Laugh it up

Here are some funny comics sent by a friend.  Enjoy. 

 

Grateful for a good friend

We has just finished putting the sheeting on the roof of my new garage.  It was a nice cool evening and my good friend Lance laid down on the roof and stared at the now dark sky.  ”I love a 4/12 pitch”  Yep,  we had worked on a few roofs this past summer and they were very steep so it was nice to relax on this one.  He started fumbling his words and eventually said, “there is really no way to say this without sounding like a tard, so here it goes.  I am concerned for you.”

Now you have to understand, this is a good friend in which I know he cares about me because of past experiences.  He has a relationship with me that has been established and when he speaks into my life….I will listen.  

He continued, “I have seen people quit the church for many reasons and the reasons may all be right but the end result was not good for those people.”  They never came back and their lives took a very negative turn.  I just don’t want this to happen to you.”  

I told him that we were taking a sabbatical from the building and that this doesn’t mean forever.  Things do change.  He knows all the reasons why we are absent as I have explained in the past that we could no longer agree to the legalism, the guilt motivation and the inaction.  

His concern is legitimate.  I have felt in my own self.  And to add on more confusion, I listened to a Campolo interview with Shane Claiborne.  He wrote The Irresistable Revolution and it is now on my to read list.  They talked about Augustine’s quote, “The church is a whore, but she is still my mother.”  They recognize all the bad things that the church has done and is still doing but they still believe it is the channel in which God chooses to use.  They both recognize the church as their mother and will not give up on it.  

Now this does tear at me.  It adds to my confusion, my questioning, my concern.  All my life I have believed the church is the light to the world.  It has been ingrained in me as long as I can remember.  I remember my father at a church meeting, tears in his eyes because he knows there are lost and hurting people in our community that we can help through the church.  That memory will never leave my mind, and probably for a good reason.  

But, is not the definition of God’s church the people?  Does there have to be the structure, the organization, the money needed to fuel such a movement?  Will anarchy take over?  Will the Spirit step in and save the day or do we need to take the reigns and believe God will help those that help themselves?  A lot of change is coming in our churches today and instead of a clear vision, I seem to be left with fog.  What I do know is this…..that I can’t go back to the guilt, the inaction and the void.

Churches profit from corporate donors

As previously mentioned, once a month we receive a magazine called the MB Herald.  There has been some great articles as of late that have caused talk in our household.  This particular article I feel is highly controversial as it has to do with money.  It was originally found in the Mennonite Weekly Review and was titled, “Source of donations raises ethical questions“.  To sum it up, it tells of Eli Lilly, a large pharmaceutical company in the U.S. that donates a lot of money through an endowment.  They believe that religion plays a large role in the well being of people and want to promote it.  They give to various organizations and the list of who they give to is very large.  

Some may not remember but Eli Lilly was in some difficulty not too long ago as stated in the MWR article:

According to 2006 reports in The New York Times, Eli Lilly and Co. engaged in a “decade-long effort to play down the health risks of Zyprexa, its best-selling medication for schizophrenia.” The company is accused of withholding information from doctors and encouraging doctors to prescribe the drug for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

As a result, the company is now negotiating a settlement with federal prosecutors that could lead to a $2 billion fine. The company has already paid $1.2 billion to settle other cases related to Zyprexa and is being sued or investigated by 42 states.

The article goes on to state that many Mennonite Brethren Churches and colleges have received donations/grants from the Lilly Endowment.  I suggest you read the full article as it is a good one.  

Following the rabbit trail, I thought it would be interesting to see of my old college receives cash from this company as well.  At first I didn’t see any familiar names but then after following a few links on the Lily Endowment website, one being www.ats.edu which is the Association of Theological Schools.  This association has a long list of members and you will probably find your church or denomination among the list.  I know I did, as well as my previous denomination and the Bible college I went to and the college my wife went to. 

I then looked into some of the other donors to the ATS.  I didn’t have to spend much time to find the Teagle Foundation.  Walter Teagle has been accused of contributing to Nazi Germany during World War II through his involvement with German chemical company I.G. Farben.  I am sure if I kept looking, I could find more and more connections to money that is not so clean.

Now your probably thinking, “come on, Chris!  All money is dirty!  It all comes from war, oppression, heavy handed corporations, tax breaks and on and on.  Get over it, at least it is being used for good.”  This however, is not the point I was going to make.  I would like go deeper than that argument and address church as a business.  The reason these denominations cannot say no, is because they need the money to keep operating as the first line in the article states, “Church is big business these days”.  

Now I could fill the rest of this post with verse after verse from the Bible to emphasize that money is a big issue and it can easily ensnare people (and organizations).  This recent discovery has only strengthened my opinion that God doesn’t need buildings and programs.  When the profits of one or two of these corporations could remove stupid poverty or provide life saving drugs to those that need it…..it pains me to think that our churches are so willing to accept it and not feel revolted by it.  The God I believe in isn’t short of cash but for some reason we have swallowed the lie that He is and that we feel the need to do something about it.  The thought that if we had more resources, better curriculum, a new projector, signage or any attempt at promoting ourselves is the way to reach people and show God’s love to them is a wrong thought.

I believe a good question for any organization to ask is, “Can we walk away from this money?  Can we say no?  Will we survive without it?”  If the answer is no……we better think long and hard about who we serve.

Street kids matter to God more than hitting the right notes

Clarence Peters is a good friend of mine.  He was also my pastor for the last 10 years I have lived here.  He recently retired from that position (for a variety of reasons) and has taken up the cause of street children in the Congo.  I can’t speak for God, but according to his word, children matter to him.  I see some of the good things happening in the Congo and have a hard time believing that God would care more about how well the morning service went or if the band hit all the notes.  If this is such a priority to him, why is it not to our church leadership?  

I myself have a Christian & Missionary Alliance background but for the last 10 years, I had been a member of a Mennonite Bretheren Church.  Because I was a member, I have had the benefit of receiving the MB Herald (which does have some great articles in it) but there was a small paragraph read to me today by a friend, it states:

Campus Crusade for Christ is seeking donations to put Bibles in the hands of Africans to counter the missionary efforts of Islamic organizations that are building schools and hospitals.  

 We laughed, “Those bastards!  How dare they build schools and hospitals!”  How did the message get lost that we are to care for people and show love?  How is it that our church leaders have graduated from college and seminary and have more knowledge about the scriptures then most but have overlooked the main message of Jesus?  People.  Jesus came to save people because he loves them.  Something I am still learning how to do.  

Clarence’s website is www.rescuestreetkids.org  Please check it out if you got time and leave him a message of encouragement.

Bill Maher on The Hour

As he was making fun…my wife laughed, caught herself and said to me, “Should I be laughing?  It is funny!  Is that wrong?”  I don’t know, maybe.  

I obviously don’t agree with all that Bill & Larry said but one thing I found interesting amongst the sarcasm was the line, “the idea of people using religion to be kind to each other and tolerant of one another, we’re all for that.”  

I read something that was quite similar to that recently.  

James 1:26 & 27

If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.

What a great message!

The email from the pastor….

I knew it was coming.  I read it over twice and forwarded a copy to my wife.  It said he noticed I haven’t been in church lately and wanted to go for coffee to find out if he or the church had offended me.  My wife suggested I email him back with an honest answer.  I suggested she go out for coffee with him instead of me.  She didn’t laugh.  

Here is the thing.  I have nothing against this guy.  Nice as apple pie and will give you the shirt off his back.  But how do you explain to him that the very thing I can’t get over is who or what he works for.  He is keeping the club running and I think the club should be disbanded, turned into a community centre or for low income housing.  This is like telling the Amway salesperson that Amway sucks.  What do you think his reaction is going to be?  ”Hey, great!  Thanks for letting me know!  I now realize that I am selling an inferior product and am going to quit my job!  You’re awesome Chris!”  (I added the ‘You’re awesome Chris’ because I like to see it in print.  I’m such an ass)

He knows my views as I was once a bored….board member and we have done the coffee bit.  Not sure how to handle this one except to say that we just need to take a break and re-assure him that everything is all right.  

I would really like some advice from some of you that have been through this and have had this experience already.  And remember….I live in a very small town.