A Question of Order

A simple question I'm contemplating today as a pastor: Does anyone think that anyone can conduct a church service with one disruption after another? We, at Grace Fellowship (where I am pastor) believe in Paul's instructions that "everything must be done in an orderly manner". 

Several years ago a teen would come to church without his parents (or when his parents were there would sit separately from them) and would disrupt the service by acting up the entire time with his friends. People complained (and some left) that we needed to do something about the disruptive people because they could not worship nor could they listen to the teaching. 

After talking to the child and his parents many, many times, we spoke to the parents one last time and let them know that their son needed to be accompanied by a parent and sit with his parents from that point on, or he was not welcome to attend. Well this mother went ballistic saying, "everyone should be welcome in the house of God". 

Everyone should be and everyone IS welcome at Grace Fellowship. However, everyone should consider his neighbor no matter where he happens to be. In a movie theater, disruptions are not tolerated. In and orchestra hall, disruptions are not tolerated. In a theatrical performance of a play, disruptions are not tolerated. At a public speech, disruptions will not be tolerated etc, etc, etc. Why in the world would we expect that when God's Word is being taught anyone should be allowed to interrupt and disturb others from hearing what God would like to say to His church?

It's been many years and this young man has grown up and been welcomed in services many times since and has behaved without incident. His mom, dad, brother and sister have attended as well. 

I invited this woman, who has since left her husband and all of her children, to one of our church events for Christmas and she blasts me again over this incident which occurred many years ago. I was kind of blown away at this and it has bothered me, not because of this woman's accusations, but because of the mindset that seems to pervade our society.

I write this to say that we live in a society that is so self-centered that many will not require their children to be good citizens and behave properly in public. Why? Mostly because it takes hard work, patience and consistency to discipline a child properly. As parents, we need not blame the institution that will demand that we behave with a certain amount of decorum in public. We should correct our children and teach them that their behavior affects others around them.

We often wonder why our world is in the shape it's in. I truly believe it's largely because many parents refuse to be parents anymore. It's inconvenient. It's more convenient to be a buddy than a parent. The Bible admonishes us to "train up a child in the way he SHOULD go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Too many parents have given up this admonition by scripture and hope that others will train their children for them. They won't. If you are a parent, it is your God-given calling and no one else's to train your child to be a productive citizen in this world. I commend all of you who have taken God's command and calling to train your children seriously. I commend you for the hard work and I can say from experience, the hard work pays off in the end.

Well that's my rant for today. 

Until later,

Don

My Commentary on Unions

My commentary on the closure of Hostess: While I'm sad that 18,000 plus people have lost their jobs. I'm encouraged that this is one more nail in the coffin of the union movement that is already dying in America. (May unions die out as swiftly as possible) 

Unions claim to be for the "workers". However, this is how negotiations with unions almost always go. Unions strong arm employers who only have so much capital to work with. Hostess had already filed bankruptcy in 2004. Union bosses seem to have no math skills and continues to push for more than Hostess has. Hostess warns them that they will have to close their doors if the unions will not be reasonable. Union bosses refuse to negotiate and threaten to strike instead. Hostess has no choice. They close their doors. All 18,000+ workers (people with families going into Thanksgiving and Christmas) lose their jobs while the union bosses continue to draw their salaries and keep their pensions and I

'm sure will have a wonderful holiday season and lose no sleep over destroying almost 20,000 families.

The so called "working person" they supposedly represent will suffer and Hostess will sell off their assets to someone smart enough not to hire union workers and will prosper, but those union (and non-union) workers will go into the holiday season without a paycheck. Way to go unions!!! Way to care about your workers!!! NOT!!!

I'm not railing against those who have been duped or strong-armed into joining a union. You just want to provide for your families and in many states you must be in the union to find work. No. I'm railing against the arrogant, uncaring union bosses and the union organizations themselves. How they can ever claim that they represent the working man I will never understand. They pit worker against employer when they should be working as a team. Everywhere I look in America right now, I see someone pitting one group against another and no one coming together. We have become more divided than ever and I'm sick of trusting people being hurt because they have been misrepresented and lied to. Union leaders are absolutely corrupt and all unions need to be done away with in this man's opinion. If you disagree, that's fine. I see unions only raising the cost and proficiency of doing business. I see unions intimidating their rank and file. I see unions not living up to what they have promised their members and ruining people's lives.

I know many fine people who are union members. But enough is enough. When is it going to be your union and your job? Believe me, you are not exempt from the idiocy which is the union leadership. I pray your job remains secure, but I don't see how with fiscally impaired individuals running these unions and ruining the lives of the union members and their families. That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Until Later...

Don

Reason for the Petition To Secede

It has come to my attention that some have misunderstood the petition for secession as a hatred for our country. Nothing could be further from the truth and those who post things like that are simply misinformed. Those who have signed petitions are those who deeply love this country and hate to see it following the way of Vladimir Lenin and Karl Marx. It is a cry out to our federal government to please listen. No one really wants to separate from America, but our nation needs to chart a different course or the United States of America as we know it will cease to exist and terrible things are on the horizon. Thomas Jefferson said, "What country can preserve its liberties if its rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?" 

So, what do we really want from the petition? We want the issues that are destroying our nation to be taken seriously. Signing a petition does NOT in itself split a state from the nation. This petition is simply to get enough signatures to make the White House respond to these issues. That's what this is about. It's NOT a return to the Confederacy or anything of the sort. It is a peaceful petition to hear us and finally do what has not been done in the past 4 years. We are heading towards a cliff at a rapid speed. The President and Congress need to stop playing games and fix things.

The main issue is that this government has basically thrown the Constitution to the side and is ruling as a dictator. If Congress will not pass what this President wants, he rules through executive order. This must not continue!!! The issues at hand are the escalating national debt. The congress must pass a balanced budget that begins to pay down the ridiculous debt. We MUST stop borrowing from places like China because we spend more than we bring in. We need a business environment where the private sector can once again create jobs. The federal government cannot create jobs. They can however stifle the ability for the private sector to create jobs. We must stand up for religious liberties and stop forcing those of faith to do things which fly in the face of their religious convictions. We need to lower the cost of health care, not force everyone into expensive health insurance plans. We must not burden the citizenry with higher taxes. We must protect the lives of every citizen including the unborn.

This is not a complete list, but it is a good start. This is what we want answered. This is what we want done. That's what the petition is about. Texas is already a Republic. That status was never removed. We are simply reminding the White House that things need to start improving because we have other options. We do not need to go down the road of the former Soviet Union. We need to return to the rule of the Constitution.

Now I think I'm done with political commentary for a while and will return to my true love. Promoting the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

God bless you. God bless The United States of America and God bless Texas.

Until Later,

Don

I appreciate all the concerns and prayers

I have just been hearing all sorts of things about my health lately and I wanted to straighten a few things out and help calm any worries some may have. I found out some months ago that I have a lung disease that makes it difficult to breathe. That's why I'm a bit winded after worship and cough a bit while teaching. I went to Denver to a specialty clinic which is the best in the country for this disease. We now have a plan in place to get rid of this once and for all. With this plan includes taking me off the med which has caused all the weight gain over the past few years which should take care of my high blood pressure which is the main difficulty with my heart now that my cholesterol is normal.

Now, I know most of you don't care about all the details, however, some have been worried and I want to assure you that God promised me when this first started that I will get past this and be well again. I trust Him. So, until that time, I keep pressing on toward the goal to win the prize. I thank you for your prayers and your friendship. Let's just continue to press on together. I'm OK. Everyone is going through something. This is just what I'm going through at the moment. "It's happy testing time"... Consider it all joy...

See you in church I hope!

Until later,

Don

Never Forget 9/11

This weekend is the anniversary of the day we all said we would never forget. We all remember where we were when those planes slammed into the twin towers and the Pentagon, but to some, the newness has worn off and life has become "business as usual". We have captured or killed all who are responsible for planning the attacks thank God. However, we have not completely shut down Al Quaida, and it seems that we are preparing for some eminent threat this weekend. No, the threat of terrorism even on the mainland of the United States is not gone. There is an enemy out there who would still like for the embers of freedom to be done away with and the United States to be swept away into an inferno of fear. I say, let's not rest until the whole world can rest from terrorism.

We were attacked that September morning. Many, many brave men and women gave their lives that day to try to rescue their fellow New Yorkers trapped in the burning twin towers. We remember those brave fire fighters and policemen and other first responders who gave their lives on that day. We remember the brave passengers who gave their lives to save others on Flight 93. Equally, we remember those brave soldiers who have laid down their lives in the war on terror wherever it may have taken them. The Bible says, “greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friend”. These have all displayed what Jesus defines as the greatest love that there is and I, for one, will not forget them.

Many want to simply slide back into the slumber that this sleeping giant of a nation was in prior to those planes slamming into those buildings and killing our fellow Americans. Many would like to simply stick their head in the sand and pretend that terrorists will simply go away if we talk nicely to them. Many come up with rhetoric sounding like the defense of this nation has somehow made us less safe than we were on 9-11-2001, but my friends many have laid down their lives to insure our safety and I, for one, will not belittle their sacrifice by saying that it counted for nothing.

Let me just say that everyone who has worked to insure that the US does not have another attack here on our soil is a hero, from the soldier who fights for us overseas in Iraq, Afghanistan and several other fronts in the world; to the FBI and CIA agent intercepting chatter of plans to unleash another attack here and foiled that plot; to the Homeland security people and the airport screeners and the local and state police to the National Guard and the Coast Guard, I say thank you and we will not forget your sacrifices to keep all of us safe. And while I’m at it (though I’m quite sure he won’t see this note), thank you President George W. Bush and your administration for doing what was right and not necessarily what was popular to keep our nation safe even though many don’t appreciate your efforts. History will record that we had the right man in the White House for just that occasion. Thank you former President Bush.

Many, for political reasons, would like us to move the events of 911 into the back of our minds and lull the sleeping giant back to sleep. I will not EVER forget that day and how it changed this nation forever. We said we would never forget and that we would never give up, we would not falter and we would not fail. Let’s honor the memory of everyone who has touched our lives in the war on terror. Today, if you see a policeman, fireman, soldier or public official, walk right up to them and shake their hand, buy their lunch, thank them or whatever you can do, but remember that we live in safety today because they lay down their lives EVERY DAY for us.

God bless you and God bless America!!!

Until later,

Don

The History of Social Security

I have not blogged in a while, but someone sent me this article about social security that I thought you may be interested in. So much rhetoric is going around and finger pointing about our nation's financial outlook, but here is the truth about social security and it's history sent to me by my friend Laura Bales:

History Lesson on Your Social Security Card

by Dick KantenbergerGifted Education Writer
Examiner.com

Just in case some of you young whippersnappers (& some older ones) didn't know this.
It's easy to check out, if you don't believe it. Be sure and show it to your family and friends. They need a little history lesson on what's what and it doesn't matter whether you are Democrat or Republican. Facts are Facts.
Social Security Cards, up until the 1980s, expressly stated the number and card were not to be used for identification purposes. Since nearly everyone in the United States now has a number, it became convenient to use it anyway and the message, NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION,was removed.
http://blog.kir.com/archives/images/social+security.gif
An old Social Security card with the "NOT FOR IDENTIFICATION"message.

Our Social Security

Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat, introduced the Social
Security (FICA) Program. He promised:

1.) That participation in the Program would be
Completely voluntary,

No longer Voluntary

2.) That the participants would only have to pay 1% of the first $1,400 of their annual Incomes into the Program,

Now 7.65%
on the first $90,000

3.) That the money the participants elected to put
into the Program would be deductible from
their income for tax purposes each year,

No longer tax deductible

4.) That the money the participants put into the
independent 'Trust Fund' rather than into the
general operating fund, and therefore, would
only be used to fund the Social Security
Retirement Program, and no other Government program, and,

Under Johnson the money was moved to
The General Fund and Spent

5.) That the annuity payments to the retirees would never be taxed as income.

Under Clinton & Gore
Up to 85% of your Social Security can be Taxed

Since many of us have paid into FICA for years and are now receiving a Social Security check every month --
and then finding that we are getting taxed on 85% of
the money we paid to the Federal government to 'put
away' -- you may be interested in the following:

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----

Q: Which Political Party took Social Security from the
independent 'Trust Fund' and put it into the
general fund so that Congress could spend it?

A: It was Lyndon Johnson and the democratically
controlled House and Senate.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --

Q: Which Political Party eliminated the income tax
deduction for Social Security (FICA) withholding?

A: The Democratic Party.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -----

Q: Which Political Party started taxing Social
Security annuities?

A: The Democratic Party, with Al Gore casting the
'tie-breaking' deciding vote as President of the
Senate, while he was Vice President of the US.

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Q: Which Political Party decided to start giving annuity payments to immigrants?

AND MY FAVORITE:

A: That's right!

Jimmy Carter and the Democratic Party.
Immigrants moved into this country, and at age 65,
began to receive Social Security payments! The
Democratic Party gave these payments to them,
even though they never paid a dime into it!

------------ -- ------------ --------- ----- ------------ --------- ---------

Then, after violating the original contract (FICA),
the Democrats turn around and tell you that the Republicans want to take your Social Security away!

And the worst part about it is uninformed citizens believe it!
If enough people receive this, maybe a seed of
awareness will be planted and maybe changes will
evolve.
But it's worth a try.
How many people can YOU send this to?

Actions speak louder than bumper stickers

The original proclamation of Thanksgiving

While Thanksgiving was celebrated from the earliest times in our republic, it was not an official national holiday until Abraham Lincoln proclaimed it so during the civil war. Here is the original proclamation. Please note this day's direct connection to our God. Lincoln was certainly not ashamed to credit God with his and our nation's successes. Here is the official proclamation:

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union. Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln

William H. Seward,
Secretary of State