Fighting Slavery
Proud of my friends who attended Passion 2012 this year:
We just raised $2,565,000 to stop sex trafficking and labor slavery on Jesus name. And we aren’t done… #CNN @CNN @passion268 #passion2012
— Sean Perron (@seanperron) January 5, 2012
The Feeble Shadow
Nursing homes are never my favorite, with their drab colors and odd-smelling corridors, but when I went caroling recently, I found myself outside the circle of church members singing and instead glancing into a room of an elderly man who had just been given a Christmas card from one of our younger members. This is what I learned.
I looked at a feeble shadow of myself.
His body was gnarled, wrinkled. His features were like a crumbling rock – except this mountain had tears pouring down its face.
The vibrations of his hands hindered him from holding the small Christmas card made out of construction paper.
His room was dark except for the blue flashes from his muted television set. He struggled to hear the sounds the group was making outside of his door. Suddenly, he joined the chorus in the hallway with a quiet, baritone voice.
“Joy to the world! The Lord is come! Let earth receive her King…”
His tear-streaked cheeks were taken over by a broad smile as he lifted his hand a waved to me. I smiled back, strangely warmed in this smelly “home” for those who were so lonely, so forgotten, this week of Christmas.
There are so many whom we pass by.
Even if our message is delivered in the equivalent of a construction paper Christmas card, we all have been called to deliver the message of hope, the message of the gospel, the message that we celebrate year after year. It is not only to those in nursing homes we must share this hope, but to the lost we find in our workplaces, our circle of friends, and even our homes.
That feeble shadow of myself – well, I seem to see that every day now. I see in the eyes of the lost a feeble shadow, a lost shadow in desperate need of a savior. In desperate need of a message of hope delivered to them in their greatest need.
I am strongly aware this Christmas season of the lost and dying around me. My prayers have been long, and my heart especially heavy this year with the names of so many I am not only praying for, but sharing the gospel with.
The gospel is the message of Christmas – it’s not just a baby in a manger, or a star in Bethlehem, or gifts under a tree.
It is the story of a perfect man who was born to die in our place.
One day, I am certain that there will be tears streaming down my rocky face – but I pray they are tears of joy as I think of the gospel – and when I think of those I know have been changed by the gospel this year, and the years to come.
Do We Go?
From FOX News:
“Their culture, and even their survival, is threatened by illegal fishing, hunting, logging and mining in the area, along with deforestation by farmers, missionary activity, and drug trafficking along Brazil’s borders,” Amorim said.
I’ve wondered before: should we, as Americans, contact and “disrupt” unreached tribes for the gospel? Will it ruin what they have and their existence? I believe the obvious answer is that we must – absolutely must – reach them at any cost. Certainly, we don’t want to take away their livelihood, or push American ways on them: but we must go and share the gospel with them. There is no other option for those we believe are facing the judgement of a righteous God, and have yet to hear the Good News.
Read more.
Boyce College
I’m featured on the front page of Boyce College.com. And while I’m mentioning it, I might as well fully endorse and encourage you to check out the new Worldview Certificate the school is offering. It’s beyond awesome.
Interfaith Marriage
The following quotation from Darcy Crain-Polly sent shivers up my spine:
“Some day, maybe the words “I do” will not have to be faith specific.”
It seems that God gets in the way. Perhaps one day the very foundation on which marriage was established will no longer be relevant? Perhaps one day God will no longer have any part in the very thing He established?
Seems that is the very wish this writer has.
Rob Bell, Love Wins.
Southern Seminary had a highly publicized panel discussion on Rob Bell’s new book Love Wins yesterday that you might consider taking a look at today.
Chick-Fil-A Is Anti-Gay
According to Michael Jones, your favorite fast-food chain Chick-Fil-A is now supporting monsters. You can read Michael Jones words for yourself:
You might like the tasty pickles that they put on their chicken sandwiches, but if you’re eating at Chick-Fil-A, you’re also eating at an establishment that partners with some of the most ferocious anti-gay groups around.
Apparently, the openly Christian organization is sponsoring (a.k.a, delivering food) an event held by the Pennsylvania Family Institute this February. They are described as “the leading anti-gay group in the Keystone State and a group that has worked hard to try and pass a constitutional amendment in Pennsylvania banning same-sex marriage.”
The event that Chick-Fil-A is sponsoring is called “The Art of Marriage.” Not too frightening upon first look. But a second glance leads one to realize that this is an event that is calling it’s attendees back to “the biblical definition of marriage.” Shocking, I know. And Michael Jones adds: “Given the work of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, it’s hard not to see where this event is going to go — straight for the jugular of anyone who supports marriage equality for same-sex couples.”
And in case you aren’t convinced, Jones gives a bit more:
They’ve called same-sex marriage a threat to children, argued that same-sex marriage destroys civilization, and said that gay couples hurt families.
It is obvious that the language in this petition paints Chick-Fil-A as an
organization supporting a group that wants to murder and kill homosexuals. Jones uses statements like “[The Pennsylvania Family Institute] called same-sex marriage a threat to children, argued that same-sex marriage destroys civilization, and said that gay couples hurt families” as a supporting argument to hate what Chick-Fil-A is doing. But that is exactly what homosexual unions do. It destroys civilizations, it hurts families, and is a threat to children (both already born children, and obviously the future production of children).
I must say, I find it stunning that there is so much anger over the fact that Chick-Fil-A would want to support the biblical definition of marriage. I am certainly not for hate groups that would malign homosexuals or treat them with vitriol and anger. That is wrong. They need love and care and most of all, the gospel. But these men and women are wrong. They are hurting civilization. They are hurting the family. They are hurting themselves. Same-sex “marriage” is not marriage, and can never be recognized as such. Genesis 1. Romans 1. 1 Corinthians 6. 1 Timothy 1.
This is a hill to die on as believers. It’s not a gray area. It is not something God hasn’t been clear about.
But let me say this, I’m not out on an agenda to simply attack those who struggle with same sex attraction or something ridiculous like that. What I am saying is that as the church and as believers we cannot bend on “the biblical definition of marriage.” That biblical definition stands as a building block for our society, and particularly our churches. When we lose the family, we lose the very thing God has created to build His Church, the bride of Christ.
That said, Chick-Fil-A has every right as a private organization to support a group like this: a pro-Family group, not an “anti-gay” group. The language is so unfair in this “demand.” Painting Chick-Fil-A in this light is sad, and creating a monster out of the Pennsylvania Family Institute is disheartening. It destroys any chance for any type of real conversation or understanding of the matter at hand. It simply plays with people’s emotions – apparently over 19,000 of them – who are unaware of the details, and believe this organization hates people. And in turn will now flood Chick-Fil-A with unnecessary emails that are probably filled with hate in and of themselves.
Chick-Fil-A is not anti-Gay.
UPDATE:
This is a statement provide from Chick-Fil-A corporate:
First and foremost, thanks for your patience as we made sure we gathered the facts in regards to recent postings. We have determined that one of our independent Restaurant Operators in Pennsylvania was asked to provide sandwiches to two Art of Marriage video seminars. As our fans, you know we do our best to serve our local communities, and one of the ways we do that is by providing food to schools, colleges, civic groups, businesses, places of worship, not-for-profit groups, etc. At his discretion, the local Operator agreed to simply provide a limited amount of food. Our Chick-fil-A Operators and their employees try very hard every day to go the extr…a mile in serving ALL of our customers with honor, dignity and respect.
Die Out In Me
Be it by water or by fire, oh, make me clear, oh, make me clean!
So wash me now, without, within, or purge with fire, if that must be,
No matter how, if only sin die out in me, die out in me.
–Unknown
A Woman For President
Yesterday Kathleen Parker posted a compelling and controversial column in the Washington Post. Her thesis was simple: Barack Obama is our first female president.
If Bill Clinton can be called our first “black President,” with all due respect, President Obama may well deserve the honor of being our first “female president.”
Parker puts it this way:
No, I’m not calling Obama a girlie president. But . . . he may be suffering a rhetorical-testosterone deficit when it comes to dealing with crises, with which he has been richly endowed.
That’s not to say Parker is in any way insinuating that being a female leader is in any way deficient, but the President’s new title simply shows us a new “evolutionary achievement.” However, she admits, although we are an “enlightened” people, our “lizard brains have a different agenda.” Lizard brains that God created, I might add. Parker states the reality of the situation, in stark contrast to her belief in our “enlightened” minds.
Generally speaking, men and women communicate differently. Women tend to be coalition builders rather than mavericks (with the occasional rogue exception). While men seek ways to measure themselves against others, for reasons requiring no elaboration, women form circles and talk it out.
The BP oil crisis has offered a textbook case of how Obama’s rhetorical style has impeded his effectiveness…No one expected him to don his wetsuit and dive into the gulf, but he did have the authority to intervene immediately and he didn’t. Instead, he deferred to BP, weighing, considering, even delivering jokes to the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner when he should have been on Air Force One to the Louisiana coast.
His lack of immediate, commanding action was perceived as a lack of leadership because, well, it was. When he finally addressed the nation on day 56 (!) of the crisis, Obama’s speech featured 13 percent passive-voice constructions, the highest level measured in any major presidential address this century, according to the Global Language Monitor, which tracks and analyzes language.
I find this interested on many accounts.
The Political Ramifications
Obviously, the political ramifications are quite interesting. As Kathleen Park points out, “Obama may prove to be our first male president who pays a political price for acting too much like a woman.” The question is clear: do we as America want a male leader who acts like a male leader? I really think the answer is yes. There is a clear reason God created men like he has. They are to cultivate and build and grow things – and sometimes fix things. They are leaders in the home and in the church. I do think they should be leaders in the political arena as well.
We want a man to stand up for what’s right, to protect what has been entrusted to him. The President should fit into that category.
“Manliness consists not in bluff, bravado or lordliness. It consists in daring to do the right and facing consequences whether it is in matters social, political or other. It consists in deeds, not in words.” – Gandhi
The Spiritual Ramifications
I think this is of vital importance to consider.
Dr. Mohler highlighted the chilling article from The Atlantic recently called “The End of Men,” where author Hanna Rosin says the following:
“Man has been the dominant sex since, well, the dawn of mankind. But for the first time in human history, that is changing—and with shocking speed. Cultural and economic changes always reinforce each other. And the global economy is evolving in a way that is eroding the historical preference for male children, worldwide.”
“The bottom line is the claim that the trend and trajectory of the global economy have for some time now been headed toward female skills and talents,” says Albert Mohler. “At the most basic level, this means a shift from physical strength to intellectual energies and education. At the next level, it also means a shift from leadership models more associated with males toward the nurturing leadership more associated with women. In any event, the changes are colossal.”
Rosin talks about what many are calling the “he-cession,” our current recession that is impacting countless men across our nation and across the world.” Dr. Mohler continues:
In many cases, it is husbands and fathers who are unemployed and wives and mothers who have paying jobs. This means a huge shift in male function, and many men just exit the family process or forfeit decision making. Rosin refers to these men as “casualties of the end of the manufacturing era.” Across the nation, older men are increasingly unemployed and younger men face little hope of a job in this sector — the virtual birthright of previous generations.
For Christians, this reality is of the utmost importance to acknowledge and react to:
For Christians, the importance of this article is even greater. God intended for men to have a role as workers, reflecting God’s own image in their vocation. The most important issue here is not the gains made by women, but the displacement of men. This has undeniable consequences for these men and for everyone who loves and depends on them.
The failure of boys to strive for educational attainment is a sign of looming disaster. Almost anyone who works with youth and young adults will tell you that, as a rule, boys are simply not growing up as fast as girls. This means that their transition to manhood is stunted, delayed, and often incomplete. Meanwhile, the women are moving on.
This brings us back to our issue at hand, the President being dubbed our first “female” president. There is not a disappearance of men on the scene, as Dr. Mohler has put it. This is another clear case of the disturbing disappearance of manhood. We find ourselves in a time where there is a blatant war on manhood – and it’s clear it’s now coming from the top.
Messiah Missions
There is something about sitting in a remote village on the other end of the world with beads of sweat dripping and burning my eyes, the dust kicking up off the fields, and the trickle of rainwater and sewage making its way through crooked alleys and cow-dung houses that are filled with peeping eyes and smiling faces. It’s an incredible experience to sit and talk so long on a bed made out of rope that your leg falls asleep and you take a tumble that allows the whole village to erupt in laughter as they forget their struggles and poverty for a fleeting moment.