Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
PBHO is gonna name a Cyber Czar.
I'm rooting for big Al who invented the net.
Why do I feel like singing about freedom with Janis in a fleeting kinda way?
@#$%
@#$%
Did I ever tell you why I like PBHO?
He reminds me sooooooo much of some of my younger professors when I was separating myself from reality by degrees.
Of course, I never wanted any of 'em to be, you know, uh, in charge/control of anyone/anything really important.
They had this idea/hallucination that they knew more about everything than anybody.
Professors are like that.
I know.
I'm one.
Read 1 Corinthians 1 sometime.
@#$%
Sotomayor comes to mind.
I like the name - kinda reminds me of a cute convertible two-seater or Latino chopper shop.
Be that as it's not, she's gonna be confirmed because PBHO's in charge/control even if, like those younger professors of mine, he's leadin' with two feet planted firmly in the air.
Psst.
I forgot.
Is there still another party besides his in America?
Be that as it is, the slow train's comin' and PBHO is the conductor.
@#$%
I dated some of my younger female professors; though an older other gender one hit on me a few times.
It helped with grades and other, uh, measurements of life.
Judge Sotomayor kinda reminds me of one - a French professor - which means I may not be able to separate some thoughts on this nomination.
She seems qualified; or, at least, she's, uh, at least, as or even more qualified than the others sittin' on the bench already.
I probably woulda dated her too.
Sorry.
@#$%
Of course, I dated lots of folks along the way and didn't marry 'em or want 'em to, you know, uh, be in charge/control of too much.
She has joked a lot about judges making more than interpreting laws: "...Court of Appeals is where policy is made. And I know, and I know, that this is on tape, and I should never say that. Because we don't 'make law,' I know..."
She's all for Roe v. Wade which means she gets the support of the mainliners.
She's got an interesting take on the 2nd Amendment: "The Second Amendment applies only to limitations the federal government seeks to impose on this right...not upon that of the state."
She has a very strict view of church-state separation; which is very good considering the mantra of her boss: "This is no longer a Christian nation."
She's gonna drive 'em wild on the big court when she gets there; noting 3 of her 5 decisions were reviewed and reversed by her soon-to-be colleagues with Chief Justice Roberts saying her method of reading the law "flies in the face of the statutory language."
She's kinda like a reverse racist; proclaiming at Berkeley Law School, "I would hope that a wise Latina woman with the richness of her experience would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
Two of her own former clerks have weighed in: One saying she "has an inflated opinion of herself and is kind of a bully on the bench" and another saying she's "not that smart and kind of a bully on the bench."
Hmm.
Aside from the dating memories, do I see/sense some qualities continuing to shape this new administration?
Now for the good news!
She loves the Yankees!
Maybe she's not gonna enable the socialist's agenda through that big court after all.
@#$%
@#$%
Speaking of sports, Michael Vick will be free to start playing football in about a month; and those closest to him say he's really, really, really sorry about, you know, being such a bad guy in the past.
Refreshing memories, he was a drug abuser who abused dogs in a major way.
Parenthetically, it's O.K. to murder unborn babies in America; but don't mess with Marley or Kopper.
Intellectual/moral consistency isn't exactly big around these parts these days.
Be that as it is, the Colts, Falcons, Jets, and Texans have already said they ain't interested; which means that other big Al on the left coast will probably offer a contract to him before training camps open.
Wanting to love Jesus which means I've gotta pray and labor to love like Jesus means I'm willing to forgive and kinda forget; and if I were a Lions fan, I'd declare absolute absolution and give anyone/anything a try at this point.
Besides, look at some of the miscreants who've not been denied an athletic way of making ends meet: Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby were KKKers, DiMaggio and Greenberg were connected, Ty Cobb bragged about murdering somebody, Grover Cleveland Alexander pitched drunk during prohibition, Sandy Koufax had an affinity for nonanabolic steroids, Mike Tyson always bit off more than he could chew, Joe Namath wore panty hose, Magic made HIV into a celebrity sport, Giambi is whacking away again in Oakland, and the "Birdman" is back in Denver.
I say give another chance to the VTecher.
It's the only, uh, Christian thing to do.
@#$%
Here's one that's slippin' under the radar of the MSM.
Nine pastors in Pakistan could end up in prison because they used loudspeakers to broadcast sermons and prayers from their churches back on Easter.
While the Muslims get to screech all they want over loudspeakers from their cult towers/mosques all over Pakistan five times a day, Christians can't ring their bells or broadcast their stuff in areas under Islamic rule.
So the Christian pastors will probably go to jail or have their heads cut off with rusty Swiss Army knives in some kinda tribute to Allah and his bloodthirsty prophet.
Hmm.
I don't know if there's a connection, but one local hospital's chaplains are really ticked off at me for leaving Christian literature in, uh, hospital literature racks while not uttering a peep about the anti-Christian stuff infecting those racks and another local hospital's administration has just ordered the removal of all Gideons' Bibles because they could spread germs - Don't miss the metaphor on that one!!! - while not restricting the distribution of newspapers, other literature, and other stuff that could carry...
Do you hear Dylan singing about that slow train yet?
@#$%
@#$%
Well, you probably won't hear from me for about a week or so.
I'm heading to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania which is just south of Scranton which is not JB's home town for some decent pizza and, uh, yeah, to see my parents and other relatives.
I'll be gone for about 4 days.
And if big Al becomes Cyber Czar, you may never hear from me again.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Visit www.koppdisclosure.com before the Cyber Czar shuts us down/up!!!
KDs are designed/developed/inspired/mused/auto-suggested/indigested to make folks think; an especially uncommon experience among Democrats, Republicans, and jingoistic mainline denominationalists who continue to discourage dissent with their ever-threatening thought police.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
May 26, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
My youngest got into it with a school teacher during recess.
The conflict and context weren't as relevant as the opportunity to talk about something that most folks acknowledge intellectually and even spiritually while much fewer of 'em assimilate emotionally.
No one is always all right; or as I've come to learn after over three decades of pastoral psychotherapy, there are three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth.
@#$%
@#$%
I've also come to realize even church folks who say they believe in Jesus' way of doing things often contradict that claim.
They like Matthew 18 if it works for them.
Truth is too many folks will resort to whatever works to get what they want; so if the rules don't work for 'em, they'll make new rules or break old ones...or quit.
@#$%
I see it a lot in the church.
You know how it goes.
Somebody doesn't get her or his way by following the rules of decency and order; so they meet in the parking lot with other dissidents or get on the gossip grapevine or start a petition or stop attending/giving or, if all else fails, quit and go to another church and, eventually, repeat the pathology after slithering into...
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this after someone loses a vote in an ecclesiastical judicatory at any level, "Well, I guess I should resign and just leave and just go to..."
Geez.
And to think some churchgoers still wonder why so many of the unchurched don't want to buy what they're selling.
Yeah.
Let us church folks teach/show the world how to get along.
@#$%
Getting back to my youngest, I told him to forget about justice.
It's like an American Indian concluded after another of the many instances of getting screwed by the white man: "Justice in America means just us."
Sure, we live in the fairest of all nations by my observation.
Nobody is jumping over fences to get out of the USA.
I've traveled around much of the world; and I read and listen a lot.
Ain't no way I want to live in another country.
Dang! Even the best hotels in Europe _____ when compared to our hourly stop and flop houses.
We may have a rookie in the big house with a loon just a heartbeat away with the wicked witch of the left coast in the next wing but I still don't see a better deal on the planet.
We're not perfect.
Nobody's perfect.
I told my youngest to do his best...and then forget about her/him/it.
@#$%
@#$%
Let me put it another way.
Bert Atwood was one of the more honest professors to cross my homiletical path.
He'd often say, "No matter how good you are or can become, you'll never be good enough not to need a Savior."
Fortunately, Jesus is perfect for that role.
Of course, He's God.
The rest of us just pray and labor to get better over time and trust Him to fill in the gap in the end.
@#$%
The woman who called me about twenty times last Saturday because she wanted to kill her ex-husband comes to mind.
She confessed uncontrollable anger.
She wanted me to go to her house to heal her.
"No," I said, "you don't need me to heal you. Besides, I can't. You need Jesus, friend. Truth is you rarely worship, don't attend any adult education classes, and only call me when you need money or want something else. My son is about to come up to bat; so I'll be quick. You need intimacy with Jesus; and when you hang out with Him long enough, then your anger will dissipate and you'll start experiencing what Paul talked about in Galatians 5:22-23."
It may be some of the best counsel to ever pass through my lips.
@#$%
I've been checking with peers and other people professionals and we all agree this is the worst time in our memories/experiences when it comes to self-destructive behaviors and folks just being plain old ____ed off at everybody about everything.
It's hard for folks to embrace eloquent nothingness about hope and change while the economy's in the crapper, Muslims keep freakin' out all over the place, the Cubs are playing like it's late September, and the dude who sets the tone for it all keeps saying, "We're no longer a Christian nation."
O.K.
If everything's going to hell, now seems to be a really good time to turn to someone a lot more heavenly.
It's like I told my youngest: "Sometimes it's better to talk to God about some people than to try to talk to some people about God."
Yes, we're being driven to our knees.
Hmm.
I guess there is hope for redemptive change after all.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
I need your help!
Kathie is going to put a biker/non/biker survey on www.koppdisclosure.com.
I really need your input as I probe biker culture as metaphor and challenge
to the church.
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
My youngest got into it with a school teacher during recess.
The conflict and context weren't as relevant as the opportunity to talk about something that most folks acknowledge intellectually and even spiritually while much fewer of 'em assimilate emotionally.
No one is always all right; or as I've come to learn after over three decades of pastoral psychotherapy, there are three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth.
@#$%
@#$%
I've also come to realize even church folks who say they believe in Jesus' way of doing things often contradict that claim.
They like Matthew 18 if it works for them.
Truth is too many folks will resort to whatever works to get what they want; so if the rules don't work for 'em, they'll make new rules or break old ones...or quit.
@#$%
I see it a lot in the church.
You know how it goes.
Somebody doesn't get her or his way by following the rules of decency and order; so they meet in the parking lot with other dissidents or get on the gossip grapevine or start a petition or stop attending/giving or, if all else fails, quit and go to another church and, eventually, repeat the pathology after slithering into...
I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this after someone loses a vote in an ecclesiastical judicatory at any level, "Well, I guess I should resign and just leave and just go to..."
Geez.
And to think some churchgoers still wonder why so many of the unchurched don't want to buy what they're selling.
Yeah.
Let us church folks teach/show the world how to get along.
@#$%
Getting back to my youngest, I told him to forget about justice.
It's like an American Indian concluded after another of the many instances of getting screwed by the white man: "Justice in America means just us."
Sure, we live in the fairest of all nations by my observation.
Nobody is jumping over fences to get out of the USA.
I've traveled around much of the world; and I read and listen a lot.
Ain't no way I want to live in another country.
Dang! Even the best hotels in Europe _____ when compared to our hourly stop and flop houses.
We may have a rookie in the big house with a loon just a heartbeat away with the wicked witch of the left coast in the next wing but I still don't see a better deal on the planet.
We're not perfect.
Nobody's perfect.
I told my youngest to do his best...and then forget about her/him/it.
@#$%
@#$%
Let me put it another way.
Bert Atwood was one of the more honest professors to cross my homiletical path.
He'd often say, "No matter how good you are or can become, you'll never be good enough not to need a Savior."
Fortunately, Jesus is perfect for that role.
Of course, He's God.
The rest of us just pray and labor to get better over time and trust Him to fill in the gap in the end.
@#$%
The woman who called me about twenty times last Saturday because she wanted to kill her ex-husband comes to mind.
She confessed uncontrollable anger.
She wanted me to go to her house to heal her.
"No," I said, "you don't need me to heal you. Besides, I can't. You need Jesus, friend. Truth is you rarely worship, don't attend any adult education classes, and only call me when you need money or want something else. My son is about to come up to bat; so I'll be quick. You need intimacy with Jesus; and when you hang out with Him long enough, then your anger will dissipate and you'll start experiencing what Paul talked about in Galatians 5:22-23."
It may be some of the best counsel to ever pass through my lips.
@#$%
I've been checking with peers and other people professionals and we all agree this is the worst time in our memories/experiences when it comes to self-destructive behaviors and folks just being plain old ____ed off at everybody about everything.
It's hard for folks to embrace eloquent nothingness about hope and change while the economy's in the crapper, Muslims keep freakin' out all over the place, the Cubs are playing like it's late September, and the dude who sets the tone for it all keeps saying, "We're no longer a Christian nation."
O.K.
If everything's going to hell, now seems to be a really good time to turn to someone a lot more heavenly.
It's like I told my youngest: "Sometimes it's better to talk to God about some people than to try to talk to some people about God."
Yes, we're being driven to our knees.
Hmm.
I guess there is hope for redemptive change after all.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
I need your help!
Kathie is going to put a biker/non/biker survey on www.koppdisclosure.com.
I really need your input as I probe biker culture as metaphor and challenge
to the church.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
May 21, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
I went to one of my two favorite coffee shops in town (check the ad in the right column) and ordered oatmeal because my doctor says I've got to change my diet because I flunked the last three cholesterol checks after giving up on meds that either destroy my liver, catalyze muscle tone akin to Marilyn Manson, accelerate arthritis, or make me look like the Elephant Man.
While I've never been a white rabbit, I was up for the pills if it meant not giving up on pizza, Angus, Sugar Babies, Breyer's, chicken/turkey skin, bacon, sausage, chocolate licorice, M&Ms, Butterfingers, raw Bisquick, shellfish, wings, calamari (fried, of course), cookie dough, Fiesta Cancun, cow products, and other personal dietary favorites/staples.
I am, after all, a child of the...
They were out of oatmeal.
Figures.
Oatmeal is one of the few things that's good for me which I actually like to eat; and they were out of it.
So I ordered a bacon and egg muffin with cheese.
@#$%
Actually, I was in a muffin mood.
It's like broccoli.
Anyone pretending to prefer chipmunk food over a good old medium rare slice of steer can't be trusted.
It's just not...human.
Yeah, the green stuff will help you live longer, poop regularly, lose weight, and make you a big star at the next PETA or Greenpeace brunch; but I'm talking about tastebuds.
Maybe this is just a metaphor for Romans 7:13ff.
@#$%
I'm reminded of Stain on the Collar.
It was gonna be my ticket from Dyna to Road King.
It was gonna be my way to make a lot of $; which is really important in my line of work when you finally realize you ain't gonna...
Succinctly, it was a novel about what it's really, really, really like to be a pastor in today's corrupted church.
It was about real people who were really changed by a real relationship with the real Jesus; as well as the really phony people who hang around, uh, pollute churches by raising everything but heaven.
It was about some of the saints and loons who I've met over the years, the propositions that I've received and embraced if you know what I mean, the deceits, personal and corporate hypocrisies, and all of the rest that insure a bestseller in today's market; and when you've had four or five losers in a row like me...
It was hot!
It made Andrew Greeley look like an altar boy.
Aside from my serious desire to pass on the FXDWG to my youngest and mount the big mule, I was gonna pay off my sister's and friends' bills, pay off a son who thinks he deserves more than he got, shower my wife with whatever, and have enough $ so I don't have to beg people to fork over for the kinda church stuff that they should be thrilled to enable out of thanks for their confident living in the assurance of eternal life.
Or something like that.
Then I showed the manuscript to my mother.
@#$%
My mom likes oatmeal.
She agreed with the editor who said it would make a lot of $.
Then she said, "Bobby, I don't think someone who wants to honor Jesus..."
Trumped.
@#$%
I formatted the disks and burned the manuscript in some kinda OTish offering.
My mom wrote about a week later:
Dear Bobby,
This is just a quick note to let you know how proud I am
of you. I'm glad you trashed that book. Now I know you're
happy, satisfied with yourself, and finally growing up. Money
will come another way. God always has His plans.
Love,
Your Mother
O.K.
I'm still waiting.
@#$%
@#$%
I'm starting another book.
It will be called %ers with the subtitle Biblical Christianity and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; or, uh, something like that.
I'm starting the theological-via-homiletical outline with previews every Sunday starting on 6/19/09; and you can go to www.belvpresbyterian.org for the calendar.
Essentially, it's gonna be about biker culture as a metaphor and challenge to the church.
It won't be oatmeal.
Raw meat.
I'll talk with my sister before I show it to my mother.
@#$%
@#$%
The line between what's good and bad is often blurred.
Stain on the Collar was all about making $; and I was willing to shelve some Jesus to do it.
%ers will be about making disciples with one of my passions as a metaphor for the good, bad, and ugly in the church.
Of course, if I make some money in the deal...
It's hard to shake that DNA from the garden despite mothers who take Deuteronomy 6 to heart.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
If you want to see the mule and its jack___, you've gotta go to www.koppdisclosure.com
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
I went to one of my two favorite coffee shops in town (check the ad in the right column) and ordered oatmeal because my doctor says I've got to change my diet because I flunked the last three cholesterol checks after giving up on meds that either destroy my liver, catalyze muscle tone akin to Marilyn Manson, accelerate arthritis, or make me look like the Elephant Man.
While I've never been a white rabbit, I was up for the pills if it meant not giving up on pizza, Angus, Sugar Babies, Breyer's, chicken/turkey skin, bacon, sausage, chocolate licorice, M&Ms, Butterfingers, raw Bisquick, shellfish, wings, calamari (fried, of course), cookie dough, Fiesta Cancun, cow products, and other personal dietary favorites/staples.
I am, after all, a child of the...
They were out of oatmeal.
Figures.
Oatmeal is one of the few things that's good for me which I actually like to eat; and they were out of it.
So I ordered a bacon and egg muffin with cheese.
@#$%
Actually, I was in a muffin mood.
It's like broccoli.
Anyone pretending to prefer chipmunk food over a good old medium rare slice of steer can't be trusted.
It's just not...human.
Yeah, the green stuff will help you live longer, poop regularly, lose weight, and make you a big star at the next PETA or Greenpeace brunch; but I'm talking about tastebuds.
Maybe this is just a metaphor for Romans 7:13ff.
@#$%
I'm reminded of Stain on the Collar.
It was gonna be my ticket from Dyna to Road King.
It was gonna be my way to make a lot of $; which is really important in my line of work when you finally realize you ain't gonna...
Succinctly, it was a novel about what it's really, really, really like to be a pastor in today's corrupted church.
It was about real people who were really changed by a real relationship with the real Jesus; as well as the really phony people who hang around, uh, pollute churches by raising everything but heaven.
It was about some of the saints and loons who I've met over the years, the propositions that I've received and embraced if you know what I mean, the deceits, personal and corporate hypocrisies, and all of the rest that insure a bestseller in today's market; and when you've had four or five losers in a row like me...
It was hot!
It made Andrew Greeley look like an altar boy.
Aside from my serious desire to pass on the FXDWG to my youngest and mount the big mule, I was gonna pay off my sister's and friends' bills, pay off a son who thinks he deserves more than he got, shower my wife with whatever, and have enough $ so I don't have to beg people to fork over for the kinda church stuff that they should be thrilled to enable out of thanks for their confident living in the assurance of eternal life.
Or something like that.
Then I showed the manuscript to my mother.
@#$%
My mom likes oatmeal.
She agreed with the editor who said it would make a lot of $.
Then she said, "Bobby, I don't think someone who wants to honor Jesus..."
Trumped.
@#$%
I formatted the disks and burned the manuscript in some kinda OTish offering.
My mom wrote about a week later:
Dear Bobby,
This is just a quick note to let you know how proud I am
of you. I'm glad you trashed that book. Now I know you're
happy, satisfied with yourself, and finally growing up. Money
will come another way. God always has His plans.
Love,
Your Mother
O.K.
I'm still waiting.
@#$%
@#$%
I'm starting another book.
It will be called %ers with the subtitle Biblical Christianity and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance; or, uh, something like that.
I'm starting the theological-via-homiletical outline with previews every Sunday starting on 6/19/09; and you can go to www.belvpresbyterian.org for the calendar.
Essentially, it's gonna be about biker culture as a metaphor and challenge to the church.
It won't be oatmeal.
Raw meat.
I'll talk with my sister before I show it to my mother.
@#$%
@#$%
The line between what's good and bad is often blurred.
Stain on the Collar was all about making $; and I was willing to shelve some Jesus to do it.
%ers will be about making disciples with one of my passions as a metaphor for the good, bad, and ugly in the church.
Of course, if I make some money in the deal...
It's hard to shake that DNA from the garden despite mothers who take Deuteronomy 6 to heart.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
If you want to see the mule and its jack___, you've gotta go to www.koppdisclosure.com
Friday, May 15, 2009
May 15, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I forgot Secretary's Day.
I used to be reminded by a Mary Kay babe who started another business that I enabled.
She left the church after I wrote a prayer/blessing for the business.
It must have been a bad prayer.
Moretheless, nobody reminded me.
I'm not blaming anyone because I should have made it a priority to know when it is because it's one of the few days that our over-worked and under-compensated secretaries get some TLC.
I think I forgot because I was too preoccupied with, uh, myself.
@#$%
Again, I'm not blaming anyone; but I wonder why nobody in the church reminded me.
I know the Mary Kay babe made money off me because she'd put together some really nice baskets that I'd buy and give to 'em; so maybe her interest wasn't totally selfless.
It kinda reminds me of Pastor Appreciation Month in October, Christmas, Easter, and all of those other occasions that used to prompt some TLC toward guys/gals like me.
I think we forget occasions to spread some TLC around because we're too preoccupied with...
@#$%
Speaking of preoccupations, PBHO is still speakin' at Notre Dame's 164th commencement (scroll down for a few bytes/bites).
I, uh, forget the date but it's soon.
Anyway, here's some of what they're gonna say to, uh, justify/rationalize the honorary doctorate: "...whose historic election opened a new era of hope in a country long divided by its history of slavery and racism. A community organizer who honed his advocacy for the poor, the marginalized and the worker in the streets of Chicago, he now organizes a larger community, bringing to the world stage a renewed American dedication to diplomacy and dialogue with all nations and religions committed to human rights and the global common good. Through his willingness to engage with those who disagree with him and encourage people of faith to bring their beliefs to public debate, he is inspiring this nation to heal its division of religion, culture, race and politics in the audacious hope for a brighter tomorrow."
Whoa.
Randall Terry, a real pain in the aspirations of abortionists like you know who, released a response in South Bend (May 14): "We are begging for a bishop or a Vatican official to bring this scandal to an end."
Alan Keyes, another pain in the aspirations of abortionists like you know who who couldn't beat PBHO in his run to become Illinois' junior U.S. Senator after serving as a junior Illinois legislator after serving as a community organizer, released a response in the same city on the same day: "This idolatrous language confirms the scandalous nature of the invitation and honorary degree being given to PBHO. It not only honors evil, it exalts and worships it."
Whoa.
Keyes went a little over the top on that one; kinda like the comedian who said she wants Rush Limbaugh's kidneys to fail.
Hmm.
PBHO was sitting next to the potty-mouthed comedian when she said that.
He laughed.
Reporting on that has been limited; but I wonder what would happen if RL said he wanted more than PBHO's socialist agenda to fail...
Frankly, I don't understand why RCs are so upset about an abortionist speaking at an RC educational institution that's related/supposedly/in/consonance to the moral teachings of the RCC like Evangelium Vitae: "Laws which authorize and promote abortion and euthanasia are...radically opposed not only to the good of the individual but also to the common good...Disregard for the right to life...is what most directly conflicts with the possibility of achieving the common good...to kill unborn human life...is...really making a 'tyrannical' decision with regard to the weakest and most defenseless of human beings..."
Maybe I don't understand because I'm in one of those mainline denominations that determines faith and morality by the latest popular vote.
Francis Schaeffer was right: "Ours is a post-Christian world in which Christianity, not only in the number of Christians but in cultural emphasis and cultural result, is no longer the consensus or ethos of our society...Bent on the pursuit of autonomous freedom - freedom from any restraint, and especially from God's truth and moral absolutes - our culture has set itself on the course of self-destruction."
Maybe PBHO is right after all: "We are no longer a Christian nation."
I'm still tryin' to figure out if he's reporting or rejoicing.
Go Irish!
@#$%
Here are a few forgotten quotes in America/mainline/denominations:
Charles Spurgeon: "The first sign of the heavenly call is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work...there must be an irresistible, overwhelming craving and raging thirst for telling others what God has done to our own souls...the word of God must be unto us as fire in our bones."
James Stewart: "When a generation has been robbed of its familiar gods of material security, progress, human self-sufficiency, or when the individual soul has found its conventional religion stolen away by the marauding forces of agnosticism, trouble and despair, then strikes God's hour to break in with His salvation...If we are not determined that in every sermon Christ is to be preached, it were better that we should resign our commission forthwith and seek some other vocation."
Frederick Buechner: "The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on the lectern light and deals out his note cards like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher."
Suzanne Huffman to her dad just before going home to Jesus: "Dad, I want you to be more like Jesus."
@#$%
I forgot Secretary's Day.
I forget a lot of things.
Apparently, I am not alone.
I hope we start remembering before...
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Visit www.koppdisclosure.com before it's too...
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I forgot Secretary's Day.
I used to be reminded by a Mary Kay babe who started another business that I enabled.
She left the church after I wrote a prayer/blessing for the business.
It must have been a bad prayer.
Moretheless, nobody reminded me.
I'm not blaming anyone because I should have made it a priority to know when it is because it's one of the few days that our over-worked and under-compensated secretaries get some TLC.
I think I forgot because I was too preoccupied with, uh, myself.
@#$%
Again, I'm not blaming anyone; but I wonder why nobody in the church reminded me.
I know the Mary Kay babe made money off me because she'd put together some really nice baskets that I'd buy and give to 'em; so maybe her interest wasn't totally selfless.
It kinda reminds me of Pastor Appreciation Month in October, Christmas, Easter, and all of those other occasions that used to prompt some TLC toward guys/gals like me.
I think we forget occasions to spread some TLC around because we're too preoccupied with...
@#$%
Speaking of preoccupations, PBHO is still speakin' at Notre Dame's 164th commencement (scroll down for a few bytes/bites).
I, uh, forget the date but it's soon.
Anyway, here's some of what they're gonna say to, uh, justify/rationalize the honorary doctorate: "...whose historic election opened a new era of hope in a country long divided by its history of slavery and racism. A community organizer who honed his advocacy for the poor, the marginalized and the worker in the streets of Chicago, he now organizes a larger community, bringing to the world stage a renewed American dedication to diplomacy and dialogue with all nations and religions committed to human rights and the global common good. Through his willingness to engage with those who disagree with him and encourage people of faith to bring their beliefs to public debate, he is inspiring this nation to heal its division of religion, culture, race and politics in the audacious hope for a brighter tomorrow."
Whoa.
Randall Terry, a real pain in the aspirations of abortionists like you know who, released a response in South Bend (May 14): "We are begging for a bishop or a Vatican official to bring this scandal to an end."
Alan Keyes, another pain in the aspirations of abortionists like you know who who couldn't beat PBHO in his run to become Illinois' junior U.S. Senator after serving as a junior Illinois legislator after serving as a community organizer, released a response in the same city on the same day: "This idolatrous language confirms the scandalous nature of the invitation and honorary degree being given to PBHO. It not only honors evil, it exalts and worships it."
Whoa.
Keyes went a little over the top on that one; kinda like the comedian who said she wants Rush Limbaugh's kidneys to fail.
Hmm.
PBHO was sitting next to the potty-mouthed comedian when she said that.
He laughed.
Reporting on that has been limited; but I wonder what would happen if RL said he wanted more than PBHO's socialist agenda to fail...
Frankly, I don't understand why RCs are so upset about an abortionist speaking at an RC educational institution that's related/supposedly/in/consonance to the moral teachings of the RCC like Evangelium Vitae: "Laws which authorize and promote abortion and euthanasia are...radically opposed not only to the good of the individual but also to the common good...Disregard for the right to life...is what most directly conflicts with the possibility of achieving the common good...to kill unborn human life...is...really making a 'tyrannical' decision with regard to the weakest and most defenseless of human beings..."
Maybe I don't understand because I'm in one of those mainline denominations that determines faith and morality by the latest popular vote.
Francis Schaeffer was right: "Ours is a post-Christian world in which Christianity, not only in the number of Christians but in cultural emphasis and cultural result, is no longer the consensus or ethos of our society...Bent on the pursuit of autonomous freedom - freedom from any restraint, and especially from God's truth and moral absolutes - our culture has set itself on the course of self-destruction."
Maybe PBHO is right after all: "We are no longer a Christian nation."
I'm still tryin' to figure out if he's reporting or rejoicing.
Go Irish!
@#$%
Here are a few forgotten quotes in America/mainline/denominations:
Charles Spurgeon: "The first sign of the heavenly call is an intense, all-absorbing desire for the work...there must be an irresistible, overwhelming craving and raging thirst for telling others what God has done to our own souls...the word of God must be unto us as fire in our bones."
James Stewart: "When a generation has been robbed of its familiar gods of material security, progress, human self-sufficiency, or when the individual soul has found its conventional religion stolen away by the marauding forces of agnosticism, trouble and despair, then strikes God's hour to break in with His salvation...If we are not determined that in every sermon Christ is to be preached, it were better that we should resign our commission forthwith and seek some other vocation."
Frederick Buechner: "The preacher pulls the little cord that turns on the lectern light and deals out his note cards like a riverboat gambler. The stakes have never been higher."
Suzanne Huffman to her dad just before going home to Jesus: "Dad, I want you to be more like Jesus."
@#$%
I forgot Secretary's Day.
I forget a lot of things.
Apparently, I am not alone.
I hope we start remembering before...
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Visit www.koppdisclosure.com before it's too...
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
May 12, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Our family of faith is hosting a presbytery meeting in a few hours (scroll down for a fuller definition of presbytery which is, summarily, a fancy word for a meeting of clergy and kin who think they know what God has in mind for the church and sometimes thinks/talks/acts like it is, uh,...).
It shouldn't be a bad meeting unless somebody starts shoulding on others from the left or right.
I think I'm preaching.
If you're remotely interested, find Kathie's e-mail address on www.koppdisclosure.com who will contact Harlan our tech guy and they'll conspire to get a copy of the whole worship event for you which will feature our praise team which is very, very, very gifted to enable intimacy with Him.
They'll just charge you for shipping and handling; but, of course, you can make a really big...
@#$%
You're probably wondering why I don't wait until after the meeting to include some stuff about it for this KD.
Well, I don't really expect much to happen.
Most ecclesiastical meetings are like that - some huffin' and puffin' and nobody's house gets...
That's because today's clergy, especially in the mainline, have learned how to agree with the last person that they've talked to; though they know how not to end sentences with prepositions.
@#$%
Actually, this meeting could get a little interesting/intense.
A special committee is gonna be named to deal with a congregation that doesn't like our franchise anymore and wants to join another one that it likes better.
That could bring out the worst in folks from the extreme left and extreme right who are always lookin' for an excuse to get it on.
@#$%
I hear the congregation that doesn't like us anymore is gonna join another franchise that's kinda like us but may like Jesus a little more than we do in practice as well as theory.
Psst.
Don't believe it.
I know that franchise too and they prove a rhetorical interrogative that I've been makin' for years: "Why should I leave one stinking denomination for another stinking denomination?"
@#$%
I know that franchise that feels better to the congregation that doesn't like us anymore isn't as pure and perfect as they're pretendin'.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they talk about likin' Jesus a lot more; but when I look at what they...
For example(s), there's a fledgling new church development in their franchise that can't get any $ from the fatter cats/congregations; which totally baffles me in that they're always sayin' how their more conservative views generate more $ than...
So where's the beef?
Then there's a congregation near Iron City that was allowed to dump their pastor as soon as they exited us for 'em and put the now former pastor's former associate into... Now get this! The dude who replaced the other dude has a mail order educational certificate and was ordained by an independent Baptist relative! Help me, Jesus! These are the same guys who have bantered and moaned about our franchise not having high enough ordination standards.
I told ya!
Hypocrisy dwells on all sides of the aisle.
Then there's another congregation that made a severance deal with its pastor in one of the richest parts of Pittsburgh, reneged on the deal despite the pastor's fidelity to the agreement not to mention the sneaky way that they got rid of him, and...
And while I'll admit they talk about likin' Jesus a little more than we do, they sure as shootin' don't act like it.
Truth is they are as captive to the processes/culture of the old wineskin as they've ever been; just feelin' a little better about feelin' a little better about themselves because they're feelin'...
Ugh.
I told ya!
Why would anyone leave one stinking denomination for another stinking denomination?
@#$%
@#$%
I was walkin' down a fairway with another cleric last week.
He asked, "If you were offered most of your retirement right now like other corporations are doing to downsize, would you take it?"
"Sure," I replied, "then I'd go to my board and say, 'I'll stay and preach, teach, bury, baptize, marry, and visit sick folks; but I ain't goin' to any more of those ecclesiastical meetings that accomplish next to nothin' for God's sake.'"
Then he asked, "Are you fulfilled in your ministry?"
I answered: "Fulfilled? Yes. Rewarded? Please."
Then I thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and a few lines that congregations who don't like us anymore and want to get as far away from us as possible should, uh, selah on a while; not to mention apostates in our franchise who just don't get it and won't get it until they're born anothen: "The cross is laid on every Christian...As we embark upon discipleship, we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death - we give over our lives to death...When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time - death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call...In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts...The wounds and scars...in the fray are living tokens of this participation in the cross of his Lord."
Jesus didn't stay in the wilderness.
The Reformers left the monastery.
Missionaries don't run away.
They, uh, gospel.
Disciples are missionaries; and those who leave the mainline to feel better about themselves are ignoring their...
It's like Hans Evans said to me so many years ago when I wanted to get out: "Stay with us! Our denomination is one of the best mission fields open to us today."
Fulfilled?
Yes.
Rewarded?
Let me think on that one some more.
@#$%
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GluCM_ggMvw
@#$%
I think some folks spend so much time navel-gazing that they ignore their responsibilities to the rest of the body.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Go to www.koppdisclosure.com for whatever Kathie's cookin' up!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Our family of faith is hosting a presbytery meeting in a few hours (scroll down for a fuller definition of presbytery which is, summarily, a fancy word for a meeting of clergy and kin who think they know what God has in mind for the church and sometimes thinks/talks/acts like it is, uh,...).
It shouldn't be a bad meeting unless somebody starts shoulding on others from the left or right.
I think I'm preaching.
If you're remotely interested, find Kathie's e-mail address on www.koppdisclosure.com who will contact Harlan our tech guy and they'll conspire to get a copy of the whole worship event for you which will feature our praise team which is very, very, very gifted to enable intimacy with Him.
They'll just charge you for shipping and handling; but, of course, you can make a really big...
@#$%
You're probably wondering why I don't wait until after the meeting to include some stuff about it for this KD.
Well, I don't really expect much to happen.
Most ecclesiastical meetings are like that - some huffin' and puffin' and nobody's house gets...
That's because today's clergy, especially in the mainline, have learned how to agree with the last person that they've talked to; though they know how not to end sentences with prepositions.
@#$%
Actually, this meeting could get a little interesting/intense.
A special committee is gonna be named to deal with a congregation that doesn't like our franchise anymore and wants to join another one that it likes better.
That could bring out the worst in folks from the extreme left and extreme right who are always lookin' for an excuse to get it on.
@#$%
I hear the congregation that doesn't like us anymore is gonna join another franchise that's kinda like us but may like Jesus a little more than we do in practice as well as theory.
Psst.
Don't believe it.
I know that franchise too and they prove a rhetorical interrogative that I've been makin' for years: "Why should I leave one stinking denomination for another stinking denomination?"
@#$%
I know that franchise that feels better to the congregation that doesn't like us anymore isn't as pure and perfect as they're pretendin'.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, they talk about likin' Jesus a lot more; but when I look at what they...
For example(s), there's a fledgling new church development in their franchise that can't get any $ from the fatter cats/congregations; which totally baffles me in that they're always sayin' how their more conservative views generate more $ than...
So where's the beef?
Then there's a congregation near Iron City that was allowed to dump their pastor as soon as they exited us for 'em and put the now former pastor's former associate into... Now get this! The dude who replaced the other dude has a mail order educational certificate and was ordained by an independent Baptist relative! Help me, Jesus! These are the same guys who have bantered and moaned about our franchise not having high enough ordination standards.
I told ya!
Hypocrisy dwells on all sides of the aisle.
Then there's another congregation that made a severance deal with its pastor in one of the richest parts of Pittsburgh, reneged on the deal despite the pastor's fidelity to the agreement not to mention the sneaky way that they got rid of him, and...
And while I'll admit they talk about likin' Jesus a little more than we do, they sure as shootin' don't act like it.
Truth is they are as captive to the processes/culture of the old wineskin as they've ever been; just feelin' a little better about feelin' a little better about themselves because they're feelin'...
Ugh.
I told ya!
Why would anyone leave one stinking denomination for another stinking denomination?
@#$%
@#$%
I was walkin' down a fairway with another cleric last week.
He asked, "If you were offered most of your retirement right now like other corporations are doing to downsize, would you take it?"
"Sure," I replied, "then I'd go to my board and say, 'I'll stay and preach, teach, bury, baptize, marry, and visit sick folks; but I ain't goin' to any more of those ecclesiastical meetings that accomplish next to nothin' for God's sake.'"
Then he asked, "Are you fulfilled in your ministry?"
I answered: "Fulfilled? Yes. Rewarded? Please."
Then I thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship and a few lines that congregations who don't like us anymore and want to get as far away from us as possible should, uh, selah on a while; not to mention apostates in our franchise who just don't get it and won't get it until they're born anothen: "The cross is laid on every Christian...As we embark upon discipleship, we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with His death - we give over our lives to death...When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die. It may be a death like that of the first disciples who had to leave home and work to follow Him, or it may be a death like Luther's, who had to leave the monastery and go out into the world. But it is the same death every time - death in Jesus Christ, the death of the old man at His call...In fact, every command of Jesus is a call to die, with all our affections and lusts...The wounds and scars...in the fray are living tokens of this participation in the cross of his Lord."
Jesus didn't stay in the wilderness.
The Reformers left the monastery.
Missionaries don't run away.
They, uh, gospel.
Disciples are missionaries; and those who leave the mainline to feel better about themselves are ignoring their...
It's like Hans Evans said to me so many years ago when I wanted to get out: "Stay with us! Our denomination is one of the best mission fields open to us today."
Fulfilled?
Yes.
Rewarded?
Let me think on that one some more.
@#$%
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GluCM_ggMvw
@#$%
I think some folks spend so much time navel-gazing that they ignore their responsibilities to the rest of the body.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Go to www.koppdisclosure.com for whatever Kathie's cookin' up!
Friday, May 8, 2009
May 8, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I'm not a big fan of Michael Savage.
Actually, I'm not a big fan of anyone but Jesus.
It's a first few of the big ten thing.
Heck, I'm not so hot myself; or as someone said while exiting our family of faith not too long ago: "You're so full of ____ sometimes!"
True.
@#$%
@#$%
Friends on the right get mad at me for saying I like PBHO.
I do because he's so, uh, likeable.
I mean, uh, deal with it.
He won by a bigger margin than his predecessor's two Ws.
Friends on the left get mad at me because, uh, well, you know, I don't think he's God's other son in a messianic kinda way.
He's not Jesus.
I mean, uh, deal with it.
He's gonna make mistakes because he's so, uh, human.
@#$%
Speaking of, uh, mistakes by you know who, he kinda dissed the big prayer day yesterday.
Geez.
He declined to host an event celebrating National Day of Prayer.
Change.
And he's still pushin' that anti-Christian Judge Hamilton for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals - the same, uh, anti-Christian who ruled in 2005 to ban mentioning Jesus and words like "Savior" from opening prayers in the Indiana legislature while ruling it's cool to use "Allah" and ____ like, uh, that; meaning, essentially, that Christian prayers are illegal in a public forum of Hoosiers. Whoa. Can't wait until he...
Maybe that's why PBHO didn't show up for prayer at the pole(s).
Change.
@#$%
@#$%
Getting back to another, uh, savage, his real name is Michael Weiner; which makes me wonder if he's got identity issues.
I mean my last name has always caused me a lot of grief; but, you know, you gotta deal with the hand that you've been dealt.
O.K., I'll admit it sounds cooler to talk about The Savage Nation than, uh, Weiner's World.
I'm not gonna summarize the fine work of Wikipedia for you; but go to it and read their excellent 13 page summary of who he is, where he's been, what he's done, and why so many lionize and demonize him.
I'm just mentioning him because he was banned from entering the United Kingdom on 5/5/09 along with others "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."
Geez.
O.K., he's got short man's disease; but he just huffs and puffs and...
As I said earlier, I'm not a big fan and think some of his opinions aren't that bad while others are nutty, obnoxious, divisive, and so on; but, c'mon, I don't know anybody who's liked by everybody on everything.
Consider Jesus.
Has there ever been anyone as loving as Jesus?
Has there ever been anyone so engaged in enabling God's best for everybody?
You know what happened to Him.
My predecessor comes to mind.
People - pulpiteers as well as pewsitters - make appointments with me to lionize and demonize him; and, of course, I know the same people who talked and talk behind his back are the same people who have talked and talk behind my back.
Total depravity lives.
Dang.
God knows I'm not making any parallels between that Weiner or...
I'm just pointing out that everybody is on somebody's, uh, hit list.
Yeah, take that last sentence both ways.
Hmm.
It's just another of the pejorative pathologies that keep us from really getting along: the need to transfer our inadequacies to others as if they don't have their own...
@#$%
@#$%
Moretheless, his banning is causing frost around folks who still believe in free speech: saying whatever you want to say without fear of getting locked up or out.
Lars Larson: "I often disagree with the way that Michael Savage says things...I think he's often rude and crude unnecessarily. But isn't that precisely the point? That is exactly the kind of speech the founders of our country meant to protect in the First Amendment. England says a lot about itself and the government's attitude toward its subjects when it forbids a man from coming...because he presents challenging ideas presented in a challenging way...Whose ideas and speech will be banned by government next?"
Steve Malzberg: "Although I am sorry to see the depths to which a once great nation like the U.K. has fallen, I cannot say that I am surprised. I don't think Michael will lose any sleep over the fact that a country which cares more about protecting and appeasing radical Muslims than it does about protecting its people and promoting free speech and free thought has targeted him. However, I fear that this will now be added to the arsenal of the free speech fascists in the USA who are about to unleash their unprecedented attack on all of us."
Roger Hedgecock: "The British government action barring Michael Savage is a frightening preview of what we can expect in our own country as the PC police shut down the voices of dissent."
Joyce Kaufman: "What happened to our great British allies?...When did they decide that the truth was irrelevant and the enemies of freedom needed to be placated?"
Steve Gill: "This is a blatant attack on free speech. Since when did Western nations ban talk show hosts for exercising politically incorrect speech? Instead of banning conservative American talk show hosts, U.K. officials should pay closer attention to the radical Muslims living within their borders. So what's next?"
You didn't hear it here first; but watch out for the real American idol's sycophants to start targeting anyone who questions or criticizes or...
It's gettin' Orwellian.
@#$%
@#$%
Thank God for the Protestant tradition in mainline franchises where you can still dissent and protest without fearing vocational reprisals or...
Thank God for local churches where you can still agree to disagree agreeably and not feel shunned or...
Thank God for the academic world where it's more about learning than ideology and...
Thank God for opportunities to explore and probe and discuss and all of that kinda stuff without being attacked personally and...
Thank God for so many people who can talk about principles without getting really nasty and...
Thank God that sticks and stones may break our bones but...
Oops.
I forgot to thank Him for sarcasm.
@#$%
@#$%
The tongue is such a small part of the body; but...
It's a good thing that God looks at the heart.
Maybe not.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Check out www.koppdisclosure.com now in case there's no then.
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I'm not a big fan of Michael Savage.
Actually, I'm not a big fan of anyone but Jesus.
It's a first few of the big ten thing.
Heck, I'm not so hot myself; or as someone said while exiting our family of faith not too long ago: "You're so full of ____ sometimes!"
True.
@#$%
@#$%
Friends on the right get mad at me for saying I like PBHO.
I do because he's so, uh, likeable.
I mean, uh, deal with it.
He won by a bigger margin than his predecessor's two Ws.
Friends on the left get mad at me because, uh, well, you know, I don't think he's God's other son in a messianic kinda way.
He's not Jesus.
I mean, uh, deal with it.
He's gonna make mistakes because he's so, uh, human.
@#$%
Speaking of, uh, mistakes by you know who, he kinda dissed the big prayer day yesterday.
Geez.
He declined to host an event celebrating National Day of Prayer.
Change.
And he's still pushin' that anti-Christian Judge Hamilton for the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals - the same, uh, anti-Christian who ruled in 2005 to ban mentioning Jesus and words like "Savior" from opening prayers in the Indiana legislature while ruling it's cool to use "Allah" and ____ like, uh, that; meaning, essentially, that Christian prayers are illegal in a public forum of Hoosiers. Whoa. Can't wait until he...
Maybe that's why PBHO didn't show up for prayer at the pole(s).
Change.
@#$%
@#$%
Getting back to another, uh, savage, his real name is Michael Weiner; which makes me wonder if he's got identity issues.
I mean my last name has always caused me a lot of grief; but, you know, you gotta deal with the hand that you've been dealt.
O.K., I'll admit it sounds cooler to talk about The Savage Nation than, uh, Weiner's World.
I'm not gonna summarize the fine work of Wikipedia for you; but go to it and read their excellent 13 page summary of who he is, where he's been, what he's done, and why so many lionize and demonize him.
I'm just mentioning him because he was banned from entering the United Kingdom on 5/5/09 along with others "considered to be engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."
Geez.
O.K., he's got short man's disease; but he just huffs and puffs and...
As I said earlier, I'm not a big fan and think some of his opinions aren't that bad while others are nutty, obnoxious, divisive, and so on; but, c'mon, I don't know anybody who's liked by everybody on everything.
Consider Jesus.
Has there ever been anyone as loving as Jesus?
Has there ever been anyone so engaged in enabling God's best for everybody?
You know what happened to Him.
My predecessor comes to mind.
People - pulpiteers as well as pewsitters - make appointments with me to lionize and demonize him; and, of course, I know the same people who talked and talk behind his back are the same people who have talked and talk behind my back.
Total depravity lives.
Dang.
God knows I'm not making any parallels between that Weiner or...
I'm just pointing out that everybody is on somebody's, uh, hit list.
Yeah, take that last sentence both ways.
Hmm.
It's just another of the pejorative pathologies that keep us from really getting along: the need to transfer our inadequacies to others as if they don't have their own...
@#$%
@#$%
Moretheless, his banning is causing frost around folks who still believe in free speech: saying whatever you want to say without fear of getting locked up or out.
Lars Larson: "I often disagree with the way that Michael Savage says things...I think he's often rude and crude unnecessarily. But isn't that precisely the point? That is exactly the kind of speech the founders of our country meant to protect in the First Amendment. England says a lot about itself and the government's attitude toward its subjects when it forbids a man from coming...because he presents challenging ideas presented in a challenging way...Whose ideas and speech will be banned by government next?"
Steve Malzberg: "Although I am sorry to see the depths to which a once great nation like the U.K. has fallen, I cannot say that I am surprised. I don't think Michael will lose any sleep over the fact that a country which cares more about protecting and appeasing radical Muslims than it does about protecting its people and promoting free speech and free thought has targeted him. However, I fear that this will now be added to the arsenal of the free speech fascists in the USA who are about to unleash their unprecedented attack on all of us."
Roger Hedgecock: "The British government action barring Michael Savage is a frightening preview of what we can expect in our own country as the PC police shut down the voices of dissent."
Joyce Kaufman: "What happened to our great British allies?...When did they decide that the truth was irrelevant and the enemies of freedom needed to be placated?"
Steve Gill: "This is a blatant attack on free speech. Since when did Western nations ban talk show hosts for exercising politically incorrect speech? Instead of banning conservative American talk show hosts, U.K. officials should pay closer attention to the radical Muslims living within their borders. So what's next?"
You didn't hear it here first; but watch out for the real American idol's sycophants to start targeting anyone who questions or criticizes or...
It's gettin' Orwellian.
@#$%
@#$%
Thank God for the Protestant tradition in mainline franchises where you can still dissent and protest without fearing vocational reprisals or...
Thank God for local churches where you can still agree to disagree agreeably and not feel shunned or...
Thank God for the academic world where it's more about learning than ideology and...
Thank God for opportunities to explore and probe and discuss and all of that kinda stuff without being attacked personally and...
Thank God for so many people who can talk about principles without getting really nasty and...
Thank God that sticks and stones may break our bones but...
Oops.
I forgot to thank Him for sarcasm.
@#$%
@#$%
The tongue is such a small part of the body; but...
It's a good thing that God looks at the heart.
Maybe not.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Check out www.koppdisclosure.com now in case there's no then.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
May 5, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
The OGD who can be linked via KD (check out the, uh, links) isn't only the greatest guardian and advocate of truly Reformed Theology, he also drops bombs of common sense every now and then.
Here's one of my favorites: "If the horse is dead, dismount."
I think that's what's happened to the GOP, mainline denominations, and particular congregations longing for the way things never were or maybe were but are no more.
@#$%
@#$%
Speaking of uncommon common sense for these days, Ted keeps coming to mind.
Though he went home to Jesus a while back now, his witness continues to shape my life and ministry.
I'll never forget when I asked him to estimate the percentage of mainline clergy who actually believe in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by most of their constitutions.
He said, "Maybe 40%."
That has stayed with me; and helped me to understand why...
@#$%
Ted knew all about irregulars, irascibles, and irreconcilables; reminding me of the shrink who told my doctoral study group, "The problem people in your churches are usually constipated. That's why they dump on you."
Anyway, Ted took on one of 'em: "I can't really talk to you right now because I've got something in my eye...'What's that I see in your eye?'"
Ted also reiterated an earlier warning about not getting into tinkling contests with skunks.
I think that was the genesis of creative neglect which you can read about in my non-best-selling Fifteen Secrets for Life and Ministry which nobody is ordering from us because they know I give 'em away because I got so many copies of it from the publisher in lieu of $ which is why my plastic is so...
@#$%
Whenever a younger or older pastor would banter and moan about how awful it is to be a pastor in today's mainline culture where everybody's word is as good as anybody else's word on any subject and part of a pastor's call is to suffer fools gladly, he'd chime in, "That's not so bad...Look at what Jesus did to save people...You don't have it so bad."
Geez.
Yeah, it's hard to look at the cross and banter and moan about people bantering and moaning about liturgy, hymn selection, carpet color, and other stuff that really ____ (Thank you, young mentor pastor for fitting commentary!).
@#$%
Of course, Ted loved Jesus so much that he was hated for it.
He, and I mean He, issued that alert long ago.
I'll never forget bringing up Ted's name for moderator of _____ Presbytery - a guy/gal who keeps the meeting going in an honorary kinda way and has about as much clout as pastors in the mainline culture (scroll down for my response to that invitation from www.advanceillinois.com).
It was one of the first kairos moments of my, uh, professional ministry.
I was on the nominating committee of the presbytery; and for non-PCUSAers and kin, that's kinda like a diocese or conference or pret' near facsimile.
When I suggested his name, the executive presbyter - though they're not really bishops in our franchise, they're kinda like bishops and lots of 'em like that one act like 'em as long as the lemmings let 'em - said he couldn't be moderator because evangelical pastors care more about Jesus than His franchises.
True.
It has a lot to do with Jesus saying, "If you love mom or dad or anyone or anything more than Me, you are in a world of hurt."
Or something like that.
Be that as it is, I asked for a recess so I could speak with the megalomaniac - I mean EP - in private.
As soon as we sat down in his study, he picked up a cup with the denominational seal on it, waved it in front of me, and blurted, "See this cup? It's blue! It has the seal of our denomination on it! I'm true blue loyal to it!"
After I stopped laughing, I said, "Please stop before you really embarrass yourself...[I was a lot younger and bolder than I am now!]...Ted has been loyal to our franchise for a lot longer than you've been around, pal...Yes, if the denomination is not loyal to Jesus, he will stand up for Jesus and stand down from the denomination; and if you've got a problem with that, you're gonna have a really big problem in the end...But let's cut to the chase. If you don't support my nomination through the committee, I'll just nominate him from the floor and tell everybody what you said about him because he has been more faithful than you'll ever be."
I think that was the genesis of KD.
Three things.
I never told Ted about that conversation because I knew it would hurt him too much.
Ted became moderator and was excellent; and, at least for that year, Jesus was Lord of that presbytery.
That EP has hated me ever since and done everything within his "power" to cripple my vocational possibilities; though I've helped him along the way by being a real ____ every now and then.
@#$%
I'm tempted to include a Denis Leary song here in honor of that EP and yours truly but you'll have to write and ask for it because even I can't stretch that far; but it's so good and so appropriate and so...
@#$%
Soren Kierkegaard prayed, "Lord, I have to make a choice, and I'm afraid that I may make the wrong one. But I have to make it anyway; and I can't put it off. So I will make it, and trust You to forgive me if I do wrong. And, Lord, I will trust You, too, to help make things right afterward. Amen."
Ah, yes.
Amen!
Ride.
Or dismount.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Visit www.koppdisclosure.com regularly because Kathie, Julie, and Terri are about to launch something really awesome!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
The OGD who can be linked via KD (check out the, uh, links) isn't only the greatest guardian and advocate of truly Reformed Theology, he also drops bombs of common sense every now and then.
Here's one of my favorites: "If the horse is dead, dismount."
I think that's what's happened to the GOP, mainline denominations, and particular congregations longing for the way things never were or maybe were but are no more.
@#$%
@#$%
Speaking of uncommon common sense for these days, Ted keeps coming to mind.
Though he went home to Jesus a while back now, his witness continues to shape my life and ministry.
I'll never forget when I asked him to estimate the percentage of mainline clergy who actually believe in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture and upheld by most of their constitutions.
He said, "Maybe 40%."
That has stayed with me; and helped me to understand why...
@#$%
Ted knew all about irregulars, irascibles, and irreconcilables; reminding me of the shrink who told my doctoral study group, "The problem people in your churches are usually constipated. That's why they dump on you."
Anyway, Ted took on one of 'em: "I can't really talk to you right now because I've got something in my eye...'What's that I see in your eye?'"
Ted also reiterated an earlier warning about not getting into tinkling contests with skunks.
I think that was the genesis of creative neglect which you can read about in my non-best-selling Fifteen Secrets for Life and Ministry which nobody is ordering from us because they know I give 'em away because I got so many copies of it from the publisher in lieu of $ which is why my plastic is so...
@#$%
Whenever a younger or older pastor would banter and moan about how awful it is to be a pastor in today's mainline culture where everybody's word is as good as anybody else's word on any subject and part of a pastor's call is to suffer fools gladly, he'd chime in, "That's not so bad...Look at what Jesus did to save people...You don't have it so bad."
Geez.
Yeah, it's hard to look at the cross and banter and moan about people bantering and moaning about liturgy, hymn selection, carpet color, and other stuff that really ____ (Thank you, young mentor pastor for fitting commentary!).
@#$%
Of course, Ted loved Jesus so much that he was hated for it.
He, and I mean He, issued that alert long ago.
I'll never forget bringing up Ted's name for moderator of _____ Presbytery - a guy/gal who keeps the meeting going in an honorary kinda way and has about as much clout as pastors in the mainline culture (scroll down for my response to that invitation from www.advanceillinois.com).
It was one of the first kairos moments of my, uh, professional ministry.
I was on the nominating committee of the presbytery; and for non-PCUSAers and kin, that's kinda like a diocese or conference or pret' near facsimile.
When I suggested his name, the executive presbyter - though they're not really bishops in our franchise, they're kinda like bishops and lots of 'em like that one act like 'em as long as the lemmings let 'em - said he couldn't be moderator because evangelical pastors care more about Jesus than His franchises.
True.
It has a lot to do with Jesus saying, "If you love mom or dad or anyone or anything more than Me, you are in a world of hurt."
Or something like that.
Be that as it is, I asked for a recess so I could speak with the megalomaniac - I mean EP - in private.
As soon as we sat down in his study, he picked up a cup with the denominational seal on it, waved it in front of me, and blurted, "See this cup? It's blue! It has the seal of our denomination on it! I'm true blue loyal to it!"
After I stopped laughing, I said, "Please stop before you really embarrass yourself...[I was a lot younger and bolder than I am now!]...Ted has been loyal to our franchise for a lot longer than you've been around, pal...Yes, if the denomination is not loyal to Jesus, he will stand up for Jesus and stand down from the denomination; and if you've got a problem with that, you're gonna have a really big problem in the end...But let's cut to the chase. If you don't support my nomination through the committee, I'll just nominate him from the floor and tell everybody what you said about him because he has been more faithful than you'll ever be."
I think that was the genesis of KD.
Three things.
I never told Ted about that conversation because I knew it would hurt him too much.
Ted became moderator and was excellent; and, at least for that year, Jesus was Lord of that presbytery.
That EP has hated me ever since and done everything within his "power" to cripple my vocational possibilities; though I've helped him along the way by being a real ____ every now and then.
@#$%
I'm tempted to include a Denis Leary song here in honor of that EP and yours truly but you'll have to write and ask for it because even I can't stretch that far; but it's so good and so appropriate and so...
@#$%
Soren Kierkegaard prayed, "Lord, I have to make a choice, and I'm afraid that I may make the wrong one. But I have to make it anyway; and I can't put it off. So I will make it, and trust You to forgive me if I do wrong. And, Lord, I will trust You, too, to help make things right afterward. Amen."
Ah, yes.
Amen!
Ride.
Or dismount.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Visit www.koppdisclosure.com regularly because Kathie, Julie, and Terri are about to launch something really awesome!
Friday, May 1, 2009
May 1, 2009
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
When I heard Senator Arlen Specter switched parties to celebrate Obamadolatry, two thoughts came to mind.
Since when was he a Republican?
As the primary proponent of the JFK single bullet theory, you gotta believe he'll be more comfortable with a party so notoriously with two feet planted firmly in the air.
Scroll down to Wednesday's edition of KD (4/29/09).
@#$%
Subscribers keep asking which party I like best.
First, the agenda of the Democrats is so antithetical to Biblical Christianity on almost every issue related to faith and morality that I'd feel really dirty registering as one.
Second, I didn't know there was a Republican Party anymore.
Third, to paraphrase part of my rationale for "remaining faithfully" in the increasingly apostate PCUSA - noting, again, that the acrostic is as irrelevant as it's become because all mainliners are essentially the same in what they don't believe anymore - I'm not aligning myself with one stinking political party over another stinking political party because they all stink right now.
Seriously.
And I'm gettin' really tired of people on the left and right saying they're so much better than each other.
They're sittin' with Job on a pile of...
@#$%
@#$%
America wanted change.
We got it.
Scroll down to KD's superficial summary of Obamadolatry's first 100 days (4/29/09).
Of course, saying that is about as popular as doing anything for the first time in the church.
I'm willing to say I'm wrong about what's going down in our beloved country; but, so far, all I hear from PBHO's sycophants when I ask questions or raise concerns is something like, "Well, GWB..."
I don't talk about my predecessors as part of the etiology of my challenges or changes; especially when I've gotta deal with folks who like, uh, change about as much as I like the Red Sox.
I want PBHO to succeed in consonance with the will of God as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy Scripture; which, considering He's all about unconditional love and existential/eternal salvation for anyone regardless of color, class, and culture, sounds good to me.
We'll see...
@#$%
@#$%
I may be wrong about PBHO; and I pray every day that I am.
Maybe Spiegel Online is right (4/30/09): "After his first 100 days...PBHO has overturned decades of Republican ideology...One Republican even managed to sweeten the date for PBHO by defecting to the Democrats...These days, the US media likes to report on an 'Obama Revolution,' a long-term political shift comparable to the 'Reagan Revolution' of the early 1980s...In spite of know-it-alls on the right, and in spite of all the problems he faces, PBHO seems to enjoy more support from the US public than any President in generations...Polls also show a majority of US citizens for the first time since 2004 claiming the nation is on the right path...Since Ronald Reagan...no President has controlled his own image and message so tightly...In three months he's stepped in front of cameras more often than GWB in his entire 8-year stint...He practices a balance between seriousness and fun...It's apparent from a closer analysis of the polls that many of PBHO's initiatives are less well-loved than the man himself...PBHO's staff is also not quite so popular...Nevertheless, he's popular..."
Maybe Politico was/is prophetic (11/5/08): "11/4/08 was the day when American politics shifted on its axis. The ascent of an African-American to the Presidency - a victory by a 47-year-old man who was born...[somewhere]...when segregation was still the law of the land across much of this nation - is a moment so powerful and so obvious that its symbolism needs no commentary...The rout of the Republican Party, and the accompanying gains by Democrats in Congress, mean PBHO will assume office with vastly more influence in the nation's capital than most of his recent predecessors have wielded...For most of the past 30 years...conservatives have held the momentum...Now the wave has crashed, breaking the back of the modern Republican Party in the process."
While I'm convinced PBHO is not as messianic as his sycophants shout, uh, down at everyone, I'm praying every day that he's not as, uh, whatever as I've...
@#$%
@#$%
Mark R. Levin's Liberty and Tyranny, which is the #1 best seller in America at the moment, raises many concerns and makes many declarations that don't jibe too well with PBHO's rhetoric or administration.
The left writes him off as a constitutional absolutist; kinda like mainliners write off believers for being real high on Biblical Christianity.
The left prefers relativism, exceptionalism, situationalism, and a nation/world where standards are captive to the last popular poll/vote.
Be that as it is or may be or whatever, it is extraordinarily well-written and makes a compelling case for conservative ethics as the foundation of liberty and non-conservative ethics as the enabler of tyranny.
He likes to use statist for socialist with either being cited as representing an ideological elitism in which the state is supreme over the individual who needs the former to dictate life for the latter because the former knows better than the latter.
Or something like that.
Levin warns that "so distant is America today from its founding principles that it is difficult to precisely describe the nature of American government."
After outlining the statist's/socialist's assaults on traditional American values through commentary on free enterprise, taxation, environmentalism, judicial activism, government bureaucracy, education, immigration, national security, lots of other stuff, and even faith, he provides a "manifesto" on what we can do to recapture America for America.
Surely, he's gonna be lumped with other radio talking heads; but, at least to me, he comes off at the head of the class as more erudite (a B.A. and J.D. from Temple) and experienced (formerly Chief of Staff for AG Edwin Meese).
I hear he was working on this book long before PBHO was elected then inaugurated; and anyone with an ounce of reading comprehension will be staggered by more than suggestions of the much deeper implications of PBHO's first 100 days.
@#$%
@#$%
I'm not sure how this relates, but here are two words from, uh, two saints in our family of faith.
Wife: "The Holy Spirit speaks truth and the people don't want truth - that is why it is so hard to teach the people or get them interested in a class."
Husband: "At Pentecost, I believe, the miracle was not only about the gift of speaking (tongues) but more so in the gift of hearing (discernment)."
What do you think?
@#$%
@#$%
Maybe the administration is catching up with the rhetoric or...
We'll see...
We are...
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Watch www.koppdisclosure.com for new stuff from Kathie, Julie, and Terri!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
When I heard Senator Arlen Specter switched parties to celebrate Obamadolatry, two thoughts came to mind.
Since when was he a Republican?
As the primary proponent of the JFK single bullet theory, you gotta believe he'll be more comfortable with a party so notoriously with two feet planted firmly in the air.
Scroll down to Wednesday's edition of KD (4/29/09).
@#$%
Subscribers keep asking which party I like best.
First, the agenda of the Democrats is so antithetical to Biblical Christianity on almost every issue related to faith and morality that I'd feel really dirty registering as one.
Second, I didn't know there was a Republican Party anymore.
Third, to paraphrase part of my rationale for "remaining faithfully" in the increasingly apostate PCUSA - noting, again, that the acrostic is as irrelevant as it's become because all mainliners are essentially the same in what they don't believe anymore - I'm not aligning myself with one stinking political party over another stinking political party because they all stink right now.
Seriously.
And I'm gettin' really tired of people on the left and right saying they're so much better than each other.
They're sittin' with Job on a pile of...
@#$%
@#$%
America wanted change.
We got it.
Scroll down to KD's superficial summary of Obamadolatry's first 100 days (4/29/09).
Of course, saying that is about as popular as doing anything for the first time in the church.
I'm willing to say I'm wrong about what's going down in our beloved country; but, so far, all I hear from PBHO's sycophants when I ask questions or raise concerns is something like, "Well, GWB..."
I don't talk about my predecessors as part of the etiology of my challenges or changes; especially when I've gotta deal with folks who like, uh, change about as much as I like the Red Sox.
I want PBHO to succeed in consonance with the will of God as personified in Jesus and prescribed in Holy Scripture; which, considering He's all about unconditional love and existential/eternal salvation for anyone regardless of color, class, and culture, sounds good to me.
We'll see...
@#$%
@#$%
I may be wrong about PBHO; and I pray every day that I am.
Maybe Spiegel Online is right (4/30/09): "After his first 100 days...PBHO has overturned decades of Republican ideology...One Republican even managed to sweeten the date for PBHO by defecting to the Democrats...These days, the US media likes to report on an 'Obama Revolution,' a long-term political shift comparable to the 'Reagan Revolution' of the early 1980s...In spite of know-it-alls on the right, and in spite of all the problems he faces, PBHO seems to enjoy more support from the US public than any President in generations...Polls also show a majority of US citizens for the first time since 2004 claiming the nation is on the right path...Since Ronald Reagan...no President has controlled his own image and message so tightly...In three months he's stepped in front of cameras more often than GWB in his entire 8-year stint...He practices a balance between seriousness and fun...It's apparent from a closer analysis of the polls that many of PBHO's initiatives are less well-loved than the man himself...PBHO's staff is also not quite so popular...Nevertheless, he's popular..."
Maybe Politico was/is prophetic (11/5/08): "11/4/08 was the day when American politics shifted on its axis. The ascent of an African-American to the Presidency - a victory by a 47-year-old man who was born...[somewhere]...when segregation was still the law of the land across much of this nation - is a moment so powerful and so obvious that its symbolism needs no commentary...The rout of the Republican Party, and the accompanying gains by Democrats in Congress, mean PBHO will assume office with vastly more influence in the nation's capital than most of his recent predecessors have wielded...For most of the past 30 years...conservatives have held the momentum...Now the wave has crashed, breaking the back of the modern Republican Party in the process."
While I'm convinced PBHO is not as messianic as his sycophants shout, uh, down at everyone, I'm praying every day that he's not as, uh, whatever as I've...
@#$%
@#$%
Mark R. Levin's Liberty and Tyranny, which is the #1 best seller in America at the moment, raises many concerns and makes many declarations that don't jibe too well with PBHO's rhetoric or administration.
The left writes him off as a constitutional absolutist; kinda like mainliners write off believers for being real high on Biblical Christianity.
The left prefers relativism, exceptionalism, situationalism, and a nation/world where standards are captive to the last popular poll/vote.
Be that as it is or may be or whatever, it is extraordinarily well-written and makes a compelling case for conservative ethics as the foundation of liberty and non-conservative ethics as the enabler of tyranny.
He likes to use statist for socialist with either being cited as representing an ideological elitism in which the state is supreme over the individual who needs the former to dictate life for the latter because the former knows better than the latter.
Or something like that.
Levin warns that "so distant is America today from its founding principles that it is difficult to precisely describe the nature of American government."
After outlining the statist's/socialist's assaults on traditional American values through commentary on free enterprise, taxation, environmentalism, judicial activism, government bureaucracy, education, immigration, national security, lots of other stuff, and even faith, he provides a "manifesto" on what we can do to recapture America for America.
Surely, he's gonna be lumped with other radio talking heads; but, at least to me, he comes off at the head of the class as more erudite (a B.A. and J.D. from Temple) and experienced (formerly Chief of Staff for AG Edwin Meese).
I hear he was working on this book long before PBHO was elected then inaugurated; and anyone with an ounce of reading comprehension will be staggered by more than suggestions of the much deeper implications of PBHO's first 100 days.
@#$%
@#$%
I'm not sure how this relates, but here are two words from, uh, two saints in our family of faith.
Wife: "The Holy Spirit speaks truth and the people don't want truth - that is why it is so hard to teach the people or get them interested in a class."
Husband: "At Pentecost, I believe, the miracle was not only about the gift of speaking (tongues) but more so in the gift of hearing (discernment)."
What do you think?
@#$%
@#$%
Maybe the administration is catching up with the rhetoric or...
We'll see...
We are...
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Watch www.koppdisclosure.com for new stuff from Kathie, Julie, and Terri!
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