominate ambassadors, officers, and most significantly, “Judges of the supreme Court.”

Section 3 outlines the President’s “bully pulpit” powers. He gets to convene both houses of Congress for a “State of the Union” address “from time to time.” He gets to recommend things to the Congress (shouldn’t we all), and he has the power to convene or adjourn both or either houses. He receives ambassadors (should that not have been in Section 2?). He enforces the laws, and he commissions officers.

That’s it. That’s all. That’s plenty. So why do candidates give us many and varied position papers on all manner of policy? How has the President’s cabinet grown to 15 departments (plus the VP, Chief of Staff, OMB, EPA and Trade Rep.)? And there are countless commissions, bureaus and regulatory bodies.

I started thinking about this article by listing the things that mattered most to me in the selection of good presidential material. My issues were: sanctity of life, strong defense (meaning demonstrated personal courage and “toughness,” commitment, and understanding of lethal force), grasp of international relations, leadership and persuasive ability (important for Congressional deal-making), staff and campaign management (the rigors of a national campaign are a solid test of such abilities), personal character, and legal philosophy (by the way, not automatically best handled by lawyers).

Way down the list are various policy positions and proposals on the economy, taxes, health care, the environment, education, and energy.

That’s when I went back to the Constitution. That’s what I usually end up doing, going back to those original, fabulous, creative, flexible, firm documents. Though flawed, they are what the National Archives call “The Charters of Freedom.”

Given what the Constitution outlines, I’m looking for less from government, not more. It will take a stout leader to scale back this monolith of bureaucracy we’ve created. It will take a deep and abiding faith in individuals, in order to allow us to chart our own course and provide for the weakest among us voluntarily. I don’t know how the next President or any President will get us where we need to go.

It’s time to pray.

Surviving disaster

2008-09-24T14:20:00.003-06:00

(photo by Jay Janner, Austin American Statesman via AP)
Among the most dramatic tales of survival from Hurricane Ike’s arrival in Galveston is the lion who took shelter in a church with some local residents.

No doubt, the living is stressful along the Texas Gulf Coast. But they are hearty souls, mostly. More than a century before Hurricane Ike, the 1900 “Galveston Hurricane” (before they had cute names) took 6,000 lives. It remains the worst weather disaster in U.S. history, and spurred the construction of the sea wall.

Ike was not so deadly, but still traumatic, leveling entire neighborhoods, and knocking out power to much of the nation’s fourth largest metro area-Houston-for weeks.

But they’re dealing with it. NPR reported that some locals resented the growing “nanny state” mentality of local government. Many are carpenters and know how to rebuild, and survive in the process. “We ate all the good steaks last night,” said restaurateur Tommy LaCroy.

My perspective gets righted by the current PBS “Nova” series “Disaster.” Earthquakes, genuine cataclysms like Mt. Vesuvius in the year 79, Peru’s 1970 earthquake, or the Indian Ocean tsunamis of Christmas 2004.

Glen Beck’s radio conversation on the outpouring of compassion for the Texas Gulf Coast (September 23, hour three) didn’t take very long at all. No celebrity fundraisers. No MTV specials. No national outpouring of grief and anger. Not much to talk about, except pick up trucks, chain saws and pup tents – people scraping together what’s left of their material lives, and deciding if their love of the Gulf Coast lifestyle is that strong after all.

If only Wall Street was as stout as the carpenters on Galveston. While the big money cats are asking for a handout, government officials who manage our (taxpayers) money, are determined to bail out the really high rollers.

We’ve grown too accustomed to help from on high. Help is more reliable closer to home. Proverbs 27:10 reminds us that “better is a friend nearby than a brother far away.”

I don’t begrudge folks who accept help from the Salvation Army or Red Cross. Not at all. With every disaster, Americans get to prove their generosity. But let’s be clear. My hope is in God, and the two hands he gave me, and the people that I can see.

Let’s roll up our sleeves and pitch in for each other. Quick, before the guy shows up and says, “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help.”

Political marriages - for better or worse

2008-08-19T21:05:00.006-06:00

Just for the record, a couple of quick thoughts on political marriages.

John Edwards’ late-coming admission of his affair shocks the political soul, again. (But nothing really compares to the former president’s dalliance.) It’s not just “boys will be boys.” Edwards was a big-time political leader who earned millions of votes in various national primary races. He was a major voice for class envy, class warfare even, and some people were listening.

Even though he talked it through with his family years ago, the public revelation opens the wounds afresh. And there’s still the open paternity question. (My goodness, that child deserves to know who her father is.)

No matter what the apologists say, the marriage vow still carries weight – and the breaking of that vow kills credibility with the public. Lying outright to gaggles of reporters at a time, well that can’t be good for one’s political future, can it?

John McCain, asked by pastor Rick Warren at Saturday’s Saddleback Civic Forum about his worst moral failure, said it was the failure of his first marriage. After “extramarital affairs,” he divorced, then remarried, and eventually regained good relationships with his first wife and their children.

Political marriages are unique and difficult for their own reasons: the unrelenting visibility, the pressure on the kids, all those parties. Maybe, like Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, some of these guys should retire “to spend more time with their families.”

All the more reason to “pray for those in authority.”

Bernie Mac 1957-2008

2008-08-09T09:02:00.003-06:00

Just a quick shout out to the McCullough family on the untimely passing of "Bernie Mac," a favorite of The Old School editor.

His Fox TV show was an oasis of common sense, playing the father figure for his sister's children while she was in rehab. Funny right where I live. He went mainstream with his role in the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise, and I loved "Mr. 3000."

He was an Original King of Comedy, a husband, father and grandfather. Gone too soon. Love ya man.

The Chinese Century

2008-08-08T20:51:00.003-06:00

I do not happily anticipate the decline of Western civilization, nor the decrease of American greatness, nor of it’s influence in the world. Nevertheless, the world is getting smaller. We’ve got some serious cultural issues facing us here in the U.S. of A. And all the while, the developing world is still developing.

Years ago, in casual conversation, I forecast that the 21st century would be “The African Century.” Finally, after centuries of exploitation, conquest and colonialism, and a full century of pursuing independence and nationhood, I thought that the land of my forefathers and foremothers would come into its own.

Rich in natural resources, exploding in Christianity, and with an ambitious people, I hoped to live to see the day that “the dark continent” would no longer be shrouded in illiteracy and poverty. The plague of apartheid was cured in southern Africa. Things were looking up.

But in the late 1990s, the AIDS pandemic took hold. And fratricide, one of hell’s most evil devices, sought to devour Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda… (I’m running out of space, and tears). Centuries of civil war in the Sudan are now summed up in one word, Darfur. Africa has issues.

Africa’s issues are not insurmountable, but they will drag her ascendancy, while another giant takes its place on the world stage. Yes. It’s China, leader of developing nations.

I was impressed by a trip to Hong Kong in 2005. Along the way from the airport to my hotel, we passed miles and miles (and miles and miles) of shipping containers. And remember that Hong Kong is just one of China’s commercial gateways. China is a manufacturing, economic giant.

Population: 1.33 Billion (India is second with 1.1479 B, and the U.S. in third at 304.8 M)

The 2008 Olympic Games were awarded to Beijing in 2001, thus the official launch of China as a world leader. Struggling with pollution, Tibet, Taiwan, human rights, religious repression, and a billion more issues befitting a nation its size, is China ready for its close-up?

This I believe - fatherhood is calling!

2008-07-26T12:40:00.005-06:00

I heard a guy talk about how fatherhood changed his approach to life. I get that.

Daniel Flanagan's testimonial appeared recently on NPR's regular feature "This I Believe."

"...now I believe in do-overs, in the chance to do it all again. And I believe that do-overs can be made at any point in your life, if you have the right motivation. Mine came from a surprising source. It was September 21, 2002, when my son Blake was born."

From self-described "loser" to husband, father, and college student. You da man.

It's up to us all to "be the man."

A “cure” for what ails us

2008-07-25T11:17:00.005-06:00

(photo by www.redhaze.co.uk)
Every time my resolve weakens, every time I falter in my responsibilities, every time I’m tempted to take the easy way out, I catch a strong whiff of Star Parker.

She describes her journey as “from welfare fraud to conservative crusader.” She attributes her turnaround to her Christian conversion, but I don’t think Jesus made her a conservative. Jesus gives life. Jesus gives truth. How we apply that new reality depends on how well we listen to and obey the Holy Spirit. Parker’s genuine compassion and vision for empowerment have become a mission.

Star Parker’s book Uncle Sam’s Plantation still rattles lingering socialist sentiments within me. It’s a good thing, because government intervention is very, very rarely the solution.

Plug into Star Parker’s Coalition for Urban Renewal and Education (C.U.R.E., get it?). You’ll appreciate her voice of reason in this age of false compassion and political doublespeak.

Another free enterprise mentor: Jon Caldera’s Independence Institute.

I lost my scout!

2008-07-15T17:39:00.003-06:00

(photo by R. DelVecchio, US Army)

Mike was my scout, my front guard. I met him six years ago at a conference in Denver, and we just connected. We stayed in touch. I called him to make sure he was still making spiritual progress. He would call me with profound and timely spiritual advice. Mike always called at the perfect time, totally unsolicited. “Scout” is one of six important guys you should have in your life. See “Resource” note at bottom of this post.

Mike was a reluctant prophet. Like many who struggle with this most sensitive spiritual gift, Mike was never at ease with the responsibility of hearing exactly what Almighty God is saying, and then passing that information along. His gift never went to his head.

Over these few years, Mike had an impact on my life. He encouraged me to continue carrying my nine-foot wheeled cross across cities around the U.S., and to carry the burdens of the nation in Christ’s name.

On 3/17/03, Mike said, “Hold steady and depend on the Lord, Be shed of the anchors that hold you down, be ready to move freely. Let us be faithful with our income, tithes and offerings.”

On 8/25/04 Mike told me, “watch the eye gate - the things you see. Watch the ear gate - the things people say to you.”

On 9/7/05, “take authority over the enemy.”

On 6/13/06, “Be the leader of holiness in your family.”

And just three days before he left us on 7/9/08, Mike called with this gem, “Don't talk so much. Be quiet and listen. Let the Lord get a word in edgewise.”

Hey Mike, who asked you? Who made you prophet over my life? Do I need this kind of rebuke? What kind of friend are you? Mike was the most special kind of friend – a friend who speaks the truth in love. There is no more valuable friend than one who is willing to tell you - straight up - the way things are.

To all you who wrestle with God over your gift, please obey the Lord and speak what God gives you. Sure we stone our prophets, but without your obedience, we will perish. Without you, our cause of death will be written down as “ignorance and stupidity.”

Right now, I’ve got a major opening in my “circle.” Thanks, Lord, for sending Mike to serve so well.

You will be missed, but we'll see you soon, bro!

Resource:
See “Six Vital Relationships No Man Should Do Without” from Encourage Men to Pray Ministries.

Independence Day - rewind!

2008-07-05T11:28:00.004-06:00

(photo by David J. Nightingale)

Happy 232nd birthday USA! We went through all our little fireworks last evening, those weak, tiny little Colorado approved fireworks, while all around us the serious skyshow was under way. I guess they all went to Wyoming. Later we listened to the neighbors party late into the night. Then we listened to them fight - the real fireworks.

A year ago at this time, I posted a piece called "Jefferson's 27 complaints." I hope you enjoy it.

(Pop culture tie-in: the Hollywood release for this week is "Hancock" (Will Smith as alcoholic super hero). Hancock - you know, like the prominent signer of the Declaration of Independence. Eerie!)

Rate that anthem

2008-07-02T11:13:00.003-06:00

(photo by Molly Burgess, U.S. Navy)
Denver is ablaze over jazz singer Rene Marie’s switcheroo of the national anthem preceding Mayor John Hickenlooper’s “State of the City” 2008 address. Instead of “The Star Spangled Banner,” she arranged the lyrics from “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to the tune of the traditional national anthem. (Lyrics here)

Much of the debate locally is around the use of what is called “the black national anthem” in place of the official version. “Lift Every Voice and Sing” is a beautiful and sacred song. I’ve taught my children to stand when it’s played (but I don’t think they know the first verse). And for the record, in my National Baptist Hymnal, it’s #477 and listed as “National Negro Hymn.”

But they also know the purpose and the decorum around the national anthem. You stand. You put your hand on your heart. You take your hat off. (Even in another country, the least you would do is stand in respect to your hosts.)

But at this public event, oh, the outrage! And for good reason. Ms. Marie’s artistic interpretation was an indulgence, poorly placed during a official city event, and she abused the privilege. She insulted the unifying national sentiment (the purpose of the national anthem). She embarrassed the Democratic mayor on the eve of the Democratic National Convention. In my book, she also insulted “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by blending it with the Francis Scott Key anthem. But hey, that’s art for ya.

The blame is flying around, but there is one unnamed member of the mayor’s staff that is shaking in his or her boots this morning. They should have known what they were getting. Rene Marie is a self-proclaimed activist. From an interview at JazzReview.com she describes herself as “devil’s advocate and sometimes a rabble-rouser. I bring up things that I’m passionate about. I’m a renegade.”

In her creative flow, she once blended the words from Billie Holiday’s lament to southern lynchings “Strange Fruit” with the tune of “Dixie.” That's creative! Colorado’s Governor Ritter says she performed the exact same rendition of “Lift Every Voice” to the anthem’s tune at the Colorado Prayer Luncheon to a standing ovation… but I doubt it was billed as the national anthem. Expectations are everything.

I would like to see her in concert or at a jazz club. I might be entertained, but not when I’m ready to sing the national anthem. She is all set in far left circles, but she won’t be invited to any more official sing-alongs.

I think that somebody in the Mayor’s office is pretty lax about official decorum. Patriotism is about more than gestures, but symbols matter, especially in the media age.

Now, to other famous renditions of the national anthem, and you vote, good or bad:
Jimi Hendrix’s guitar instrumental at Woodstock (1969)
Marvin Gaye’s blending of “The Star Spangled Banner” (1983) (NPR story)

Roseanne Barr’s screech at the Padres - Reds game (1990) (YouTube)

Whitney Houston at Super Bowl XXV (1991) (YouTube)

And if they are not billed as the anthem, are we OK with Ray Charles unforgettable “America, the Beautiful” and Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” (1938). Who’s writing the new hymns?

Reconciliation Blog

2008-06-24T12:31:00.003-06:00

I spent a fair amount of time in the 90s promoting the notion of "reconciliation," mostly racial. Some have taken the issue to the next level. My friend Ed Gilbreath has written on the subject; his latest book is Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity (IVP, 2006).

Race relations is always ripe fare for bloggers and talk shows, but Ed goes deeper into human relationships. "Thoughtful" and "articulate" would be overused, hackneyed adjectives, but they fit. Thankfully, Ed's ideas and words are always fresh. His is an important voice as the nation navigates across so many divides (red state-blue state, dominant culture-multi-cultural, religious-secular, etc.).

The subtitle for his Reconciliation Blog is from a scripture verse: "so from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view."

It's good conversation. Check it out!

75 skills men should master

2008-05-29T09:36:00.004-06:00

MSN’s Lifestyle:Men's channel really rocks it with Tom Chiarella’s article “The 75 Skills Every Man Should Master.” The Esquire POV is classically worldly, so the list reflects the “importance” of sex, liquor and gambling. But the list is not entirely without value to the American man who is grappling with measures of modern manhood.

These skills remind me of the importance of 4-H (missed it), boy scouts (made it to Webelos before quitting), the military (missed it), and listening to old men (I’m getting there, and soon I’ll be old myself).

I’d be bragging to tell you how many of these items I have locked up. Better and more gracious to point out the items I would like to master, but am still working on.

#4 - Score a baseball game. “Scoring a game is about bearing witness, expanding your own ability to observe.” Even as a journalist, I aspire to sharpen up on this one.

#23 – Be loyal. “You will fail at it. You already have. It is a currency of selflessness, given without expectation and capable of the most stellar return.” I have also succeeded at it, but I don’t trust myself with loyalty. Episodes of selfishness overwhelm me often. So I’m still working on this one. God help me.

#44 – Ask for help.

#46 – Tell a woman’s dress size. Husbands get this.

#47 – Recite one poem from memory. As a poet, I know that you don’t really impact your audience until you can drop it verbatim from your mind. Men of the Spirit should have some of David’s Psalms or Solomon’s proverbs under their belt (within easy reach). Countless passages in the Torah, the Prophets, the Gospels, and the Epistles also are worthy of committing to memory.

#51 – Build a campfire.

#69 – Tie a knot. Yes, it comes in handy when your trying to get that mattress or bookcase home on top of your car.

#75 – Negotiate a better price. “Be informed. Know the price of competitors.” Which will help me keep up with my wife as she conscientiously compares prices.

-------------------------
Better still to solicit your additions to the list. I might add:

#76 - Know all the sizes of your wife’s wardrobe, not just the dress size.

#77 - Carry a pocketknife and know how to use it. Remember the game mumbletypeg? (That’s one of the things I hate most about post-9/11 airport security.)

#78 - I know a young man who just made Eagle Scout. I want to ask him if he can start a fire without matches like Tom Hanks in the movie “Cast Away.” That’s just cool.

#79 - Give anonymously. Total stealth. Secret night missions. Shell companies (within the extent of the law). Trusted third-party intermediaries. The fact is that the more you give in secret, the more treasure you build up in heaven. Jesus said that.

Your entries?

Iron Man - industry meets conscience

2008-05-13T12:13:00.006-06:00

(IMDB.com)

The morality tale behind the spring blockbuster Marvel film Iron Man is this: self-absorbed industrialist meets his comeuppance, grows a conscience/compassion for others, and puts his engineering genius to work righting wrongs. No spoilers there.

I go into most films to be entertained. Comic book movies are designed to be "eye candy," so I'm not expecting any great revelations when I go into the darkened theater looking for a superhero. Iron Man does not dissappoint in this regard. Even the preachiness (the evil weapons dealer) was in a small enough dose so as to not bog down the story or action. And guess what? Iron Man still fights. He doesn't go all pacifist on us.

Effects, technology, and action met the standard. Gratuitous sensuality was a bit much for my conservative leanings, so be advised if you're going to push the envelope with youth under the PG-13. I feel like guidance is appropriate up to 18, and many "R" films should be "NC-17." But, hey, you're reading "The Old School" blog.

Talking to our youth pastor, he and I couldn't figure out why Hollywood has to be so graphic with its sensuality. It's not like kids need any encouragement. Teen lust needs no assistance from media to get all the body parts and hormones functioning. Back in the day, filmmakers allowed the imagination to carry more of the weight... zoom on the ankles as clothing drops to the floor, giggles, feet walk to the bedroom, show the doorknob closing, fade to black. Tony Stark's tussles, I get it already!

Actually, the modern world is super-sensual, and the Hefner revolution that sought to celebrate sex by putting it into the mainstream has actually cheapened the act. Here's how I'd write the Tony Stark character - I'd let him keep pursuing women, conquering femme after femme, but getting less and less satisfaction out of it. He might even try to remember his girlie's names. Eventually, he'd settle down with you-know-who. Then Marvel would have to put its creativity into the relational angst within marriage (a la "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"). There's a sub-plot for ya.

In a world at war, and with Iron Man's role expanding as a member of the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel can and should pursue various moral questions related to war, force and weaponry. Rich ground there, and no easy answers, just the way Marvel likes it.

Sailors - you do that for me?

2008-04-30T23:38:00.004-06:00

(to a friend who appeared in the Denver airing of the PBS show "Carrier")

OK, so you look pretty good in your navy blue Navy uniform. And you were always a good manager of time. Maybe it’s the military training.

The nighttime landings on the USS Nimitz pitching in high seas like that... deeply moved me. I get that they have to practice dangerous manuevers because you never know when you'll have a hot mission. But you guys do that for me? For the country? For duty? For your families? For the constitution?

I don't really feel worthy, but I'm damn glad you do what you do.

Full disclosure: my dad was a Navy man, repairing aircraft carriers in San Diego in World War II.
I shoulda known it was an Icon /Mel Gibson production. Really, really good TV.

Gunny Bob on presidential character

2008-04-30T23:29:00.003-06:00

Denver’s got its own mil-talker, Gunnery Sgt. Bob Newman, USMC (ret.). “Gunny Bob” rides the nighttime airwaves of Clear Channel’s clear channel KOA-850 AM most nights from 7 – 10 p.m. (make that 1900 – 2200h you civilian pile of waste product!)

Ooh-rah! (Do Army guys spell it differently?)

At times he can be inflammatory and downright wrong. But sometimes he’s so stinking right it makes me smile. Tonight he was off on Jeremiah Wright’s Church of Christ in Chicago (we will discuss the nature of the Afro-centric church later), but Gunny Bob was completely right on the elements of leadership.

The characteristics that we require of the person we choose to be president:
1) good judgment,
2) the ability to be decisive (which, with good judgment, helps one make the right decision),
3) moral courage.

Did they teach that to Gunny Bob at Quantico or someplace? That stuff works.

Signed, a bitter Black Christian gun-owner from the Midwest

“Carrier” on PBS

2008-04-28T22:47:00.003-06:00

Flipping around last night, I stopped on the premiere of the PBS series “Carrier.” A film crew spent six months straight with the deployed crew of the USS Nimitz, and it’s public television at its best (meaning little narration, mostly the words of the crew).

“If you ain’t ordnance, you ain’t s***!”

“We build bombs and move them around the ship, and we’re at the bottom of the pecking order.”

“Our blood pumps about 1,000 miles an hour.”

“If you die, you die. That’s just the way it is.”

“My father was a pimp or something. My mother was a prostitute.”

“You know me, man. I worry about everything.”

“(On deck) you keep your head on a swivel, because everything changes so fast.”

“Personally, I don’t even get the war – why we’re fighting for someone else’s freedom when we barely have our own.”

“On ship, there are as many opinions on the war as in any group of people.”

The first of the ten-part series seemed mostly free of agenda. To me it looked like a pretty fair presentation of the good, the bad and the ugly of life on board. I couldn’t be more impressed with the young people at every level of the ship’s operations.

Forbes reports the most dangerous job is fishing. The second most dangerous job, pilots and flight engineers. Put them together and what do you get? The aircraft carrier… a miracle of modern engineering, an awesome tool of warfare. A floating high school. A small city on the sea.

Check out “Carrier.” http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/

Soul Revival, Neo Soul, Acid Jazz, etc.

2008-04-12T17:11:00.004-06:00

Music is extremely personal. Even people that like the same sounds like them for different reasons. "It means this!" "It means that!" And so on. So indulge me a mention from the soul of my earhole.

A BIG shout out to my new favorite free internet radio station, Yahoo's Soul Revival station, which is powered by the editors at soultracks.com.

Their mix is strong enough to hang with my favorite DJ (K-Nee), here in the Denver area, who runs the "So What" radio show late Friday nights at midnight on another classic outlet, KUVO. Sometimes, Denver feels pretty hip!

A couple of other recommendations:

Lisa McClendon

Frank McComb

Raul Midon

See the previous column of music tips at The Old School from Feb. 14

Movies - the right way

2008-04-10T05:09:00.003-06:00

El Paso Sheriff: What’s it mean? What’s it leading to? I mean if you told me 20 years ago that I’d see children walking the streets of our Texas towns with green hair, bones in their noses, I just flat out wouldn’t have believed you.
Ed Tom Bell: Signs and wonders. But I think once you quit hearin’ “sir” and “ma’am” the rest is soon to foller.
El Paso Sheriff: Oh, it’s the tide. It’s the dismal tide. It is not the one thing.
Ed Tom Bell: Not the one thing.

Here in the People’s Republic of Boulder, in April there is an annual “idea camp,” a intellectual festival called the Conference on World Affairs. Participants are mostly left-of-center, with an occasional retired general, cold war diplomat, or unconventional (non-liberal) thinker sprinkled in.

Among the most popular annual sessions is called “Cinema Interruptus.” They watch the whole movie (sorry, film) on Monday, and then watch it again Tuesday through Friday, pausing the playback often for questions or comments from the audience, thus stretching a two-hour event into an ten-hour intensive seminar. Insights from the novel. Yeats' poetry. Other influences.

This year’s film, “No Country for Old Men.” This year’s host while Roger Ebert continues to recuperate, is Jim Emerson.

It’s a Coen brothers production, so I’m all in. Tommy Lee Jones in a major role. Money. It won “Best Picture” from the Academy (a very artsy choice). But most of all it’s just loads of fun to be in a big hall with other people who watch movies properly:
1) Sitting all the way through, and reading, the credits,
2) When watching DVDs at home, turning off the phone (and often the lights),
3) On subsequent views, turn on the commentary track, and laugh along with the directors and actors.

(I'll post an old column on watching credits one of these days.)

Charlton Heston: a salute to square-jawed intensity

2008-04-08T09:20:00.004-06:00

A ramrod salute to an icon of the silver screen, Charlton Heston. As I reflect on Mr. Heston’s big roles, I’m digging the way this guy rolled.

He played it straight and he played it well. We get to see his Moses role every Easter-time. Ben-Hur, Heston’s Oscar-winning role is a well-worn videotape in my collection (yes, I said videotape).

The obituaries recount that Heston marched with Dr. King in the early 60s, well before civil rights were Hollywood hip.

Eventually, changed from his early liberal leanings. He switched parties. Once he campaigned for Adlai Stevenson and JFK, later in his life he campaigned for GOP candidates from Nixon ’72 through Bush ’00.

His union affiliation (president of the Screen Actors Guild), which I also liked, switched too. His Wikipedia entry notes that he left Actor’s Equity because they would not let a white actor play a Eurasian role in the stage version of “Miss Saigon.” “Obscenely racist,” said Heston. I once interviewed late actor John Hancock on the notion of Cross-ethnic casting. The large African-American man said, “I’d love to play a Nazi.”

Heston’s sci-fi era (“Soylent Green,” “Planet of the Apes”) was always cool in my eyes, which is a warning to all those who think highly of their own sophistication.

His leadership of the National Rifle Association was cool too, climaxed by his legendary photo op, holding a vintage long gun over head. You’ll have to take my second amendment rights when you pry them from “my cold, dead hands” (in his inimitable, million-dollar baritone).

(Why does my defense of the Second Amendment feel so “radical?” Is it only because of my defense of the Black Panthers’ exercise of Second Amendment rights?)

I’m still studying his thoughts on the Culture War, delivered at Harvard on Feb. 16, 1999. (Love the speeches at AmericanRhetoric.com.)

I dig his 64 year marriage to Lydia, very un-Hollywood.

I hope they give him a 21-gun salute, one shot at a time.

Most importantly, I hope the Savior he met in Ben-Hur was his in real life too.

Stay Married - so help you God

2008-03-20T11:32:00.005-06:00

(photo by Mike Groll/Yahoo News/AP)

The New York Governor is keeping the mainstream media (and the tabloids) busy these days. The new Guv, David Paterson, who took office after Eliot Spitzer's quick disgrace and resignation, has himself announced adultery... a few times, with different women. His wife has also revealed her adultery.

It all happened during a rough spot in their marriage a few years ago. They announced it, wisely, at the beginning of his tenure in the Big Chair. "I didn't want to be compromised. My conscience is clear. I feel a lot better," the Guv said on day two of his administration. They are in counseling and have vowed not to do it again.

Now his staff and reporters are making sure he didn't use state money for his trysts. "We the people" seem to care much more about how our tax dollars are at work, than about how our politicians are workin' it.

(A couple of scalawags not mentioned or pictured in the previous post, no less than the 1990s posterboys for dalliance, President William Clinton and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. The President holding his marriage together, Mr. Speaker divorcing his second wife and marrying the girlfriend with whom he affaired.)

America seems to be settling for a bit less personal perfection in the character of her leaders, and the press is ready to make sure we know from where all the dirt under those fingernails came.

Marriage ain't easy, and it ain't supposed to be. But it is worth fighting for. Couples are supposed to fight together, against the things that try to tear them apart. Too often we just settle for the easy opponent - our spouse. Thanks to Family Life Ministries of Little Rock Arkansas (http://www.familylife.com/), who taught my wife and I that "your spouse is not your enemy."

I'm praying for the Patersons. It's easier for most of us. We don't have to do a news conference to confess all our junk. Do you think the pressure of the public spotlight would keep us on the straight and narrow way?

Spitzer joins league of extraordinary scalawags

2008-03-12T23:43:00.008-06:00

He fell like lightning. But New York’s shamed Gov. Eliot Spitzer is not the devil incarnate. He’s merely a man, beset by the guilt he bore privately until Monday. His guilt was safely shielded behind his bravado, or so he thought.

Spitzer crashed hard and fast, behind implications that he hired an escort to travel from New York to Washington for a couple of hours of sexual favors. The feds were alerted because of unusual transactions, a shell company, and a phony name, all allegedly used by the Guv to pay for his partying ways. He resigned because he has no time to run the State of New York. His job yesterday was to wrangle some kind of legal deal to keep him out of federal court. His job today is to wrestle his demons and try, try to restore some semblance of a relationship with his wife and daughters. That job will take him longer than he thinks.

Spitzer joins the legion of wealthy, powerful, successful men who were compelled to cross the line both personally and professionally. We build ‘em up – politicians, athletes, preachers – and we watch ‘em slide down the steps they built, bruising their rumps and heads all they way. Painful. To some, it’s morbidly delightful.

The details of this case are so juicy. If it were a Hollywood script, it would be dismissed as unbelievable. Golly, politics is fun!

ON PROSTITUTION
If the Guv got his freak on way out there in Nevada, where such things are legal and regulated, (and if he paid for it in cash from his own money) would he be in trouble? Not so much.

Unfortunately, the sexually liberated and libertarian-wanna be American public doesn’t care nearly as much about marriage vows as it does about public money. Should we care?

People say they don’t care what a man does in his private life. But deep down, we know if a man lies to his wife and kids, he will lie to us. And trust don’t come cheap. It takes years to prove oneself faithful. And in a moment, that tree can be cut down.

OFFICER OF THE COURT
If proven guilty, extra demerits for an attorney who crosses the line. Triple demerits for the prosecuting attorney caught working loopholes in the system. For a zealot like Spitzer who defended the letter of the law with such glee, no mercy. He should expect the prosecutor to give no quarter. But those guys don’t play by the same rules as you and me.

THE NEW GOVERNOR
David Paterson will become New York’s governor next Monday. The Honorable Mr. Paterson represented Harlem in the N.Y. state legislature for 20 years before becoming Lieutenant Governor in 2006. He also spoke (not during prime time) at the 2004 Democratic convention in Boston, where Barack Obama stormed onto the national stage. I’ve already heard newscasters report that Paterson would be NY’s first African-American governor. It’s a bigger story that he will be the first blind governor in the nation’s history.

WHY THEY DO IT
Lust? Power? "Because they can?" An old preacher once said, "every man who knocks on the door of a prostitute is actually looking for God." Like most substitutes, whatever a guy is looking for, it's rarely - if ever - found at the door of a harlot. True intimacy, deep and true fulfillment, great sex, real interest and deep caring is more likely found at home than "on the road."

If not, well, there's nothing sadder than a "lonely husband."

Tunes and such - Calvin Nowell

2008-02-14T12:27:00.005-07:00

Just found the MySpace page for a new friend, Calvin Nowell. And by friend, I mean in the literal - we've met face to face and enjoyed some connections - kind of friendship. Not the MySpace "be my 8700th friend" sense. But I'm not hating... MySpace is cool, super cool for artists...

GO TO COLUMN ON THE RIGHT - "TUNES AND SUCH"

Calvin's got a great story (how he lost 215 pounds!), he's a gifted minister, and delivers a soothing worship sound full of heart and SOUL. I'm delighted with the songs he's posted on his page, from his well-titled release, start somewhere.

Others on my "Tunes and such" list are friends and/or artists with straight-arrow impact on my heart and head.

Swirl 23 - Detroit-based alternative rock with a vision (kinda grungey - rap/core-ish, y'know?), unsigned.

Mariachi Vasquez - what? With mohawks and dyed hair, Denver's coolest mariachi band, and all in the same family.

Shane Ladean - Denver area worship leader, passion pilot, steers his Fender Rhodes with total skill, writes cool songs, my daughter sings with him.

Ayinde - Denver-based singer/poet/performance artist with a deep, deep well of furious love for God and mankind. See him monthly at "The Speakout" in Aurora - national caliber poetics!

Tye Tribbett and Greater Anointing - another church boy breaks the mold with high praise, groovy hooks, prophetic lyrics, stage presence like Gnarls Barkley, and willing to leave the playlist and enter into the vertical praise realm. Don't miss in concert!

David Crowder Band - became famous through Passion concerts. I can't stop singing his songs.

Israel and New Breed - often seen leading worship at Joel Osteen's megaplex, I Houghton and band played in the Grammy show last Sunday (2008). Breaking the mold of soul-laced worship, racking up awards, staying real.

Mattingly: "Thou shalt not say 'adultery'"

2008-02-13T11:18:00.006-07:00

It's a strange Valentine's Day season. Just read a story on how to make your divorce happier, and this one from religion columnist Terry Mattingly.

In his interview with Pamela Druckerman, author of Lust in Translation: The Rules of Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee, it became clear that the 7th Commandment isn't just that big a deal anymore.

"If I asked someone, 'Have you ever committed adultery?', it was like God entered the room at that moment," said Druckerman, reached at her home in Paris.

Mattingly's column should be posted today at: http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/

Over on the "love front," both the Wall Street Journal and ABC News are tracking studies that show the connections between "new love" (passion, pleasure, elevated dopamine in the brain's ventral tegmental area), and enduring love (bonding, raised oxytocin levels and activity in the brain's ventral pallidum area).

Fellas, keep the playful passion set on "high." In addition to respecting her, and honoring her (good long term strategies), I think your lady likes being pursued.

I'm taking Valentine's Day off. Our anniversary is one week later, and that's the big show for us.

Look for Sam Schechner's article, "Keeping Love Alive," Feb. 8, 2008, Wall Street Journal. (You can get access to lots of Wall St. Journal content by entering through a Google search.)

Kanye brushes up against the truth

2008-02-10T22:34:00.000-07:00

Hip hop fans are feeling for Kanye, as he mourns publicly the loss of his mother Donda, who died earlier this year after plastic surgery. From the Yahoo/AP story on tonight's 50th anniversary Grammy awards show:

"Last night I saw you in my dreams, and now I can't wait to go to sleep," sang West, dressed in black and with MAMA etched into his haircut, as he launched into "Hey Mama," a celebratory tune from his second album that has now turned into a somber ode.

Even closer to the mark, Kanye said, "I'll be more alive when I'm asleep, than I am today."

Missing our departed loved ones, there is a great reunion for all those who die in Christ. And forever is a long time...

Link to Yahoo/AP story

Dangerous Man '08: Career and Calling

2008-02-02T19:22:00.000-07:00

WORKSHOP NOTES

Forty hours a week, 50 weeks a year, 40 years of work from age 25 to “retirement” = 80,000 hours, and for what? Yet, as American men. we are constantly measured by the success of our work. Are we any closer to what God had planned for our time on the planet?

I just finished a second year running at a small version of Promise Keepers in suburban Denver, called “Dangerous Man Day,” organized by Al Larson, author of a book The Making of a Dangerous Man. Good for me that I got to run a workshop called “Career and Calling.”

Notes for attendees and interested parties follow.

FIRST, ON “CALLING”
Os Guinness writes in his modern classic book The Call:
The modern world has scrambled things so badly that today we worship our work, we work at our play, and we play at our worship.
(Guinness, p. 160)

HISTORY OF WORK

“The Work Week” over eight centuries
13th century - Adult male peasant, UK - 31 hrs/wk.
Middle Ages - English worker - 44.4 hrs/wk.
1400-1600 - Farmer-miner, adult male, UK - 38 hrs/wk.
1850 - Average worker, U.S. - 70 hrs/wk.
(Compiled by Juliet B. Schor author, Boston College sociology professor, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Working_time)

The six day week was pretty standard through the World War I years.

Henry Ford created the eight-hour-a-day, five-day work week in 1926, giving his workers time to enjoy their cars. There’s an obvious connection between incentive and production.
(Joshua Zeitz, professor of history, Univ. of Cambridge, England, http://www.americanheritage.com/blog/20069_25_469.shtml)

The notion finally went nationwide as a part of Roosevelt’s New Deal. Congress passed The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 establishing a minimum wage and a 44-hour cap before overtime rules kicked in, then it was moved to a 40-hour cap in 1940.

WORK TODAY
· Expedia.com reports 63 percent of Americans work more than 40 hours a week. (THAT’S A LOT OF OVERTIME!)
· More than $21 billion dollars in vacation time goes unused annually (and back to employers!).
· We spend 2.5 more weeks—and three months more—at work than do our Japanese and western European counterparts, respectively.
Indiana Univ., IU Home Pages, Sept. 2004, http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/040904/text/workweek.shtml

How many of us work 50 hours a week or more?
I found estimates between 20 and 40 percent, and a lot of those are highly educated, white collar workers.
Expedia/Indiana U., Peter Kuhn, Univ. of Cal. – Santa Barbara, http://www.msnbc.com/id/3072426/

See link for poem, “ODE TO THE WORKING MAN”
http://theoldschoolblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/ode-to-working-man.html

THE VALUE OF YOUR WORK
In 1995, an 87 year old woman made national headlines when she drew from her savings to donate a 150,000 dollar scholarship to Southern Mississippi. Her chosen profession – washerwoman, taking in the clothes of others, washing and ironing for half a century or more. Oseola McCarty received an honorary doctorate from Harvard and the Presidential Citizen’s Medal. Did she fulfill her calling?

Guys, fulfilling our calling is so much more than the stuff we do. There is a deeper spiritual component to our labors.

As American men. we are constantly measured by the outward success of our work. But we may be already be closer than we think to fulfilling our calling.

MORE ON PURPOSE/CALLING
Guinness writes:
Calling is indispensable to the integrity and effectiveness of the church in this momentous hour. Calling … also touches cultural life potently. (p. 59)

The apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Rome (8:19) :
The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.

Eugene Peterson’s Message paraphrase puts it this way:
The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next.

As a young believer in the early 80s we sang it this way:
Rise up! Rise up!
You are the soldiers of the cross,
You are the ones who are to glorify the King!

Creation groans
for the sons of God to come
manifesting all the nature of their King!

CASE STUDIES, GREAT INVITATIONS, AND CALLINGS
• Adam – gardener, zoologist
• Hiram’s Bronze Works, Tyre
• Nehemiah – cupbearer, contractor, governor
• Simon Peter and Andrew - fishermen
• Matthew – tax collector
• Book of Acts: tanner, textiles, tailor

Using their talents for Kingdom purposes!
Fulfilling their calling!

GETTING ANSWERS OR ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS?
My interpretation of the godly virtues and their outcome in II Peter 5:8 - Prayer > clarity > faith > provision and agreement!

POSSIBLE TOOLS TO REFINE ONE’S SENSE OF CALLING
Want biblical life coaching? Contact Pete Richardson, pete_richardson@comcast.net, http://www.thestratinc.com/.

Check out the Christian job search ministry http://www.intercristo.com/.

Fight fear with God’s word! Download 40 verses against fear by Aslan’s Place (spiritual healing center in Hesperia, CA), http://www.aslansplace.com/insights/Fear.PDF.

The Call – vocational and life purpose tool by Randy Austad
http://www.followyourcalling.com/

MORE GOOD RESOURCES
Marketplace Leaders, Os Hillman
http://www.marketplaceleaders.org/

Marketplace Chaplains USA
http://mchapusa.com/

Life@Work resources and events
http://www.injoy.com/Brands/life.aspx

Ancient Paths seminar, Craig Hill, Family Foundations Intl., Littleton, CO
http://www.familyfi.org/

CATALOGUE OF GIFTS
Discern your spiritual gifts (God-given aptitude for kingdom work), based on Wagner-Houts spiritual gifts test, free and on line at http://buildingchurch.net/g2s.htm.

Romans 12:3-8
motivational gifts (prophecy, serving, teaching, exhorting/encouragement, giving, leading, showing mercy)

1 Corinthians 12:1-31
spiritual gifts (word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, tongues, interpretation of tongues)

1 Corinthians 14:1-40
Proper use and application of spiritual gifts (prophecy and tongues)

Ephesians 4:7-16
“Five – fold,” vocational ministry gifts (apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers)

1 Peter 4:7-11
gifts for sharing (prayers, fervent love, hospitality, speaking, serving)

HERE’S WHAT PAUL WROTE TO THE BELIEVERS IN THE PORT CITY OF EPHESUS
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
(Eph. 2:10 NIV)

Men, you are:
Built by God / DESTINED – Jer. 1 (“before I formed you in the womb, I knew you”)
Loved by the Father / A SON – (you are sons, not slaves – John 8:35, friends, not servants, John 15:15)
Gifted by the Creator / TALENTED – stir up the gifts - II Tim1:6 , provoke love and good deeds - Heb. 10:24
Anointed for service / APPOINTED – Luke 4:19 “the acceptable year of the Lord”, Great Commission in Matt. 28:18-20, “power to witness” Acts 1:8

A few thoughts on “waiting”
· Not standing there watching airplanes in the outfield, wandering, twiddling thumbs
· It’s READINESS – like the waiter in a 5-star restaurant, poised, waiting for your next move.

A FEW CLOSING QUOTES – VISION FOR THE “ONE THING”
from Switchfoot song "Dare you to move:"

"The tension is here, between how it is and how it should be, between who you are and who you could be."

From Rick Warren’s best seller Purpose Driven Life:
“Work becomes worship when you dedicate it to God and perform it with an awareness of his presence.”
(p. 67)

19th century Dutch leader Abraham Kuyper:
“There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!’”
(Guinness, p. 165)

Os Guinness, from The Call:
God is on the move. Faith therefore means restlessness. The Caller may be unseen and the destination unknown, but those who follow his call have a voice above and a vision ahead that subverts every status quo and unsettles every resting place.

Guinness says that for a Christian, the call of God is…
an act of imaginative seeing that combines:
· the insight of faith, which goes to the heart of things below the surface, and
· the foresight of faith, which soars beyond the present with the power of a possible future.

Thomas Edward Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) speaks to you, called out ones…
Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that all was vanit; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, and make it possible.
T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom

HEAR THE CALL, AND PRESS ON…
From Paul’s letter to the believers in Philippi (3:10-14, The Message)
“I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dust. Rob Bell. Mars Hill Church: Nooma video series, Grand Rapids. http://www.nooma.com/

Foxe, John. Foxe’s Christian Book of Martyrs. Uhrichsville, OH: Barbour and Company, 1985.

Guinness, Os. The Call. Nashville: Word Publishing, 1998.

The Family Man. Dir. Brett Ratner. Beacon Communications, 2000.

Mandel, Michael, et. al. The real reasons you’re working so hard… and what you can do about it/BusinessWeek.com. Sept. 26, 2005. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9491933/>

Peterson, Eugene. The Message. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2002.

Sandweiss, Lee Ann. The 40-hour work week—dead or alive?/IU Home Pages. Sept. 2004, Indiana Univ. <http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/040904/text/workweek.shtml>

That The World May Know, Ray Vanderlaan. Focus on the Family video series. http://www.family.org/

University of Southern Mississippi, The Gift, <http://www.usm.edu/pr/oolamain.htm>

Warren, Rick. The Purpose Driven Life. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002.

Zeitz, Joshua, American Heritage History Blog. 2006. Univ. of Cambridge, England. <http://www.americanheritage.com/blog/20069_25_469.shtml>

Ode to the Working Man

2008-02-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

(performed at Dangerous Man Day 2008, Centennial, Colorado)

Flex time, comp time, overtime, short time
pension’s running dry and my pen’s running out of ink,
wild swings on Wall St., … I wonder would happen if you actually saw a real live bull and real live bear in a cage match on TNT?

early retirement, forced retirement, and golden parachutes,
telecommuting, laptops, smart phones, crack-berries, …
NAFTA, CAFTA,
Euros against the pound against the yen against the dollar,
petro-dollars, narco-dollars, just not enough dollars at the end of the month…

Nikkei, Hong Kong Hang Seng, E-trade, Scott trade,
Schwab’s trading up for the next largest plasma screen…
2nd mortgage HELOC, foreclosure’s changing the door lock

Job security? I no longer believe.

Enter the global economy, and suddenly
we’re competing with people all over the world who just want to work.
Isn’t competition wonderful? Or is it just a fact of life?

and what do you know, Toy-yota is building pick up trucks at a factory in San Antonio, Texas!

“The social contract is shifting,”
says the Society for Human Resource Management.
No kidding!

Iran dances with war

2008-01-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Unbelievable! But not so shocking given Iran and their leader's messiah (pariah?) complex. What would provoke Iran's Republican Guard to taunt the U.S. Navy in the Straits of Hormuz yesterday?

How close did those Iranian speed boats come to being obliterated? (seconds) Put yourself in the moment... speedboats come up close, dumping large boxes overboard in the path of the big US warships. Then the boats speed away.

Thanks to mil-blogger The Daily Blogster for his quick overview.

Just think about it. What happens if Iran actually chooses to sacrifice a few boats just to get the US to use its force? What does Iran gain by instigating a blockade of the busy oil transport lanes? Is Iran willing to walk away from exports of nearly 3 million barrels of oil a day? What does a naval war between Iran and the U.S. look like?

The Fifth Fleet commanders on the bridge that day should be saluted for remaining so, so cool under imminent threat. Remind me never to play poker with those guys.

CNN's Martin: Man up, young brothers!

2007-12-12T20:18:00.000-07:00

(photo: yoel herzberg/flickr)

CNN's Roland Martin has been on this topic for years, and I applaud his voice in the choir. Men are needed to help raise their families!

From his Dec. 11, 2007 commentary:

But you see, when nearly 70 percent of black kids are born to unmarried parents, likely to a too-young mom, that puts tremendous pressure on grandmothers (and some grandfathers), sisters and brothers to take up the slack.

There is just NO SUBSTITUTE for a father in the family. Man up, young brothers!

CNN: Black men must reclaim our children, Dec. 11, 2007

Roland Martin's website

It's cheaper to keep her!

2007-12-05T06:21:00.000-07:00

Associated Press reports that divorce creates more households, and therefore, more consumption. So it's not just painful to break the marriage bond, it's pricey! No news there, but I hope it gives couples at the brink another reason to get back to the counselor's office and try again to work things out.

Love has never been rational, and in most cases, neither is divorce. In fact, marriage has not always been about love. A fair portion of marriage relationships since the beginning of time have been about sharing resources to build a family and build prosperity, if not posterity as well. How unromantic!

But if today's loose-knit marriages are ever to stand a chance of making it to the 20-30-40-50 year mark... if families are ever to build generational wealth... if couples ever hope to build the trust and actually grow in affection toward one another... (rated "R" version - if you ever want to experience the mind-blowing intimacy of long term monogamy...) then as a culture, we couples have to figure out how to "stay in the ring."

Man, I'm challenging you to get a "rocking chair" vision for your relationship. You dig?

Marriage - one long wrestling match - actually, that sounds kind of sexy.

Study: Single households consume lots more

"Black KKK" - Whitlock rails, and he's right!

2007-11-29T00:37:00.000-07:00

(photo: Paramount Pictures - "Get Rich or Die Tryin')

The biggest problem facing Black America lies within Black America.

It must be stated loudly, clearly and plainly. We've got some serious work to do on ourselves, and for the most part, White America has nothing to say about it. For solutions, I veer toward family reformation, and more effective spiritual leadership. Too many dads not raising their sons and daughters. Too many churches not connecting the Bible and the Spirit to everyday living.

On the scale of things, the biggest problem facing black America is not the racism of whites (overt or subtle), or even the passive racism of the nation's institutions. Those issues still real, and must be handled separately, but I don't have time for another round of useless "hate crime legislation." Self-hatred is our biggest "hate" issue.

As an aside, this is one of the things that sets black conservatives at odds with liberals - the degree of responsibility one assigns to individuals, or in this case, the degree of blame one places on "others" (i.e. victim identity).

Thanks to Jason Whitlock for a piercing commentary on what is behind the violent deaths of black men like NFL player Sean Taylor. Your "agressive speculation" hits home. Keep the hard truth coming.

"... when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long."

Whitlock: "Black KKK" claims another victim (FoxSports.com)

The Old School's post on Darrent Williams (May 4, 2007)

unaired "24" pilot

2007-11-21T17:47:00.000-07:00

The writers strike has me a little on edge. The next season of "24" will likely be delayed. Just in time, I ran across this bit o' video funnery on ifilm.com. It originates at collegehumor.com, and I'm sure to discover other guilty pleasures there.

So, in 1994 Jack Bauer's got long hair, and a pager. What a hoot! If the writers and producers don't come to terms soon, we may need a storyline and a few more episodes from these guys.

When a patriarch dies

2007-11-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

(photo by stevacek, flickr)

The following was written for my uncle's funeral last week. He was the last patriarch in my father's line. His passing means the new patriarchs come from my generation. Yikes!! Somebody's getting old.

"Legacy"

“The king is dead. Long live the king.”

England and other monarchies have their succession plans laid out well into the future. They are never without a leader. As soon as the monarch dies, another is in place. The kingdom is never without a king.

Enemies lurk about, waiting for a weakness in leadership, looking for a gap in the wall, ready to take advantage of a sleeping sentry. Today, we give our enemy no opportunity for attack. We are ready to take our place in the line of succession.

As we look around, there are just a few artifacts of such a rich and full life:
A short wave radio,
A Count Basie record,
A sky blue Buick Deluxe,
A thousand books or so,
A painting or a sculpture,
These things hold just a whiff of a man’s impact.

The real souvenirs come in the form of legacy… memories… the things he always said, over and over, as if we would forget them.

His legacy is in his actions:
The jobs he took when no one else was there to do the job,
The tough choices he made when others just looked on like the problem would fix itself,
The words he spoke when others were silent.

For many men, the sweat of his brow resides inside a building that he hammered together, or a building that bears his name in etched concrete. For some men, the sweat of his brow lives on in the students he taught, the scholars he mentored, the family he loved.

We feel his legacy when we remember his touch. We are imprinted by his style. Funny how some things pass so naturally from generation to generation.

Are we more than a picture on a wall? When a child asks, “who is that,” what will we say? Let us be known not just by the deeds on our resume. Let us be known by the things we care about. Let us be remembered by our passion.

Yes, tell the stories, and remember what you hear today. Tell the stories to others, and write them down if you can. The details get kind of sketchy over time. Take pictures today. Put time into building the slide show. Those who are bored by the stories of past trials and triumphs just don’t get it. We’re smarter and richer when we learn from our mothers and fathers.

A fool ignores history. An absolute fool ignores his own family’s history.

We are in a generational battle. We are trying to build our place in this land, and our challenge is to take our parents’ fight to the next level.

Yes, we can vote. Yes, we can eat in any restaurant or sleep in any hotel we can afford. Now what? Can we build businesses? Can we write best sellers? Can we hold on to the faith of our fathers? Can we build strong families?

We take our place, standing on shoulders of the elders. Standing up here, we can see out beyond the horizon.

I bid welcome to the new patriarchs and new matriarchs. Do you feel ready? It doesn’t matter. Jesus asked the Father, “take this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done.”

We stand because we must. Today, leadership is thrust upon us. And the younger ones look to us, to see how far they can go. Almighty God, help us be wise. Give us strength for the simple and profound task of being a role model.

The king is dead. Long live the king. We’ll never forget you, Uncle John.

# # #

Veterans Day 2007

2007-11-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

All wars are popular for the first thirty days.
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

It is well that war is so terrible; else we would grow too fond of it.

Robert E. Lee, at the battle of Fredericksburg, 1862

Here’s one for the grunts, jarheads and glory hounds, the fly boys and swabbies, SEALs and Green Berets and Rangers and all the others who serve under the Department of Defense.

The founding fellows had just finished a long war of independence (1783), so it appears their priority at the beginning was forming a more perfect Union. The U.S. Constitution doesn’t get to the war stuff until Article 1 (Legislative branch), section 8.

Taking a clue from the preamble of the Constitution, the whole point of military service is ultimately and finally at its core the preservation of the Union, as expressed in the Constitution.

It’s all about the Constitution. It’s in the President’s oath, and every civil servant’s oath. It’s in the military oath. We ask our military to commit entirely to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Not the borders, not the people, not friends and relatives, nor petroleum supplies, nor baseball, nor Hollywood, nor the burger shack, nor our beefy and elegant automobiles, nor any of the romantic things we cherish as most American and most worth defending.

It’s about defending the ideal, even where yet unattained, of the Constitution.

The parades, the fly-bys, the salutes, the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the uniforms, the rank, the obstacle courses, the light weapons, the heavy artillery, the planes, boats, and humvees, the nukes…, the GI Bill, the VA home loan, the commissary and PX, the flags at the cemetery, all of it is for one single, solitary purpose: to support and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

So I salute you. Thanks. It’s a big idea, and a grand notion, and as a nation, we’re not there yet. But it’s worth it, and I’m glad you stepped up.

Happy Veterans Day.

Link to the Constitution. Read it! Use it or lose it!

Link to a few quotes on war from Encarta

It's hard out here for a ... CEO

2007-11-05T14:06:00.000-07:00

In the last few days, Wall Street is rocking as its leaders tumble. Last week the nation's largest brokerage house Merrill Lynch saw its CEO Stanley O'Neal step down. This week, it's the nation's largest bank, Citigroup's Charles Prince III resigning.

I do not want to talk about their golden parachutes. (They leave with millions, having lost billions for their companies.)

I just wanted to mention that when O'Neal said his goodbyes, at least one reporter mentioned that he was Merrill Lynch's first black CEO. There was no mention that Charles Prince was another in a long line of white guys at the helm of Citigroup. Do we get it yet?

True equality is when a black guy can get fired for incompetence just like a white guy, and still get a sweet severance package... and then get hired by another financial firm after a short vacation (like the small club of re-treaded coaches in the NFL, or Don Imus).

I think as a country, we're almost there. Not quite, but almost.

State Dept. whiners

2007-11-03T05:38:00.000-06:00

Some U.S. State Department officers don’t want to go to Iraq to help do some nation-building? No surprise there, I guess, but it comes with the territory, doesn’t it? I think we’ve got an “all volunteer” State Department, right?

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice reminded her diplomats of their oath:
"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same, that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion, and I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God."

Dr. Rice puts in some pretty grueling hours and miles herself (one week’s duty this past October: Russia, Israel, Palestinian territories, Egypt, Jordan). She’s in Turkey today. There’s a garden spot. Follow your leader.

How can we ask less of State than we do of Defense? (We civilians don’t realize how much we need those career diplomats until we’re in a foreign country and “need” something from the embassy.)

Occasionally we hear discussion about what citizens can do while the military is taking heavy fire routing Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan, and trying to fix the mess that is Iraq. I would expect that more departments will be called into service overseas: Agriculture, Commerce, Housing.

How can we ask less of ourselves than we do of our “government?”

(U.S.S. Enterprise/Slagheap/Flickr)

10,000 men in Philly

2007-11-01T20:15:00.000-06:00

(photo: Akira Suwa, Phila. Inquirer)

Things are bad in Philadelphia. Highest murder rate among 10 largest U.S. cities. Highest violent crime rate - up 5.9 percent last year. Property crimes down nationwide, but up in Philly 3.6 percent. (Phila. Inquirer 6/5/07, FBI)

In October, the city's police commissioner Sylvester Johnson called for help with his city's crime epidemic. 10,000 men could help with that - 10,000 men who were committed, trained and organized for the task.

The critics are so predictable. "Vigilantism!" "It's naive." And always, "Who's going to pay for it?"

But there's a powerful tonic at work when society demands something positive from its men. The quotes from the Oct. 21st rally were stirring.

Temple professor Molefi Kete Asante said of the scale of violence in the African-American community:
"Ours is not just a crisis of homicide, this is a crisis of suicide."
He concluded by exhorting the crowd, "Up, up, you mighty men. We can accomplish what we must!"
(Phila. Daily News, Oct. 22, 2007)

I'm a sucker for that kind of rhetoric. The alternatives, mindless rap, petty and dispassionate complaints, and silence, do nothing for me at all.

One editorial at Philly.com called for "10,000 jobs, not 10,000 men." They don't get that society suffers when men check out, or are cut out of the community picture. I say we call for each and every man who is a father to step up and engage with their children. I'd call it "10,000 dads." Regardless, these guys are part of the solution.

Onward, fellas!

Link to the ongoing 10,000 men campaign in Philadelphia.

A New Barbershop

2007-10-19T21:58:00.000-06:00

I just found my new favorite radio feature, called “Barbershop: What’s the Buzz.” It comes courtesy of NPR and Michel Martin every Friday on her mid-talk talk show Tell Me More.

There’s nothing like four brothers hanging out at the bastion of masculinity, the barbershop. Let the opinions run. Speak off the top. Say it like you feel it. No reserve no caution, only a atmosphere of respect and fair word play.

The barbershop, where men come for haircuts and shaves. No styles, no curlers - only natural curls (well, for the most part anyway). We’ll do our best to watch our language if ladies or children are present, but the shop is mostly for the men.

Coming up on the election of 1980 I produced a radio story on blacks who didn’t vote. First stop – the barbershop. It was all there. Men who never voted and men who never missed an election. Anger and frustration. Hope and optimism. And total apathy.

Anchored by Jimi Izrael, Ruben Navarrette and a couple of rotating bloggers, these guys tackle topics like Isiah Thomas’ sexual harassment case, Bill Cosby’s book on black responsibility, Bill O’Reilly’s meal at Sylvia’s in Harlem and other newsy fare. It’s a gold mine of new black thought from some strong communicators.

A closing word from Cedric’s character “Eddie” in the 2002 Barbershop:
“There are three things that Black people need to tell the truth about. Number one: Rodney King should've gotten his ass beat for being drunk in a Honda a white part of Los Angeles. Number two: O.J. did it! And number three: Rosa Parks didn't do nuthin' but sit her Black ass down!”

Hey, why do hair professionals have the most jacked up hair? I’m just wonderin’…

Link to “Barbershop: What’s the Buzz" on NPR’s Tell Me More.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14681732

(photo: 2002, Metro Goldwyn Mayer)

Stand in the Gap 2007

2007-10-14T11:22:00.000-06:00

To paraphrase Duvall's Lt. Col. Kilgore in "Apocalypse Now," "I love the smell of men in the morning. It smells like victory."

On Saturday mornings, thousands of men gather in small groups all over the country. Some take in hard coffee, some slough down burnt pancakes. During the summer, some guys are at Promise Keepers, where the Saturday morning music is red-hot and vertical (upward in complete worship).

On Sat. Oct. 6, 2007, I was with an estimated 20,000 men at the Washington Monument for Stand in the Gap 2007. (Hard to believe it's been 10 years since the huge gathering on Oct. 4, 1997.) The vision was totally unique, from David's Psalm 145:4 "One generation shall commend your works to another. They shall tell of your mighty deeds." They put together a six-hour program with four generations of men participating (Builders, Boomers, Busters, Mosaics). It made sense, surrounded by the Vietnam and WW2 memorials.

Yours truly got to take the stage and represent for the 30 and 40-somethings. Here's the resolution I read, on "Renewal":

1. We renew with conviction our commitment to seek first you and your kingdom, above all else.
2. We renew with passion our resolve to live according to the purposes for which we were created.
3. We renew with courage our calling to stand against sin, disease, poverty, and injustice in our world.
4. We renew with boldness our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and are unashamed to be identified as His followers.
5. We renew with dedication our desire to reject passivity and irresponsibility and to live as godly men who lead others into eternity.
6. We renew with resolve our surrender to the authority of your word and its truth for our lives.
7. We renew with hope our vision of the future because of your presence, promises, and eventual return.

Check out the Stand in the Gap 2007 website for more inspiring words and photos. (http://standinthegap2007.org/)

The D.C. area guys are planning to host a gathering every 10 years, in perpetuity. See you on Sat. Oct. 7, 2017.

Say no to crack - ban sagging pants

2007-08-29T08:48:00.000-06:00

First reaction to Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin’s proposed legal ban on sagging pants: “Thank God! Finally, a spotlight on a painfully outward symbol of inner sloth.” (see article)

It’s not sexy. It’s not cool. It’s just stupid. It’s not me drinking the “hater-ade.” It’s the brothers who think so lowly of themselves that they can’t see fit to strap it up.

Sagging pants somehow became vogue as ex-cons came out of the joint. Because no belts are allowed in prison, standard-issue pants often sagged. On the outside, a few rappers and sports stars (many who never spent a night in jail) copped the “cool pose” in their public dress and publicity shots. And a fashion trend was born. Even guys with belts wear their trousers low enough to catch this ridiculous style wave. Girls are seen sporting their thong straps for all to see. God help us.

Remember the orange jumpsuits with “Property of County Jail” stenciled on the back? They were a brief fashion hit in Milwaukee until police started detaining kids who thought incarceration was hip. How are the police to know if you’re an escapee or not? Urban America continues to be a leading cultural influencer. Snowboarders are coping the pose, too.

It’s sadly funny to see you straddle-step down the street holding your pants up with one hand. That’s what happens when your belt line is below the hump of your rump. Did you miss the unit on the law of gravity in science class?

I remember the styles I wore in the early 70’s, shocking my parents and outraging the authorities at my school. That was then. This is now.

No one seriously thinks that a city ordinance on indecency will settle the issue of poor fashion choices. Nor will it influence the dreams and aspirations of our youth. I wish it would affirm the notion of modesty for our youth. But it stirs the debate.

I don’t want to see your boxers. I don’t want to see your crack. Keep your undergarments to yourself. Show some self-respect, man. Strap it up.

Suicidal pop music

2007-08-14T14:45:00.000-06:00

My brother called me the other day to ask if I had heard the new song, “Beautiful Girl” by Sean Kingston. The sure-fire hit has been riding high on the charts all summer. The reggae-laced beat and Kingston’s young, smooth and charming vocals give this song its foundation. But the popularity of the song is its infectious hook.

Damn, all these beautiful girls
They only want to do you dirt
They'll have you suicidal, suicidal
When they say it’s over

Teen suicide rates are up, so the mental health community is in an uproar. The politically correct power brokers even got MTV to omit the references to suicide in their video, but I can’t imagine how to track the song without the most famous hook of the season. On NPR, pop/rock producer Don Was said it would be more helpful to focus on families and schools than on pop songs to deal with the problem of youth suicide.

That was exactly my brother’s point. He’s an old-school guy just like yours truly. His children are pre-teens and plugged in to the latest dance hits on the radio. I can just see him and his family driving around singing along when “Beautiful Girl” comes on. “What?” I can here him shout, before he slams the radio off in disgust.

“But daaaaad!” his daughter protests. “Why can’t we listen to that song? I like it.”

“Because it’s not good for you,” he tries to explain in vain. “I don’t like it. I don’t like the words and that’s all there is to it. Now don’t make me stop this car!” Grumbling to himself, he reaches for the CDs, so he can program something more appropriate for his kids.

Other challenges to love-lost young men in today’s culture drift: date rape, gang rape, and other forms of violence against women. But I’ll save that commentary for another blog.

Suicide isn’t the only negative image in the song. “Beautiful Girls” is only somewhat autobiographical. His difficult upbringing included crime and homelessness. His mom is in jail. His first arrest was at age 11. In the song, it’s age 9.

It was back in 99
Watching movies all the time
Oh, when I went away for doing my first crime
And I never thought that we was gonna see each other (see each other)
And then I came out
Mammy moved me down south
Oh, I'm with my girl
Who I thought was my world
It came out to be that she wasn't the girl for me (girl for me)

In the song Sean’s “Mammy” moved him away from the criminal element of his young life. I’m sure my brother suspected as much about the story of this song. He’s an officer in the criminal justice system, working daily with society’s castoffs and the young men who are dealing with the consequences of trying to live outside the boundaries.

It would be irresponsible to give our kids’ ears and minds over to the record producers and radio programmers, who have never had our families’ spiritual or mental health on their agenda. In mental health terms, it would be “crazy” to not be strict with what our kids listen to on radio or watch on TV, or when they get in at night during the summer, or with whom they go out, or where they go, or what they read. Effective parenting, the kind that advances a positive legacy or raises the “generational IQ” of the family, is full contact and hands-on.

I just sent one of my children off to college. Not only is she changing from girl to woman before my very eyes, my role is changing from director to advisor. My rules were designed for her formative years. Today, out from under my roof and hundreds of miles away from home, she makes virtually all her own decisions regarding media and personal behavior.

When she was an infant, we prayed. As a child and adolescent, we set rules and guidelines, enforced discipline, and prayed. Now, we offer advice and we pray. But she has been imprinted by our lifestyle and standards. If there was any consistency in our choices as parents, I expect that Dad’s rules will inform her choices.

I don’t expect much in the way of moral rectitude from the record companies. Their mission is often more money than art. I spend most of my music budget on contemporary gospel anyway (Go Tye Tribbett and G.A.!) I know better than to scream “censorship” every time a song is edited or banished from the airwaves. Smart marketers have turned protests into record sales for years. Media choices are plentiful, and anything that can be said through media is being said.

That said, we will control the family playlists and viewing schedule. Despite what you might think of our conservative parenting style, we will expose our children to a wide range of ideas, and some of those ideas will be unconventional. I expect my children’s schools to help me stretch their minds and test the merits of people’s choices, and moreso as they get older. As Don Was suggests, we will focus on our own family and schools when it comes to the tunes to which we bounce.

But don’t be naïve. Music impacts behavior, the same way attitudes impact action. As young people grow, we have to help them see that their thoughts and meditations (including the songs you sing) impact decisions they make. And good instruction gets more graphic and more detailed as they get older. Scared straight!

Note to Sean Kingston: I just read about your pledge to not use curse words in your songs and rap.

“I don't really curse in general, when I am talking to people. I come from a good home. It might slip out sometimes but it's not really that big of a deal. To put it in my music, that's not the message I am trying to send out. That's not the type of artist I am trying to be.”

Read more from the Modesto Bee/Assoc. Press.

Thanks for moving in the right direction.

Any other pop songs that reflect the hardness of life come to mind?

Jefferson's 27 complaints - Happy 4th!

2007-07-04T11:55:00.001-06:00

As a nation at war, and with troops conducting military operations around the world, this day of independence from tyranny begs the question, what for?

With voter participation in the last presidential election at about 61% (George Mason University), and all the Rock the Vote, Rap the Vote, Green the Vote efforts, one could ask, what for?

Tax Freedom Day came two days earlier this year over last (April 30, 2007). I looks like I’m working for the Man instead of myself for the first four months of the year. I often ask, what for?

THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

Celebrating Thomas Jefferson’s “27 Complaints” (catchy title, ya think?) every Fourth of July is always fun. The grilling and ball games and street corner fireworks, even the big “fire in the sky” show downtown, should remind us of something, but what?

Tyranny. Two hundred thirty-one years ago, the conditions were brutal. It was bad enough for the gentried landowners, professionals and other politicians to risk it all on secession.

Jefferson was so right. We’re a laid-back folk. “All experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.” Things must have been pretty bad, with no end in sight, for them to conclude that it was better to fight. In fact, when it comes to taking up arms, peaceable men will rely on the need to survive, or the calling of duty.

King George III was a tyrant when it came to laws and governance. (Jefferson’s complaints 1 – 6, 8-10, 13, 15, 18-22). His military tactics against the colonists were severe (complaints 11-12, 14, 23-26). He constrained trade and levied unfair taxes (complaints 16,17).

He restricted immigration (complaint #7) and used frontier battles with the Indians as a hedge against colonial expansion. Jefferson’s final complaint (#27) was against King George III’s league with “Indian Savages.” The monarch’s motivations on these counts seemed mostly economic, not primarily ethnic. (Is racism a more recent invention? Brutality is the arm of economic aggression across all cultures.)

For the full response to his tyranny, see the constitutional amendments. Today we celebrate that we are a nation of laws, not of monarchs. Not of men.

Are we willing to defend this American experiment as in the beginning: “with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor”?

Citizenship Week!

2007-07-03T23:42:00.000-06:00

(Photo: Cincinnati Enquirer/ERNEST COLEMAN)

It’s a week of patriotic notions and nationalistic ideals (pretty tough on the globalists/internationalists who wish the whole border – flag thing would just go away).

The oath of citizenship puts the immigration debate into an interesting perspective. Those who deny the land of their birth overtly are rarely called “traitors.” Here in Destination Land, they are "naturalized citizen," or just "Americans." (Hyphenation anyone?) Their native country holds nothing for them, save family, friends and memories of upbringing. They forsook it all to become citizens of the United States of America.

The oath:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;

that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;

that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;

that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;

that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law;

and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

Is it “fair” that those wishing to naturalize take a test to become citizens? Probably, but we should require the same knowledge of our own high school graduates. Take MSNBC's test here.

For all its faults, the old U.S. of A. is still drawing its share of migrants. It’s positive migration rate is estimated at 3.05 per thousand, ranking in the top 30 (higher if you do not include refugee migrations, the Middle East or the Caribbean. (CIA World Factbook)

Still, the U.S. is ensconced as a migrant nation, with nearly 12 percent of people in the U.S. listed as foreign-born. (Some might appreciate that Canada’s 2001 foreign-born rate is more than 18%)

Dallas preacher Tony Evans said, “we may have all come over on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.” That’s pretty close to the truth.

Every day - Fathers Day!

2007-06-18T11:25:00.000-06:00

So now we've got a year to get ready for next Father's Day. 364 days on - watching, praying, leading by example, correcting and encouraging, hugging and guiding, fighting traffic, bills, competitors, our own flesh, and all those dragons out there.

A great read from the Lancaster (Pa.) Intelligencer Journal, "Dad's day is not spent in church." The writer rounds up the usual suspects, and reminds us of the obvious, the typical, traditional, organized Sunday service is not most men's first choice for Sunday morning activity. The blog activity after the article is great!

What's behind the full scope of men's spirituality is a much better question, and much more complex. Even if churches (or Promise Keepers events) were filled to the brim with men, one would have to look more closely at a man's 24-7 choices and activities to find out what men's passions are, and how we truly interact with God.

Let's keep digging.

"Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out." Proverbs 20:5

Praying for "Hef"

2007-05-27T18:37:00.000-06:00

I recently had the opportunity to pray for a man who has had a huge influence on my life, and on the lives of every American man, Hugh Hefner. Thousands of people pray daily for leaders in the entertainment industry and cultural influencers. Thursday’s prayer target was “Hef.”

It’s risky to share a private conversation I had with God about somebody else. It is bad form to waggle on about another man’s life in public. Of course, that’s just what fills countless gossip columns in newspapers, magazines and blogs. Here at “The Old School,” we try to rise above our baser inclinations. God help us.

OK, back to Hef. What can one say about the leader of the sexual revolution as we know it today? Hefner said, “The major civilizing force in the world is not religion, it is sex.” Is Hefner referring to sexual politics? The high stakes game of “who’s on top?” Is the single motivating factor in the world most responsible for human development merely the drive for procreation or raw pleasure? Somehow, I think not.

In the explosive 1950s, the young Hugh Hefner was bold and comprehensive in his mission. Publishing a magazine was merely an avenue to promote his ethic, his “playboy” lifestyle. America’s cherished freedoms of speech and press, defended over the last century through a civil war and reconstruction, two world wars, prohibition and a depression, were finally and fully exercised in the 1950s, with Hefner at the cultural vanguard. He preceded the birth control pill and Viagra. He preceded Roe v. Wade and Internet porn. He preceded AIDS and the explosion of teen pregnancy rates. Yet his principles were a unifying strand through these developments. His cultural ethos was central to the last half-century of gender relations, and they were central to my formation in the 60s and 70s as a hot-to-trot young man.

Every baby boomer guy I know has a story about the day he found those magazines, and the forbidden secrets they held. It’s too bad most families and the church have little desire to tell the stories of love, lust and sex.

I dug into those stories, as told by Hugh Hefner and his magazine. I bought into Hef’s philosophy as I pursued all that the world of sexual freedom had to offer. I paid cash money for his magazines. I paid a higher price in abusive and broken relationships, and misplaced priorities. Every day I fight (and usually win) the mental battle to respect women, not ogle them. I receive supernatural help daily to honor the fabulously beautiful woman God has given me as wife.

Hugh is beyond his second marriage now. He keeps a harem of seven blondes as “companions.” Hef says, “The interesting thing is how one guy, through living out his own fantasies, is living out the fantasies of so many other people.”

Mr. Hefner needs many prayers. He celebrated his 81st birthday this past April, and will soon meet his final reward. The rest of us will be left behind to clean up after the party.

LINKS
Check out Steve Gallagher’s book, How America lost her innocence – A history of the sexual revolution (Pure Life Ministries)

XXX Church - Helping to bring a different sort of awareness to the pornography debate. Providing Christians with non-judgemental and creative solutions to adult material.

Men suffer more from divorce, study finds

2007-05-24T13:43:00.000-06:00

From the Statistics Canada report, we find evidence that men take divorce harder.

It might seem obvious that men have more to lose in the dissolution of a marriage. Others will contend women are less happy to begin with and so the seperation is less of a change. The interpretations are endless. And the comments to this story are insightful!

Old School's bottom line: Brothers - divorce is major trauma, like an amputation in the wilderness, with no helicopter evacuation. If you're married, it's worth the investment of body, soul and spirit to keep it together. And in the words of Canadian prophet Red Green, we're pulling for you.

As reported in The Globe and Mail.

Thug life and new hope for brothers

2007-05-04T09:00:00.000-06:00

my mind is in the depths of hell,
but when i'm walking on tha street, kid, my name rings bells
and I never fell, n****r, I stand too tall.
I'm just a thug motherf****r who was born to brawl.
-- deceased rapper Stretch, on Tupac Shakur’s “Street Fame”

New Year’s Day 2007 in Denver was surreal. On January 1 I usually rise early in the morning to a quiet home, review my appointments from the previous year, and meditate on the coming year. This time, the radio announced the death of a young Denver Broncos player, Darrrent Williams, killed in a drive-by shooting as he left a private New Year’s Eve party.

It’s not hard to imagine the hair-trigger tempers that could have led to this shooting. The Denver Post quoted the city’s gang expert, the Rev. Leon Kelly of Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives. “In the gang world, respect is a major issue," Kelly said. "Someone may have felt disrespected. The shooting wasn't random."

Another young black man is dead, killed most likely by another young black man. It put the year into perspective. While the broader society presents many challenges to our young men, too often, we are our own worst enemy.

Education, job opportunities, housing, health, crime, the church that’s losing influence – these areas stack up against our young men like giant dominoes leaning over to crush them. But the biggest weight of all, the gravitational push that presses tha brothas into a muddy hopelessness is the breakdown of the family, specifically the loss of the father.

That’s the feeder system for gangs that are ravaging our cities, boys without dads. That’s the motivation for a young man to sacrifice his mother and sisters, and present his body a living (dying) sacrifice for the gang system. He will make a bid for power by submitting to a beating, or beating others. He will abuse women in a twisted attempt to gain self-worth, and call it playin.’ He will fill his lungs with toxic pipe-fulls of mind-erasing drugs, just to find a little peace.

And in a world-class move to justify his crimes against his own family and community, he will promote an insane campaign to “Stop Snitchin,’” painting it as a stand for justice in a corrupt system. (Denver is particulary sensitive on this point, with two witnesses – innocent bystanders - murdered in the past two years.)

Like a time-bomb winding down, our community faces utter desolation (see New Orleans) if we, as individuals do not pull together, and re-build the essential, elemental unit of peace, harmony and prosperity, the family.

Rather than just cursing the darkness in the hearts of my young brothers who are hell-bent on gangsta livin,’ let’s offer some ways to bring light to our young men’s choices. The life and health of our community are in the balance, tipped one way or the other by our men.

1- GET THEM YOUNG. Make a commitment to young boys. The younger they are, the better our chances of righting their course. This includes encouraging boys at an early age toward courage, heroism and responsibility.

2 – PARENT THEM TOGETHER. As parents (together, separated or divorced), both father and mother must commit to hands-on parenting of boys. In John Singleton’s debut film, “Boyz N the Hood,” Tre’s single mom called the father, saying in effect, “He’s 13 now. I can’t handle him. You better come get this boy.”

3 – MENTORING IS A MUST. Yes, even a father “figure” will do quite well. In fact, there are so many fatherless youth, that only an all-out revival of mentorship can save many of our young men from hardship and failure. This is a clear call for every single man to find a boy and invest yourself in his life. The statistics are imposing. There is no way out of the gang mess without every decent, straight young man to build up at least one boy.

LINKS
Originally published in Glory Christian Magazine.

Denver Post reports “gang takedown” Apr. 27, 2007

(photo: Fishburne and Gooding as father and son in "Boyz N the Hood" - Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)

Prayer – a man’s job?

2007-05-03T15:09:00.000-06:00

The cards are stacked and they're not in your favor,
But you've got an ace up your sleeve,
Get on your knees and fight like a man…

-- Christian rock group Petra

Many a man has been brought to his knees by the prayers of a woman. Salute to the praying moms and grandmoms out there who never quit praying for us wayward fellas. But is prayer a manly sort of thing?

First there’s the posture of prayer, usually on one’s knees – not a battle-ready position, and completely vulnerable. We don’t do “vulnerable” well. But the fact is there is one Being before whom we are ultimately vulnerable. Ask the man who clutches his chest in pain, or the man who awakes gasping for his last breath. We are not masters of our ticking heart. Another One is.

Being knighted, a king’s soldier will fall to one knee. (Prayer on both knees is reserved for private, secure devotions before the Almighty alone.)

Before great battles, though, the toughest among us can be seen dropping their heads in a reverent pause to ask for help. That goes for athletes who don’t want to get injured as they chase a ball, and infantrymen who are charged to occupy land and avoid snipers. There are no atheists in foxholes. Some of us are bold enough to pray for nothing less than victory.

During times of particular stress, I pray and walk. There is a worn circle in my living room carpet where I pace about, wrestling with some issue or another that I can’t seem to figure out on my own. Privately, I can be loud, and gesture wildly, or be stealthily quiet, listening for direction from on High. (I’ve also been known to pray while walking across the length and breadth of a city, sometimes carrying a 9-foot cross. Wanna join me one of these days?)

Prayer is most commonly seen around the dinner table. Those who honor God will close often their eyes as they say “thanks for the food.” Sometimes this even happens in restaurants. It’s a pleasure to watch believers interrupt the bustle of a public meal to give some respect to the Creator, and ask for a blessing on the food, and upon the people who prepared it, and the people who planted, husbanded and harvested it.

(Is prayer before meals an insurance policy against tainted food? It’s worth considering in an age of Mad Cow Disease, salmonella poisoning, and countless other terrors of the nightly news. Two thousand years ago the Nazarene promised his followers, “if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them.”)

In professional ministry settings, prayer precedes most meetings. Sometimes it is heartfelt. Sometimes it is routine.

On this National Day of Prayer, many prayers will be public. Jesus warned about public prayers, just before he taught “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew’s Gospel, chapter six.

“And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.”

That does not disqualify all public prayers, just the ones that are offered for “show.” Political prayers, designed to influence policy or people are misdirected as well. The only, singular Audience for genuine prayer is You-Know-Who. So in the context of public prayer, say whatever you want, but know that the One who is listening already knows you very well. The only question is, are you willing to acknowledge before Him that you see what He sees, and you’re willing to see some changes in YOURSELF.

In short, the most effective prayers are confessional. Do you really want to do that in public?

There is also a school of thought that says you can identify with others and pray with them. This is called Identificational Repentance. John Dawson’s book Healing America’s Wounds has much more to say on that. That’s like taking the blame even though you didn’t do it – although you agreed with the deed, or you may have benefited from the outcome of the misdeed. (Remember the Christian doctrine: “If you did it in your heart (lust, murder), you did it.”)

See the article by Dr. Gary Greig, posted at the International Reconciliation Coalition.

Because I have led many prayer walks (guys like moving while they pray) and I’ve been to many men’s prayer meetings, I am have seen first-hand that men can indeed experience vigorous prayer. Men can, at the same time, be both humble and bold. Guys can pray with compassion, and sometimes tears. They can shake the walls with the volume of their declarations.

But you’ve got to get to know the One to whom you pray. That’s what the Father wants, some quality time with his boys.

Happy National Day of Prayer.

LINKS
Cao’s blog on the prayers of a knight

(artwork: "The Vigil," John Pettie, 1884)

A Hokie nation mourns

2007-04-18T18:09:00.000-06:00

"A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment." Proverbs 18, verse 1

Lonely men are capable of doing great harm. Will you be "dangerous" for good or dangerous for evil?

URGENT!! You must have other men in your life, for friendship, for accountability, for stress relief, for sharpening, for safety, for laughter, for cover.

Pray. Ask God for a few good men. Own the fact that you will be half a man, or a bad man, without a couple of brothers around you.

It's a matter of life and death.

--------------------------------------------

As the details of the Virginia Tech assasin are uncovered, you will be shocked to read about the troubled life of the Austin shooter from 40 years ago. LINK: Court TV's profile of 1966 Univ. of Texas sniper Charles Whitman

Nappy Headed Talk Show Hosts

2007-04-14T18:02:00.000-06:00

Before we get into the nap of talk show host Don Imus’ hair (kind of curly, don’t you think?), let’s try to get some perspective on ethnic and gender humor.

His “joke” about the Rutgers women’s basketball team being “nappy-headed ‘hos” aside, Don Imus is not the biggest problem on the landscape when it comes to misogynistic, bigoted “hate speech.” The most dangerous voices of racism and sexism in the U.S. today are coming not from whites, but from within the black community, especially musicians.

I suggest that in this post-Civil Rights era, the opinions of one’s self carry more influence upon one’s behavior and opportunities than the opinions of one’s adversary (in this case, ignorant comic DJs and their corporate sponsors).

Imus’ chief error was to forget that one can say anything one wants about one’s own kind (whatever the “kind”), but an outsider has no such license. It is ultimately defeating in the struggle against bigotry that pop culture’s widespread use of the words “nigger,” “ho,” “bitch” and worse seduced Imus into thinking he can say anything on the air without consequence.

Imus was just parroting from this week’s top 5 rap songs on the Billboard Hot R & B / Rap charts:
#1 Robin Thicke – “I’m Lost without U”Baby you’re the perfect shape Baby you’re the perfect weight Treat me like my birthday
I want it this way

#3 Mims – “This is why I’m hot”
Another bitch another drop
16 bars, 24 pop
44 songs, nigga gimme what you got

#4 Lloyd – “You”
tha boy got dollars
So women come frequent like flight mileage
… Send a nigga a text message girl

#5 R. Kelly – “I’m a Flirt”

When it come down to these ‘ho’s

I don’t love ‘em …

That’s why these niggas can’t stand em

I’ m a chick mag-a-net

And anything fine - I’m baggin’ it

I realize that any campaign to roll back the crude attitude of today’s pop music stands about the same chances as Britney and Justin getting back together as Mouseketeers. It just won’t happen. But someone somewhere must begin to deal with the impact of this negative self-image in the young African-American vernacular. Lest we be consigned to another generation of fatherless kids, diploma-less students, and cash-less communities.

FOLLOW THE MONEY
MSNBC jumped off the Imus bandwagon first, suspending him for two weeks after a passel of sponsors bailed, including Staples, General Motors, Sprint Nextel, GlaxoSmithKline, Procter & Gamble, PetMed Express, American Express and Bigelow Tea.

Altruistically, CBS CEO Leslie Moonves said he felt the heat from co-workers in the hallways. His concern: “the effect language like this has on our young people, particularly young women of color trying to make their way in this society.” Sounds honorable. Will Moonves apply this standard to other CBS enterprises (CBS and The CW television networks, cable’s Showtime and CSTV, local CBS television stations, CBS Paramount Network Television and CBS Television Distribution Group, CBS Outdoor, Simon & Schuster, CBS Interactive, and CBS Consumer Products)? Is America’s corporate media ready to take its responsibility for the shadow it casts across the land? That’s a lot to ask.

But again, advertisers were bolting from “Imus in the Morning.” Under those circumstances, the choice was easy and Trump-like: “You’re fired.” Commercial broadcasting is a business first.

CENSORSHIP
The nation’s leading media voices do a disservice to the word “censorship” when they bring it up in the Imus case. In nations around the world, journalists are disappearing in pursuit of government accountability. Laws repress and control the media in many parts of the planet. But here in the good old U.S. of A., you can pretty much watch, listen to or read anything material you want.

A corporate slap on the wrist, or even a firing from a multi-million dollar glamour job does not come close to censorship.

THE RETURN OF IMUS
No one is shedding any tears for Don Imus. He’s a shock jock with a legacy of racist, sexist, mean, stupid, outrageous quips, sketches, parodies, satire and rants. (He called PBS news anchor Gwen Ifill a “cleaning lady” when she joined the N.Y. Times. He called Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz a “beanie-wearing Jew boy.” On the occasion of Yasser Arafat’s funeral, he broad-brushed Palestinians as “animals.” Imus’ sports announcer called the U.S. women’s soccer team “juiced-up dykes.”) His 1974 comedy album on Bang Records: This Honky’s Nuts.

Media analysts say his interview style and audience attract top newsmakers from politics, media and entertainment. He’s raised millions for charity. Taken together, this is called “good radio.” He was paid a handsome $10 mil a year for his national syndicated radio show and cable TV simulcast.

And can we expect prominent African-American “leaders” to carry this banner and not rest until rappers, comedians and programmers clean up their act and find other words for women and African-Americans? I’m not holding my breath.

Look for Imus on satellite radio or cable TV after a nice two-month vacation.

--------------------------------------------
LINKS
CNN: Imus has a history of offending, surviving
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/04/10/imus.show/index.html

Easter Stanzas by John Updike

2007-04-13T18:26:00.000-06:00

from John Updike's "Seven Stanzas at Easter"

Make no mistake: if He rose at all
it was His body
if the cells' dissolution did not reverse, the molecules
reknit, the amino acids rekindle,
the Church will fall.

The rest of the poem is posted at Christianity Today's men's devotional page.
(It's good all year.)

The "Wonderful" Cross

2007-04-06T12:14:00.000-06:00

Ours is a paradoxical faith, celebrating life, but fully dependent upon a bloody, brutal death. Jesus Christ Himself taught, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve..."

Christianity's leader is renown as a man of peace, yet he is expected to return as a conquering king, a roaring lion. Paradoxes.

The symbol of this ancient faith is the execution stake. The method and means of this tortous, state-sponsored oppression was a slow, agonizingly painful demise. It is from this Roman practice we get the term "excruciating."

The show trial of Jesus Christ is the stuff of legal legend. I want to discuss a different trial, yours.

Imagine you're in a courtroom, just found guilty of the terrible, capital crime. It's a good verdict. You did the deed. You got caught. The evidence was clear and legally obtained. No loophole can get you out of the decision. The judge is about to pronounce the sentence upon you, and from the back of the courtroom, a famous man, known as the most virtuous in the community rises and says, "your honor, I wish to take the punishment for this man's crime."

The gallery erupts in gasps and shouts. Bedlam ensues. The judge has to hammer his gavel and shout, "Order in the court" to be heard. Things settle down and the judge calls the good, innocent man forward.

"You understand that this man is guilty of a capital crime? The punishment is death. The community cannot abide such crimes in our midst. Do you still offer to stand for him?"

"Yes, your honor. Yes, your honor," said the stand in.

"The law allows it. The sentence is death. This court is satisfied." In this hypothetical system, there is no automatic appeal. There are no delays. In a few hours the sentence was carried out, and you're a free man.

If justice has been served, what, then, do you owe the good citizen who took your punishment?

When I survey the wondrous cross

On which the Prince of glory died

My richest gain I count but loss

And pour contempt on all my pride.

(Isaac Watts, 1707)

Christianity offers life, thanks to the death of one Man.

(P.S. It's Friday, but Sunday's coming...)

Bracket anything!

2007-03-15T14:34:00.000-06:00

One March evening a few years ago, I was in the Indianapolis airport restaurant. About to reach for my NCAA college basketball tournament predictions, I noticed at EVERY table businessmen and other travelers all working their brackets. This week, at a men's meeting at a Denver church, the leading conversation over dinner was, of course, brackets. "March Madness" is far beyond a TV promotion. The tournament has become a national pastime.

Now, finally, a perfect parlor sport for those not into college basketball, but feeling left out at all the bracketeering going on around you during this month... The Enlightened Bracketologist.

Slate Magazine's article on this new phenomenon (and a book, by the way) is a worthy entry into the contemporary obsession with ranking EVERYTHING. It's no longer good enough to merely argue opinions about great movies, books, actors, sports teams, boxers, tennis players, golfers, NASCAR drivers, country music stars, rock drummers, wonders of the world, frequent flier plans, fondue flavors... or anything else. Now you can put up all the leading candidates into a bracket, and watch them spar against each other to ultimate victory or defeat.

Their samples include: Where Were You When Moments bracket, Film Deaths bracket, Marital Arguments bracket, Ad Slogans bracket.

Great for parties! Leave the affair knowing which contestant is the dominant, consensus WINNER! America loves winners.

It's only a matter of time before university presidents, corporate bowl game boosters and other football gods finally succumb to a definitive national playoff tournament. You don't have to wait that long.

Personally, I enjoy the debate (over college football, movies, fondue) more than the "definitive" outcome. But, in the spirit of bracketology, I'm on board.

Play, and let me know how it goes. And for the record, "Casablanca" was the greatest movie of all time.

Bono wins NAACP Award, a prophetic moment

2007-03-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

The 98-year old civil rights institution, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), took a giant step forward at last night’s 38th Image Awards ceremony. Surprisingly, it was U2’s lead singer and activist Bono who may have set the agenda for the second hundred years of the venerable organization.

Bono was given the Chairman’s Award by NAACP Chairman Julian Bond and supermodel/TV host/media mogul Tyra Banks. Below, the transcript of Bono’s remarks, followed by links to related websites. Heed the call, y’all!

Wow, gee, Tyra Banks , you are gorgeous. I was a finalist in Ireland’s “Next Top Model.” I look up to you, literally. You’re beautiful.

(To Bond) You’re beautiful too. I, of course, am so truly humbled to share the stage with the great Julian Bond. Wow. Cool customer.

You know, when people talk about the greatness of America, I just think of the NAACP. That’s what I think of. It genuinely comes to my head. I’m also honored to be on the same stage as the other honorees, Soledad (O’Brien), Bill Cosby, Prince. Ahh. So cool. So cool.

See, I grew up in Ireland, and when I grew up, Ireland was divided along religious lines, sectarian lines. Young people like me were parched for the vision that poured out of pulpits of black America, and the vision of a black reverend from Atlanta, a man who refused to hate because he knew love would do a better job.

These ideas travel, you know, and they reach me clear as any tune, lodged in my brain like a song. I couldn’t shake that. This is Ireland in the 70s growing up. People like me looked across the ocean to the NAACP. And I’m here tonight and it feels good. It feels very, very good.

Well today, the world looks again to the NAACP. We need the community that taught the world about civil rights to teach us something about human rights. I’m talking about the right to live like a human, the right to live, period. Those are the stakes in Africa right now.

Five and a half thousand Africans dying every day of AIDS, a preventable, treatable disease. Nearly a million Africans, most of them children, dying every year from malaria. Death by mosquito bite. This is not about charity, as you know here in this room. This is about justice. It’s about justice and equality.

Now I know that America hasn’t solved all of its problems, and I know AIDS is still killing people right here in America. I know the hardest hit are African-Americans, many of them young women.

Today at a church in Oakland, I went to see such extraordinary people with this lioness here, Barbara Lee took me around with her pastor J. Alfred Smith. And may I say that it was the poetry and the righteous anger of the black church that was such an inspiration to me, a very white, almost pink Irish man growing up in Dublin.

This is true religion. True religion will not let us fall asleep in the comfort of our freedom. Love thy neighbor is not a piece of advice. It’s a command, and that means a lot. That means a lot. That means in our global village we’re going to have to start loving a whole lot more people. That’s what that means. His truth is marching on.

Two million Americans have signed up to the ONE Campaign to make poverty history. Tonight the NAACP is signing up to work with us, and so can you. His truth is marching on, because where you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.

And to those in the church who still sit in judgment on the AIDS emergency, let me climb into the pulpit for just one moment, because whatever thoughts we have about God, who He is, or even if God exists, most would agree that God has a special place for the poor. The poor are where God lives.

God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house.
God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered.
God is with the mother who has infected her child with a virus that will take both of their lives.
God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during wartime.
God, my friends, is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them!

This is not a burden, this is an adventure. Don’t let anyone tell you it cannot be done. We can be the generation that ends extreme poverty.

Thank you.

More links
ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History

DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa)

Product (Red) Campaign (stuff to buy to help fight AIDS in Africa)

The Roots did a hip-hop and rough but rock-worthy version of “Pride (in the name of love),” interjecting the chorus from Edwin Starr’s “War” (what is it good for, absolutely nothing). A couple more rehearsals would have helped, but high fives to rapper Black Thought and guitarist Capt. Kirk. Rock on!

Coverage of Bono’s trip to Oakland earlier in the day (San Francisco Chronicle)
"We're at the epicenter here in East Oakland of a new rise of the AIDS epidemic in the United States," said Bono. "But I'd also say we're also at the epicenter of the resistance to that epidemic."

Chris Tucker credits a trip to Africa with Bono for spurring him to get involved. His foundation's website is under construction.

Amazing Grace - Promise Keepers 1995

2007-02-21T17:27:00.001-07:00

A classic moment from Wintley Phipps at Washington, D.C.'s RFK stadium. Strong!!

Amazing Grace - uncommon courage for the ages

2007-02-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

William Wilberforce's uncommon courage is finally profiled for modern audiences in the major theatrical film production of "Amazing Grace." (official site) Named for the hymn written by repentant slave ship captain John Newton, this cinema-history offers a dramatic critique on politics and morality. Think modern day slavery, and the "life" issues of abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia, etc.

This year Britain marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slave shipping. It took decades more for all the vestiges of the human slave trade to be removed His Majesty's Kingdom, and Wilberforce was doggedly faithful to his life's missions: to end slavery and to reform society for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Ioan Gruffudd stars as Wilberforce (Fantastic Four's Reed Richards), and that may bring sufficient star power to this biopic. It is hard for historical period pieces to draw audiences without shooting and fighting ("Master and Commander") or a romantic subtext. Maybe this is a date movie for history majors and other university types??

As usual, Christianity Today's Wilberforce page is exhaustive and well done.

Chuck Colson's radio commentary "Breakpoint" shares the mic with Prison Fellowship CEO Mark Earley and points to Wilberforce's enduring heroic qualities, and lessons for today's people of moral conviction.

Os Guinness found this quote from Wilberforce, lauding the benefits of Christian unity:

"Though I am an Episcopalian by birth, I yet feel such a oneness and sympathy with the cause of God at large, that nothing would be more delightful than communing once a year with every church that holds the Head, even Christ."

Other reading... One of the best collection of stories of political heroism to be John Kennedy's Pulitzer-winning Profiles in Courage.

There is a price to pay for pushing against any popular tide. Being "right" in history's judgment is small comfort during the lonely days of standing up in the company of cowards and conformists.

The Wrong Stuff - fallen heroes

2007-02-08T12:37:00.000-07:00

That's the title most bloggers are going with around the recent mental breakdown of astronaut Lisa Nowak. Since I've listed Philip Kaufman's 1983 "The Right Stuff" as one of my all time favorite films, maybe I'm more legit...

We make heroes because we need them so badly. Mired in our own myriad struggles, humankind is always looking upward for a leader, a prototype, a standard-bearer. That's legitimate (or at least "normal") societal behavior. Our celebrity-driven media is on a hyper-steroid dose of that drug.

We break heroes too, mostly because of the unrealistic expectations to which we held them in the first place. Among history's greatest of heroes, Israel's King David was a superstar of his time, and his scandal of adultery, conspiracy and murder (and kids who didn't all turn out just right) was epic.

Dr. Sanity's blog offers her analysis of the pressures of "spac-e-men:"
I'm sure it is shocking to find out that they have unhappy marriages; engage in affairs; have problems with their kids; act out in all sorts of inappropriate ways. Why, they even get depressed at times. Of course, you don't hear about this side of things too much. Nor should astronauts private lives be the subject of Hollywood gossip columns.Nevertheless, if you treat astronauts like Hollywood superstars; promote them to the public as if they were God's gift to humanity; cater to their narcissistic fantasies; and indulge them in all sorts of special ways, it is not too hard to predict that they will behave just like any other entitled superstar (or politician) whose ridiculous exploits the public follows with obsessive interest.

Perhaps NASA held on to its own 1960's self-image too long, or believed its own PR.

Alan Boyle's Cosmic Log scans the blogosphere for other commentary.

We need heroes, but don't make the pedestals too high. You could break your neck falling from up there.

Blogging the Bible from Slate.com

2007-02-07T18:54:00.000-07:00

A "faith" entry...
I first heard of this blog on NPR's "Weekend Edition" with Scott Simon. The author of this blog is David Plotz, who is Jewish, but does not consider himself even an "observant" Jew. What Mr. Plotz and I share is an almost giddy excitement for the sacred texts within the Bible. He comes at scripture ravenously, with a fresh appeal to the stories - get this - as if they actually happened. He covers only the Old Testament.

I have come to believe that the closer Christians get to the Scriptures and to the person of Jesus, the more "Jewish" they become (or at least, they understand more of Judaism). This blog helps in that migration/spiritual journey. Enjoy Blogging the Bible, on Slate.com, now linked permanently from this blog.

Dangerous Man Day 2007 - notes (abridged)

2007-02-03T17:27:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the "Dangerous Man" conference at a church in the South Denver area. Some 200 men, stone-faced and ready for a fight, gathered to explore what it means to be "dangerous for good." The conference was inspired by Al Larson's book The Making of a Dangerous Man. His website is www.dangerousman.org.

As written elsewhere, I love the smell of men in the morning. It smells like victory (bad paraphrase from "Apocalypse Now").

If you'd like my notes and sources from the workshop on "Fathering Teens: Game On," send an e-mail to oldschooleditor@hotmail.com. For your benefit, an abridged version is below.

Remember, dads of teens, you have what it takes!

DANGEROUS MAN CONFERENCE - CENTENNIAL, COLORADO - SAT. FEB. 3, 2007
“FATHERING TEENS: GAME ON” -- WORKSHOP NOTES AND SOURCES (abridged)

Among sources quoted from today:
Dr. Lafayette Scales, Rhema Christian Center, Columbus, Ohio

Craig Hill (Family Foundations, Littleton, CO, http://www.familyfi.org/)

THE BIG PICTURE: I Cor. 4:15 – 20
15 - For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel.
16 – Therefore I urge you, imitate me.
17 – For this reason I have sent Timothy to you, who is my beloved and faithful son in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ, as I teach everywhere in every church.
18 – Now some are puffed up, as though I were not coming to you.
19 – But I will come to you shortly, if the Lord wills, and I will know not the word of those who are puffed up, but the power.
20 – For the kingdom of God is not in word but in power.

Kirk Franklin, Hero

THE CALLING:
The purpose of marriage (Malachi 2:14 – 15)
(the prophet Malachi is speaking God’s words on the “treachery of infidelity.”)
14 - Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, whith whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.
15 – But did He not make them one, having a remnant of the Spirit? And why one? He seeks godly offspring. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously with the wife of his youth.

Offspring as weapons

Psalm 127: 3-5
Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.

James Ryle, “The making of an arrow,” http://www.truthworks.org/

Children’s children are the crown of old men, but the glory of children is their fathers. (Prov. 17:6)

THE BATTLE ZONES
What teens believe and how they act

National Study on Youth and Religion (Dr. Christian Smith, Univ. of N. Carolina – Chapel Hill, 2005, www.youthandreligion.org)

Sexual abstinence before marriage – 67% of Protestant teens agree, only 38% of unaffiliated teens agree (p. 56)

Sexual Intercourse – Almost 1/5 of Protestant teens reporting having sexual intercourse in the last year. (p. 57)

Close parent-child relationship improved the youth's ability to select prosocial friends, which was directly related to decreased involvement with violence.
Smith P, Flay BR, Bell CC, Weissberg RP.Department of Family and Consumer Studies, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA. Paula.Smith@fcs.utah.edu
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11822526&dopt=Abstract

More than 80% of teens ages 14 to 17 think highly of their mothers, and a similar percentage think highly of their fathers
Moore KA, Guzman L, Hair E, Lippman L, Garrett S (2004). Parent-Teen Relationships and Interactions: Far More Positive Than Not. Child Trends Research Brief, Publication #2004-25. Washington, DC: Child Trends. Available at: http://www.childtrends.org/Files/Parent_TeenRB.pdf.

OTHER BATTLE ZONES:

Fatigue

Prov. 24:10 – “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.”

RAISING SONS:
Soul – self control, mental exercises

Asking questions (inquire, dig deep, Prov. 20:5-6)
“Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Ken Canfield, founder of the Natl. Center for Fathering suggests we get past men’s classic yes-no answers… which begins when we are boys…
A better approach might sound like this: “What’s one thing at school that went well today?”

Keep a photocopy of your child’s class schedule in your desk or even tucked in your planner. A generic question usually gets a generic answer. But if you get specific, they’re much more likely to open up.
http://www.fathers.com/articles/articles.asp?id=477&cat=4

RAISING DAUGHTERS:
Soul - "Dating" your daughter – setting a high standard

Glamour Magazine profiles "Purity Ball" for dads and daughters
It’s like a wedding but with a twist: Young women exchange rings, take vows and enjoy a first dance…with their dads. “Purity balls” are the next big thing in the save-it-till-marriage movement. Smart or scary? By Jennifer Baumgardner
http://www.glamour.com/news/articles/2007/01/purityballs07feb?currentPage=1

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Resources for Dangerous Dads of Teens

Rites of Passage
Chuck Stecker’s ministry is called A Chosen Generation
http://achosengeneration.org/

National Center for Fathering
Articles, weekly e-mail, tips, techniques, and TONS MORE!!
http://www.fathers.com/

Focus on the Family – Plugged In Magazine
Culture reviews (movies, TV, music, video games, miscellaneous media)
http://www.pluggedinonline.com/

# # #

CT's most redeeming films of '06

2007-01-30T14:44:00.000-07:00

A valuable resource here for those that enjoy films that feed the soul and the eye. (I'll blog about "eye-candy" movies another time.)

Christianity Today, the magazine founded in the 1950s by Billy Graham, has dug deeply into modern culture, and with none of the finger-wagging that is associated with TV stereotype evangelicals. That's why I love their annual "Most Redeeming Films" list.

The list includes Tommy Lee Jones' "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (rated R), and "Sophie Scholl" (unrated, German, with subtitles), just two examples of the off-the-beaten-path filmography so rare in most Christian circles. (Perhaps it's my own anti-Christian media prejudice?) Also on the list, the family hit "Akeelah and the Bee," "Charlotte's Web" and "The Nativity Story."

So visit the '06 Most Redeeming Films list, and discover some well-told stories that will stir your inner man.

Crying kids, whining parents: hooray for AirTran

2007-01-30T12:38:00.000-07:00

By now, most of what needs to be said about the incident on board a recent AirTran flight (crying, unruly toddler, frazzled parents, impatient passengers... DEPLANING) has been said.

The traveling public has given a resounding thumbs up to the airline (92% of e-mails to AirTran were supportive of the crew's eviction of the family). One blogger declared that AirTran is his airline of choice from now on. One can almost hear the passengers cheering when the toddler was put off the plane.

My two cents: the parents are in for a trifecta of embarrassment. Shame #1 - the child was out of control in public. Few things are more awkward. Those who practice the fine art of corporal punishment look for a restroom or return to the parking lot for a clear, decisive, non-abusive swat. Where to go on a plane? If you don't use "the rod," what do you do for a "time out" on a tightly scheduled airliner?

Embarrassment #2 - the threat of a lawsuit. Even the couple said they were humiliated by being put off the plane. What a misplaced sentiment! The whining of adults (threat of lawsuit) is plainly read by all (now 22,000 + hits on Google!) as nothing more than a tantrum.

Embarrassment #3 - the rejection of that suit. The airline was more than generous by picking up the cost of their tickets, and an offering three more free round trip tickets. (AirTran passengers are thankful the couple refused, vowing never to fly AirTran again.) Should this couple have the chutzpah to actually file, I hope the legal system puts them off that "plane" as well.

Brothers in Massachusetts, rally around your friend, Gerry Kulesza, and help him build some loving discipline in his home. Of course, discipline is up to both parents. But dude. Seriously. Step up and help those beautiful ladies in your house understand the essential nature of discipline. By God's grace, they can live down this episode of parental immaturity.

By the way, I actually enjoy sitting next to children on flights. I interact with them, play with them, distract them, and otherwise try to give their parents some rest and encouragement. And if they're uncomfortable or agitated, or just bad, I enjoy it all the more, because I look at them with the "eye," and they know that I know the game. They usually simmer down, and I tell the parents, "Keep up the good work. Be strong. You can win at raising these children." Those are important words for parents in a society that gives little support to strong disciplinarians, but always appreciates the peaceful result.

I am forever indebted to Dr. James Dobson's first major book, Dare to Discipline (1982). When I read it as a young parent in the 80's, his was a rare voice in parenting. He laid out the nature of children, and the terms and conditions for discipline, corporal and otherwise, in the context of LOVE. Brilliant, and still valid. Kids haven't changed.

MSN posted an article on its Men's channel, "No" by Kristopher Kaiyala.

Another good article from MSN Travel: "No Babies on Board"

Meet LaShawn Barber

2007-01-23T08:04:00.000-07:00

"The Blogosphere. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Old School. Its continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new, lively discussions, and new intepretations of civilization, to boldly go where no man has gone before."

I made a great discovery while researching the notion of "black-on-black crime," the blogger LaShawn Barber. Her blog is getting strong reviews, and she is a credible, thoughtful voice on national affairs. I share with her some non-conventional views about race relations, politics, culture, faith, etc. Some of her views are outrageous, and for me, disagreeable.

"I want to share my faith and my opinions and encourage others to be bold in everything they do," she writes. Her boldness is unsettling, enraging... in other words, perfect for the wild frontier of the blogosphere. I'm adding her to my recommended blog list, and I hope you'll visit her often.

LaShawn Barber

New Muslim TV show in Canada

2007-01-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Check out this review of the new Canadian TV sitcom, "Little Mosque on the Prairie." Interesting and important questions, including, "can Muslims laugh at themselves?"

The future of Islam in the West is largely up to Muslims themselves. It is because there are so many competing forces in play over this issue.

Humor is foremost for easy-going, pleasure-loving Westerners. If they can break through at the sitcom level, other walls will fall quickly.

The violent, radical mindset must be marginalized within Islamic communities themselves. CNN's Christiane Amanpour profiles radicals in England this weekend, and that suggests that even moderates and liberals are prepared to deal more honestly with the issue.

Conservatives in the U.S. are going to have to give more time, attention and clout to moderate Muslims. Rather than the relentless campaign to marginalize Islam as "dangerous" and solely "violent," American media moguls (and especially conservative ones like Rush and Laura Ingraham) will have to pay attention to the Muslim in the check out line.

Why should the first thought be suspicion? The American way is to show what you're made of. I expect to see Muslim girls playing high school basketball with their head coverings. I expect to see more Muslims in Congress. I expect to see more Muslims in the business world and at the PTA, participating in the fabric of American life.

It's up to you, my Muslim friend. Show us what you've got. Lest the bad guys define Islam.

Terrorism and "24"

2007-01-20T13:02:00.000-07:00

I'm seriously hooked on the Fox show "24." I missed the first 2 seasons, while I was into "Alias," then went back and watched them on DVD. Stayed up late - nights in a row - because I couldn't get enough of Jack Bauer's body count and edge-of-the-seat action. Been watching ever since - won't miss an episode.

Media critic Elvis Mitchell pointed out on NPR's "Weekend Edition" today that "24" is pilloried by some as a "right wing fantasy." I know where he's coming from, because TV is fantasy - almost entirely - and because there are few pop culture references to the entire notion of terrorism inside these shores. (Friday's NBC hit "Law and Order" did cover the matter.) Such an acknowledgement of the reality of terrorism is considered by some as "right wing."

Muslims and Arab-Americans (not the same thing) are also concerned about the stereotypes and racism that "24" might foster. While Islamic terrorists were villians in past seasons, bad guys were also depicted as "Americans, Baltic Europeans, Germans, Russians, ... and the fictional president of the United States."
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2007/01/19/070119145317.ee1pl51z.html

But the "Season/Day 6" premiere puts some other questions in play, and from a range of political perspectives:
--How hawks at the elbow of the president could care less about civil liberties. For them, martial law is always a viable option.
--How there is a struggle within Arab politics and Islam between terrorism and violence on one hand, and negotiation and diplomacy. Yikes! Jack's right hand man in the field Curtis bought the farm because he could not fathom that a former terrorist would change his spots and work for peace.
--And critical to modern day terrorism - how regular American citizens will do anything to save their loved ones and preserve personal safety, believing... hoping against hope that this terrorist guy holding my family hostage will let them go if I just do what they say. (It was said by one observer that Americans love life, while terrorists love death. That will always give the evil among us an edge in negotiations.)

The turning point in American aviation after 9/11 is the fact that no American passengers will allow a plane to be hijacked again (in the foreseeable future). With the heroism of United Flight 93 fresh in our minds, rank and file US airline passengers will force the plane down before we let some crazy person take over our flight. That's why no one is successfully hijacking planes any more. One might suggest that the TSA is almost entirely needless because citizens are once again willing to preserve and secure the peace on board aircraft. (Of course, we do need to screen passengers just to keep the most flagrant offenders from skating on board too easily...)

Each succeeding season of "24" offers a smorgasbord of possible non-Muslim terrorist threats. Consider:
-Tax protestors.
-African-American nationalists (holdovers from the revolutionary days of the 70s.)
-Eco-terrorists serious about ending US dependence on oil "by any means necessary."
-More of the McVeigh/Nichols type, uber-patriots willing to accept some "collateral" damage as part of the "price of liberty."
-Narco-terrorists coming to the US in earnest, packing serious heat in their effort to "crack" the US dope market wide open.
-Eager Latin dictators working on some "payback" for the Bay of Pigs. This could be timely as the demise of Cuba's Castro is near, and the vision of global socialism is nearly extinguished. These south-of-the-border militarists could seek to put "America in its place" by creating fear and instability. (That is terrorism's only real weapon - fear.)
The possible story lines are endless.

Yes. Citizens are occasionally required to be heroes. In a dangerous time with bad guys always seeking to take it out on the innocent, there is a little Jack Bauer in all of us.

So, where are you from?

2007-01-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

(Immigrants trepid about living in 21st Century America)

It was one of those five or ten year blizzards that brought Coloradans together. The snow began falling at 6:00 a.m., and by noon, it was a wet, sloppy mess. I had gotten stuck three times already on my “short” trip to the grocery store, and by the time I tried to climb my little street (just three houses from my driveway!), I was stuck for sure.

Sunny days and authentic natural disasters bring the neighbors out in droves. That day, they all had shovels. Selfishly, we all had to pitch in just to keep the street clear for everybody else.

Most of my neighbors are Latino now. The subdivision “flipped” in the last half-decade or so. One young woman with a shovel came to my aid, and as we sweated and grunted and dug and pushed, we complained about winter’s onslaught. I was raised in Detroit, and have been in Colorado for 30 years - I had my snow stories.

Casually I asked, “where are you from?” She glanced quickly at me and her pause told me I had crossed some line of appropriate neighborly behavior. “I was born in Texas, but I was raised in Mexico,” she replied haltingly.

It’s plausible enough. Around these parts, most Hispanic folks never got the part about “sovereign U.S. borders” since the end of the Mexican-American war (1848). As the battle lines are being drawn over immigration, Colorado’s Hispanics are quick to remind others that they’ve been on this land for centuries, and been able to travel south and back relatively hassle-free. Those days are done.

Have the militant pro-Mexicans (“you need us,” “we deserve all the benefits”) and virulent anti-immigrants (“send them all back,” “America for Americans”) made us suspicious of each other?

A western U.S. pizza chain announced their plan to accept “pesos” for pizza, and in just a few days, the death threats and racist bile began to flow. The pesos promotion is news only off the border. Border towns in the South have done business in pesos for years, just as border towns in the North accept Canadian dollars (but not in Detroit, where Canadian coins would give vending machines fits).

While America figures out who “belongs” here, I hope we don’t lose our civility in the process.

James Brown.

2006-12-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

The Godfather is dead. Long live the Godfather. And live long James Brown will, through his unending string of bottom-edged rhythms, celebratory horn arrangements, and bass lines that jumped out of whatever sound box you had at the time. James Brown gave life to black music, and his music is the river which feeds the global genres of hip-hop, house, and techno.

His catalogue of yells, screams, moans and shouts were as important to his music as the lyrics, often more so. His range of music spanned the African-American pantheon of gospel, blues, jazz, soul/R & B. His blues had a swing of late 20th Century modernism. His whining and crying ballads were convincing. His party songs are staples of every DJ on the planet. Musically, James Brown is a food group.

James Brown gave the drummer some. He called forth Fred Wesley’s trombone and Maceo Parker’s saxophone. His hair went from processed slick to natural and back to straight again, and so many of us followed him, especially the Rev. Al Sharpton.

James Brown makes you move. His music was activist. No one can listen to James Brown music and sit still. He made “the splits” a trademark piece of every pop dancer’s repertoire. Associated Press writes, “His rapid-footed dancing inspired Mick Jagger and Michael Jackson among others.” To say the least. No James Brown – no Soul Train dancers.

The 1968 black power anthem “Say It Loud, I’m Black and I’m Proud” was so fundamentally cathartic that it carried an entire generation to change its self-image. The background singers were moved to the foreground in the mix. It wasn’t James singing it to us. It was us singing it with him.

As a radio station owner, he set up two microphones in the control room, so that as the announcer moved back and forth, you could hear him move from right to left. I worked at Denver’s soul radio station in the late 70s. When the Godfather came to town (a small show at the Holiday Inn dome, I think), he set up giveaways of one ticket at a time, so you would have to buy another ticket for your friend. Coming from an era when black performers were routinely exploited, he seemed determined to watch his cash closely and get paid. He earned the title “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business.”

Without James Brown, there would be no Tower of Power, no George Clinton, no Parliament, no Funkadelic, and therefore, no Prince, no Public Enemy, no Kirk Franklin. His musical progeny are legion. Just stop the party. Without James Brown there would be no soundtrack to every rap song you ever heard. Hip would not hop.

James Brown was in the 1986 inaugural class of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame admissions, along with Elvis, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and others. His 1992 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, a given. His Kennedy Center honors came in 2003. A seven-foot bronze statue stands on “James Brown Boulevard” in Augusta, Ga. “Papa” is in the NPR 100 (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1080113).

From the entry in Wikipedia: “At around the time of his legal troubles in the late 1980s, there happened to be a Supreme Court vacancy. Late-night talk-show host Arsenio Hall proposed nominating Brown, because ‘He's black, he's liberal... and he's familiar with the court system!’” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Brown)

Abandoned by his parents at age four to relatives and friends, he grew up in Augusta, Ga. He had done three and a half years in reform school by eighth grade, and spent time in the South Carolina system on weapons charges in the late 80s. He pleaded no contest to a domestic violence charge in 2004.

He survived prostate cancer. The Godfather was married four times, and fathered six children, including James Jr., born just a few years ago.

James Brown’s life is the stuff of movies and theatrical productions, I hope. The full story could never have been produced while he was living, because he would have had to play himself and control the project. While he was living, no one else had the beat. Give it a few years, Hollywood. We need the memory of the Godfather to grow a little more distant.

Favorite James Brown songs:
It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World
I Got You (I Feel Good)
Papa’s Got a Brand New Bag
Licking Stick – Licking Stick
Cold Sweat
There Was A Time
Say It Loud – I’m Black and I’m Proud
Soul Power
The JBs - Doin’ it to Death
The JBs - Pass the Peas
The JBs - Gimme Some More
Give It Up or Turnit A Loose
The Payback
Papa Don’t Take No Mess
Living in America
Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto

James Brown, Soul Brother Number One, Mr. Dynamite, dead on Christmas morning 2006 at age 73.

Ted Haggard - tip of the iceberg (article)

2006-12-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

(Editor’s note: this article was written in November 2006, right after the Haggard scandal broke. Since then another pastor left a large church in Denver, and one of Haggard’s assistant’s also stepped down in an unrelated sexual misconduct issue. Unfortunately, there’s more to come.)
Envy. Jealousy. Gossip. Glamour. Influence. Fascination with the rich and powerful. America’s obsession with celebrity includes all those elements, and high-profile ministers are not exempt. Throw in the politics of morality and you’ve got a lead story that will last you days.
Ted Haggard’s fall from his perch atop the nation’s loose evangelical hierarchy came just days before Colorado’s vote on the definition of marriage (it passed, “one man and one woman”) and the legal status of domestic partnerships (it failed). Pastor Ted’s accuser, male prostitute Mike Jones, turns out to be telling mostly the truth, and he admits he “outed” Ted Haggard for political reasons.
The Colorado Springs church Haggard founded 26 years ago, New Life Church, a mega-ministry with 14,000 adherents, assembled their board of overseers, who determined that Haggard’s admission of a drug purchase and massage was not all there was to the story. Haggard was fired for sexual misconduct two days after the allegations were made public on a Denver radio talk show. Colorado Springs, home to nearly 100 Christian ministries, has been rocked by this national story of “shame under fire.”
Haggard, whom I once met, was likeable, warm, and personally charismatic. As president of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), he was an outstanding spokesman for evangelical Christianity in America. He resigned that post on the day the story broke. Evangelical Christian leaders must look elsewhere for their next figurehead. The NAE should take care, for the personal lives of Christian leaders are at risk, and the moral / political agenda of the Christian Right is in jeopardy as well.
I remember writing just a couple of years ago, “Who’s next?”

ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRAVELING ALONE
Jones, whom most local media have taken to euphemistically call “a male escort,” went on the air last Thursday to reveal that the man he serviced and sold the illegal drug methamphetamine to over the past three years was none other than Ted Haggard. Jones says he saw the Rev. Haggard on TV supporting the marriage definition Amendment 43. Appalled by the hypocrisy, Jones went public.
Some of the charges were true, Haggard quickly confessed. He was referred to Jones by the Denver hotel he was staying in, and was “tempted” to buy the drug, but he says he never took it. Jones took a polygraph test at a local media outlet, and showed some signs of deception. But the voicemail recordings hit the airwaves, and the drug customer who called himself “Art” (Haggard’s middle name is Arthur) was obviously the disgraced minister.
The elders at New Life Church must be kicking themselves. Besides the deception involved in living a double life, Haggard’s personal traveling style rejected all the safeguards of accountability that should be standard operating procedure for Christian leaders today.
Independent, non-denominational churches are especially at risk with regard to accountability for their founding pastors.
At Haggard’s level, he should never have traveled alone. How many assistants said, “I’ll go with you to Denver, pastor.”? To which he might have replied, “No, that’s OK. You’re plenty busy here, I’ll be fine. Besides, I don’t like the look of traveling with an entourage.” In hindsight, the board at New Life is probably saying it would have been worth the cost of an extra hotel room and plane ticket.
Men are inclined toward isolation. The men’s ministry Promise Keepers teaches that isolation is a core element of masculine context. Conventional wisdom tells men that “distance equals safety.” We just don’t like getting too close to anybody. The truth is that our natural inclination to walk alone is the far more dangerous path.
On the other hand, I know some national-profile ministers who never travel alone. Either their wife, an assistant, or a friend is always flying with them. Some Christian organizations enforce an arcane company lunch and travel policy “no married men or women together by themselves.” That’s also why offices have windows cut into the doors. For Christian leaders, the “third wheel” is a moral and occupational safety device.
Israel’s King Solomon, who had his own issues with sexuality, even warned about men standing alone in the Book of Proverbs, chapter 18: “A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment (sound wisdom).”

THE VALUE OF MENTORING
Unfortunately, not enough Christian leaders are convinced of the relative value of a travel companion. Personal safety and moral security are just part of the benefit of traveling with others.
Over the past 20 years, I have watched some younger Christian leaders rise through the ranks to gain notoriety themselves. But years before taking the big stage, I saw them carrying bags for their mentors. I asked one about that transition from a small pulpit to an arena-sized audience. He told me, “It was relatively easy. By the time I got the invitation, I had already been in the big meetings. I had seen first hand what it was like to function at that level.” Are we training our “Timothy”s?
When it comes to travel, too many Christian leaders have completely abandoned the biblical imperative of traveling in twos. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two (Mark 6:7). Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes (4:9), “Two are better than one.” On the other hand, many pastors and lower-level Christian ministers would love to be able to afford a travel companion. My question to elder boards is: what’s it worth to you?

MISSED OPPORTUNITIES
As a journalist since 1976, I have seen more moral failures than I can count, in business, in politics, and in ministry. Most of these large organizations do have safety checks. Even in surveying the ungraceful White House scandal of the late 1990s, one could note countless opportunities to make the right choice or the wrong choice.
Christians believe in an ever-present Holy Spirit, a Comforter. That “still small Voice” does speak to us when we’re about to “cross the line.” When a simple personal desire or physical appetite overcomes other “higher aims,” we have a way of “shush-ing” that voice. The next time, it’s easier to cross the line. The Voice gets quieter.
No doubt, several caution signs, cone zones and barricades were passed on the way to Rev. Haggard’s current transgression.
The New Testament Letter of James teaches (1:14, 15 Amplified): But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death.

EVANGELICAL PRIDE
The timing of these revelations are purely political. Evangelicals will tell you that the moral future of the nation hangs in the balance as we vote on legal definitions of marriage and elect politicians who will write laws on embryonic stem-cell research, individual liberty, taxation, defense, education, criminal justice, the environment, and countless other issues, all with a moral aspect to them.
(Note: ALL laws are legislated morality.)
The political battles before us are not entirely about “evangelicals making the world in our image,” as Tony Campolo complained on a recent local talk show. Although conservatives tend to be a bit more uniform and unified than those on the left end of the spectrum, many spiritual people (both left and right) buttress their political passions with the notion that they are fighting for the “soul of the nation.”
Campolo is right, though, about a needed change in the prevailing evangelical attitude. Brokenness, the kind faced by Ted Haggard and his family today, is shared by lots of families who have to deal with substance abuse and sexually confusion (gay and straight). Brokenness is a human condition. “Holier than thou” is a poor political platform, and it’s a terrible personal platform upon which to build a community.

FINDING THE LOST, REBUILDING THE BROKEN
Christian organizations, including churches, political action committees, parachurch groups, etc., must revisit the things that make us worthwhile in this culture. What we offer is the Gospel – the good news that although we are sinners, there is a Savior, and a better way to live. The abundant life is within our grasp.
Let’s revisit grace, remembering the fallen condition of all of us, but for the intervention of a Divine man, Jesus Christ.
Let’s revisit compassion for the hurting and the lonely. They ought to expect from Christians a listening ear, a sincere concern, and a love that is tough enough to tell the truth, and tough enough to endure with them all the hardships of life.
Let’s revisit how we treat and train our leaders. Christian leaders must not travel alone, in life or on business trips. (An exemption is granted for personal withdrawal for prayer.) Churches boards must get beyond all the pretty and fashionable exteriors, to make sure that their leaders are getting the tangible support they need (including travel budgets, vacations, leaves of absence, confidential counseling), as well as mutual accountability. In fact, all genuine accountability is invited and mutual.

Lament for James Kim - desperate dad and hero

2006-12-11T20:45:00.000-07:00

Millions tracked the search for the Kim family, missing for 14 days after the Thanksgiving holiday. Like the little girl in the well, or any community search, we were elated when the family was found, and we worried when dad was not with them.

A couple of observations:

I'm not sure I would have thought of burning the tires for heat, as they did. James Kim only left when they burned their last tire - the spare tire.

Kim walked for 16 miles before succumbing to the damp cold.

He may have died the same day his family was rescued, two days after he went for help.

As all the mistakes of the trip (and the regrets of their life) gnawed at them in that stranded Saab station wagon, I can only imagine the tenor of the conversations. Love. Anger. Fear. Faith. Love. And finally, desperation.

A man must take action. It's the hardest thing in the world for us to just sit and wait. Photograpers will tell you to let the "shot" come to you. Football linebackers will "read" or intuit that a play is developing in a certain way, and flow toward the action to make their tackle. But it's the hardest thing in the world to just sit and wait. On Saturday, a week after getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, all other options were gone. James had to make something happen or the unthinkable might occur. It is a move any of us would have made. Set out with flags and banners (clothes), and find help. It is what a man does. Provide, protect, and pursue. I'm so sorry that you lost your life, but it was for a great and noble cause. May your wife and daughters never forget your courage.

As more facts emerge, authorities and outdoorsmen will reflect on missed opportunities and the several mistakes that were made, both by the Kims and those on the search. In the meantime, let's mourn with the Kim family, and take good care of James' widow and orphans. He earned at least that much, and we owe that much as our Christian duty.

(from SFGate.com) FOURTEEN DAYS LOST - Mileage
Route of car traveled on logging road BLM 34-8-36: 21.3 miles
James Kim's hike out on road: 11.5 miles
James Kim's hike down Big Windy Creek ravine: 4.7 miles
Total miles walked by James Kim: 16.2 miles
Distance to Black Bar Lodge from car (straight line): 3 miles

San Francisco Chronicle (SFGate.com) coverage: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/10/MNGVOMT3NJ1.DTL&hw=Kim+stranded&sn=001&sc=1000

CNN's coverage: http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/12/11/griffin.oregon/index.html?eref=rss_topstories