Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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Yesterday was the first Sunday of Advent.
For heathen and mainline subscribers, Advent comes from the Latin verb advenio ("to come") and refers to the coming of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
The season recalls the enfleshment of God in Jesus as the Babe of Bethlehem, reminds us of God's continuing presence or coming into our lives as Holy Spirit, and looks forward to God's coming again in Jesus to usher in the eternal Kingdom.
It's our season of preparation; recalling John the Baptist's exhortation, "Prepare the way of the Lord!"
Because the season inspires self-examination and repentance, the liturgical - again, for heathens and mainliners, liturgical is a fancy word for church stuff; especially in worship services - color is purple or violet which is associated with penitence as well as royalty for the coming of King Jesus.
One of my favorite Advent traditions is the Advent wreath. It is round to symbolize God's eternity and often evergreen for His everlasting mercy. The candles represent Jesus as the Light of the world. Although the practice varies as much as mainline churches vary in their Christological integrity, churches, uh, normally, use three purple candles (symbolizing penitence, royalty, shepherds, angels, and magi or wise guys), one rose candle (see Isaiah 35), and one really, really, really big white candle to proclaim Jesus as the Light of the world.
It starts after Thanksgiving and ends on Christmas Day; and Hallmark has nifty little datebooks if you need some help on scheduling. They're especially helpful to mainliners obsessed with their Scottish heritage: free.
We observe it every year because we have a habit, especially in mainline denominations, of forgetting it's/we're all about Jesus.
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Two Advent meditations have caught my attention.
The first is from a candidate for ordination in the PCUSA who's enrolled in a Presbyterian seminary and actually believes in Jesus as attested in Holy Scripture; and if you'd like to be on his mailing list, drop me a line and I'll connect you to him:
This is the season...People are mobbing stores...There is so much
noise...The liturgy of the season: cashier...The receipt pops up
and the cashier hands it to the shopper with the words, "Have
a happy holiday."
The transaction (liturgy) completes...their shopping...Then the
hunt goes on for other bargains at other stores; until the final
liturgy is complete and the exhausted shopper goes home
and wraps all the goodies...
This is what we have let Christmas become. It began in
secrecy with an angel's quiet announcement to Mary and
confirmation to her betrothed Joseph and ended in a stable
witnessed only by farm animals and eventually shepherds and
angels. God in the form of a tiny baby had slipped into the
world virtually unnoticed by the crowds. The rulers of Israel...had
no idea that there was a tiny boy...who would one day turn their
world upside down.
Has Jesus really turned our world upside down?...We go on
buying and selling...eating and drinking. We go along with the
culture that has stolen from Jesus the preeminence of His
birthday. We have let Madison Avenue...steal our Christmas.
Maybe we should take a lesson from the Grinch who tried to
steal Christmas; only to find that the Christ child comes into
every heart that is prepared to receive Him.
Jesus comes quietly wherever He finds souls open to His
presence. May our hearts be so prepared.
The second is from a good friend who runs www.churchandworld.com which is the best independent source of reporting news from all theological/ideological sides that impact ministry (available in "Viewpoint" of the 11/23/10 edition of www.churchandworld.com):
The supremacy of Jesus Christ was and still is rejected by
Judaism...upset when people say they wish for them to
accept Jesus as their Messiah, their Savior and Lord...
The supremacy of Jesus Christ is rejected by the Muslim
faith...Jesus is highly revered and praised in the Koran
as a great prophet, but He is not the Creator of everything...not
God in human flesh...did not die to save mankind...
Buddhism can do without the Lord Jesus Christ...even do
without God the Creator...
Many people in the Western world have no place for the belief
that Jesus has the supremacy of everything. They have no
place for such a Jesus, or for people who believe that. This
is even true for many people in the churches. Their faith
is not about Jesus, but more about a political ideology
of equality, of redistribution of wealth, of lobbying for an
ideal society, which they believe is attainable by political
power...
It should not keep us from loving all of them, and from
praying that God in His grace will grant them to see who
Jesus really is, and to embrace Him as their Lord and
Savior. We rejoice with the angels in heaven over such
people who are coming to Christ in our day! Some do!
Jesus is the Name above all names...Jesus Christ is
Lord. He is superior to all. That is our message. The
followers of Christ are and will be hated for that by
many...People will accuse us of thinking that we are
superior to them. But we are not...Our message is
not about us and how great we are. There is no place
for superiority feelings in Christians! Our message is
about Christ, the Lord. We are not superior. Christ is!
As Christians, we should follow Christ's example of
humility and service, which is the sign of real greatness
in the Kingdom of God, and serve all people in the
Spirit of Christ. At all cost! Yes, at all cost.
Just as Jesus did.
Amen and amen!
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God knows I like everything that contributes to the celebration of the season.
I like everything; especially popcorn balls, cookies with sprinkles, more turkey and cranberry relish, the late service on Christmas Eve, getting gift cards to Starbucks and Woodstock HD, and mistletoe.
But as my brothers remind us, the reason for the season is Jesus.
Yeah, that sounds syrupy to some folks; but it's/He's the truth.
Read John 3:16-17.
The left needs to spend more time on John 3:16.
The right needs to spend more time on John 3:17.
To paraphrase a popular aphorism, "There are three sides to every story: the left's side, the right's side, and the truth."
And if the left and right would stop eisegeting Jesus to conform Him to their false images, a really merry Christmas and holy holiday would overcome the increasingly shallow/hollow one.
Let me put it another way.
Christmas is supposed to be just about Jesus.
The Church is supposed to be just about Jesus.
Until we return all seasons to Him, we'll be as pathetically plastic as artificial trees advertising authentic Christmas spirit.
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Blessings and Love!
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.
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
November 23, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
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O.K., I got some folks with the tease to the last KD; which, uh, you'll have to check out in the archives if you haven't already read it.
The humor-challenged didn't like it.
I'm sorry.
Not.
Anyway, we've changed our Sunday morning calendar where I hang out; and 99% of the pewsitters are really into it!
Praise the Lord!
Of course, just one flea can make a big dog itch.
Read Luke 15 for the positive context.
Getting back to pests, here's an illustration of the 1%ers; and I ain't talkin' about my biker buddies...
Comment at lunch on Monday with a former pastor now attending worship with us incognito: "I started attending when you came to Belvidere. I didn't like that artificial separation of the so-called traditional from contemporary services. The origin of that separation is Satan. I stayed because I sensed you would submit to the Lord's designs rather than continue to pacify the prejudices of baby Christians. You did! The last month is what our Lord has in mind; if anyone is familiar with Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Something was missing in those other services. The body! I know Jesus is smiling on the church now as all of the musicians come together to help us worship Him. There's so much excitement now! So much joy! More and more people every Sunday! New faces every week! The church is about to really take off!"
Comment after lunch with a really good friend and officer with her/his ear to the pavement: "The ___s have left the church because they don't like the changes in worship."
Geez.
I remember a delightful woman in New Jersey who attended services every week - sitting alone in a big pew with a big smile on her face - until, by the grace of God, worship was transformed from performance to participation and the church began to grow and grow and grow. I ran into her at a pizza shop on Raritan Road in Clark, New Jersey. I said, "Hey, I haven't seen you for a while. Have you given up on us or Jesus?" She replied without a smile, "Not funny! I'm never coming back. I loved sitting in the pew all by myself. Now there's all these new people showing up and..."
Holy ___!
Sometimes people prefer ___ to Spirit.
It's common in mainline churches where folks have pews all to themselves.
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A pastor in Vermont sent his first edition of "A Pastor's Final Litany" to KD.
It's really obnoxious.
In other words, I like it.
Apparently, this dude is going to insert this into the bulletin on his last Sunday before cashing in on his pension credits:
A Pastor's Final Litany
Congregation: For stopping you on the way to a worship service,
to tell you that the Men's Bathroom is out of
toilet paper,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For telling you that we can't afford to give you
a raise, while trading in our three-year-old
Caddy for a new BMW,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For criticizing your children for talking during
Sunday School, when our children are
vandalizing the vending machine in the
youth room,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For assuming you really want to get out of
bed in the middle of the night to come and
get us out of jail due to public intoxication,
while we won't get up early enough to come
to officer training on a Saturday,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For bitching about how much we don't like
the new anything, while you have to glue
your office chair back together each week,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For listening to the whining of people who
resent you for telling the truth about what
it really means to follow the Word of God,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For begrudging your vacation time with your
family at a state park, while we request
excused absences from board meetings to
travel to Europe,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For wanting you to be in the office when I
come to see you unannounced, and
criticizing you, at the same time, that you
are not out in the community enough,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For calling the Personnel Committee chairman
to complain that you didn't visit me in the
hospital last week, even though I never told you
I was there,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For asking to speak about the Ladies' Tea
for 5 minutes in the worship service, 5 minutes
before the service is about to begin, and for
calling you selfish for telling me that I can't,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For calling you insincere because you don't show
enough emotion when you preach, and calling you
immature when you do,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For, after several years of faithful service with little
reward, no respect, and lots of heartache, telling
you that we no longer think you "fit" with us, and
asking you to pick up and move your family yet
again,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For all of these "character-building" episodes, and
more,
Pastor: I work for Jesus; so BITE ME!!!!!!!
Selah.
@#$%
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Mail time avec italicized personalisms!
Texas: "We used to know each other casually through Presbyterian renewal stuff and even had breakfast together at a Coalition meeting...I much enjoy your blogging...This true story for you prompted by presbyweb (www.churchandworld.com) today. Back when I was traveling around the denomination for New Wineskins, I was on a flight with a fellow who asked me if I knew you and then proceeded to tell me that, through your ministering to his relatives, God had used you to bring him to the throne of grace and to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The circumstance was either a death or ugly divorce. I cannot remember. What I remember clearly is that he told me that you did not shy away from sharing Jesus with him and sticking with it and ultimately saving a soul for Jesus."
I appreciate somebody recalling something good about me, friend! It doesn't happen too much in the church. I have been a real ___hole in many ways throughout my life and ministry; but God has always graced me to grace others because of His promise in Psalm 91:14-16. You have encouraged me to keep keepin' on!
Twitter: "Thanks for connecting. Tell me about your passions. I'm the author of Costly Grace - passionate about God and I try to be an encourager.
Excellent! You can quote anything that you'd like about my passions from the site! Check the archives! And if you don't want to quote me, that's O.K. As a professor as well as pastor, police chaplain, and author of non-best-selling books, I know plagiarism is cool these days. Just ask Joe Biden. And I remember that, uh, twit who said before singing with his praise band, "Now I'd like to sing a song that the Lord gave to me to fill your hearts with love, grace, and peace; and if you use it without paying royalties to me, I'll sue your ___ off!" I will buy your book about Bonhoeffer's understanding of costly grace - The Cost of Discipleship - because I am growing in my understanding of following Jesus by leaving the monastery (viz., the rubrics, rites, ceremonies, and religion of mainline, uh, religion) and going out into the world as a guy who wants to love Jesus by loving like Jesus.
Pennsylvania: "I have a friend who asked for a powerless vacuum cleaner to clean up around God's house. Upon my interrogation, he realized he wanted a cordless vacuum. It became clear to me that is what we Christians frequently accept and sometimes even desire in our churches...A famous preacher said, 'When people come to church, they should be wearing crash helmets.' Instead, too many want pillows and get them! Our churches appear to be powerless. Can it be that we are unaware of the mighty power of God? God filled a bunch of cowards in an upper room in Jerusalem and turned them into courageous messengers of the Gospel...They were not ashamed or afraid of what others might think...They were ordinary folks living by an extraordinary power...I believe this is what God desires for the church today. Being filled with the Holy Spirit to live out the Gospel...Loving God and neighbor with a pure and holy love, we can change the world! Then the church will be POWERFUL. We won't need a cord either."
Yo, dude, I still haven't gotten that cordless vacuum! But thanks for reminding me/us to stay connected to the Source of all transforming power!
BTW, I don't text, twitter, or Facebook; so it takes a while for me to respond. In other words, Kathie (click on staff of www.koppdisclosure.com) reviews 'em and then tells me to respond.
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So what does this have to do with our sorrowfully superficial national observance of Thanksgiving?
Contextually, there's something radically wrong with a country that has to say Sparkle Season instead of Christmas and sees no intellectual inconsistency in demanding helmets, seatbelts, and no smoking while placing virtually no restrictions on the slaughtering of the unborn.
Be that as it so sadly is, here's the connection within the context.
Thanksgiving moves from superficial to authentic when we realize it's not about what's being stuffed down our throats by personal prejudices/religions/ideologies masquerading as Christianity.
Thanksgiving becomes authentic when we realize the true meaning of Christianity.
God loves us and proved that love beyond any doubt in Jesus.
True Thanksgiving is responding to His love for us by loving others just like He loves us: "I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly!"
A true observance of Thanksgiving is loving everybody like He does; replacing me with we which translates as sacrificing our wants that often inhibit the needs of others.
Let me put it another way.
It's O.K. to eat a lot on Thursday; as long as we know we're not supposed to eat alone.
Just as Christmas is about Jesus, true Thanksgiving is about giving life to others rather than taking life from them as thanks to Him for doing that for us.
It's about the whole being equal to the sum of its parts.
It's about all of the preceding illustrations differentiating authentics from posers.
@#$%
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Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
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O.K., I got some folks with the tease to the last KD; which, uh, you'll have to check out in the archives if you haven't already read it.
The humor-challenged didn't like it.
I'm sorry.
Not.
Anyway, we've changed our Sunday morning calendar where I hang out; and 99% of the pewsitters are really into it!
Praise the Lord!
Of course, just one flea can make a big dog itch.
Read Luke 15 for the positive context.
Getting back to pests, here's an illustration of the 1%ers; and I ain't talkin' about my biker buddies...
Comment at lunch on Monday with a former pastor now attending worship with us incognito: "I started attending when you came to Belvidere. I didn't like that artificial separation of the so-called traditional from contemporary services. The origin of that separation is Satan. I stayed because I sensed you would submit to the Lord's designs rather than continue to pacify the prejudices of baby Christians. You did! The last month is what our Lord has in mind; if anyone is familiar with Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12. Something was missing in those other services. The body! I know Jesus is smiling on the church now as all of the musicians come together to help us worship Him. There's so much excitement now! So much joy! More and more people every Sunday! New faces every week! The church is about to really take off!"
Comment after lunch with a really good friend and officer with her/his ear to the pavement: "The ___s have left the church because they don't like the changes in worship."
Geez.
I remember a delightful woman in New Jersey who attended services every week - sitting alone in a big pew with a big smile on her face - until, by the grace of God, worship was transformed from performance to participation and the church began to grow and grow and grow. I ran into her at a pizza shop on Raritan Road in Clark, New Jersey. I said, "Hey, I haven't seen you for a while. Have you given up on us or Jesus?" She replied without a smile, "Not funny! I'm never coming back. I loved sitting in the pew all by myself. Now there's all these new people showing up and..."
Holy ___!
Sometimes people prefer ___ to Spirit.
It's common in mainline churches where folks have pews all to themselves.
@#$%
@#$%
A pastor in Vermont sent his first edition of "A Pastor's Final Litany" to KD.
It's really obnoxious.
In other words, I like it.
Apparently, this dude is going to insert this into the bulletin on his last Sunday before cashing in on his pension credits:
A Pastor's Final Litany
Congregation: For stopping you on the way to a worship service,
to tell you that the Men's Bathroom is out of
toilet paper,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For telling you that we can't afford to give you
a raise, while trading in our three-year-old
Caddy for a new BMW,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For criticizing your children for talking during
Sunday School, when our children are
vandalizing the vending machine in the
youth room,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For assuming you really want to get out of
bed in the middle of the night to come and
get us out of jail due to public intoxication,
while we won't get up early enough to come
to officer training on a Saturday,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For bitching about how much we don't like
the new anything, while you have to glue
your office chair back together each week,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For listening to the whining of people who
resent you for telling the truth about what
it really means to follow the Word of God,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For begrudging your vacation time with your
family at a state park, while we request
excused absences from board meetings to
travel to Europe,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For wanting you to be in the office when I
come to see you unannounced, and
criticizing you, at the same time, that you
are not out in the community enough,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For calling the Personnel Committee chairman
to complain that you didn't visit me in the
hospital last week, even though I never told you
I was there,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For asking to speak about the Ladies' Tea
for 5 minutes in the worship service, 5 minutes
before the service is about to begin, and for
calling you selfish for telling me that I can't,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For calling you insincere because you don't show
enough emotion when you preach, and calling you
immature when you do,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For, after several years of faithful service with little
reward, no respect, and lots of heartache, telling
you that we no longer think you "fit" with us, and
asking you to pick up and move your family yet
again,
Pastor: Bite me!
Congregation: For all of these "character-building" episodes, and
more,
Pastor: I work for Jesus; so BITE ME!!!!!!!
Selah.
@#$%
@#$%
Mail time avec italicized personalisms!
Texas: "We used to know each other casually through Presbyterian renewal stuff and even had breakfast together at a Coalition meeting...I much enjoy your blogging...This true story for you prompted by presbyweb (www.churchandworld.com) today. Back when I was traveling around the denomination for New Wineskins, I was on a flight with a fellow who asked me if I knew you and then proceeded to tell me that, through your ministering to his relatives, God had used you to bring him to the throne of grace and to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. The circumstance was either a death or ugly divorce. I cannot remember. What I remember clearly is that he told me that you did not shy away from sharing Jesus with him and sticking with it and ultimately saving a soul for Jesus."
I appreciate somebody recalling something good about me, friend! It doesn't happen too much in the church. I have been a real ___hole in many ways throughout my life and ministry; but God has always graced me to grace others because of His promise in Psalm 91:14-16. You have encouraged me to keep keepin' on!
Twitter: "Thanks for connecting. Tell me about your passions. I'm the author of Costly Grace - passionate about God and I try to be an encourager.
Excellent! You can quote anything that you'd like about my passions from the site! Check the archives! And if you don't want to quote me, that's O.K. As a professor as well as pastor, police chaplain, and author of non-best-selling books, I know plagiarism is cool these days. Just ask Joe Biden. And I remember that, uh, twit who said before singing with his praise band, "Now I'd like to sing a song that the Lord gave to me to fill your hearts with love, grace, and peace; and if you use it without paying royalties to me, I'll sue your ___ off!" I will buy your book about Bonhoeffer's understanding of costly grace - The Cost of Discipleship - because I am growing in my understanding of following Jesus by leaving the monastery (viz., the rubrics, rites, ceremonies, and religion of mainline, uh, religion) and going out into the world as a guy who wants to love Jesus by loving like Jesus.
Pennsylvania: "I have a friend who asked for a powerless vacuum cleaner to clean up around God's house. Upon my interrogation, he realized he wanted a cordless vacuum. It became clear to me that is what we Christians frequently accept and sometimes even desire in our churches...A famous preacher said, 'When people come to church, they should be wearing crash helmets.' Instead, too many want pillows and get them! Our churches appear to be powerless. Can it be that we are unaware of the mighty power of God? God filled a bunch of cowards in an upper room in Jerusalem and turned them into courageous messengers of the Gospel...They were not ashamed or afraid of what others might think...They were ordinary folks living by an extraordinary power...I believe this is what God desires for the church today. Being filled with the Holy Spirit to live out the Gospel...Loving God and neighbor with a pure and holy love, we can change the world! Then the church will be POWERFUL. We won't need a cord either."
Yo, dude, I still haven't gotten that cordless vacuum! But thanks for reminding me/us to stay connected to the Source of all transforming power!
BTW, I don't text, twitter, or Facebook; so it takes a while for me to respond. In other words, Kathie (click on staff of www.koppdisclosure.com) reviews 'em and then tells me to respond.
@#$%
@#$%
So what does this have to do with our sorrowfully superficial national observance of Thanksgiving?
Contextually, there's something radically wrong with a country that has to say Sparkle Season instead of Christmas and sees no intellectual inconsistency in demanding helmets, seatbelts, and no smoking while placing virtually no restrictions on the slaughtering of the unborn.
Be that as it so sadly is, here's the connection within the context.
Thanksgiving moves from superficial to authentic when we realize it's not about what's being stuffed down our throats by personal prejudices/religions/ideologies masquerading as Christianity.
Thanksgiving becomes authentic when we realize the true meaning of Christianity.
God loves us and proved that love beyond any doubt in Jesus.
True Thanksgiving is responding to His love for us by loving others just like He loves us: "I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly!"
A true observance of Thanksgiving is loving everybody like He does; replacing me with we which translates as sacrificing our wants that often inhibit the needs of others.
Let me put it another way.
It's O.K. to eat a lot on Thursday; as long as we know we're not supposed to eat alone.
Just as Christmas is about Jesus, true Thanksgiving is about giving life to others rather than taking life from them as thanks to Him for doing that for us.
It's about the whole being equal to the sum of its parts.
It's about all of the preceding illustrations differentiating authentics from posers.
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Friday, November 19, 2010
November 19, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
I've been thinking and praying about leaving the church.
It was prompted again by something stupid (see KD's 11/16 edition), a survey, and the recollection of a conversation with a pastor who was my age now back in 1977.
Again, go back to the 11/16 edition for something stupid.
The survey: "What are you looking forward to?"
My answer: "Heaven! Take me now, Jesus!"
The conversation was with Charlie shortly after I was ordained.
I said, "I feel really good about the church. The people are wonderful."
He said, "You'll get over it. You're still on your honeymoon when everything and everybody seem wonderful. But that will change as you fail to meet their expectations and advance their goals; and it won't be long before you'll know they don't care what you think and that it's their church and that they made a mistake in calling you and look forward to the next pastor search."
I said, "You're wrong, Charlie. I love them and they love me and..."
He interrupted, "You're so young and naive. You must have missed the course on original sin in seminary. Let me tell you how it is. Last night after the meeting in the parking lot after the meeting in the parlor, I heard things that made me want to quit on the spot. But, yes, like you, I feel called to stay. So I went home, walked up the stairs to join my wife who had been in bed for several hours already, and cried, 'Take me now, Jesus; for my life is so much more valuable to You than the church.'"
Three decades in the business have exorcised my naiveté and drained my youth.
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You've probably heard about the man who said to his wife after worship, "I'm never going back to that church!"
She said, "Yes, you are!"
He said, "O.K., give me one good reason why!"
She said, "I'll give two good reasons why you're going back. First, it's the right thing to do. Second, you're the pastor."
@#$%
@#$%
There were 28 responses to the last edition's (11/16) mockery of taking attendance in churches.
Three seemed to summarize the sentiments.
A seminarian in Pittsburgh wrote, "I just thought of a solution to your attendance-counting problem; although it is a little Roman Catholic. RCs choose the first Sunday in October, randomly from all I know, to count heads; then multiply it by the rest of the Sundays and report that to their bean counters for their annual worship attendance. Of course, priests generally have special events to get more bodies in the pews that week."
A lawyer in Kansas City scolded, "God told his chosen people not to take a census! What do we do? We take one every Sunday! Are we his chosen people or did we miss something really important?...As for bean counters, I'm also a CPA. Do you know what that stands for? Constant Pain in the Aaaaaaaabdomen!"
A pastor in New Jersey challenged, "Why waste so much time and energy and person hours on something so incredibly useless? I'll tell you why! It's because we'd rather count our shrinking memberships than go out and win souls for Jesus!"
Ouch.
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The pastor's comment about taking attendance reminds me that size matters in church.
When pastors meet each other for the first time, they don't ask, "So how's your relationship with Jesus? Do your members behave like they believe in Jesus?"
Nah!
They ask, "So, uh, how big is your...?"
That's how they figure out how their size compares to...
@#$%
@#$%
Just the other day as happens every now and then, a deacon asked if I ever consider quitting.
She was concerned because of folks who always like to complain about everything/everybody; including yours truly.
I said, "Well, there are three categories of people in terms of what you're thinking. About 80% don't really care how we're doing it as long as we're doing it for Jesus, about 18% get involved in doing it for Christ's sake, and about 2% are ready to pound in the nails again when Jesus returns."
She asked, "How do you feel about that 2%?"
I answered, "Just one flea can make a big dog itch, Yeah, it bothers me; and I feel like leaving every now and then. But it's an irresistible call. I'm compelled. Yeah, I'd like to tell some people to go to hell; but that's not what I'm supposed to be about if I'm about Jesus."
Jesus wants us to point everybody to heaven - even the ones who like to damn us.
That's why I stay.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
I've been thinking and praying about leaving the church.
It was prompted again by something stupid (see KD's 11/16 edition), a survey, and the recollection of a conversation with a pastor who was my age now back in 1977.
Again, go back to the 11/16 edition for something stupid.
The survey: "What are you looking forward to?"
My answer: "Heaven! Take me now, Jesus!"
The conversation was with Charlie shortly after I was ordained.
I said, "I feel really good about the church. The people are wonderful."
He said, "You'll get over it. You're still on your honeymoon when everything and everybody seem wonderful. But that will change as you fail to meet their expectations and advance their goals; and it won't be long before you'll know they don't care what you think and that it's their church and that they made a mistake in calling you and look forward to the next pastor search."
I said, "You're wrong, Charlie. I love them and they love me and..."
He interrupted, "You're so young and naive. You must have missed the course on original sin in seminary. Let me tell you how it is. Last night after the meeting in the parking lot after the meeting in the parlor, I heard things that made me want to quit on the spot. But, yes, like you, I feel called to stay. So I went home, walked up the stairs to join my wife who had been in bed for several hours already, and cried, 'Take me now, Jesus; for my life is so much more valuable to You than the church.'"
Three decades in the business have exorcised my naiveté and drained my youth.
@#$%
@#$%
You've probably heard about the man who said to his wife after worship, "I'm never going back to that church!"
She said, "Yes, you are!"
He said, "O.K., give me one good reason why!"
She said, "I'll give two good reasons why you're going back. First, it's the right thing to do. Second, you're the pastor."
@#$%
@#$%
There were 28 responses to the last edition's (11/16) mockery of taking attendance in churches.
Three seemed to summarize the sentiments.
A seminarian in Pittsburgh wrote, "I just thought of a solution to your attendance-counting problem; although it is a little Roman Catholic. RCs choose the first Sunday in October, randomly from all I know, to count heads; then multiply it by the rest of the Sundays and report that to their bean counters for their annual worship attendance. Of course, priests generally have special events to get more bodies in the pews that week."
A lawyer in Kansas City scolded, "God told his chosen people not to take a census! What do we do? We take one every Sunday! Are we his chosen people or did we miss something really important?...As for bean counters, I'm also a CPA. Do you know what that stands for? Constant Pain in the Aaaaaaaabdomen!"
A pastor in New Jersey challenged, "Why waste so much time and energy and person hours on something so incredibly useless? I'll tell you why! It's because we'd rather count our shrinking memberships than go out and win souls for Jesus!"
Ouch.
@#$%
@#$%
The pastor's comment about taking attendance reminds me that size matters in church.
When pastors meet each other for the first time, they don't ask, "So how's your relationship with Jesus? Do your members behave like they believe in Jesus?"
Nah!
They ask, "So, uh, how big is your...?"
That's how they figure out how their size compares to...
@#$%
@#$%
Just the other day as happens every now and then, a deacon asked if I ever consider quitting.
She was concerned because of folks who always like to complain about everything/everybody; including yours truly.
I said, "Well, there are three categories of people in terms of what you're thinking. About 80% don't really care how we're doing it as long as we're doing it for Jesus, about 18% get involved in doing it for Christ's sake, and about 2% are ready to pound in the nails again when Jesus returns."
She asked, "How do you feel about that 2%?"
I answered, "Just one flea can make a big dog itch, Yeah, it bothers me; and I feel like leaving every now and then. But it's an irresistible call. I'm compelled. Yeah, I'd like to tell some people to go to hell; but that's not what I'm supposed to be about if I'm about Jesus."
Jesus wants us to point everybody to heaven - even the ones who like to damn us.
That's why I stay.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
November 16, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:16-17)
@#$%
@#$%
Whenever we'd get together, Tony would say, "One of the most fun things for me is listening to smart people say stupid things."
Usually, we'd be together because I'd invited him to preach/speak or lead some kinda retreat for pulpiteers/pewsitters; and not more than once wondered if he was talking about them or, uh, me.
While I'm not as smart as I think I am (Huh?), I have said and heard lots of really stupid things since called to an ecclesiastical gig.
@#$%
My business manager in the city where everything's so up-to-date, beckoned me from the study on a late Friday afternoon, directed me to the narthex, pointed to the brilliantly glossed tiles, and said, "It's too bad it'll all be scuffed up after Sunday morning."
Whoa.
Then there was the women's something or other that needle-pointed the most beautiful pew cushions that I'd ever seen and then asked for a special board meeting to approve roping off the pews so folks wouldn't sit on and soil 'em.
Sigh.
A rich guy in the South came to see me and said, "Phoebe has left the church because she doesn't like the new music and doesn't like you." I said, "That's too bad; but do you see all of the new people coming every week? Our church is growing like crazy!" He said, "I don't care about them. I really don't care about you. I care about Phoebe."
Son/daughter of a...
Psst.
...not God!
@#$%
Ah, yes, there are hundreds of stories about smart people saying/doing stupid stuff in the naked city, uh, church.
A recent one generated this letter:
Friends,
I don't know who counts attendance, don't want to know who counts
attendance, wonder why we count attendance, kinda know why but
consider it a waste of time /energy/resources, and doubt it factors
into the final - and I mean final - arbitration.
Regardless, it appears we count attendance like Chicago counts votes.
Obviously, and I mean obviously, more and more new faces are
coming to worship since we amended our Sunday morning calendar.
Getting back to counting votes, uh, attendance, 11/7's second service
count was 277 and 11/14's count was 134 but there were, uh,
obviously, more folks in the second service on 11/14 that 11/7.
Hence, our staff has lowered the count for 11/7 and increased
the count for 11/14; reminding us of Chicago's...
Geez.
I have instructed the staff not to waste any more time on tabulating.
Both services are growing; probably not as much as the record
of 11/7 while definitely more than the record of 11/14.
Of course, Biblically, we're supposed to plant not harvest anyway.
Blessings and Love!
P.S. Nobody really cares about this stuff except bean counters in
Louisville. Those with eyes to see can...BTW, I did not mention
our first service in the chapel which ranges from lows of ___ to
highs of ___ during really important parts of the church year
(Gulp!)...[Parenthetically, size matters when it comes to
church! When pastors first meet each other, they don't ask,
"So how's your relationship with Jesus? Do your members
behave like they believe in Jesus?" Nah! They ask, "So, uh,
how big is your...?" That way they can figure out how their
size compares to...]...Interesting, since our transition, the
2nd/3rd services morphed into one service has increased
while the continuing service has remained steady. Go figure!
No, don't go figure! Go! Be faithful! Invite! Welcome!
Include! Love!...We're about souls not beans!
Duh.
@#$%
Tony was leading an officer's retreat in a fabulously well-to-do church that happened to have me as the pastor.
He talked with passion unknown to mainliners about saving starving souls and feeding the famished.
During the Q&A after his missionary message, an elder asked about his brother, "What should I say to my brother who likes to smoke?"
Head bobbing and body fidgeting, Tony snapped, "The world is going to hell and people are bruising, beating, and butchering each other and all you want to talk about is your brother's disgusting habit that isn't killing anyone but him?"
I thought about that yesterday when somebody really smart said one of the most stupid things that I'd ever...
@#$%
Every now and then, I have a vision/hallucination of Jesus on a hill not too far from the church; bleeding to death and pleading, "Father, forgive them for..."
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:16-17)
@#$%
@#$%
Whenever we'd get together, Tony would say, "One of the most fun things for me is listening to smart people say stupid things."
Usually, we'd be together because I'd invited him to preach/speak or lead some kinda retreat for pulpiteers/pewsitters; and not more than once wondered if he was talking about them or, uh, me.
While I'm not as smart as I think I am (Huh?), I have said and heard lots of really stupid things since called to an ecclesiastical gig.
@#$%
My business manager in the city where everything's so up-to-date, beckoned me from the study on a late Friday afternoon, directed me to the narthex, pointed to the brilliantly glossed tiles, and said, "It's too bad it'll all be scuffed up after Sunday morning."
Whoa.
Then there was the women's something or other that needle-pointed the most beautiful pew cushions that I'd ever seen and then asked for a special board meeting to approve roping off the pews so folks wouldn't sit on and soil 'em.
Sigh.
A rich guy in the South came to see me and said, "Phoebe has left the church because she doesn't like the new music and doesn't like you." I said, "That's too bad; but do you see all of the new people coming every week? Our church is growing like crazy!" He said, "I don't care about them. I really don't care about you. I care about Phoebe."
Son/daughter of a...
Psst.
...not God!
@#$%
Ah, yes, there are hundreds of stories about smart people saying/doing stupid stuff in the naked city, uh, church.
A recent one generated this letter:
Friends,
I don't know who counts attendance, don't want to know who counts
attendance, wonder why we count attendance, kinda know why but
consider it a waste of time /energy/resources, and doubt it factors
into the final - and I mean final - arbitration.
Regardless, it appears we count attendance like Chicago counts votes.
Obviously, and I mean obviously, more and more new faces are
coming to worship since we amended our Sunday morning calendar.
Getting back to counting votes, uh, attendance, 11/7's second service
count was 277 and 11/14's count was 134 but there were, uh,
obviously, more folks in the second service on 11/14 that 11/7.
Hence, our staff has lowered the count for 11/7 and increased
the count for 11/14; reminding us of Chicago's...
Geez.
I have instructed the staff not to waste any more time on tabulating.
Both services are growing; probably not as much as the record
of 11/7 while definitely more than the record of 11/14.
Of course, Biblically, we're supposed to plant not harvest anyway.
Blessings and Love!
P.S. Nobody really cares about this stuff except bean counters in
Louisville. Those with eyes to see can...BTW, I did not mention
our first service in the chapel which ranges from lows of ___ to
highs of ___ during really important parts of the church year
(Gulp!)...[Parenthetically, size matters when it comes to
church! When pastors first meet each other, they don't ask,
"So how's your relationship with Jesus? Do your members
behave like they believe in Jesus?" Nah! They ask, "So, uh,
how big is your...?" That way they can figure out how their
size compares to...]...Interesting, since our transition, the
2nd/3rd services morphed into one service has increased
while the continuing service has remained steady. Go figure!
No, don't go figure! Go! Be faithful! Invite! Welcome!
Include! Love!...We're about souls not beans!
Duh.
@#$%
Tony was leading an officer's retreat in a fabulously well-to-do church that happened to have me as the pastor.
He talked with passion unknown to mainliners about saving starving souls and feeding the famished.
During the Q&A after his missionary message, an elder asked about his brother, "What should I say to my brother who likes to smoke?"
Head bobbing and body fidgeting, Tony snapped, "The world is going to hell and people are bruising, beating, and butchering each other and all you want to talk about is your brother's disgusting habit that isn't killing anyone but him?"
I thought about that yesterday when somebody really smart said one of the most stupid things that I'd ever...
@#$%
Every now and then, I have a vision/hallucination of Jesus on a hill not too far from the church; bleeding to death and pleading, "Father, forgive them for..."
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Friday, November 12, 2010
November 12, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Wow!
The flakes, fruits, and nuts on the left coast were ticked by the last KD with some - Oh, how does my much more famous than moi writing friend put it? - snide and sarcastic comments about 'em; and this one from the radio version of KD via www.bnnsradio.com (click it on now and go to the tab for KD and catch up) on 11/0/10: "Well, the pachydermic wave last Tuesday didn't affect those jackasses in California. Of course, I'm not sure California is even a part of America anymore? Does anyone know if it's still a state? Did it fall off the continent yet? I'm going to buy some beachfront property in Nevada..."
Or something like that.
All I know is California doesn't need a new law to legalize weed.
@#$%
Don't get me wrong.
I like California.
I could never live there; because I'd never get any work done if you know what I mean.
Every now and then - last week being the latest - I get a call from a church out there about being their pastor because they like my style; which tells you a lot about how...
Parenthetically, when I was almost as famous as my much more famous writing friend who thinks I'm too snide and sarcastic every now and then, I was a part of a covenant group of really famous franchise pulpiteers who met in Malibu at the Serra Retreat (Franciscan joint) for a week every year to talk about doing what they never accomplished: take back the PCUSA from the apostates.
Be that as it was, I like where I am and what I'm doing; though I still wish somebody would pick up my latest book on biker culture as metaphor and challenge to the church. All of the reviews say it's gonna really sell; but, geez, convincing those big...
My wife and I have decided we're home and we're gonna stay until, you know, I'm assassinated or something like that.
@#$%
Psst.
Don't tell anybody.
But I really like my presbytery; and for folks who have no clue about what that is, it's kinda like a diocese, conference, or other bunch of clergy and others who pretend to know what's best for churches in their geographical neck of the woods.
While I've got some friends who have left for other franchises only to discover their greener pasture was somebody else's brown field, I took my ordination promises seriously (even the ones that I've broken along the way) and take John 17 even more seriously.
Recently, I was named to our presbytery's nominating committee; which is kinda cool because that means I get to help pick people for really important positions in the judicatory as well as really inane positions that require the extending of indulgences to...
I was so excited that I wrote a letter to the chairwoman and continuing members:
Friends,
I look forward to serving with you on our presbytery's nominating
committee.
Parenthetically, now that I have your e-mail addresses, I'll send
first editions of Kopp Disclosure to you...
___ and ___ already get them; and I hear they have mastered the
use of the delete button.
Now to something serious.
I love Blackhawk Presbytery because it's part of the remnant that
esteems agape and John 17 over the increasingly extreme
ideological divisions destroying the fabric of our franchise. We
have the privilege as well as responsibility to model Someone
better for the rest of our sisters/brothers.
I have no patience for folks who have cut and run in defiance of
their ordination promises and John 17; and I also have decreasing
patience for pewsitters/pulpiteers who forget our confessional
and constitutional commitment to Jesus as attested in Holy
Scripture.
While I have been very critical of the direction of our national
leadership as well as New Wineskiners and other schismatics,
I have also been laudatory about our presbytery as counter to
that culture via many media outlets.
In other words, I will take this privilege seriously as we pray
and labor together to model Him through our irenic and
redemptive intentions.
Or something like that.
Blessings and Love!
Maybe.
Probably.
Hopefully.
...or just move to California!
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Wow!
The flakes, fruits, and nuts on the left coast were ticked by the last KD with some - Oh, how does my much more famous than moi writing friend put it? - snide and sarcastic comments about 'em; and this one from the radio version of KD via www.bnnsradio.com (click it on now and go to the tab for KD and catch up) on 11/0/10: "Well, the pachydermic wave last Tuesday didn't affect those jackasses in California. Of course, I'm not sure California is even a part of America anymore? Does anyone know if it's still a state? Did it fall off the continent yet? I'm going to buy some beachfront property in Nevada..."
Or something like that.
All I know is California doesn't need a new law to legalize weed.
@#$%
Don't get me wrong.
I like California.
I could never live there; because I'd never get any work done if you know what I mean.
Every now and then - last week being the latest - I get a call from a church out there about being their pastor because they like my style; which tells you a lot about how...
Parenthetically, when I was almost as famous as my much more famous writing friend who thinks I'm too snide and sarcastic every now and then, I was a part of a covenant group of really famous franchise pulpiteers who met in Malibu at the Serra Retreat (Franciscan joint) for a week every year to talk about doing what they never accomplished: take back the PCUSA from the apostates.
Be that as it was, I like where I am and what I'm doing; though I still wish somebody would pick up my latest book on biker culture as metaphor and challenge to the church. All of the reviews say it's gonna really sell; but, geez, convincing those big...
My wife and I have decided we're home and we're gonna stay until, you know, I'm assassinated or something like that.
@#$%
Psst.
Don't tell anybody.
But I really like my presbytery; and for folks who have no clue about what that is, it's kinda like a diocese, conference, or other bunch of clergy and others who pretend to know what's best for churches in their geographical neck of the woods.
While I've got some friends who have left for other franchises only to discover their greener pasture was somebody else's brown field, I took my ordination promises seriously (even the ones that I've broken along the way) and take John 17 even more seriously.
Recently, I was named to our presbytery's nominating committee; which is kinda cool because that means I get to help pick people for really important positions in the judicatory as well as really inane positions that require the extending of indulgences to...
I was so excited that I wrote a letter to the chairwoman and continuing members:
Friends,
I look forward to serving with you on our presbytery's nominating
committee.
Parenthetically, now that I have your e-mail addresses, I'll send
first editions of Kopp Disclosure to you...
___ and ___ already get them; and I hear they have mastered the
use of the delete button.
Now to something serious.
I love Blackhawk Presbytery because it's part of the remnant that
esteems agape and John 17 over the increasingly extreme
ideological divisions destroying the fabric of our franchise. We
have the privilege as well as responsibility to model Someone
better for the rest of our sisters/brothers.
I have no patience for folks who have cut and run in defiance of
their ordination promises and John 17; and I also have decreasing
patience for pewsitters/pulpiteers who forget our confessional
and constitutional commitment to Jesus as attested in Holy
Scripture.
While I have been very critical of the direction of our national
leadership as well as New Wineskiners and other schismatics,
I have also been laudatory about our presbytery as counter to
that culture via many media outlets.
In other words, I will take this privilege seriously as we pray
and labor together to model Him through our irenic and
redemptive intentions.
Or something like that.
Blessings and Love!
Maybe.
Probably.
Hopefully.
...or just move to California!
@#$%
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
November 10, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I've always preferred people who think about their spiritual, ideological, ecclesiastical, political, and proprietary party lines more than mindless drones who follow whoever's pacesetting like exorcised pigs about to dive into Lake Kinnereth.
Few things disgust me more than people who vote "straight ticket" Democrat, Republican, or anything as if any sector of humanity has a monopoly on truth, justice, and the American way.
Pewsitters and pulpiteers who swallow whatever's being shoveled by their denominational bureaucrats, officers, and latest votes are equally vacuous.
Considering Christians are supposed to be known for praying and talking through their disagreements agreeably because they're glued together by Jesus and compelled to redemption concomitant to His high priestly prayer in John 17, I'm nauseated by the way left and way right whose extremes dictate division.
In these increasingly polarizing days in church and society, it's about time for Christians to hang in with each other rather than hanging up on each other; and if that means riding against the wind of their favorite prejudices in favor of those apocalyptic moments when He reveals something/Someone better, so be it!
@#$%
@#$%
That's why I kinda liked those jackasses in California riding against the wind as the pachyderms stomped to a victory of Biblical proportions on 11/2/10.
California distinguished itself once again as dancing to the beat of a drummer in the ozone layer of reality.
Unlike politicians and pastors who sell their souls for a job, pretending to be who they ain't to pile up more pension credits, those jackasses on the left coast remained true to themselves.
And how about our friends in the city by the bay?
They castrated Ronald McDonald!
Happy Meals are now against the law in a city that legalizes just about everything else!
@#$%
@#$%
Yeah, I know fast food joints are ambassadors for high cholesterol.
Buuuuuuut isn't that our right as Americans to choose to harm ourselves?
C'mon, we're a pro-choice nation!
Alcohol, tobacco, Five Guys, MSG, watching Jerry Springer, and listening to Lady Gaga are all about having the right to destroy your heart, soul, mind, and body.
This ain't China!
O.K., maybe it's not right to tempt children with toys to eat bad stuff; but what about parental rights to hurt their own kids?
Whoa.
Regardless, who deified the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass an ordinance requiring McDonalds to meet nutritional guidelines established by some know-it-all in those Happy Meals that include toys?
Geez.
My favorite quote came from supervisor Eric Mar who proposed the law: "This is a food justice issue."
Help me, Jesus!
I'm reminded of the American Indian who said, "Justice in America has come to mean just us. Power determines justice in America."
So California parents lose a pacifier and California kids keep their health because 11 people decide by an 8-3 veto-proof majority (Take that Gavin!) that they have the insight/right to set the standard of food justice and, I guess by logical progression, just about...
It won't be long before...
@#$%
@#$%
Control needs hurt everyone except those who are in control.
I think that's why God established Jesus as the only Lord as well as uniquely Savior.
Whenever we try to usurp that role, we act like a bunch of, uh, jackasses.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
I've always preferred people who think about their spiritual, ideological, ecclesiastical, political, and proprietary party lines more than mindless drones who follow whoever's pacesetting like exorcised pigs about to dive into Lake Kinnereth.
Few things disgust me more than people who vote "straight ticket" Democrat, Republican, or anything as if any sector of humanity has a monopoly on truth, justice, and the American way.
Pewsitters and pulpiteers who swallow whatever's being shoveled by their denominational bureaucrats, officers, and latest votes are equally vacuous.
Considering Christians are supposed to be known for praying and talking through their disagreements agreeably because they're glued together by Jesus and compelled to redemption concomitant to His high priestly prayer in John 17, I'm nauseated by the way left and way right whose extremes dictate division.
In these increasingly polarizing days in church and society, it's about time for Christians to hang in with each other rather than hanging up on each other; and if that means riding against the wind of their favorite prejudices in favor of those apocalyptic moments when He reveals something/Someone better, so be it!
@#$%
@#$%
That's why I kinda liked those jackasses in California riding against the wind as the pachyderms stomped to a victory of Biblical proportions on 11/2/10.
California distinguished itself once again as dancing to the beat of a drummer in the ozone layer of reality.
Unlike politicians and pastors who sell their souls for a job, pretending to be who they ain't to pile up more pension credits, those jackasses on the left coast remained true to themselves.
And how about our friends in the city by the bay?
They castrated Ronald McDonald!
Happy Meals are now against the law in a city that legalizes just about everything else!
@#$%
@#$%
Yeah, I know fast food joints are ambassadors for high cholesterol.
Buuuuuuut isn't that our right as Americans to choose to harm ourselves?
C'mon, we're a pro-choice nation!
Alcohol, tobacco, Five Guys, MSG, watching Jerry Springer, and listening to Lady Gaga are all about having the right to destroy your heart, soul, mind, and body.
This ain't China!
O.K., maybe it's not right to tempt children with toys to eat bad stuff; but what about parental rights to hurt their own kids?
Whoa.
Regardless, who deified the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to pass an ordinance requiring McDonalds to meet nutritional guidelines established by some know-it-all in those Happy Meals that include toys?
Geez.
My favorite quote came from supervisor Eric Mar who proposed the law: "This is a food justice issue."
Help me, Jesus!
I'm reminded of the American Indian who said, "Justice in America has come to mean just us. Power determines justice in America."
So California parents lose a pacifier and California kids keep their health because 11 people decide by an 8-3 veto-proof majority (Take that Gavin!) that they have the insight/right to set the standard of food justice and, I guess by logical progression, just about...
It won't be long before...
@#$%
@#$%
Control needs hurt everyone except those who are in control.
I think that's why God established Jesus as the only Lord as well as uniquely Savior.
Whenever we try to usurp that role, we act like a bunch of, uh, jackasses.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Friday, November 5, 2010
November 5, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Slightly paraphrasing BBPBHO, Tuesday's "shellacking" of the Dems was of Biblical proportions.
I haven't seen such a repudiation of a President/party in my lifetime.
Not even the partners-in-governmental-crime of mostly reviled LBJ, RMN, and GWB were tossed under the bus like the buddies of the White House's current resident.
The jackasses got a wake up call.
They are out of touch with America.
The pachyderms got a second chance.
They have two years to make a difference...or else.
Americans think the jackasses run government with two feet planted firmly in the air; and so they've been grounded.
Americans think the pachyderms hate to see anything happen for the first time; yet the jackasses have made such a mess of everything, they are being given another shot at redeeming their collective reputation.
Americans are forgiving...and fickle.
If things don't get better in the next two years, watch out!
@#$%
@#$%
BBPBHO was elected because people like him.
Though it continues to horrify my friends who are a little left to way right, I like him; and wish he'd invite me to the White House for a brew.
Heaven, because it's what happens as intimacy with Him increases, Jesus is helping me to like lots of folks who I formerly thought were my - How did BBPBHO put it just a week before the elections? - enemies.
Anyway, BBPBHO promised to be a bridge-builder.
Of course, he lied.
He's turned out to be the most partisan President in history.
I guess that's what happens when you've got/had such an overwhelming majority in the House and Senate.
That's over; and since Tuesday, BBPBHO is talking more like candidate junior Senator BHO with a regenerated promise of reaching across the aisle and...
O.K.
We'll see.
With the Secretary of State starting to salivate at the prospect of a Kennedy-against-Carter kinda run and Sarah flirting at her prospects and that Latino guy in Florida who burned the party regular to a crisp(t) and a House filled with paybackers, he better be a reborn bridge-builder if he wants any chance at a second term.
Again, we'll see.
God knows I don't know what's gonna happen.
When Oprah gets to pick Presidents, it's hard to make predictions anymore.
@#$%
@#$%
BTW, in addition to domestic readers, www.koppdisclosure.com has readers in Canada, UK, Russia, Brazil, India, China, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Israel, Iraq, and the Netherlands.
But not one sugar daddy/mommy/baby!
I think that's because I've ticked off non-readers in Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Our radio version on www.bnnsradio.com is also picking up steam if not packing in $.
People like freebies.
While Kathie (written), Bill (radio), and I (?) like the public service aspect, she still wants a trip to Hawaii, Bill wants to go commercial, and I'd like to buy a van for my wife.
Regardless, we're gonna keep at it; but if you've got some sugar...
@#$%
@#$%
Returning to Tuesday, KD received some interesting commentaries on what happened from the right and left coasts.
From a seminarian in Pittsburgh: "I think the primary shift in power occurred because one side failed to listen to the collective voice of the American people...A political party may be able to pass what it wants to pass given a large majority, but the people ultimately judge the wisdom of their actions. A large majority of America apparently disagreed with their elected officials and sent them to the unemployment lines (with the rest of us)...The church...has been suffering from the same general loss of power...The cause is related...When the world judges, as it apparently has, that the church has nothing of value to offer in terms of social capital,...it deservedly declines in influence...The church must reverse its tendency to reflect the culture...A vision not based on partisan divisions, but on radical love that transcends the world's modes of action. We need a good dose of humility to recognize our own sinfulness...Can it be that we are willing to sacrifice some of our doctrinal purity, which is filthy rags to God anyway, in order to extend the love of Christ to a hurting and dying world?...Two young men were shot across the street from the seminary I attend last week. Our reactions were instructive...Some wanted to hide in their rooms; others planned and executed a prayer-walk in the neighborhood, attended community meetings, and made ourselves visible in the community as a sign of Christ's love...It became painfully obvious that our school was not known in the community...Wouldn't it be a good idea if those of us who bear the name Christian testified to Jesus...Political parties will come and go, but God remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Shall we be about preparing the world for that reality? May it be so!"
Amen!
From someone who has counseled Presidents in California: "You got PA-11 but the wave ran out of steam by the time it got to Nevada...so I got Jerry Brown...The election map is 'parenthetical.' Red state America bounded by blue state coastal areas. Main street versus elite street...The voters have allowed the REPs to rent the House. If they turn out to be bad tenants, they will evict them, just like they evicted the DEMs. Obama just got his two year 'notice to evict.' If he does not take care of business (literally), the voters will do to him what they did to 60+ DEM House members...What Obama has done is reap the whirlwind of two seemingly contradictory things: over-heated expectations and over-reaching...smooth-talking but no longer credible on core issues...He rammed through his program without transparency as he promised...The list of headshaking pratfalls grows weekly...Obama's only true God is government and it scares Americans across the political spectrum; except for atheist lefties. His political missteps and his vague demeaning of American bedrock values has ignited a massive outpouring of citizen activists...Obama may benefit from an improved economy going into 2012...We will see if this Obama anomaly is completely repudiated like Jimmy Carter's awful administration or if America has, in fact, given up on its core values and joined the European descent into socialist hell."
Whoa!
@#$%
@#$%
I've been feeling a little loopy lately.
Aside from Barletta upsetting Kanjorski in Northeastern Pennsylvania's "Little Poland" where jackasses have ruled since the Flood (i.e., Daniel) which seemed as intellectually plausible as my buddy Chuck becoming the next Moderator of the PCUSA, I had a back tooth extracted on Wednesday and forgot that I'm allergic to Vicodin laced with Codeine.
That may have been cool pour moi in the 60s; but now that I'm almost...
Anyway, I've been more loopy lately than usual; which rationalizes the preceding.
But while lying flat on my back in bed most of Wednesday and Thursday, I got to watch BBPBHO on the dope box; and while that's not unusual in that he's always, uh, on, I was, again, confined to the bed and decided to see how he reacted to the shellacking.
While my friends a little left to way right will be horrified by this observation and may want to accuse me of being really loopy, I kinda liked what I heard and saw in his remarks and demeanor.
He didn't swagger to the lectern.
He didn't boast.
He wasn't what he had become since inauguration.
He came off as quite, uh, humble, reconciling, and reminiscent of what got him elected two years ago.
A very, very, very important truth came to mind: Matthew 23:12.
That's why BBPBHO and the rest of the jackasses lost on Tuesday.
That's how they can win in 2012.
The pachyderms better pay attention to it/Him.
And, uh, BTW, the same is true for mainline denominations, you, and me.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
@#$%
Slightly paraphrasing BBPBHO, Tuesday's "shellacking" of the Dems was of Biblical proportions.
I haven't seen such a repudiation of a President/party in my lifetime.
Not even the partners-in-governmental-crime of mostly reviled LBJ, RMN, and GWB were tossed under the bus like the buddies of the White House's current resident.
The jackasses got a wake up call.
They are out of touch with America.
The pachyderms got a second chance.
They have two years to make a difference...or else.
Americans think the jackasses run government with two feet planted firmly in the air; and so they've been grounded.
Americans think the pachyderms hate to see anything happen for the first time; yet the jackasses have made such a mess of everything, they are being given another shot at redeeming their collective reputation.
Americans are forgiving...and fickle.
If things don't get better in the next two years, watch out!
@#$%
@#$%
BBPBHO was elected because people like him.
Though it continues to horrify my friends who are a little left to way right, I like him; and wish he'd invite me to the White House for a brew.
Heaven, because it's what happens as intimacy with Him increases, Jesus is helping me to like lots of folks who I formerly thought were my - How did BBPBHO put it just a week before the elections? - enemies.
Anyway, BBPBHO promised to be a bridge-builder.
Of course, he lied.
He's turned out to be the most partisan President in history.
I guess that's what happens when you've got/had such an overwhelming majority in the House and Senate.
That's over; and since Tuesday, BBPBHO is talking more like candidate junior Senator BHO with a regenerated promise of reaching across the aisle and...
O.K.
We'll see.
With the Secretary of State starting to salivate at the prospect of a Kennedy-against-Carter kinda run and Sarah flirting at her prospects and that Latino guy in Florida who burned the party regular to a crisp(t) and a House filled with paybackers, he better be a reborn bridge-builder if he wants any chance at a second term.
Again, we'll see.
God knows I don't know what's gonna happen.
When Oprah gets to pick Presidents, it's hard to make predictions anymore.
@#$%
@#$%
BTW, in addition to domestic readers, www.koppdisclosure.com has readers in Canada, UK, Russia, Brazil, India, China, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Japan, Germany, South Korea, Israel, Iraq, and the Netherlands.
But not one sugar daddy/mommy/baby!
I think that's because I've ticked off non-readers in Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Our radio version on www.bnnsradio.com is also picking up steam if not packing in $.
People like freebies.
While Kathie (written), Bill (radio), and I (?) like the public service aspect, she still wants a trip to Hawaii, Bill wants to go commercial, and I'd like to buy a van for my wife.
Regardless, we're gonna keep at it; but if you've got some sugar...
@#$%
@#$%
Returning to Tuesday, KD received some interesting commentaries on what happened from the right and left coasts.
From a seminarian in Pittsburgh: "I think the primary shift in power occurred because one side failed to listen to the collective voice of the American people...A political party may be able to pass what it wants to pass given a large majority, but the people ultimately judge the wisdom of their actions. A large majority of America apparently disagreed with their elected officials and sent them to the unemployment lines (with the rest of us)...The church...has been suffering from the same general loss of power...The cause is related...When the world judges, as it apparently has, that the church has nothing of value to offer in terms of social capital,...it deservedly declines in influence...The church must reverse its tendency to reflect the culture...A vision not based on partisan divisions, but on radical love that transcends the world's modes of action. We need a good dose of humility to recognize our own sinfulness...Can it be that we are willing to sacrifice some of our doctrinal purity, which is filthy rags to God anyway, in order to extend the love of Christ to a hurting and dying world?...Two young men were shot across the street from the seminary I attend last week. Our reactions were instructive...Some wanted to hide in their rooms; others planned and executed a prayer-walk in the neighborhood, attended community meetings, and made ourselves visible in the community as a sign of Christ's love...It became painfully obvious that our school was not known in the community...Wouldn't it be a good idea if those of us who bear the name Christian testified to Jesus...Political parties will come and go, but God remains the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Shall we be about preparing the world for that reality? May it be so!"
Amen!
From someone who has counseled Presidents in California: "You got PA-11 but the wave ran out of steam by the time it got to Nevada...so I got Jerry Brown...The election map is 'parenthetical.' Red state America bounded by blue state coastal areas. Main street versus elite street...The voters have allowed the REPs to rent the House. If they turn out to be bad tenants, they will evict them, just like they evicted the DEMs. Obama just got his two year 'notice to evict.' If he does not take care of business (literally), the voters will do to him what they did to 60+ DEM House members...What Obama has done is reap the whirlwind of two seemingly contradictory things: over-heated expectations and over-reaching...smooth-talking but no longer credible on core issues...He rammed through his program without transparency as he promised...The list of headshaking pratfalls grows weekly...Obama's only true God is government and it scares Americans across the political spectrum; except for atheist lefties. His political missteps and his vague demeaning of American bedrock values has ignited a massive outpouring of citizen activists...Obama may benefit from an improved economy going into 2012...We will see if this Obama anomaly is completely repudiated like Jimmy Carter's awful administration or if America has, in fact, given up on its core values and joined the European descent into socialist hell."
Whoa!
@#$%
@#$%
I've been feeling a little loopy lately.
Aside from Barletta upsetting Kanjorski in Northeastern Pennsylvania's "Little Poland" where jackasses have ruled since the Flood (i.e., Daniel) which seemed as intellectually plausible as my buddy Chuck becoming the next Moderator of the PCUSA, I had a back tooth extracted on Wednesday and forgot that I'm allergic to Vicodin laced with Codeine.
That may have been cool pour moi in the 60s; but now that I'm almost...
Anyway, I've been more loopy lately than usual; which rationalizes the preceding.
But while lying flat on my back in bed most of Wednesday and Thursday, I got to watch BBPBHO on the dope box; and while that's not unusual in that he's always, uh, on, I was, again, confined to the bed and decided to see how he reacted to the shellacking.
While my friends a little left to way right will be horrified by this observation and may want to accuse me of being really loopy, I kinda liked what I heard and saw in his remarks and demeanor.
He didn't swagger to the lectern.
He didn't boast.
He wasn't what he had become since inauguration.
He came off as quite, uh, humble, reconciling, and reminiscent of what got him elected two years ago.
A very, very, very important truth came to mind: Matthew 23:12.
That's why BBPBHO and the rest of the jackasses lost on Tuesday.
That's how they can win in 2012.
The pachyderms better pay attention to it/Him.
And, uh, BTW, the same is true for mainline denominations, you, and me.
@#$%
Blessings and Love!
Monday, November 1, 2010
November 1, 2010
Kopp Disclosure
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
Vote!
If you're from Chicago, I know you'll be voting a lot on Tuesday; even if you're dead.
But for the rest of yu'uns, vote on Tuesday!
You will be glad you did!
America will be stronger because you're involved!
@#$%
(John 3:19-21)
@#$%
Vote!
If you're from Chicago, I know you'll be voting a lot on Tuesday; even if you're dead.
But for the rest of yu'uns, vote on Tuesday!
You will be glad you did!
America will be stronger because you're involved!
@#$%
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