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
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
UrbanFaith.com picks up Old School article
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!
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!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Thank your abortion provider day - March 10
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!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Domestic abuse slowly bleeding us to death
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.
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.
Monday, February 16, 2009
The risk of public prayer
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.
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.
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