It's been a long while

Yes folks, we just about dropped off the face of the planet. We've had some moderate setbacks. Ok, some rather serious setbacks. No financing is available for the space we need. We don't have the cash on hand for the space, or for that matter, most of the equipment we need. Some of the folks volunteering to help out have other commitments they need to attend to. In short, we were nearing the point where we could really start running a church, and then it all fell apart.

It's time to change the plan. It's time to make some lemonade.

I was looking at ways to make this work, to put a congregation together on even more of a shoestring budget than before, and I've decided to start tiny. Not just start-small, but truly tiny. To do so, I'll take a lesson from Kingdom Life Church, which is over 2,300 members strong today. Like their pastor, I'll start out by renting a ballroom in a local hotel to preach in. I'll YouTube the sermon by borrowing some video cameras. I'll podcast the audio. I'll blog the sermon itself. I'll be making due with what I have and what I can afford.

I look at it this way - God wants me to be successful so long as I follow His plan. That doesn't mean he's just going to let me get to the finish line in one easy stride... no, there are going to be challenges; challenges He has put in my path to test my faith and my mettle. I vow to meet those challenges, because I know in my heart that to meet them and overcome them will be pleasing to God, because I'll be following His plan for me.

So look out world, here we come!

The Real Cost - 20,000+ LIVES each year.

Recent Article
2002 Article

Some highlights from the IOM source:

The number of uninsured individuals under age 65 is large, growing, and has persisted even during periods of strong economic growth.

Uninsured children and adults do not receive the care they need. Consequently, they suffer from poorer health and development, and are more likely to die prematurely than those with coverage; 18,000 unnecessary deaths are attributable to lack of health coverage every year.

Even one uninsured person in a family can put the financial stability and health of the whole family at risk.

A community’s high rate of uninsurance can adversely affect the overall health status of the community, the financial stability of its health care institutions and providers, and the access of its residents to certain services, such as emergency departments and trauma centers.

The estimated value of healthy years of life gained by providing health insurance coverage to all is almost certainly greater than the costs that would be incurred by providing those without coverage the same level of services enjoyed by those who have insurance.

Followups to the study put the numbers at 22,000 in 2006.

When we look at what charity we should undertake as Christians we should look at helping our neighbors and healing the sick by supporting health care reform. It's not a perfect reform - perfect reform is like anything perfect; it's not attainable on our side of eternity. That said, it's a good step in the right direction - the direction of healing, of saving lives, of protecting.

For those that advocate strongly against abortion, I ask you - how many of the unborn die because of the mothers who lack healthcare?

For those that advocate strongly for the poor, I ask you - how many will be driven into poverty, further burdening the system, because of a car accident, disease, or other medical problem that costs tens of thousands of dollars to overcome?

Make no mistake, health care reform is a bitter, divisive topic. I realize that most of you are conservatives, and that the current conservative view is in opposition to reform. That said, there are times when it becomes important to hold fast to the good, rather than the politic. Just as Jesus stood up to the law teachers and the Pharisees against the stoning of the adulteress (John 8:1-11), we too must do what is right, which is to save lives, even if we must render more unto Caesar. This is one place where Christians on all sides of the party line, the Conservative and the Liberal, Republican and Democrat, can come together with one voice, and do what Christ would do - advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.

Please, contact your Senators and Representatives, as well as your State and Local politicians. Tell them that you, as a Christian, support health care reform regardless of party affiliation.

Here's a few online petitions:

• Secular Online Petition in Support of Reform
  
• Christian Online Petition in Support of Reform

"Prosperity" Gospel

I was asked recently about the so-called prosperity-based movement in religion today, and what, if any, impact it's had on Holy Allegory.

Short answer: Quite a bit.

Long Answer: There's ample evidence in the Bible to believe strongly the God wants His people to prosper, both directly and indirectly. There's also ample evidence that God does not want us to fall to the corruption of overabundance. The allegorical truth of so many short passages, parables, and comments is often difficult to ascertain, and can seem quite contradictory. I may launch a long series of posts on that someday, but not today. Today I will try and keep it more practical.

Power Corrupts. Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.

The same is true of wealth. Having all that we need is not the same as being filthy rich. That's why the colloquial "filthy rich" exists - when you grow so wealthy you lose all care and perspective, you lose touch with Christ. You lose touch with His message. You lose touch with His path for you. How many of the incredibly wealthy have fallen publicly? How many have been found corrupt? Now it's true that there are some who don't make a big public fall, some who find their roots again even, but by and large, having too much makes you forget about the truly important things - love of God, prayer, and even charity.

On the other side, the poor are blessed, because they have so few distractions from that spirituality. However, they contend with other difficulties - food, clothing, utilities, and the basic needs of human life in the 21st century. It's easy for them to see the filthy rich, and fall into envy. It's easy for that envy to lead to crime. Crime of necessity, perhaps, but crime nonetheless. And for those who commit crime out of greed, the loss of faith is as pronounced as it is in the most wealthy of us.

Then there is the middle class - the people who can afford to keep the lights on, but are, these days, struggling to keep the house, or pay for their children's education, or pay for retirement or healthcare costs, or any of the other worries that beset a class of people when they move from needing income to survive and needing income to provide.

So, is it ok to pray for prosperity?

Yes. It's OK to want a better life, to ask God to deliver you from difficulty, to ask Him to help your spouse and children, or ease your burdens. If you need a new car because you're family has grown, it's OK to pray for one. If you need a bigger house for the same reason, it's OK to pray for it. It goes into the realm of envy and covetousness when you stop praying for prosperity and start praying for overabundance. If you pray for a new car because you want to upgrade something that suits you perfectly well (say, you want to trade your Subaru for a Lexus), that's greed. That's covetousness, and covetousness is a sin.

It's perfectly fine to ask for God's help in making you successful so that you can afford to do wonderful things with your family, like praying for hep with the college fund so that little Susie can grow up to be whatever she wants. It's over the top to pray for a vacation to Tahiti.

It does not mean you can focus on yourself only... praying for your own prosperity is acceptable for the right reasons, but forgetting to pray for others at the cost of praying for oneself is also covetousness. We must always remember to pray for others, for there are always others more in need that ourselves. Look at it this way - God gave His Son to His people, why can't we give prayers for others? For that matter, isn't praying for another a form of charity? It also doesn't mean that you can forget to be thankful. But that, that's another post I've already made.

So, yes, I will be preaching something of a Prosperity-Lite message. I really do believe that God wants His people to prosper, to not worry about things like putting our kids through college, paying the mortgage, having shelter in the first place, etc. I also believe that reasonable prosperity can increase one's charity, and that's one of the core tenets of Christianity.

I think the important thing is to know where to draw the line in prayer, and I think just about everyone knows where that line is in their hearts.

I'll blog more on the subject of prosperity preachers another time... some truly are good, honest people, while others... well, they wear their sheep's clothing well, but we can still hear them howling at the moon. Until then, may God bless you, and deliver you in this life and the next. Pray for yourself, for others, and be thankful.

A brief statement of our beleifs

Christianity isn't about division, it's about unity, but a ministry has to put it's belief structure out there. So, here goes, as brief as I can make it, lest it sound like a legal document...

• We believe that judgment and condemnation are a sin.
• We believe that God has a plan for each of us, and that these plans are part of His larger plan for the collective people of the world. We believe that prayer, faith, and knowledge are the pillars of understanding His plan.
• We believe that by following the path God has for us we will find peace, prosperity, and fulfillment.
• We believe that to follow His path, we must pray and be thankful.
• We believe in the Ecumenical Nicene Creed and have faith that God has given us the Holy Bible so that we may understand His plan for us.
• We believe that faith in the Bible does not mean that every word, law, and parable must be taken literally, but that understanding the allegory behind the literary is an important part in understanding God's plans for us, both individually and collectively.
• We believe in science. The mystery of God is manifest in the complexity of the universe. Understanding that complexity is as important as understanding the allegorical truths of the Holy Bible.
• We believe that translations, interpretations, and modification of the Bible by man cannot hide the universal truth that God loves us.
• We believe that Satan exists to test our mettle, as he tested Job, but that Satan is in no way the oppositional equal of God, who is above all things.
• We believe that the end times are coming, but are not near. We believe that the Book of Revelation, like Song of Songs, is almost entirely allegorical. While there is amazing truth in Revelation, we believe that it is not a literal prediction of things to come, but rather of vision interpreted by John by what he knew of the world in the time of his life.
• We believe that the council of Nicaea debated in earnest what constitutes the canon, and that it is the canon to which we should turn first. We further believe that non-canon, apocrypha, and the writings of other religions may contain wisdom and have value, but that such works must be viewed carefully for accuracy and relevance to the core values of Christianity.
• We believe that separating Church and State is appropriate and just, not only for the purpose of "rendering unto Ceasar" but because the state's job is to provide for the protection and safety of the people's physical and psychological well-being, while the Church's job is to provide for the protection of people's moral and spiritual well-being. The two may sometimes coexist and sometimes contradict, and therefore should be separate.

And that's it, in a nutshell.

Why Smoking Can Be Sinful... and not for the reasons you think!

I'm not going to dwell on the famous "your body is God's temple" I tweeted about recently. We all know that smoking defiles the temple. It even defiles churches we go to and pray in... but that's not what I'm onto here. Here's the thing, Some people call me an ex-smoker because I don't smoke anymore. I call myself a smoker a smoker because not a day goes by that I don't want a cigarette. Blah-Blah-Blah, quitting's tough, it never ends, it takes constant willpower, blah blah blah. Also not one the points I want to make.

I also don't want to sound like I don't understand... like I'm some high-and-mighty-ex-smoker-with-a-grudge. On the contrary, I'm preaching this in a gentle voice. It's tough sometimes to make words on paper or a screen fit the emotional context they're meant to, so let me say this up front, there is no fire in this preaching. There is no anger or judgment. On the contrary, if you read this, and you want help stopping, I'll be happy to reach out to you. No, that's not right, I'll be happy to reach out WITH you, because I'm still afflicted too, and I understand how hard it is, how it feels, and what it's like.

Let me get to the points I want to make about the sins smoking brings...

Polluting the Temple

As I said before, we all know this. I know you don't want to hear it again, and it's one of the reasons everyone thinks smoking is a sin. I'm listing it to be complete, nothing more. So, lets move on...

The Appearance of Evil

Smoking in front of people who might look up to you, such as children, coworkers, random strangers etc. is like an advertisement for a cigarette. Let's look straight at "monkey-see, monkey-do" - doing something gives others the impression that it's ok to do that same thing. It's a double-edged sword - That's why good deeds are contagious and unruly mobs form. The Bible does speak indirectly to this troublesome issue... 1st Thessaloninans says "Avoid every kind of evil." (NIV) or "Abstain from all appearance of evil." (NKJV). Both translations tell us to avoid evil and its appearances. Which is to say that since smoking gives the appearance of evil, is should be avoided. Tough words to follow, when in the past there I've been smoking on the street as children walked by. That puts bit of guilt on the plate for me indeed. That guilt, in turn, brings me to shame.

Shame

There is shame in doing something you know is wrong. But it's not the worst shame. There is significant shame in failure. I can't tell you how many times I've failed to keep off the death sticks. I've quit more times than I can count, and I'm pretty good with numbers. Each time I went back, as much as I enjoyed that rush of nicotine into my brain and that dizzy euphoria that comes with taking a drag after not having one in a long time, I also felt ashamed. Ashamed that I wasn't strong enough to get the job I had put before myself done. Ashamed that I was killing myself, because we all know smoking will kill you, and therefore (at least in my head) smoking's not too far a stretch from slow suicide (now there's another sin!). Ashamed that I was killing my wife's husband. Ashamed that I was killing my children's father. Ashamed that I had prayed for the strength to quit, and failed my God.

Shame is a good thing in most cases - it is the emotion God created in us so that we would know when we are not walking His path for us. Feeling ashamed can lead to good actions - like correcting a mistake, seeking forgiveness, etc. The downside is that left unchecked, shame can be a form of "gateway sin". When you do nothing about your shame, you are giving in to the sin that caused the shame. What's more, long-term shame roots in the inability to forgive yourself, and the Lord teaches us to forgive each other, and therefore ourselves.

Lies

I can't tell you how often I lied to my wife about still being resolute in my quitting, even as I was sucking down lung darts like licorice. She knew I was full of it - How could she not know? I wasn't very affectionate for fear of the stench giving me up for the liar I was. I was as grumpy as you can get, constantly fighting and snapping, and looking for ways to vent my addiction-fueled nic-fit anger when I couldn't get a cigarette. (Truthfully, mornings are still like that for me... and I don't know when it'll change, but every morning, I still want that smoke, still get those sharp rises in temper from not having one, and still suck down a huge quantity of coffee to take the edge off). I would lie to myself, and say I wasn't a smoker. I was just having a small relapse and it wouldn't take much to get back on the wagon. I would lie to my kids... my oldest anyway... because he's old enough to ask real questions and expect real answers.

So, you can see that there's a few sins behind those cigarettes. And it's not easy to quit. The success rates are on a par with heroin addicts getting off the dragon. Again, let me make this perfectly clear - if you're a smoker, I'm with you. Whether you've stopped or want to stop or don't want to stop - I've been there. Whatever the case, remember that smoking is definitely a sin, and you should pray for God to lift you up from sin. Ask his forgiveness for the sin - even if you continue to smoke, you will be forgiven. If you don't feel right about that, remember Matthew 18:21-22 -

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times."

(NKJV recrods the number as "seventy times seven" - an allegory for an infinite number of times)

If you're ready, ask for His help in stopping the cycle of that sin and giving up the death sticks. Ask others for help as well. Step up to the plate, confess to those you've wronged as well as to God. Try saying this - "I'm going to give up smoking, I need your help." to God in prayer and your loved ones. Also, feel free to reach out to me too.

Getting off the Ground - IT and Small Ministries

Warning - this is not "ministerial" - you won't find my biblical interpretations, suggestions, or other thoughts on faith, God, and His plan for us in this post. In fact, this post is full-on geek.

There's a lot to do if I'm ever going to take this ministry off the ground. I've been thinking about a lot of the logistics that need to go into getting things rolling, and being in IT as a full-time career, that's where I'm going to start. I'm going to assume that my prayers will be answered affirmatively and that someday there will be more than just me and my wife making things run, putting out the good word, and growing our ministry, so I'll start with how I'd like to organize IT to really capitalize on how the Internet, and specifically social-networking has helped spread the word.

1) Build for the Web

Internal applications, such as accounting, fund-raising, membership management, etc. should all be web-enabled applications. If it can't be worked on in a browser, it shouldn't be a major component of any system. The same should be true of the desktops, laptops, tablets, etc. - they should require very little maintenance. More than likely, they will be virtualized (since that's a bit of a technical specialty of mine). One option may be Ulteo's virtual desktop solution.

A few of them:

• Accounting / ERP: Openbravo
• Website: Joomla or Drupal, perhaps CiviCRM
  
• Live Sermons: DimDim
• Recorded Services: YouTube and Google Video
• Office Productivity: OpenOffice.org or Google Apps
• Email: Zimbra or Google Apps (GMail)
• Voice Calls and Voice Mail: Asterisk and Google Voice

2) Minimize the Proprietary.

This means getting Windows out of the majority and into the minority the planned IT infrastructure. Since #1 is "Build for the Web, that means lots of Linux, MySQL, and other Open Source applications. I'd rather stay clear of GPL 3, but since over 56,000 applications are now using it, that's not likely.

3) Hit the Cloud Flying.

Build with minimal internal infrastructure. It is better to pay for redundant network connections than to invest in items that only depreciate over time. That said, all internal resources should also participate in an internal cloud. This is a little forward-thinking still, but before long there will be agents that can be installed on every computer in an internal network that will portion some of the resources (CPU, Disk, and RAM) to an internally-managed cloud, which can then be sub-divided into storage nodes, application / server nodes, etc. Some early products in the open source space are Eucalyptus and Enomaly.

4) Environmentally-Friendly and Cost-Conscious.

As I've said previously, God gave us this great world. Trying to keep it clean for Him is our job - just because we have dominion over everything doesn't mean we can be irresponsible with that authority. So... sustainable power and cooling needs to be a big factor in designing the data center. Wind, solar, gray-water turbines, etc. A reliance on wireless over wired (less material use) is called for, as is the possibility that cloud computing allows for the use of use older, used equipment (offlease, donated, etc.). Using TechSoup, CharityAdvantage, and other sites that specialize in serving non-profit organizations can reduce costs as well. Investing in electronic recordkeeping cuts paper, especially when accompanied by digital signatures.

It should be interesting... if you have ideas, suggestions, or anything, I'd love to hear comments!

Returned

My earlier post about my wife's van being broken into, and her wallet, credit cards, gift cards, and our vacation money stolen needs an update.

Everything came back to us except the cash. Every card was unused. Sure, the cash is gone, and a couple of other items like some jewelry are gone too, but that's of such small consequence - our identities are safe, nobody got hurt, and the damage done was as minimal as possible.

A little prayer and a little forgiveness later, everything's put right. "Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to Him, for God is our refuge." - Psalm 62:8.

Saying Thanks

The last few posts have been a bit preachy, I know. Sometimes, the job of a preacher is to do just that - preach. I'm going to lighten the load a bit, and talk about how saying prayers of thanksgiving are important. First, a prayer of thanksgiving doesn't have to be in response to something God has done for you. You can, and should, thank God for all He has given to you and all He will give to you. The Bible teaches us a lot about thanking the Lord, and why it is important. I'll point you to three passages I like from Psalms:

• "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." - Psalm 69:30
• "Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." - Psalm 106:1
• "Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things." - Psalm 107:8-9

And another two from Phillippians and Thessalonians :

• "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." - Phillippians 4:6-7
• "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. " - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There's a great post up at http://barbarah.wordpress.com/2007/11/17/thanksgiving-bible-study/ if you're interested in even more Bible quotes.

Prayer is about asking God for help, but that's not all it's about. It's about saying thanks for the things in your life that are good and bring happiness to you and your loved ones. It's good manners to say thanks in our daily lives - If I borrow a chain saw to cut down a stump in my yeard, I thank the neighbor who lent it to me. If a coworker offers me a hand on a project, I thank them. Why would it be any different with God? The only real difference I see, is that you should thank God for everything.

Yes, ask the Lord for what you need, what is truly important, for Prayer is well-known even to skeptics, as an effective tool for reaching your goals. Whether you prayers are for the healing of a sick loved one or for time to reconnect with your family, for the material goods you need or the welfare of the world, God is listening. If you walk with Him, do what is right, stand up with integrity and faith in Him, He will help you. Just remember to say thanks to him.

Remember also, God is there for you. He loves you, He wants to see you happy, he wants you to be joyful, and to enjoy the fruits He has designed for you in His plan. Walk in His path, and you will find that not only is the best yet to come, but there are many things to be thankful for right here, right now.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." - Romans 15:13

Validation

Just a little something to watch - it's a bit long, but it's completely worth it. The Lord gives us many gifts, and one of those gifts is the ability to communicate. It's up to us what to do with that gift. The video below, well, it really shows you a great way to communicate, and the power of being positive about things.



And yes, that is TJ Thyne - Dr. Jack Hodgins - from the TV Show "Bones".

Allegory, Faith, and Literalism, Part 1 of Many

There is no "one way" to interpret Scripture. If such a singular thought were possible, there would be one universal church to which every Christian belonged. Part of why I stepped outside of the box and founded my own ministry is because I got a little tired of the literalism out there being used in an attempt to stifle the understanding of God's mysteries. Let's take a short at allegory and how important is it through the words of some of the greatest thinkers in Christendom. We'll do this aided by that often-maligned summarizer of human knowledge, Wikipedia. Now, before everyone goes all "Wikipedia isn't reliable" on me... bear in mind that tests have shown that Wikipedia is as accurate as any other "established" research tool (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4530930.stm).

We'll start with my favorite book of the Old Testament, and for that I'll refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allegorical_interpretations_of_Genesis. One of the key things to note is that prior to the Reformation, literal interpretation of the Bible as a science wasn't nearly as widespread as many people believe it to have been.

I will leave my trusted readers to follow the link, read about Saint Augsustine's statement that sound so modern, yet is rejected by so many. In short he says that God works in myserious ways, and understanding those ways through science is as important as understanding the allegorical truths of the Bible. Being ignorant of them, he also says "is ruinous".

Do I believe in the greater truth, the allegorical meaning and inerrant lessons of the Bible - YES, with all my heart.

God gave us the power of thought and the freedom of will to think and decide for ourselves. He did this to share with us His world, His creation. By denying ourselves an understanding of the incredible mechanics, the amazing precision, that the Lord used to make the universe for us, we deny ourselves the full measure of His amazing gift to us. If we truly wish to prosper in the eyes of God, we must keep our own eyes open, we must think, we must seek, and we must not shrink behind narrow literalism. Look past such narrowness to the openness of His glory, see the greater truths, the important lessons God has given us in how to live our lives, and you will find yourself freed. Ask yourself, is your mind open enough to accept that it's not all black and white? If you are, then you have taken the first step into the larger understanding of what God has in store for you with His plan. Letting your mind rot in literalism, without seeing the incredible beauty of allegorical truth is just denying yourself the chance to understand what the Bible means, who you are in God's great creation, and what wonders you can accomplish in His name, for yourself, for your loved ones, for your God.

Giving, God, and Allegory.

^"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." - Luke 6:37-38

One of my all-time favorites, and maybe one of the most quoted, passages in the Bible. There isn't a lot of allegory in this passage, because it's one of the few universal truths when looking a God's love for us. Sadly, this is seldom applicable in reality - if you don't judge a person, they may very well judge you anyway. What this passage talks about, what little allegory is in it, is in relation to God's judgment, condemnation, forgiveness, and generosity.

Yes, you may indeed be condemned by one you choose not to condemn, but He is watching, and He knows you have done a good thing in keeping His faith. You may give and receive nothing back for yourself materially, but if you give wisely to where it's deserved and needed, you will reap both God's reward and the earthly reward of knowing that you did something good just for the sake of doing it. Giving is perhaps the most important part of this passage, because it is both allegorical in it's description of reward, and literal. Knowing that you have done the work of God, helped fulfill His plan for you and have walked His path rightly and justly, that is reward enough for anyone. But in His plan, he often puts surprising twists and turns.

The reward of not judging, not condemning, and giving is clearly its own reward - but sometimes those twists and turns in God's plan bring can benefit in the material world... I know a man who got a new job because he met somebody while volunteering at a soup kitchen. He and another fellow were both serving dinner to the local homeless and struck up a conversation. Next thing you know, my unemployed friend is working again. I've heard lots of stories about coincidental meetings blossoming into lifelong friendships or marriages from two people both being at the same charitable event, like working on a Habitat for Humanity site. Then there are people who give money to charity, and find that instead of owing the IRS money, they just barely squeak over the line of breaking even with the taxman. In all these, look at the allegorical truth - God has given these folks just reward for their efforts.

Now it's true that this doesn't happen every time. God's plan doesn't have a signpost, just a suggestion board - and you're free to follow it or not, to live in Grace or not. So, please understand that I'm not suggesting you do good for the sake of benefiting here on earth; I'm saying to look at God's infinite wisdom, and ask yourself - "has He shown me the rewards of following His plan for me, and I just never noticed them?" He gives us all the clues, it's up to us to put them together and take action to better live our lives as He intends.

So, go out and give... find a soup kitchen, give to a charity, volunteer at an animal shelter... do something good, because that's what God wants. Even if you don't get anything out of it, remember that you ARE getting something - you're living God's way. When you live in the way God intends for you, His gifts are sure to follow.

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A rough Sunday morning

There's not much in the world quite so disconcerting as waking up to find you've been robbed. My wife and I went to sleep last night, snug in our bed, the kids snoozing happily, only to wake up this morning with our van wide open, and her purse, phone, and other easily-grabbed things gone from it. Vacation money was the worst thing stolen.

This is a challenge of Faith. It is very hard to adopt the right attitude, to hold on to your integrity, and "walk the walk".

"For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." - Matthew 6:14-15 (NIV)

It is very hard not to wish ill on the thieves who did this, especially since they did it down the road to my neighbors, as well. Truth is, I was incredibly mad. I willed myself to remember that the best is yet to come. I said a quick prayer thanking God that it was only a small robbery, not a home invasion. Nobody was hurt. It was just *things* that were taken. Maybe out of this will come something good. Who knows, maybe we'll get to know our neighbors down the road who were also robbed a bit better than we do know.

And then I turned my mind to the event itself, and the thieves. Perhaps the thieves suffer from addiction, crushing poverty, or some other mitigating circumstance. Perhaps they're just young kids out for a thrill, and were never taught better. Or, perhaps it's the work of real criminals, out for quick, low-risk scores. I don't suppose it matters much. No matter what, I have to find it in my heart to forgive them.

That's not to say they shouldn't be caught and punished appropriately under secular law, mind you. Exodus does say that a thief must surely pay for his debt. It also says he must be sold, which is one of those high-horse moments of mine where I say that anyone who takes a literal view really needs to step back and look at the allegorical truth. Still the fundamental message is there - whoever did this deserves my forgiveness, by should not be abrogated from their responsibility to make up for their own sin.

The Environment, Genesis, and Allegory

I think it's about time I hit up a serious topic, one of the first to hit my brain since deciding to start a ministry. It's a topic near and dear to my heart, the environment. As part of the starting things up I decided to re-read my Bible, and was immediately struck by the relevance of Genesis 1:28-30 (ESV):

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so.

"Fill the Earth and Subdue it"... this doesn't mean destroy. Subdue means to bring under authority. Any good authority takes responsibility for its charge and keeps it so that it may serve them, and by this the authority acts in service of the subdued. An irresponsible, selfish, or malicious authority destroys its charge for its own selfish and immediate purposes, without realizing that what was subdued can be of service in the long term. Looking at it this way, we see that God has given us the task of being stewards of His creation. God created it, and gave it to us... who are we to ruin it?

Having dominion is the same. No good government, no moral government, exploits its people, and yet we despoil the Lord's creation, our home which He has given us. As a people, it is a task from God to be careful with what he has given us dominion over, to show our Father that we can be responsible. It's like dad's car... the first time you got to drive dad's car, you knew you had to get it back to him in one piece. Sure, you used it, but you replaced what you used (gas) if you were responsible. Maybe a ding or two were forgiven, but largely, you tried not to total the thing. Of course, maybe you did total the car - most dads would have been very angry, maybe even furious, but they didn't stop loving us.

That's the rub... God loves us even though we despoil what He has given us. I think that's a shining example for us all to live by - He is our Lord, he has dominion over us, and our Father has been very good to us. Lets make the Father proud. Recycle and reuse. Rethink they way you use what He has so graciously given. And say thank you. Seriously, thank the Lord for your food, your air, for all the things we have on this earth that sustain us. Do not forget prayer; pray that we can change the world, restore it so that when the next generation of God's children takes the mantle from us His creation is once more worthy of His great name.

Go forth, pray and give thanks, and with a renewed faith we can accomplish anything.

A Short Note on Allegory

Here's a definition: Allegory is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative.

Can we see how important this is in having Faith? I find it vital in understanding how words written thousands of years ago apply today with such elegant perfections. Imagine if we took all the literal meanings and tried to make them work today... the conflicting lessons, the contradictory passages, the very differences in moral culture, would make it impossible to understand.

Instead, search yourself for the meaning of a particular passage, understand how it has an underlying, eternal meaning. God gave us the Bible for a reason. He gave us Free Will and Reason, for a reason, His reason. We need to use these tools to understand that God's plan is eternal, that the Bible is relevant not just then, not just now, but for all time.

We also need to understand that much of the culture in the Bible has long since fallen away - who would think it right now to have a slave? Yet often there are mentions of slaves and of slave-keeping, and of how to treat slaves. Again, this is where allegory can help us understand the deeper meanings that go beyond things that have long since been cast off.

The Bible is the Living Word. Remember that, give thanks to God, and pray for His hand to guide you. In this, and in walking the path He has forged for you, all the good things in life can come upon you.

Faith and a Recession

This is a tough time for so many people. Jobs are scarce. Money is scarce. Affordable homes are scarce. Affordable healthcare is scarce.

What's worse, morality is scarce.

Ponzi schemes and lack of financial regulation in the face of greedy corporate interests have brought our economy down to its knees. Crime is up. Political scandals are in the news almost daily. We live in fear of domestic and foreign terror. In short, our society is failing us because so many of the principal players have lost touch with morality.

Luckily, the Lord is still there, still hearing us. Still loving us. In spite of all our failures as a society, He is still there, the Father, judging us on our own merits as individuals. He is still listening to the things we pray for, and the things we give thanks for. His hand is still outstretched, waiting to welcome us. He is holding true to His covenant.

The question then is; Are we holding to to that covenant as well? Do we give him the praise and thanks we should? Do we remember to keep the Lord in our hearts and our minds? Do we love Him as we should? I firmly believe that if we reach out our hands when we are stumbling in the darkness, faltering and fumbling in fear, that we will find that His hand is there, that is has always been there, and we will be lifted up by His love.

Pray with me. Pray that whatever ails you will be lifted as a veil is lifted. Pray that those you love will be lifted.

Give thanks with me. Thank the Lord for watching over you, even when your back was turned in anger or your head lowered in despair. Thank Him for remembering you, even if you had forgotten Him.

By doing these things, and by living your life as you feel He would want you to, you will find that the best is yet to come, that joy is around the corner, that nothing is beyond your reach.

How it All Started Again

Last year, I went off on another rant. My wife looked at me and said that I should stop ranting and do something about how I feel. I'd read the Bible (I'm not a Biblical scholar, mind you). I'd read countless other religious texts on Islam, Hinduism, paganism, etc. So I decided "Why not?"

Well, here I am almost a year later. We have this site, twitter, and Facebook running. Next up is to get a green screen cloth, three DV Cameras, and start putting sermons online. Not long after that I'll be setting up a DimDim account to do small-group and one-on-one live ministering.

Ok, who am I...

I'm a 36-year old IT Director from Connecticut, who loves God and believes that there is so much more to the Bible than just the literalism. I have a wonderful wife, who works with me on this endeavor as the Deacon of Prayer Services. I have four great kids.

What I preach...

God really does have a plan for you. He really does want you to succeed in the life He made for you, to be happy with His creations, and to know the Joy that real faith can bring into your life. I'm not going to "Bible Thump", as it were, but instead I'm going to pull from Scripture messages that show this Love that the Lord has for you, and how loving Him will lead you to a happier, more successful existence. Trust God, and all things are possible.

In trusting God, you should get to know God through the Bible. That's where preachers come in. It's our job to help you get to know His Word. It's not our job to ram it down your throat and make you repeat what we tell you verbatim, though. Those who preach the Word should do so in a way that helps people reach their own conclusions. I firmly believe that God wants us to be happy with what He has given us, that His creation is a gift, a blessing, and a joy. I believe that by trusting on God, giving him thanks and prayers, by loving Him and appreciating Him you can find the things in your life that are missing, fill in the empty gaps, and move on past the struggles you may be going through with confidence and poise.

More to come...

Welcome to Our First Post

Hi, my name is Joe, and I'm the pastor of Holy Allegory Ministries. I don't expect a lot of people to visit here in the beginning, but I wanted to get the first post up so I can explain who we are, what we're about, and why we're taking the approach we're taking. I won't bore you with a "Seminal Declaration of Faith" or "Charter of Ministerial Incorporation" - that comes later when we start actually holding sermons and have to deal with things like the IRS and incorporation. For now, this ministry is more about sharing our message of Faith, Hope, and Inclusion.

So, a little bit of esoterica and history...

The Church of Holy Allegory, as the ministry was originally going to be called, got started as a bitterly-humorous rant against the hypocrisy of certain fundamentalist, exclusivist groups that were clearly using select made-to-fit-their-agenda scripture quotes to justify hate, intolerance, discrimination, and advocating the breaking-down of long-established religious and political rights. The allegorical truths were so lost on that bunch that I must have gone on like some comedic caricature of a preacher, because when I was done everyone was laughing hysterically. I ended it with some quip like "Just you watch, I'm going to found my own church, all about the allegorical truths in religion, and show up every one of those hatemongers!" (well, that's close... it's been over a decade, and I don't remember the exact words I used). Over the years, when I would rant about some extremist or terrorist, I'd polish off the old "Holy Allegory" chestnut and make a few people smirk to drive home my point. Funny how people pay attention to humor more than they do to seriousness, isn't it?

So, that in mind, I went about my day job, spent time with my family and friends, and lived a decent, if faithless life. Yes, I said faithless. I come to my faith later in life, and not by revelation, but by the slow dawning of realization after years of time passing. At one point I even tried to deny the existence of God. I was terrible atheist though, always finding myself uttering a short prayer for help or thanks, and tryng to berate myself for it. So, after years of denial and faithlessness, I finally owned up to myself - I do beleive in God. I do have Faith.

I also don't care who knows I have faith, but I don't believe I should be thrusting my faith down their throats. I never want one person to be a member of the ministry who doesn't believe for themselves, nor anyone who feels pressured to be there. Go forth, take your time, find yourself and your faith. I think God's plan includes the pagans, the atheists, and all of the people of the world. He loves them as he loves us all, His children, in His image.

So... I'll end my first post with that summation and add more later today.

Thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you, keep you, and bring all the best to you and those you love.

-- Pastor Joe