Point/Counterpoint

Larry Flynt sent members of congress free subscriptions to the porn magazine he publishes.

Most of them responded with condemning speeches (at least publically). But one was much more creative.

I don't know anything about this congressman, but this is pretty smooth.

Things I Need To Hear...

Over lunch today a good friend and I were talking about work and family and the mystery of balance. He's been out of work for a few months now, which gives him a certain perspective.

When I mentioned that I sometimes find it hard to reconcile the needs of my family with three small children at home and the encouragement to develop myself as a leader as much as I can he said something truly profound:

"Your job is not a covenant".

He went on to say that as a follower of Jesus I have a covenant promise with God, and as a married man I have another one with Kristen (and by extension our kids). But while I may be strongly committed to my other roles in life (profession, extended family, community, friendships, etc.), none of them have that same qualification.

A covenant is something much more than a commitment, it is a soul promise. It is an enduring sacrificial pledge from which there is meant to be no exit. It is a sacred and determining priority.

Church people often make trite statements about putting God first, marriage second, children third, church next, and so on...
But working that out in real life is far more complex. We can't just say that we always do family things before work. Real life requires compromise and constant renegotiation. that is why the reminder of covenant is so helpful. It's much deeper than a list of priorities. It's a fundamental orientation to life that honours core relationships even in the midst of the challenge doing so presents.

Thanks Gerb, I needed that.

Great Quote

“As a theologically conservative Christian myself, the challenge to me is to accept that it’s possible for someone to come to a different theological conclusion based on scripture, and still be a committed follower of Jesus. I’m used to feeling like, I know you’re a real Christ follower when you agree with me about everything, and part of the journey of a conservative Christian is realizing that there are genuine, heartfelt, passionate followers of Jesus, who arrived at different conclusions on some theological issues and some ethical issues rooted in their passion for, and study of scripture. Now there are also some sloppy, lazy, self-serving people who make up their ethics as they go along, to validate how they want to live, and then try to look through scripture to find the proof-text. And how do you know the difference between the two of those? First of all, as a Christian, I want to give people the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise, but also I get to know the difference when I get to know them, when we hang out together, when we do Bible study together.”

-Bruxy Cavey

Whose Story Is This?

I can't decide if I love this video or not.
I suspect that a lot of church people will think it's innovative and persuasive; but I wonder if people who aren't already convinced of the Christian message will just see it as another semi-typical attempt to market our faith...

Thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WndCCNpD0BI