Hey, Ya Know What?

Nation of Cowards

Holder: US a nation of cowards on racial matters

"Though this nation has proudly thought of itself as an ethnic melting pot, in things racial we have always been and I believe continue to be, in too many ways, essentially a nation of cowards," Holder said.

Race issues continue to be a topic of political discussion, but "we, as average Americans, simply do not talk enough with each other about race."

"If we're going to ever make progress, we're going to have to have the guts, we have to have the determination, to be honest with each other. It also means we have to be able to accept criticism where that is justified," Holder told reporters after the speech.

Race, Holder said, "is an issue we have never been at ease with and, given our nation's history, this is in some ways understandable... If we are to make progress in this area, we must feel comfortable enough with one another and tolerant enough of each other to have frank conversations about the racial matters that continue to divide us."

Finally! Why Emergent, Emerging, and Similar Christian Movements Bug Me

I have finally figured out what is that bugs me about all the new, “progressive”, forms of the church out there. It’s been nagging at me for a while to the point I can’t even read the blogs and books anymore. I figured out why they finally, after 5 years, turned me off as bad the evangelicalism I came from did. I finally nailed down what it was that kept me from being sold out to the whole movement/conversation. It’s the same reason the churches of my past got me so upset.

It’s still mostly about us and not Jesus.

Tombstone and Friends

Ask anyone who knows me well and they will tell you I love the movie Tombstone. There are plenty of reasons. It’s a western, Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday, and well, gun fights galore! But the theme of friendship, and the way they play it between Wyatt Earp and Doc is my favorite part.

Near the end of the movie when Earp’s gang is cleaning house and taking out the “red sashes”, Turkey Creek Jack Johnson asks Doc Holliday, who is eaten up with tuberculosis, why he does it, referring to being out there with Wyatt getting revenge on the cowboys. It went like this:

Turkey Creek Jack Johnson: Why do you do it?
Doc Holliday: Wyatt is my friend.
Turkey Creek Jack Johnson: Friend? Hell, I got lots of friends.
Doc Holliday: I don't.

I have friends that I feel that way about. Friends I’d go to hell and back for. And hope I have some that feel that way about me. But there so many people in our lives that like to think they are this kind of friend and aren’t even close. If push came to shove, they could really care less. I am realizing my list is much smaller than I used to think it was. I also realize I’ve been one these pretenders myself. So this exchange, and this movie as a whole, always reminds me to remember who my friends are, keep them close, and go the distance for them. In some ways it shows me what brotherhood is all about. Oh, and it makes me glad I have a few Doc Holliday types in my life. Even if they aren’t as cool. :)

Later in the movie, as Holliday is on his deathbed, Wyatt comes to visit. It’s a heart wrenching scene as they begin by dancing around the inevitable. Finally Doc gets right to it. And it gets me every time:

Doc Holliday: What do you want Wyatt?
Wyatt Earp: Just to live a normal life.
Doc: There is no normal life, there's just life, ya live it.
Wyatt: I don't know how.
Doc: Sure ya do, say goodbye to me, go grab that spirited actress and make her your own. Take that and don't look back. Live every second, live right on through the end. Live Wyatt, live for me. Wyatt, if you were ever truly my friend, or if ya ever had just the slightest of feelin' for me, leave now, leave now, please.
Wyatt: Thanks for always being there, Doc.

That is what friendship can almost always be boiled down to. Being there. So go, and be there for someone.

Will the Ever Increasing “Nanny State” Kill Our Personal Narratives?

We are living in a time of great uncertainty. Our economy is in bad shape and we are seeing stimulus after stimulus and bailout after bailout. We had a stimulus package last year, and another to be signed today. We’ve had bank and mortgage company bailouts. We’ve given money to the auto industry to prop it up. All of this comes at the price of bigger government. Most of you know that does not thrill me. And so much of what we are putting into these programs (and those of the past) are there to cushion, and in some instances, remove the chances of, failure and or struggle.

I love a good story. I like to tell them and I like to hear them. And there is nothing like a story that ends in triumph or redemption when the odds were against those involved. Do you remember Michelle Obama’s story about her father at the Democratic Convention? It was a moving story of a man who loved his family and worked very hard to take care of them. I can tell a similar story. My own Mother spent many years as a single Mom. She worked two jobs when she had to. She could have slacked off, taken government assistance and lived “easier”, but she didn’t. She worked hard and I took notice. She earned everything she had.

In the early 90’s I watched from college as my Dad lost a job and struggled to find another. I watched as he took jobs that maybe didn’t pay what he wanted or had him doing what he liked. But he took them and worked anyway. He never felt owed and didn’t expect help from his fellow taxpayers. He trusted those closest to him and made it through.

These days many look down on such rugged individualism. It is seen to be a detriment to the concept of “community”. Heck, I even bought into that thinking for a little while. I think it does just the opposite. It strengthens the community and adds value. I feel like I have been a responsible Husband and Father and owe much of it to my own parents and the work ethic they modeled for me. When struggles emerged they worked through them and became better for them.

A few years back I was laid off from a good job. My wife was 2 months pregnant with our fourth child. Things looked bad. I was out of work for 6 months. I found another job, worked for 11 months and was laid off again. I spent 8 more months looking for work. Through the whole ordeal we never lost anything. We paid our mortgage on time, always had food, and kept clothes on the kids. And the real meat of the story is this. We did it without the government. Our family, friends, and wonder people of Grace Evangelical Free Church got us through. Oh how I love to tell the story of God’s goodness and the goodness of his people through those very trying time for our family.

I understand helping those who need it. I really do. But trying to create a society bereft of struggles and failure will kill these stories. And don’t be fooled, that is exactly what the big government proponents want(and they are on both sides of the isle). What stories will our children have? Will they tell of the time their father lost his job and the government swooped in to keep the mortgage bank from foreclosing and gave Daddy more time to find the job he wanted so he didn’t have to take just any old job (or two)? Will they tell how Mommy finally got fed up and decided welfare and food stamps were the way to go?

Would Michelle Obama be who she is now without her father’s story? Maybe, but I can’t believe it would be likely. I know I wouldn’t be who I am now had I not watched my mother struggle and my Dad go through a job loss. I wouldn’t have handled my own struggles and losses nearly as well without them as my guides.

For Those Not Keeping Up on Facebook…

Here is a nice pic that was recently posted by a friend. It’s from the early 90’s when I was in college and in a gospel choir. I’m the guy in the middle :) Yikes. On the left was my good friend and room mate Ben.

Facebook and Twitter May Be Killing My Blog

With Facebook and Twitter, I can get short snippets out quickly. And where my life is right now, that’s a pretty good thing. Add to that all the old connection along with the new I am making with Facebook, it’s had a death grip on what time I spend online. I am a huge fan of Facebook these days. And twitter is a great tool as well. But I do not want either of them to kill this blog.

So what is going to come of this blog? I ask this at least every six months now it seems. My problem is that I want to post, but I have had such a writers block for so long, I don’t know where to start. The harder I try the worse it is. I think I will start doing some reviews or something just to get some content and ideas rolling. We’ll see. Hang in there with me if you still visit…

A-Fraud

When will this stuff ever end?

Alex Rodriguez admits taking PEDs during 3-year period - ESPN

Van Halen to Rock On?

This POSSIBILTY, makes me smile. We shall see if it happens. Hey, they finished a tour in spit of Eddie going back to rehab.

Van Halen to Rock On With Roth : Rolling Stone

West Virginia Ninja

Wow, just wow, and then wow again.