July 31, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

I teed off very late this morning (7:35 a.m.) for nine with my favorite Special Olympics golf champion.

I will be his caddie this coming Monday in the state tournament which he has won before as a qualifier for the Special Olympics World Golf Championship.

We spent most of our time on course management and playing one shot at a time; that and fixing the myriad of divots in fairways and ball marks on greens which ignorant hackers did not repair last night.

@#$%

Golf is a metaphor for life.

It does not build character; but rather reveals it.

There's a really great book about it which would really sell a lot of copies if someone would buy the rights from my publisher and get it into Sam's, Wal-Mart, et.al.

@#$%

There are so many divots and ball marks in church and society.

Do you take time to help fix 'em?

Or are you hoping someone else will do it for you?

@#$%

Stretching the metaphor, that's why that guy in Florida autographed Not One Penny.

He knows it's not the only way and may not be the best way to enable confession, repentance, and regeneration in a franchise which has lost His way.

But it's a lot better than doing nothing for Christ's sake.

@#$%

The autograph and I have an addendum to Not One Penny.

Here it is.

It's time for the so-called "renewal" paradenominationals of the PCUSA to establish a "Legal Defense Fund for Persecuted Presbyters" who are remaining to be faithful or have separated to be faithful.

@#$%

Seriously.

@#$%

I don't think a lot of pulpiteers, pewsitters, and presbyters take Jesus seriously.

If they did, do you really think they'd advocate, enable, and accommodate insults to His holiness?

That's how I know Jesus was moved to the sideline by the mainline.

@#$%

By the way, I messed up that quote from the professor/pastor in Florida who had a profound discernment about the "war chest" to fund crucifixions of those separating to be faithful and remaining to be faithful.

Here's the corrected and not from my declining memory quote: "Witchcraft is intimidation, manipulation, domination, and control."

Is he saying the PCUSA is being destroyed by...?

@#$%

Here are some interesting responses from a friend in Illinois who is much more conservative than his reputation: "We evangelicals have chosen to amend vows and leave our own kind behind to battle with fewer tools and less votes...I do not feel sorry for individuals who face consequences for standing up for their beliefs. It's part of the cost...It's those who have deserted in the face of supposed odds who now place the rest of us in the face of ever decreasing numbers."

Not bad.

Get a load of these comments: "The battle cry of the right has been, 'Run, run, run!'...and their cries to flee have presented us with a self-fulfilling prophesy of a smaller evangelical remnant...The right rejoices at the apparent collapse of a great church. Jesus would have cried. The apostles would have prayed and fasted...Odd, the more righteous we get, the more we desert the very bride who led us to the groom and nurtured us with grace."

He doesn't like Not One Penny.

I do.

But it doesn't hurt my affirmation and affection for him because he has something to say and is saying it unlike those fainthearts in the franchise who keep piling up pension credits and hoping somebody else has the guts to do what they can't because they're so...

@#$%

Seriously.

@#$%

I complained to my Special Olympics buddy this morning about all of the divots and ball marks.

He said, "We'll have to fix them."

He's got so much more common sense than most clergy and churches.

@#$%

Seriously.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 28, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

LO was Pastor of the Hollywood Presbyterian Church and Chaplain of the US Senate; and I will never forget being in a "high steeple" covenant group with him for about a decade over two decades ago; especially when he counseled me over a cup of coffee in a small cafe in San Anselmo, "If you want people in your church to bleed, you must hemorrhage."

@#$%

Of course, Jesus established the pattern and prescription.

Matthew 16:24ff.

I wonder how Jesus feels about clergy and related species (aka deacons, elders, trustees, etc.) who don't look up, stand up, speak up, and act up for Him because they'll get into trouble with ecclesiastical and civil cultures increasingly distancing themselves from Biblical Christianity.

@#$%

A pastor in my franchise called and said, "Bob, there's no way I'm getting involved with that Not One Penny document...[see attached]...and there's no way I'm letting my session see it. They'll probably agree with it and want to subscribe to it. Then my executive will blackball me and I'll be stuck here forever or have to find another denomination that will take me."

@#$%

The PCUSA's so-called "war chest" to fund litigation against those separating to be faithful prompted a professor/pastor in Florida to write, "Witchcraft manipulates, deceives, confuses, harasses, and seeks to steal salvation."

@#$%

I left the "high steeple" scene for several reasons: (1) Personal sin (watch for the forthcoming Cave Canem beginning the week of 9/14/08); (2) I climbed to the top of the ladder of ecclesiastical success and discovered it was leaning against the wrong building (see Fifteen Secrets which is on sale via www.amazon.com); and (3) I couldn't handle all of the talk about the need for reforming the franchise secundum verbum Dei while being unwilling to do what's necessary to spark reform (e.g., precursory efforts akin to Not One Penny).

Truth is there was a time which is no more when there were enough high steeples with the wherewithal to challenge and reverse the apostasies.

Unfortunately, indifference and personal kingdom-building juxtaposed to a sad mantra (viz., "They won't bother us if we just send in the blood money!") and lust to be players at the table of denominational power compromised the witness and undermined so many truly redemptive efforts.

@#$%

One of my deliverance ministry mentors (VMTC) sent a poem to me (today) called A Preacher on the Fence:

From out the millions of the earth
God often calls a man
To preach His Word, and for the truth
To take a loyal stand.
'Tis sad to see him shun the cross,
Nor stand in its defense
Between the fields of right and wrong -
A preacher on the fence.

Before him are the souls of men,
Destined for heaven or hell;
An open Bible in his hand,
And yet he dare not tell
Them all the truth as written there;
He fears the consequence -
The shame of heaven, the joy of hell
A preacher on the fence.

Most surely God has called that man
To battle for the right,
'Tis his to ferret out the wrong,
And turn on us the light.
He standeth not for right nor wrong,
He feareth an offense,
Great God, deliver us from him -
That preacher on the fence.

If he would stand up for the wrong,
The right he'd not befriend;
If he should boldly stand for right,
The wrong he would offend.
His mouth is closed, he dare not speak
For freedom or against.
The most disgusting thing on earth -
A preacher on the fence.

His better judgment, common sense,
They pull him to the right;
Behold him grip that topmost rail,
And hold with all his might;
His love of praise, it holds him fast,
Keeps him from going hence,
Poor man! How fearful will be his plight
A preacher on the fence.

@#$%

"I'm not to the left or to the right."

"I'm moderate."

"Yeah, I'm moderately committed to Jesus."

@#$%

I guess some folks still believe in purgatory.

@#$%

Jesus is bleeding.

Who's cutting?

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 27, 2008

Considering the unconscionable disgrace of the PCUSA's so-called "war chest" targeting congregations which have separated to be faithful as opposed to those of us who are remaining to be faithful, I thought I'd forward on some of my rationale for remaining to be faithful, uh, faithfully.

As a dear friend barked out so precisely, I do not claim my rationale is perfect nor do I pretend Not One Penny is the only approach or even the best approach to ameliorating anything in the formerly faithful franchise.

But it is an approach.

It doesn't just sit there, wring hands, and sing, "Somewhere over the rainbow..."

It doesn't fall into Flounder's omission as noted by Otter: "Face it, Flounder! You @#$% up! You trusted us!"

It doesn't jibe with those employing the same old same old which is destined to produce the same old same old...

So I don't mind if you criticize what I've reasoned and prayed to be my rationale for remaining to be faithful faithfully and I don't think Jim Yearsley (who I helped a tad in the Not One Penny initiative) minds either.

But please don't bother to send those inane rationalizations for feeding the beast and its buddies who advocate, enable, and accommodate who and what are anathema to Biblical Christianity as upheld by our constitution so far yet so precariously to Jim or me.

Just remember what the great and late President of PTS and WARC said to some mush-brained seminarians on the 5th floor of Baltimore's Hilton Hotel in the mid 70s during a previous GA: "Do something for Christ's sake! I really don't care what you do; but do something for Christ's sake!"

Lord, have mercy on the PCUSA, those who separated to be faithful, and those remaining to be faithful.

Blessings and Love!

July 24, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Ted Turner has made mega-millions; but, unlike you or me, he's not pure and perfect in every way.

He married Jane Fonda; then divorced her.

But he did say something which keeps coming to mind as I think of the inane to intelligent armchair responses to Not One Penny (attached): "Lead, follow, or get out of the way!"

@#$%

Scriptorium nuns in Maryland put it this way: "To avoid criticism: Say nothing! Do nothing! Be nothing!"

@#$%

I was in an egghead program in college.

We were really smart.

But then a philosophy professor said something that has haunted me ever since: "You are ineffectual intellectuals. You are very good at criticizing others for doing anything while you talk and talk and talk without ever intending to act."

@#$%

People who banter and moan about what others are saying and doing while saying and doing next to nothing for Christ's sake irritate me.

Luther said, "Good works don't make a person good but a good person does good works."

Calvin often referred to the "signs of salvation" or evidences of election.

@#$%

Some relatives have asked me to stop salting and shining; saying, in effect, "Confession is good for the soul but bad for your reputation and job prospects."

Like most folks, they don't realize I'm very serious about the first thesis in my latest book which has had such underwhelming sales: "Remembering you're going to live a lot longer with Jesus than anybody else makes establishing life's priorities a no-brainer."

People who care more about vocational securities and personal comfort zones than Biblical faith and obedience cannot belief in Jesus as Lord and Savior; for if they did, they'd be more concerned about the eternal than existential.

@#$%

I have a confession.

As recently as last night, I almost quit salting and shining; recalling a pastor (RIP) who confessed to me so many years ago: "Young man, there are times when I walk the steps up to my bedroom, throw out my arms to Jesus, and beg, 'Take me now! I mean more to you than anybody else! And I'm tired of being attacked for just repeating what You said!"

I can't quit.

Buechner is right: "A prophet's quarrel with the world is deep-down a lover's quarrel. If they didn't love the world, they probably wouldn't bother to tell it that it's going to hell. They'd just let it go."

@#$%

Martyrdom is a spiritual gift used once; and until I play Pebble Beach, I ain't interested.

A dear friend sobered me about my call to salt and shine.

He said, "That's what a dead mackerel does."

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 23, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

JM thinks Iraq borders Pakistan.

BHO thinks there are 57 states in the USA.

Kinda makes ya nostalgic for HRC.

@#$%

Speaking of confessions, two wonderful women in Belvidere opened a coffee shop called Wicked Brew.

The coffee was great; but it was hard to get around the name.

Kinda like Moon, Mormons, Muslims, and, uh, mainliners invoking the Name for their witnesses which are only coincidental to the, uh, revelation.

@#$%

Speaking of conversions, two of my favorite people have just bought Wicked Brew; but I can't say who they are for a few weeks.

So I've looked up the definition; and I'll be thinking more in terms of "playful" than "malicious" from now on when I go there to tank up on caffeine.

Kinda like reminding Republicans that Democrats really do love America as much as they do and vice versa.

@#$%

Speaking of politicians, watch the race for Congress in Pennsylvania's 11th Congressional District.

I used to live there - my parents and sister still do - and Democrats have always won by landslides; and I've often thought they'd vote for Satan if he were the Democratic nominee.

I won't labor the issues - you can google Barletta/Kanjorski for the dirty details - but the Republican could upset the incumbent this time around and turn Pennsylvania over to JM.

Kinda brings BHO's upset of HRC to mind.

@#$%

Speaking of upsets, Not One Penny (see attached) is really causing a stir.

Emotion more than intellect seems to be driving the commentary; especially from those who long for the way things never were or maybe were but are no more and like to talk about what they're never prepared to do to ameliorate the rapidly deteriorating situation.

Kinda brings Cubs baseball to mind.

@#$%

One guy, who I supported in the race for Stated Clerk despite getting fried from my friends just left and in the middle and to the right, asked how Not One Penny corresponds to my understanding of stewardship.

I said, "Stewardship is managing what He has entrusted to us in ways which honor Him according to the revelations of His will in Jesus and Holy Scripture."

Kinda brings, uh, the New Testament to mind.

@#$%

Another guy, who depends upon a lot of franchise churches and judicatories to fund his faithful ministry, blasted the autograph and me for helping; and he said the way left is gonna get really mad now.

I said, "I can no longer ask people who love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by our constitution so far yet so precariously to entrust their tithes, offerings, gifts, and voluntary per capita apportionments to folks who advocate, enable, and accommodate what is anathema to Biblical Christianity."

Kinda brings the Reformation to mind.

@#$%

The Ventura and Moody quotes of KDLII not to mention the witness to primary allegiances in the Book of Acts come to mind.

@#$%

Have you ever studied the history of the German church just before the Nazis really took over?

@#$%

The autograph and I may be wrong.

Acts 5:27-42 comes to mind.

Kinda reminds me of the first couple sections of this KD.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 21, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Get out the empty milk bottles and rush to your local filling station!

Gas has dipped below $4 a gallon!

What a relief.

I was gettin' worried.

@#$%

BHO is in Iraq!

He's gonna spend a few days figuring out how to be Commander-in-Chief!

What a relief.

I was gettin' worried.

@#$%

Gas.

BHO.

Greg Norman and Michelle Wie.

@#$%

Speaking of disappointments, any connection between the PCUSA and Biblical Christianity as upheld by its own constitution so far yet so precariously is increasingly coincidental.

@#$%

I've been to Geneva, Jerusalem, Louisville, and Rome.

What's the connection?

That makes me as qualified to be President of the World Council of Churches, Chaplain of the Western Wall, Stated Clerk of General Assembly, and Pope as BHO for President of the USA.

@#$%

Actually, I'm a lot more qualified for those jobs than BHO for the Oval Office because I've spent a lot more time in those places than he has in Iraq or, uh, any, uh, place where, uh, guys learn how to be the, uh, Commander-in-Chief.

@#$%

Lotteries.

Gambling.

O.K., it makes sense now.

We're going to roll the dice with America's future.

@#$%

Speaking of stewardship, some guy in Florida has started the "Not One Penny" movement in the PCUSA (see attached).

That's not one penny from people who love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by the PCUSA's own constitution so far yet so precariously for people who advocate, enable, and accommodate the opposite.

He thinks it's unconscionable to expect or even ask people who still love Jesus to direct parts of their tithes, offerings, gifts, and voluntary per capita apportionments to people whose proclamations, programs, and ministries are anathema to Biblical Christianity.

@#$%

I think it makes sense.

If I'm not gonna eat at Taco Bell because it's not fair to tomato pickers, I'm not gonna feed programs and ministries which insult the holiness of Jesus.

They say tomato, I say...

@#$%

Of course, lots of folks are trying to rationalize financial support for those doing their worst for the Gospel; and some of 'em are really nasty.

Even some folks who still kinda like Jesus as long as He doesn't conflict with their ecclesiastical, vocational, and cultural comfort zones are getting mad at that guy in Florida.

They're coming up with all kinds of better ways which they've never tried and won't really try now to counter the causes of the "Not One Penny" movement.

@#$%

Do you remember Jesse Ventura?

Wrestler.

Governor of Minnesota.

Kinda nutty.

Like you and me.

Anyway, he wrote, "It's tough for me to see the apathy of people who complain about everything, but don't want to do anything to change it. I want to tell them, 'Why are you complaining, when you won't work with me! Why won't you help me to change things?'"

@#$%

O.K., I'm helping the guy in Florida; and before you start bantering and moaning to me about what we're doing, I'd like to remind you of what Moody said to a guy (mainliner) who objected to his methods of evangelism: "I prefer the way I do it to the way you don't do it."

@#$%

It's like the last great President of PTS said to a bunch of seminarians on the 5th floor of Baltimore's Hilton Hotel at a GA over 30 years ago: "I don't care what you do! Just do something for Christ's sake!"

@#$%

You may want to check out Matthew 7:21 and related texts.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 16, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

What do Muslims and BHO fans have in common?

They can't take a joke; especially if it caricatures their realities.

They're so emotionally fragile; and they'd probably last about as long as recently graduated seminarians in their first church.

@#$%

If you haven't seen Barry Blitt's cartoon on the cover of The New Yorker (7/21/08), just google The New Yorker and get ready for some images which are gonna be around for a while; especially if they make it to the White House.

BHO and his recently-proud-of-America wifey are gonna need more than a political exorcism to shatter and smash those subliminals.

Even The Los Angeles Times (7/15/08) got it: "It's already beginning to seem as though the Obama camp is a trifle thin-skinned. If it reacts this way to a cartoon drawn by a sympathizer who was mocking the outrageous slurs that have been directed at the candidate, what are they going to do when the Republicans start sharpening their artists' pencils?"

@#$%

A 4th or 5th century desert father said, "Deal with the world as though you have no dealings with it."

That's a pretty good definition of the creative neglect increasingly exercised by the remnant remaining to be faithful in mainline franchises.

People keep asking over and over and over what I'm gonna do as if I haven't written ad nauseum about remaining to be faithful (go to KDXLIII for a quick summary or buy Fifteen Secrets for Life and Ministry which is on sale via www.amazon.com).

@#$%

Because believers moving to town ain't lookin' for a mainline nest these days, we downplay the, uh, connection and, uh, upplay communion with Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture.

We'll probably be putting a new sign out front soon; which will look something like this:

Our Family of Faith

"It's all about Jesus!"

If you have to ask why...

@#$%

Getting back to the thin-skinned, LI wrote, "Nobody has a problem mocking JM's age or GWB's intelligence, but you might as well deposit yourself directly onto hell's doorstep for offending the Obamessiah. Why? Aside from the fact that 97% of the media counts itself among his faithful flock, the race card dangles menacingly over those who aren't."

So stop those cartoons and jokes and criticisms or somebody's gonna cut off...

Sorry.

That's JJ's high moral call to citizenship.

@#$%

Speaking of phonies, please don't quote me because I didn't say this:

BHO: "Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English - they'll learn English - you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish."

JC's mother: "Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, 'Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.'"

@#$%

Looking into the mirror and speaking of phonies again, I did say this: "Mainline denominations are irretrievably apostate under current management."

Hello, Jessup!

Of course, the jingoists just call me names but never counter with substantive commentary.

@#$%

A very dear heart and someone who works with the PCUSA's "renewal" groups who should stop trying to "renew" something which has gotta be "newed" wrote about this year's fulfillment of the franchise's thanatos libido: "We were outnumbered on every committee...They just don't care. I have been stunned by the Youth Advisory Delegates. The majority of them are spiritually naive, Biblically illiterate, and culturally compromised. They are a mirror image of most of the adult commissioners...only perkier...The remnant word comes back to mind."

@#$%

Watch for a "Not One Penny" movement which is about to start in Florida.

A faithful guy who is more committed to Jesus than playing footsies with the dark side is gonna propose a way for folks to remain faithfully.

Hint: stop feeding the beast.

@#$%

What do Muslims, BHO, and mainliners have in common?

They can't take a joke.

It's hard to take what others say you've become.

@#$%

Ouch.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 14, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

When I was a little fellah, my daddy was stationed on a segregated Army base.

The MPs picked me up because I was playing with my black buddies; saying, "You're not supposed to be over here."

I asked, "Why?"

They did not answer.

They never do.

People who do not love Jesus by loving like Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture never have answers for beliefs and behaviors anathema to Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture.

@#$%

A mainline apologist for the way things never were or maybe were but are no more from Kentucky wrote: "How dare you suggest redirecting money from your denomination's administrative leadership! Do you realize what would happen if people listened to you and stopped sending money? The denominational machinery would come to a grinding halt!"

I wrote back, "Jimminycrickets! I think you've got it!"

I forgot to ask, "Why is it O.K. for guys like you to tell us to boycott Taco Bell because they're engaging in less than Christian business practices but not O.K. for guys like me to suggest redirecting money from guys like you who enable defiance of Biblical Christianity as upheld by our constitution so far yet so precariously?"

Just as well.

Go back to the last sentence of the first section of this KD.

@#$%

Speaking of hypocrisy, LI wrote about JJ: "It's clear now that JJ lashed out at BHO because he's jealous and frustrated. Jealous of a young black man who really has a chance to make it to the White House. Frustrated because BHO's appeal for self-reliance and strong fathers makes JJ's own blame game style of racial politics seem irrelevant and out of date...JJ made himself a comfortable living in the racial-grievance industry."

It will be interesting to see who's coated with more Teflon: JJ or BHO.

Crackers can't criticize either without being called racists; but what's gonna happen now that JJ's green eyes see a BHO who just ain't black enough for him?

@#$%

Can you imagine the hysterics if BO, SH, AC, LI, DC, JM, GWB, or any other white gal/guy got caught saying what JJ said about BHO?

Again, spell it with me: T-E-F-L-O-N.

@#$%

Speaking of the uncouth, I'm really tiring of those screaming talking heads who invite guests on their shows and then yell at 'em.

If you're gonna invite somebody to speak, then, uh, let 'em speak.

We're gonna miss Tim Russert and Tony Snow - exceptions to what has become the unrule.

@#$%

AC and LI are becoming very popular political commentators; elevating women to the level of obnoxiously rude talking heads which was once reserved for men only.

However, I am concerned about mixed messages on their websites.

While heralding traditional family values, the pictures on their homepages look like teases for porn sites.

@#$%

Speaking of mixed messages, what's going on up there in Green Bay?

Does anyone really think AR is better right now than BF?

And does anyone really think the players and fans don't know it?

And if VL were still in charge...

@#$%

Speaking of who's in charge, JL, my favorite candidate for President who has about as much of a chance of getting elected as me becoming another titular head of any of the mainline franchises which are really run by self-perpetuating bureaucracies which can only be tamed by the suggestion in the first section of this KD, has said he's not gonna be JM's VP.

If JM is as out of it as I think he is, he'll pick MR; proving he didn't learn much from the primaries.

@#$%

Speaking of cults, Salt Lake City Mormons want us to stop referring to, uh, their, uh, polygamists as Mormons.

What's up with that?

What about Joseph Smith, et.al.?

C'mon, guys!

It's who you, uh, are, uh, is, uh...

If you're gonna make old Joe and your other founding, uh, fathers into idols, stop banterin' and moanin' about Mormons who idolize 'em and, uh, practice what they preached.

@#$%

You can't blame Jesus for "Christians" who do not practice His ethics.

You can blame the founders when Mormons and Muslims act like 'em.

@#$%

Speaking of Muslims, the FBI reports al Qaida is seeking to acquire and detonate a WMD on USA soil.

I'm shocked!

Do you really think people who strap bombs to babies to blow up people in supermarkets and cut off the heads of teens who date non-Muslims and want to convert or kill everybody who are enabled by the peaceful and non-violent Muslims of the world who act deaf and dumb about their kin who strap bombs to babies to blow up people in supermarkets and cut off the heads of teens who date non-Muslims and want to convert or kill everybody would consider...?

@#$%

Israel does.

And Israel has no confidence in JM or BHO to stand up to 'em.

That's why they're practicing bombing runs over Iran right now; and that's why GWB has told the Israelis that he is prepared to approve a strike against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiations break down regardless of what happens on 11/4.

@#$%

On the, uh, somewhat lighter side, Cynthia McKinney and Bob Barr, ex-Georgia Congressfolks, have announced candidacies for President.

I feel much better about JM and BHO now.

@#$%

Cave canem.

There's a bit of the worst in the best of us.

And too often, like JJ just betrayed, it's caught on tape.

@#$%

Fortunately, the blood of Jesus erases bad tapes.

That's great news in the end.

I'd still prefer He come sooner than later.

I'm tired of rhetorical questions.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 11, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Jesse Jackson is not black.

He's green.

Just ask BHO.

@#$%

Speaking of hypocrisy, I'll be getting to another installment of Cave Canem (viz., The Confessions of RRK) in a few moments.

@#$%

I'm hoping the Democrats and Republicans are into confession and repentance too.

Wouldn't it be great if they decided to do, uh, a do-over at their conventions and dump their presumptive candidates?

If you're like me, you're voting for VP on 11/4.

@#$%

From a subscriber in Indiana: "There are already homosexuals serving ordained offices in the PCUSA and other mainline denominations; and among them are ones I know who are deliberately celibate and remarkably quiet. Such saints earn my highest respect and admiration...They are sometimes assailed by cruel gossips who speculate evil like some do in oil futures...These faithful servants are more wounded by the gross attention lavished on unrepentant gays who romp across the chancel without regard for God's Word...Thank you for contrasting the sin of gossip against that of homosexual behavior and recognizing the equity of iniquities. All of us have indeed gone astray...and Christ has born the burden, suffered the death, in order to redeem each one the Father gives Him."

He concluded, "Personally, I'd prefer a pew full of repentant gays to a sanctuary full of nattering gossips any day!"

Not, uh, bad.

@#$%

If denominationalists understood the difference between repentant and unrepentant or Biblical revelation and auto-suggestion, the mainliners wouldn't have moved to the sidelines of global and national religious life.

@#$%

Speaking of irreconcilables apart from Jesus, mainliners seem, uh, predestined to split over Biblical faith and morality.

One especially bright professor and pastor in Florida has proposed an overture for one of 'em: "Start the constitutional provisions so that presbyteries could vote whether they favored churches voting in a congregational meeting properly called by their sessions as to whether they wanted to be part of a new denomination or to remain in the PCUSA; and then be allowed to leave the PCUSA with all their assets...for a new denomination which would be divided in proportion to the total membership of churches voting for each denomination...Special formulas would be worked out for the Board of Pensions..."

You get the point; and if you'd like to read the whole proposed deal, just write to me and I'll, uh, connect you to the author and advocate.

@#$%

I hear another pastor in Florida is going to present the preceding to his presbytery; meaning he has decided to remain where he is until he retires or exits from the franchise.

@#$%

The property clause may fall sooner or later because you can't exercise selective constitutional fidelity ad nauseum; which is why San Jose decided to gut our BO/BC before some smart lawyer and fair judge caught on.

So you've got two years...[or much less if the apostates and accommodators continue to proceed unchecked]...to decide how you will remain to be faithful or separate to be faithful.

Churches trying to straddle the middle of the road are gonna be run over by fleeing members.

@#$%

Speaking of hypocrisy, I'll get back to Cave Canem (viz., Life).

@#$%

My parents, like You, never gave up on me.

They were poor when I was conceived; yet they did not prevent You from bringing me to life through them.

They marked me off as Yours not long after birth; though I proved original sin as early as recollection allows.

I'm not saying I've ever gotten over that inherited resistance to holiness; indeed, I know You know I know my mind often leads my body to wander from the paths of righteousness for my sake over Yours.

They, like You, have been on the receiving end of the struggle within which too often blurs light for darkness to emerge.

Yet they, like You, never gave up on me.

They loved me first.

You loved me first.

I love them now.

I love You now.

Life begins before the womb from You through parents and after the tomb to You.

I thank You like I thank them for never giving up on me; even when I ignored the sanctity of our relationships.

I thank You for helping me to see the lives of others as no more nor no less sacred than mine.

I will not give up on anyone because they and You established the pattern for my life in respect to the lives of all.

@#$%

I think of an old poem from the 60s:

I am blue.
You are yellow.
Together we make green.
Green is my favorite color.

@#$%

It's the green of agape.

It's a lot different from the shaded aspirations cited in the first section of this KD.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 10, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Have you read 2 Peter 2?

It, uh, fleshes out Proverbs 26:11.

It's why the subtitle to The Confessions of RRK is Cave Canem.

@#$%

Have you heard about the gay guy who is suing Zondervan and Thomas Nelson Publishers because "their" Bibles refer to homosexuality as sin?

He claims violation of his constitutional rights to, uh, whatever; claiming he has suffered "20 years of emotional duress and mental instability."

Aside from Freudian, Pauline, and the last great and late President of PTS' conclusions about his behavior, I think the guy's really out of it; because he should have sued Tyndale which has a lot more money since those Left Behind books.

@#$%

Now help me on this.

The gay guy is suing publishers who hawk the Bible which was written a long time ago by guys who were on the receiving end of His inspiration.

Shouldn't he being suing, uh, God instead of entrepreneurs who are just trying to make a buck off of God?

@#$%

Have you seen the prices of some of those Bibles; especially the genuine leather editions?

God's Word does not come cheap these days; kinda reminding me of the performer who said before a number, "And now I'd like to sing a song which the Lord gave to me for you; and if you use it without paying royalties to me, I'm gonna sue your _____ off!"

If God is the real author of the Bible and sacred music, how can anyone sue or profit or uh, uh, uh...?

@#$%

I'll bet it won't be too long before somebody tries to revise/rewrite/reinvent/reimagine original sacred literature to conform to cultural fads.

Oops.

Do you know the way to San Jose?

@#$%

It takes a lot of somethin' to say He never meant what He said in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture.

Now open your Bible to those texts which are mentioned in the first section of this KD.

@#$%

Now that I'm about to start those confessions which are gonna cause one of those leaps to another level of intimacy with Jesus and get me into more trouble with folks who really aren't that concerned about Him anymore in church and government, I may as well say something about gays.

I don't lose sleep over 'em.

Even though some guys like to watch women makin' out, I've never been into watching gays do much of anything; though male gays have always been my favorite waiters in the finest restaurants.

But I don't pick on gays, target 'em for anything other than agape, and really don't think their behavior is any better or worse than a whole lot of other stuff which ticks off anyone familiar with Holy Scripture - uh, not to mention, uh, the, uh, Author.

@#$%

I have lots of experience here.

I better clarify that.

I've counseled lots of gays over the years for many reasons with the preponderance being self-destructive proclivities.

But one instance related to the previous section of this KD was seminal.

The day after being installed as senior pastor of a very big and excessively rich congregation about 26 years ago, two elders came to me and said, "You've got to fire the organist because he's gay."

After asking how they knew he was gay and makin' 'em squirm a bit, I said, "I will fire him for being gay as soon as you call a congregational meeting to fire that associate pastor of ours who doesn't know if he's a Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, or what."

@#$%

How about this?

Let's just kick out all of the sinners!

But don't begin with the gossipers or no one will be left to kick out.

@#$%

I'm so tired of folks wanting to separate rather than reconcile.

Yeah, I believe homosexuality is a sin.

Even Kopper knows the difference.

But as long as gays don't force it down my throat and pretend He didn't say what He said, I take the longer approach: "Love the hell out of 'em!"

@#$%

People who are still trying to revise/rewrite/reinvent/reimagine Holy Scripture are gonna hate that last sentence of the last section just like those folks who assume God is just as obsessed with gays as they are.

@#$%

Let's be clear.

The holier we are, the, uh, wholier we are; and holiness begins with attending to rather than contending with His revelation in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by most mainline denominations' constitutions so far yet so precariously.

@#$%

If you want to be closer to God, get, uh, closer to God as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy Scripture.

That means get rid of all unholiness; or as much as you can until called home through His election.

That means stop gossiping, being nasty, doin' the nasty nastily, etc.

@#$%

Nobody gets better until recognizing everybody has room for improvement.

@#$%

Again, I don't lose sleep over gays; but please don't try to tell me that we need "more light" than what's already in the Bible.

That flatters you and insults Him.

Who do you think you are?

As I'm gonna confess, there are lots of things about being His that I don't like; but, uh, He's God and I'm, uh, me and the relationship is vertical not, uh, as horizontal as some fantasize.

The Bible is bigger than our favorite parts.

Our is to comply not to presume to contradict.

@#$%

So I'll never vote to affirm, condone, or participate in a gay or gossiper marriage.

I'll never vote to affirm, condone, or participate in the ordination of a self-avowed, self-affirming, and unrepentant gay or gossiper.

But if they're truly repentant, I may even affirm, condone, and participate in the ordination or marriage of a Red Sox fan.

@#$%

Here's a report from a not gay guy in Texas on the devolution of the PCUSA: "Many deceived Presbyterians will support the actions of this GA for its rejection of Biblical morality and its opening the windows of post-modernity...Too many of our fellow Presbyterians tend to fence-sit...Their convictions are soft and their theology short-rooted. They like to be liked...Many will leave now rather than wait for what may never be reversed...Many will defect-in-place and drop out of participation in their synods and presbyteries...Some will stand for truth, pick up the sword, and fight for right."

We'll, uh, He'll see.

@#$%

Truly, truly, I hear Him saying to you and me, "Cave canem."

@#$%

I love You, Lord.

I know I've not always acted like I love You; and I really relate to the apostle who confessed he didn't always do what he wanted to do when it came to faith and obedience.

I'd like to share the blame with others as if they share responsibility for how I have rejected Your will for my life.

I can't.

I know I am only responsible for what I say and do and how I respond to what others say and do.

I.

It's all about You, Jesus, when it comes to salvation; but I, and I alone, bear culpability for my life's insults to Your holiness.

So I begin these confessions knowing I cannot ask You to consider accomplices or enablers of my sins.

That's their business with You.

My business with You is me.

All I ask is what You've already given to me through faith in Jesus.

I love You, Lord.

That's why I am confessing.

I want You to know I know how much I have broken Your heart in my life.

I want my children to know I know You know their sins and will do for them as You have done for me and anyone who turns to You from the DNA of original sin to the grace of Your eternal intent.

I want everyone to know I know You know there is a dirty dog within each of us that needs continual confession to catalyze the repentance necessary to existential restoration as preface to glory.

My prayer is to return to You rather than the vomit of unholiness.

Lord, You have had mercy on me and not invoked my sins as inhibition to our relationship.

Lord, You will have mercy on me and not invoke my sins as inhibition to our relationship.

Your love exceeds the grasp of my logic.

I want You to know I know You love me.

Lord, I love You; and these confessions amplify my greatest goal, highest ambition, and most fervent prayer of putting it into more than words.

@#$%

Therefore, I urge you and me, cave canem.

Blessings and Love!

July 9, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Playing nine with my favorite Special Olympics golf champ almost five hours ago cleared the mind, enabled the even earlier fiber consumption, and provided sanctuary from the meanness, madness, and misery of life in the modern world; until sirens started blaring about something around the 3rd hole.

Ain't that a metaphor for life?

@#$%

Speaking of ministry chained to the mainline, I chauffeured an elder and the presbytery's permanent clerk over 357 miles at a cost of $49.07 (gas alone and not counting, uh, person hours) to a stated meeting highlighted by the unanimous decision to reduce the number of annual stated meetings from six to four.

We drove over 7 hours for less than five minutes of actual business.

Sirens.

@#$%

Truth is I really like our presbytery; and I had a good time yesterday with some old friends representing about 33% of the presbytery who showed up for a summer meeting just this side of the equator.

Blackhawk Presbytery treasures its irenic and redemptive spirit; and still loves Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by our franchise's constitution so far yet so precariously.

I like and trust all of our officers and almost all of our presbyters.

If you promise not to tell anybody, I really don't mind going to the meetings; unless, of course, we've got to drive to...

@#$%

An elder is mad at me because I still, uh, connect and relate to the franchise in a creative neglect kinda way: "You promised to ignore them. Let's do that. Change the sign! Get a new banner for our exhibit at the fair! Give up all of those communications which are swamping you. Your family on Bel-Mar and on the corner of Lincoln and Main need your full attention."

I can't argue with that.

Sirens.

@#$%

The best summary of the bad news from this year's GA is "A Call to Arms" via www.layman.org.

Sirens.

@#$%

I'm still looking for the best summary of the good news from this year's GA; but it may have gotten lost on the way to and from San Jose.

Sirens.

@#$%

A friend who says he's a liberal but is a lot more traditional than he pretends had some interesting comments on this year's GA: "I read all of your KDs and you're pretty funny for somebody living in the 16th century. Given my attention to your musings, I'm allowed to force you to read mine!...Whatever is supposed to be the new Form of Government is so bloody vague I don't know what's going on...Marriage is an economic institution that requires social guarantees and protection. When has affection been a civil right? Our culture depends upon each generation claiming values. The state has no vested interest in protecting expressions of affection...Down here in the trenches we were beginning to bridge the moralistic, righteous, and theological divide. Did we really need this GA to stir up sleeping dogs? Those fed up with either the perceived or de facto agendas from one faction have now been given further fire to go ballistic...Scrupling: how far does this go?...I thought I was fairly smart but I'm not really sure what AI really says and where it leaves me. It reminds me of my terrier trying to figure out which ball to play with; so he ends up running around in circles...Does scrupling in one presbytery allow for transfer to another presbytery?...Can you be a Reformed Quaker?...Legislating these issues has been comparable to arguing evacuation procedures on the Titanic without first realizing you don't have enough lifeboats for everyone...Let's just sanitize all the confessions. Do you realize how duplicitous this GA sounds?...I understand this obtuse understanding of ecumenism (sic) includes a call for Jews, Muslims, and Christians to celebrate religious holidays together and even worship together. Huh? I always thought the path to respect and understanding required clarity of where you stand..."

Sirens.

@#$%

From Florida: "Do you know JM's first wife was injured in an accident which left her with a significant challenge; so he dumped her for that 25 year old chick who was a beer heiress?...AC is leading a movement: get drunk and vote for JM!"

Sirens.

@#$%

From California (a deeply embedded Republican who knows the players and where the bodies are buried): "My predictions for the US Senate races. Currently, both parties hold 49 seats; but since JL and that commie BS both caucus with the 'crats, they have control...We will lose 5 seats; leaving us with 44 - but still enough to filibuster...We won't pick up any seats, although we have slim hope in LA and NJ...We lose both the youngest and the oldest: NH and AK along with VA, NM, and CO...The GOP is about to pay a terrible price for 12 years of Bushism wherein we squandered the legacy bequeathed to us by RR...President Obama! Get used to saying it!"

Sirens.

@#$%

They're so annoying.

They command, uh, attention.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 9, 2008

Remaining to be Faithful in the PCUSA

I've been swamped by members, family, friends, and subscribers from around the country who have "had it" with the increasingly unchecked apostasies of the PCUSA.

While I have written clearly and excessively for the proprieties of some regarding my response and intentions in a plethora of columns published by various, uh, publishers and several KDs (especially KDXLIII which follows) citing my rationale for remaining to be faithful rather than separating to be faithful, other opinions/words/discernments need to be in your mix; and so I commend www.presbyweb.com (the broadest reporting from all sides) and www.layman.org (more, uh, traditional and precise in chronicling the devolution of the PCUSA). I do not recommend the official website of the franchise because it has been a conspirator in enabling the apostasies.

Two particular commentaries are worth a few moments: (1) Dr. Ron Scates' pastoral letter to Dallas, Texas' Highland Park Presbyterian Church via www.hppc.org; and (2) "A Call to Arms" via www.layman.org.

Anyone who thinks the apostasies will be checked between GAs - two years of open warfare accelerating the exodus of believers from the PCUSA to franchises and non-denominationals who still love Jesus as attested by Holy Scripture - thinks an elephant is a mouse with glandular problems.

It's over.

Or as someone very close to me coined a few years back, "The PCUSA is irretrievably apostate under current management."

However, it is possible to remain and be faithful; and I have made that decision despite the inhibitions to our congregation and my ministry. I cannot and I will not "lead" a congregation out of the franchise and surrender tithes, offerings, properties, and assets to people who do not love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by our constitution so far yet so precariously.

Again, you can read my rationale as follows; or go to google and download all of the obnoxious things which I've written about the fulfillment of the franchise's thanatos libido.

Certainly, I will report news to our congregation and to my KD subscribers; and despite an occasional sarcastic comment or ten, I will not be spending much energy or emotion on the PCUSA anymore.

I will confront anyone who feeds the beast with the tithes and offerings of the faithful.

Anyone who says sending tithes and offerings to the GA assures a "seat at the table" or "voice" or whatever other lame rationalization to trick the faithful into supporting who and what are anathema to their fidelities is enabling the apostasies.

It's over.

People who love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by our constitution so far yet so precariously are the decided minority in the PCUSA with no prospects of becoming the majority before the parousia.

The choices seem clear: become apostate, accommodate, flee, fight, or exercise creative neglect.

I have made my choice to pray and work to remain to be faithful as pastor of the family of faith entrusted to me in Blackhawk Presbytery.

Creative neglect is my, uh, connection to the PCUSA (viz., GA, OGA, GAC, et.al.).

After over three decades of ordained ministry in the PCUSA and studying and observing over four decades of devolution by increasingly unchecked apostasies, I pray for the franchise's confession, repentance, and restoration; but I don't expect it anymore.

I will pray and labor to be a Godly person, father, husband, pastor, professor, and presbyter in BP which continues to treasure its irenic and redemptive spirit; and, in my spare time, working on my handicap, beginning Cave Canem in the next KD, and finishing off that homiletics book.

Lord, have mercy on the PCUSA and remnant remaining to be faithful

July 7, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Coming back from a Brewers-Pirates game in Milwaukee as part of my non-vacation on Sunday and wondering if I had watched MLB or ALB, I got behind a 90sish Jeep which had big bold letters painted on the back window: "Think! It's not illegal yet!"

I didn't know if they were driving back from San Jose or driving to the coming conventions for the elephantidae or totus jackasses; until I saw their brand new bumper sticker: "Ron Paul for President."

Though I've always thought RP's chances of becoming President were about as real as me getting elected to anything of significance in a mainline abomination, it was refreshing that some folks are still, uh, thinking about the bad choices for 11/4.

@#$%

Seriously, I will pray His best for BHO and JM before and after the, uh, election (Help me, Calvin!).

I'm also praying Democrats and Republicans come to their senses before really nominating 'em; because it's never too late to confess and repent until it's too late to confess and repent.

Democrats and Republicans seem hell-bent on these two guys; but I've always suspected they'd vote for Satan if it were their party's nominee.

Parenthetically, lots of mainliners are like that; surrendering their souls to the last popular vote enabled by spiritual indigestion.

I've got to watch my language; because somebody may take it, uh, seriously.

@#$%

San Jose.

BHO and JM.

Help us, Jesus!

@#$%

If you don't think everything's connected (Say what?), you haven't read Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

I would have referenced the Bible; but lots of my readers lost their way to and from San Jose and I figure their churches and seminaries are probably more familiar with the French priest than Holy Scripture.

And that, my friends, just about explains the crux of it all.

@#$%

I was watching Bishop T.D. Jakes on Sunday.

I don't expect mainliners or crackers to know him because he's a black believer; and too many whites don't know too many blacks and too many mainliners don't know too many believers.

Anyway, he caught my attention while describing too many of today's churches: "They're like airplanes circling the airport without ever landing."

@#$%

Then he said something that really, really, really reminded me of Clarence Jordan's hillbilly preacher: "I found out that revival sometimes don't mean bringin' people in but gettin' the people out who don't love Jesus and all of His children."

That quote was from the hillbilly preacher.

Here's the one from the bishop: "You can't have a revival until you have a funeral."

@#$%

When I was studying in Rome back in the 70s, I asked Father Fachna McCarthy when the RCs would get with it.

He said, "Some Cardinals will have to die."

He meant that literally.

@#$%

Jordan's hillbilly preacher and the bishop spoke metaphorically (I hope!).

Essentially, they are saying we must bury whatever distracts or detours us from the pure Word of God as personified in Jesus and prescribed in the Bible.

Hans Kung put it this way: "The agenda for the church is to discover what is permanent...originally meant before it was covered with the dust and debris of two thousand years."

@#$%

In other words, political parties and mainline abominations which are always trying to improve upon what He's already revealed are setting themselves up for really big, uh, falls.

@#$%

You know the kind: "I know that's what Jesus and the Bible say, but I think..."

@#$%

And to think the apostates and accommodating think people who love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture are arrogant.

@#$%

We're about to decide the future of our family of faith at First: mission post, museum, or mausoleum.

Our leaders who were led by Him so clearly know we're gonna be one of those Ms a lot sooner than later; and I think of the Monsignor who said, "God gives us our choices but we ourselves must choose."

And so I guess I'll be a pastor, docent, or chaplain before too long; or maybe just a professor and church planter.

We'll, uh, see...

@#$%

A corporate shrink once said something to me which kinda sounds like a punch line for those parables about witnessing and sowing: "We are not responsible for what others say and do; but we are responsible for what we say and do and how we respond to what others say and do."

I think it's the same as saying you can lead 'em to His waters but you can't make 'em...

@#$%

Speaking of confessions and remembering my favorite non-Wisconsin badger in Florida, here's the outline for what will start [to be included] in the next KD:

The Confessions of RRK
(cave canem)

Life
Learning
Living
Loving
Losing
Lost
Found
Family
Faith
Forever

I doubt anyone will want to publish it; so you'll get it for free via KDs (just like you've gotten everything else despite those 11Gs which are really 12 at last check).

It's gonna be one of those leaps to another level of intimacy with Jesus; and I'm gonna be leaving, uh, behind a lot of stuff which comforted me in the past like comparisons, rationalizations, accomplices, et.al.

Simply, I expect it to be the fruition of the shrink's counsel which I ignored years ago (see the previous section of this KD).

So don't worry about your name appearing in it to justify or rectify or whatever.

I'm writing it for Him and me and my children and anyone else who may need, uh, whatever they may need; especially Jesus.

@#$%

It's not illegal yet.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 5, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

Starbucks is closing 600 stores; but don't worry because 582 of 'em are on Chicago's Michigan Avenue.

I would worry about an ideologist masquerading in vestimenti on Michigan Avenue who has cited the causes as homophobia, GWB, and people who still think the Bible has authority for faith and morality.

He's among the conspirators who murdered the PCUSA which I don't talk about anymore.

Hmm.

@#$%

I went to a basketball game last Wednesday and saw an old friend who is a UCC pastor.

If you want to know what the PCUSA has become but can't see because you're still longing for the way things never were or maybe were but are no more, take a look at our denominational sibling.

Anyway, he told me that his congregation just pulled out because the UCC has gone over the edge; citing confused Christology and sexual ethics.

If I were still paying attention to our franchise, I'd say his rationalization sounds familiar.

I thought he was kin to the guy on Michigan Avenue.

I'm glad I was wrong because he's right.

Hmm.

@#$%

Aside from two subscribers in Florida who wrote to say I am stupid for taking a non-vacation and should shut up and stop the whining, I know I can be wrong when others are right.

I am categorically committed to Luther's confession without equivocation: "Unless I am convicted by Scripture and plain reason, I do not accept the authority of popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other. My conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me. Amen."

I know that sounds a little dramatic for folks who aren't serious about Savior Jesus as Lord as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by the PCUSA's constitution so far and so precariously.

Hmm.

@#$%

Speaking of confessions, I am flirting with other drivers.

Mine is just not faithful or forgiving.

Hmm.

@#$%

I've figured out the difference between Cubs and Yankees fans.

When things are going well for the Cubs, their fans expect them to go badly before too long.

When things are going badly for the Yankees, their fans expect them to improve before too long.

Hmm.

@#$%

I cannot vote for BHO because there is guilt by intimate association with mobsters, domestic terrorists, pastor disasters, America haters, whites who don't like blacks and blacks who don't like whites, a really loony General looking for a job, et.al.

Parenthetically, there's a difference between hanging out with as buddies and loving enough to witness to; and not knowing the difference is like ending clauses and sentences with prepositions.

I don't want to vote for JM because there is no intimate association with advocates of traditional values and intentional distancing from anyone who has 'em; and if he picks a cult member to run with him, there ain't no way...

Anyone who runs with JL will get my vote.

Hmm.

@#$%

I was driving to South Bend to visit the College Football Hall of Fame on July 4.

An old Cat Stevens' song came on: "I've seen a lot of what the world can do; and it's breaking my heart in two...Oh, baby, beware, it's a wild world."

He became a Muslim.

Hmm.

@#$%

I'm going to Starbucks for a cup of coffee.

Oops.

That one's closed.

Hmm.

@#$%

So much of life makes you go hmm.

They're parables.

Some get 'em and some don't get 'em.

Some see and some don't see.

Some people don't need drugs or alcohol to anesthetize themselves.

Maybe that's why YouTube is so popular.

Hmm.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 2, 2008

Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)

@#$%

My non-vacation ends 7/7.

It was supposed to end on 7/12; but I overheard a staff member say to a caller, "He's not preaching this Sunday but he is preaching the next Sunday which means he's back from non-vacation after this Sunday."

It's true!

I only work on Sundays!

@#$%

I'm reminded of another staff member who opened the door to my study for somebody while I was on my knees in prayer: "It's O.K. You can go in. He's not doing anything."

@#$%

The only beaches visited during my non-vacation have been the bunkers at Timber Pointe Golf Club.

@#$%

Non-vacation has been a really, really, really big mistake.

If you have to ask why, it wouldn't help to try to explain it to you.

@#$%

Speaking of the inexplicable, the PCUSA's most recent GA doesn't come to mind for three reasons: (1) Too many KDs have already looked at it; (2) I said I wouldn't be talking about what never was or maybe was but is no more ever again; and (3) "Turn out the lights, the party's over!"

@#$%

I didn't say I wouldn't report responses to those previous KDs.

While I'm not spending any more emotion or energy on trying to "renew" what must be newed, here are two quickies from subscribers:

>From Texas: "The PCUSA is a Zombie Church. It's dead,
but still moving enough to cause actual harm."

>From Pennsylvania: "Unlike you, I rarely write e-mails. You
have often wondered if the lampstand has been
removed from the PCUSA. Anyone who looks at
it now will have to conclude He has! Our Lord
will not associate with such unholy people making
such unholy decisions. His Holy Spirit does not
reside with the wickedness of the denomination
and its dirty politics. Saying all of this does not
diminish my feeling that God's hand can be and is
on many local congregations in the PCUSA. But
I will no longer pay any attention to the denomination,
waste no energy, or talk with the spirits who lead
this denomination. We will not feed the beast.
I am not surprised. The denomination is dead.
So let the dead in it bury their dead while I
join people who still believe in the living Christ
to spread His gospel rather than enable their
evil."

Whoa!

I can't write or talk like that about the franchise because I've redirected all of my passions to people who still love Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by our constitution so precariously.

Of course, my book sales and no responses to my begging for those 11Gs has sobered me about who really reads or cares about what I'm thinking or even discerning.

So here's something from a really, really, really important high steepler in Georgia which is gonna gain attention: "The PCUSA has been a slow train wreck for the past 30 years. Year by year, membership dwindles, conflicts mount, finances shrink and trust in the existing leaders and structures dissipates. With the most recent GA in San Jose, the smoke seems at last to have cleared, and the steaming debris of the PCUSA has settled into place. It's not a pretty sight. One thing is certain: this Humpty won't be getting back together again for a long time, if ever."

@#$%

Somebody asked what I mean by "creative neglect" as a response to an increasingly apostate franchise; which was kinda funny because she said previously, "I read and memorized every page of your last book."

Uh, except for anything on pages 53-64 which explains it in detail.

Oh yeah, the book is Fifteen Secrets which is now on sale via www.amazon.com.

Rosie has more readers.

I'm not really shocked; because Kurt Vonnegut snapped me out of it a long time ago (Palm Sunday, 1981): "I know what Delilah really did to Samson to make him as weak as a baby. She didn't have to cut his hair off. All she had to do was break his concentration."

But he was really onto something when he, uh, "preached" at NYC's St. Clement's Episcopal Church on Palm Sunday in 1980; which I often quote to doctoral candidates to snap them out of it: "People don't come to church for preachments, of course, but to daydream about God. I thank you for your sweetly faked attention."

I can almost hear Jesus quoting those last two Vonnegutianisms to the PCUSA.

@#$%

Oops!

I said I wasn't going to say anything more...

Hush my mouth!

@#$%

Besides, it's non-vacation; and while trying to type out this tight commentary, I got two more counseling appointments for this afternoon.

It's O.K.

I only work on Sundays; and I'll be back the Sunday after this Sunday.

@#$%

Blessings and Love!

July 1, 2008 Expanding Special GA Edition

Expanding Special GA Edition
4th RSV
(PCUSA - R.I.P.)

Well, friends, it's gettin' fast and furious; and some folks just aren't liberal enough
to entertain, uh, the diversity of opinion in our franchise (and related ones).

Even a friend got real nasty with me because, as he said,
"Our churches don't need to know what's going on."

Whoa!

Then a renewal group apologist tried to learn the identity of the gal/guy who took 'em on.

Whoa!

Read John 3:19-21!

If you've got nothing to hide, you don't need to hide it.

So here's a letter from a friend who is remaining to be faithful
in my own presbytery
to
his, I mean His, congregation:

Dear Bob,

Here's a letter which I just sent out to my congregation about GA; and thanks for your humor in these awful denominational days:

To state the obvious - living my faith is a lot tougher than talking about faith. This is no great surprise to anyone! Jesus said, "So do not worry about tomorrow..." But over the last several days, I have found myself plenty worried about tomorrow.

The PCUSA seems intent on imploding! The Lord Jesus who reigns on high desires the beauty and purity of His church. But we Presbyterians seem lustfully giddy at the opportunity to dive into the adulterous mud of unfaithfulness and sin.

Lord Jesus, I am worried!

GA, our highest governing body, met last week in San Jose. I am told that people like you and me comprise our GA, common believers from faithful churches, elected to discern and follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit. However, based upon the decisions of GA, I am not convinced of the former statement. GA voted in three separate decisions to make it easier for Presbyterian churches to ordain gays and lesbians. GA suggested that the God of Jesus Christ is no different than the God of Islam. Those who support such decisions are urging people like me who are troubled by these decisions to be patient and see what God is doing.

40 years of debating and waiting is not long enough?

Lord Jesus, I am worried!

Presbyterians seem endlessly preoccupied with gay sex. Many evangelical churches have left the denomination. I have always felt a call to stay, and be the proverbial "voice in the wilderness." I may not have been the loudest voice, but neither have I ignored the apostasy within our denomination. But, I assumed that faithful witness to Jesus would overcome unfaithfulness.

Lord Jesus, I am worried!

I have listened, encouraged, and prayed.

Today, Lord Jesus, I am worried!

While GA playfully wallowed in the mud of accommodation, churches like ours struggles to be faithful in a consumer culture of self. Attendance is down. Giving is down. Visitors seem far and few. Does GA know this? Is it me? Do we take the simplistic Christian consumer approach to reverse these trends? People are anxious about these days of economic uncertainty. Cancer and other diseases are ever-present. Families are stressed. Relationships are strained. Real community is being overwhelmed by virtual social networking.

Lord Jesus, I am worried!

Maybe all of this is simply the frustrated ramblings of a man now in his 50s, growing hair in the wrong places, and wondering if his golf game...[Like this guy!]...has seen its best days...[Never!]. What happened to the optimism of that young Jesus freak?

Lord Jesus, I am worried!

But then, I hear the voice of Jesus, "But strive first for the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all..."

By Your grace and only in Your grace, Jesus, I will strive at home, in the church, in our community, and, yes, even in the denomination.

But at least for this day, Lord Jesus, I am worried!

Lord, have mercy on the PCUSA and all who remain to be faithful!

July 1, 2008 Special GA Edition

Special GA Edition
3rd RSV
(PCUSA - R.I.P.)

Whoa!

The apostate, accommodating, and remnant are chiming in more than ever before
in the aftermath of the GA which will accelerate the PCUSA's 42 year decline.

KD's author/editor/gadfly has been lauded and lambasted.

And while she/he/it has decided commentary on what
never was or maybe was but is no more is a waste
of time, emotion, and energy, notable responses
are worth sharing as insightful or inciteful.

Of course, if you're a denominational jingoist,
just close your eyes and wish upon a
star that it'll all be better soon.

Wish upon a star?
That's next!!!

Regardless, while I will remain to be faithful, here are some insights/incites from a brother who separated to be faithful:

Dear KD,

You have forced me to break my vow of silence about the recent meeting of the GA of the PCUSA. This KD is especially well done and on target; which will cause mindless loyalists to attack you personally for telling the truth prophetically. So I had to respond.

My first response to this GA included tears, weeping, and wailing over one I once loved. More than ever, I understand God's heart as expressed in Hosea. The PCUSA has chosen to play the whore; selling what is precious to God for the pleasures of the world. It is very sad.

My second response comes from reading the press releases of all the renewal groups and organizations. They are passionate in their despair, vexed in their language, and concise in their analysis; but their words are empty. The "renewal" groups within the PCUSA are great at "huffing and puffing" while anemic at action. We've heard it all before: "Oh me, oh my." We have seen the looks of angst as hands are wrung tight in worry as the empty promises to change the church are made.

I left the PCUSA because of the "renewal" groups.

After listening to their litanies of empty promises for years and never seeing them take a solid stand against the apostasies of Louisville, Midland, and Monroeville (GA, synods, and presbyteries), I walked away. Actually, I ran away because Goliath is in hot pursuit of me and the congregation I serve.

Now, all my friends in the "renewal" groups will be chipping in 92 cents apiece to sit on the other side of the courtroom and fight against me. People scoff at the 92 cents "Lawsuit Tax" which will be pressed upon the people. The leaders of the "renewal" groups will talk about how bad it is, but they'll send it with no more than a whimper of protest. I can hear them now, "It's only 92 cents, that won't even pay for our lawyers to copy 1/2 sheet of paper for their files. Withholding our gift won't make a difference. So let's send it, with our eyes closed, just like we do when we send our "Abortion Dues" to Louisville to help fund the killing of babies in the name of God. I mean my portion of the "Abortion Dues" isn't enough to pay for the aborting of a whole baby, at best I am only aborting a foot, the left lobe of one lung, or just one of the chambers of the heart."

Someone needs to ask the "renewal" group leaders why they will not "fight like real men, like Scotsmen with bravehearts" against the Royal Crown of Louisville?

I'll tell you why!

They have too much to lose - their big pulpits, their community prestige, their vacations to Aruba, their luxury homes in the suburbs, their daily comforts, their securities vested for retirement, and the approval rating of everyone from "Silent Sam" to Hugh Hefner. They won't face the mirror about why they have accommodate the Louisville Papacy, because...well, to steal a phrase..."They can't handle the truth" about the reason behind their complicity.

No, the "renewal" groups and their leaders have no guts.

How many of them went home from GA and told the truth to their congregations about what happened at GA and then declared, "It's time to leave. I'm leaving. I'm done. If you don't want to come, I'm still leaving"? I doubt if any of them did this. Most likely, they went home and prayed like hell that the local news rag was truly secular, didn't give a hoot about Christians, and refused to run the AP story about GA's atrocities. I suspect they were on their knees giving thanks that the PCUSA is a sideline church, a sidebar to real life, and a mere trifle for which no one cares. I am sure they are grateful the PCUSA has become so insignificant.

Sunday morning I was hit with the news of GA as I greeted worshippers. However, I heard comments from the other shore, rather than from the deck of the Titanic. From the shore, this is what I heard, "I am glad we left!" I heard these thankful words as I saw tears flowing from eyes and hearts breaking in despair. The folks here ache and weep for those of you who are still on the Titanic. We are grateful to be safely ashore, yet we are grieved to see the sinking ship of the PCUSA lead so many to their spiritual death.

Is it too late to jump ship and leave for another denomination?

No, it's not, but please don't call me and ask me about our new home in another Reformed body. If you call me, I will be accused of recruiting you to come and join us. Then, the PCUSA which believes in universal ecumenism, will cry "foul" and seek to have us kicked out of the WARC (Whoopee!). No, the PCUSA will pray to Hindu goddesses, for Islamic terrorists, Shirley Maclaine's candles, and for Barack H. Obama; but "Woe to those who leave the PCUSA" to worship elsewhere and to enjoy the freedom to worship God according to Scripture and as guaranteed in our nation's Constitution.

The most damning comment I heard from GA was the one offer by a commissioner who said, "The most gracious separation plan would be for them to leave the keys when they leave." To which I might add, for him, "But it's O.K. to take all the Bibles because we don't need them anymore and the local township will charge us a fee if we overload the dumpster with them."

Well, my friend, for God's sake, we took the Bibles, the cross, and the keys!

Maybe we can talk at recess.

Whoa!

For those of us who will remain to be faithful,
it's gonna be tough. The apostate buoyed
by the accommodating will continue to
assault all held to be sacred.

While the rhetoric of this particular
response is stiff, it's gonna take
a stiff spiritual spine to endure.

God have mercy on the PCUSA
and the remaining remnant.

By the way, subscribers who, uh, "wish" to rebut the preceding
are invited to send in their, uh, ventings. Of course,
I'm done! I will remain to be faithful by being
a faithful pastor in our family of faith and
our presbytery which is still, uh, faithful.
But I will no longer comment on something
that never was or maybe was but is no more.