Best of....

Becca's sign

Marko is a big loser

Jason's thoughts on holistic spirituality

Steve's reading list

Sue's statement on midlife

Seth's question

New Phone and address for new home

As we are moving, I thought it would be helpful to share our new number and address to everyone who might want it

105 W Eugene
Fowler, CO
81039

(719)468-9549

Call or write or text at your leisure.

Compounds, Polygamy, and Me

Once again there is drama in my apartment complex. Actually, in the same building. This evening I discovered my neighbor is in the news. It was strange to see reporters looking for people who know her and wanting interviews.

Who would have thunk it?

Baracky: the Movie

Meeting David Wilson

Meeting David Wilson is a brilliant documentary about one person's journey about race in America. David Wilson, upset about struggles of African-Americans in his own community and their inability to overcome systemic struggles, decides to explore his family's roots.

As he does so, he decides to go to North Carolina, visit the church his great-grandfather started, and eventually meet a decendant of his ancestors slave owner (who was white). They are both named David Wilson. Thus the title of the documentary has a double entendre, where the young, black David meets to the other David and himself in the process. So, the story unfolds both as a coming of age story, and as a documentary about race at the same time.

Most moving to me is when the black David Wilson visits the old slave quarters and says, "I am the answer to the prayers of the people who were slaves in this room, living in this place. I am the embodiment of their hopes and prayers (or something like that).

Also interesting is how the two David's, which the documentary builds up to be potential adversaries, end up being friends. One white man, growing up in pre-Civil Rights South, and a young black man thinking about reparations.

I loved the movie, and the thoughts and questions it raised.

The thing that frustrates me in the discussion of this issue on MSNBC afterward, as well as the narrative this story tells, is that the dialogue about race is a black-white issue in America. The story of race in America is much more multicultural than that, and in our discussions about race in America we do not remember the HISTORIC racial issues that are not simply about persons with African linage.

Systemic persecution of Native Americans is equally if not more stunning than those of African Americans. As with Hispanics. Hispanics and Native Americans were historic owners and residents of this land long before Europeans and Africans first arrived in America. We forget that when we narrow the dialogue about race to a black and white issue.

We also narrow white americans into a slave owner history. Several white folks in America are unassociated with that lineage. My father's side of the family were more possibly associated with that sin. My mother's side of the family were immigrants who moved quickly west.

This narrowing also expects other minority groups to fall in line with an African American model of social activism, community organization, and justice-making. The facts are, especially within other minority communities, this model of advocacy is not as indigineous as in is in black communities. I served on a National Board on my denomination where this kind of thing happened, and action was taken on behalf of an offended person despite the Native American man's plea that he simply be supported as he worked with his own process in his community.

Overall, though, it was a good movie, and one that should be seen in schools everywhere.

Anyone? Anyone?

Jen and I went and saw the Expelled Documentary that focused on Darwinian Science vs. Intelligent Design. Ben Stein, from what he seems to portray through his documentary is new to the Intelligent Design debate, and a somewhat recent adherent to their ideas.

There were a lot of good things regarding what the documentary pointed out. They include:

• A clear difference between creation science and intelligent design
• A clear effort to squelch inquiry regarding scientific viewpoints that include intelligent design
• That intelligent design seems to explain some things in molecular biology that evolutionary theory cannot.
• That many in the anti-intelligent design circle seem to advocate a poistion based on faith and establishment ideas. Despite Stein's repeated efforts, leading enemies of intelligent design were unwilling to give clear rationale why intelligent design should be discounted
• A small quote from Darwin in his later works where Darwin endorsed social darwinism to deal with the mentally retarded and mentally ill.

There were some areas of the movie where I think Stein pressed his issue or fell a little short:

• He needed more communication on the scientific potential for intelligent design. The movie was more about how the scientific world squelches dissent.
• Although I believe that the scientific community underplays the relationship between social darwinism and scientific darwinism, I think Stein overplays the causation of eugenic efforts' relationship to Darwinian science.

Perhaps most interesting was the dialogue that Stein has with leading evolutionary biologists. Their arguments for first cause are almost laughable, and Stein debunks them just with a look of his eyes...as well as the facts.

That..and in a way Richard Dawkins shares the possibility that he may, in an odd way, be a proponent of intelligent design.

If you have any interest in the subject, you should watch the movie.

Three Stooges of 2008 (look close)

ht Marko

Happy Trails to Me

I thought you all would want to see a little bit of our goodbyes to FBC Colorado Springs:

First, the resignation letter:
My Dear Friends and My Church Family,

On Sunday, March 30, 2008, Jennifer and I accepted a call where I will serve as the pastor of First Baptist Church of Fowler, CO. Thus, I am resigning as the Associate Pastor here at First Baptist Church of Colorado Springs.
This decision comes after much consideration, and we are excited for our journey ahead. At the same time, we are saddened at the awareness that we will not see many of you nearly as often, if at all, after we leave.
I leave First Baptist Church of Colorado Springs feeling good about much of the time we have had together. We have accomplished a lot together. By the end of this summer, our teens will have had the opportunity to participate on five mission trips and attend three summer conferences in the last five years. Our attendance has fluxuated somewhere between 2 and 25 at youth group, and I have done my best to love each and every teen that comes through the door on your behalf. We have also revitalized our young adult ministry with our young couple’s ministry and the CHOW group. In all of these programs and in other endeavors I have enjoyed partnering with you and sharing ministry with you.
Perhaps what I feel best about is how we worked together to build trust with one another. When I showed up, I was the fifth person in five years in my position. The teenagers were tired of just getting to know someone, only to have them leave by that summer. The parents were eager to be supportive, yet were a little bit suspicious as well. With some amazing help, I feel like we slowly came to support and love another.
We move forward not out of anger or animosity, but out of a sense that I was called to be in a place where I could grow in new ways. In my time here, I have felt more and more of a tug to preach, to lead, to have a voice in the direction a church is going, to have a relationship with an entire congregation. And although I love pastoring teenagers and always will (especially ours), after 12 years of youth work I have struggled in the last year or two with trying to come up with new and entertaining youth group games and trying to find new and creative activities to do. In other words, I feel God is leading me to be more of a pastor and less of a programmer.
As Jennifer and I take the next step in our journey of ministry together, we want you to know that you will always have a special place in our hearts. This is the church that Jennifer made her first public profession of faith in and the congregation that clapped and shouted at her baptism. It is the church that Jennifer and I were married in. This is the church where we were able to work with a wonderful group of youth that we love dearly, and where we were hosted weekly for five years by Ken and Robin Chapman for our Wednesday Night CHOW community. You will not be forgotten. You will be treasured.

Then the final article in the newsletter:



By the time that you get this edition of the Tidings, Jennifer and I will both be keeping busy with last minute ministry concerns, and we will be packing like crazy for the movers that are coming on the 29th of April. After that, I will be commuting back and forth a little bit to wrap up things with you here in Colorado Springs. Jennifer’s last day of work in the Springs is the 28th, and she will be transitioning into social work with the developmentally disabled in Otero, Bent, and Crowley counties.
Transitioning from one ministry to another is not an easy venture. On one hand you are eager for the new adventure that is ahead. On the other hand, you are grieving leaving friends you have made over the last five years, and ministering to others by helping them process through that grief as well. Many of you have given us your blessing and support as we go, both affirming our ministry here and affirming God’s call to Fowler. That has made it easier to say goodbye.
Ministry transition is also a challenge because you are moving from a community, friends, problems, and a work that you know into something completely unknown and unfamiliar. It is a risk. I wonder, “What if I fail? What if something doesn’t work out? What if there is no room for growth of the church in this small town?” I think about these things and I fret and worry. Then I realize, that we in the Church are all about faith. And faith is about an active trust in God. So Jen and I have taken the step out on the limb in going where we feel God is leading us, and we believe that we will be taken care of and blessed. As we leave, we are trusting God on our new adventure to Fowler. We are also trusting God that he will take care of you here in Colorado Springs.
Pastor Mike has written a fine cover article for this edition of the Tidings. He has urged you to pray as I Jen and I leave. I urge you to do that as well. I also plead with you to have a passionate, audacious trust in God as you listen to him in regard to what to do next in regard to youth and young adult ministry.
I am trusting that my leaving as Associate Pastor of First Baptist Church will be an awesome opportunity for you to move forward and grow as a church. I know there is the potential for great ministry in the future here in Colorado Springs. I am praying that you will seize that opportunity—even if it takes risk—in faith that God will bless and provide.
At the same time, if I am honest, I am worried about you (Can you tell I have little difficulty letting go?). I am concerned that it will be easy slip into doing what feels safe and easy to cope with all of the staff change (including but not limited to my leaving), instead of having the courage to have a risky and courageous faith. For some of you, I know you will become tempted to be less invested in the young adult and youth ministry of First Baptist Church. I am trusting you won’t surrender to that temptation. Find ways to support the youth, young adults, and the parents of youth as you move forward. Let that support be seen through jumping in to help the Education Team, Parents, and Mike with youth and young adult programming. Also, share your support through having the courage to encourage your church to take the personal and financial risks that staffing support for our young ones may require in the future. Remember, faith is an action word. And, faith works best when you are living on the cutting edge of your faith, completely depending on and clinging to Jesus. We love you. We believe in you. We wish you all the best. God Bless.
Be God’s,
Pastor Clint

Call me Mara For... OR Barack says I need a gun because...

I am angry and bitter today.

I woke up and was ready to go to work and made a quick check of my email. Guess what? Those processing my car payment made a typographical error for 2,700 (3000 dollars instead of 300). So, my account was overdrawn by well over 1000 dollars, and all I got from my banker and the biller (also a bank) was..."we will get research on this and it should be corrected in 2 to 5 BUSINESS DAYS".

I would ask, "Do you see the check in front of you?"

"Yes the banker would say, it is clearly for $300. But there is nothing we can do until it goes through our 2-5 business day research process."

"What do I do for money until then?" I asked

"I really feel bad for you. I don't know what you can do. I am sure it will be resolved to your satisfaction in 2-5 business days?" the representative retorted.

I asked to speak to a supervisor. She began to yell at me, "LISTEN...she said as she started off on a rant why it was not CHASE banks' fault, but COMPASS Banks."

I call Compass Bank. "We have no record of a payment yet. But go to your bank, send us a fax, and we can get it resolved in 3-5 business days." What?

After hours of calling I went to the branch I use most to get a copy of the check to fax to the car payment bank. Finally, after working half a day for resolution she said, "Well this will be easy to take care of...I will just get you provisional credit until the whole thing is resolved. It is clear this is a mistake we need to take responsibilty for, not you."

Thank God (I mean that literally) for the person at my local branch, or I may have just lost it.

I am thankful for the local customer service person, but I am still angry. I am bitter because I have to do the work to resolve my bank's mistake, and my creditor's mistake. I am angry because I am at the mercy of people like this, and they can really deal with me however they want to.

ARGHHHH.

CHASE IS THE ANTICHRIST.

Articles on Last Night's Democrat Debate

Regarding ABC's skill in conducting the debate and more here

Obama's struggles in the debate

Jesus and Nonviolence: A caveat

A few weeks ago Michele asked about a view of Jesus espousing non-violence in relation to Jesus driving out the money-changers from the temple. How does a view of Jesus as teaching non-violence relate to his running around in the temple, turning over tables, with a whip in his hand? It is a good question, and it deserves a thoughtful answer.

My answer is not as fully formed as I would like, but here is my explaination nontheless:

1. Being a pacifist does not mean being passive. I have some Mennonite friends who use those words interchangably. They are, infact, quite different. Followers of Jesus, when doing their jobs, bring chaos into this world. Disciples of Christ provoke, prod, and make powers that be uncomfortable. That does not mean they use the "power of the sword" (see Greg Boyd's Myth of a Christian Nation) to accomplish this task. The Shalom (Peace in Hebrew) of God is an active force in transforming the world.

2. A careful reading of the Scripture when Jesus is in the temple driving out the money-changers does not ever have him causing physical harm to human beings. It has him single-handedly overturning an unjust economic practice that kept people from worshipping God. Instead of offering a reasonable price for travellers wanting something to sacrifice, they corruptly raised their prices to meet demand.

A few years ago I was at a Christian conference in Cincinatti. We went out to eat on a break at the conference, came back to the same parking spot, and they had doubled the price on the parking spot from before for that evenings event. It was a rip-off, and we were stuck. The same kind of thing was happening in the temple, and poor people were not allowed to worship God. So Jesus let all of the animals free, and drove them away from the market in the temple. Kind of a robin hood thing. But nothing is said about him hurting the people.

3. My personal beliefs about Christian non-violence relate to killing and maiming on behalf of the government. It extends to my personal way of relating to people (most of the time). Could I say personally that if someone broke into my home and were going to hurt my family that I would not hurt them? No. If some man hit my Jenny, I would lay him out in nothing flat! That doesn't mean I would be right, but I have to be honest!

This also does not extend, in my opinion to sports. We can all roughhouse and have fun without going against the teaching of Scripture.

But becoming a trained killer, being subject to a government with all sorts of mixed motives for power and such, and going and killing people and sending many of them to an eternity without Christ, that is something I cannot reconcile myself too.

There may be some sense in which fighting a just war is ok. Certainly there were wars that seem upon first glance to be justified by God for the theocracy of Israel. But is there any such situation now? No, I don't think so. And even in more justifiable situations, where does the the boundary for violence lie? Is ok to nuke Japan because it will save more American lives? Does God care whether we are Japenese or American? I dont think so? Is America a Christian nation? No more than any other!

Being a Christian means being a part of a countercultural community, that stands against the powers that be. Not some money grubbing, power-hungry elite that tries to enmesh itself with political power. That is what Christians have done for too long, whether in Hitler's Germany, English Imperialism, the Holy Roman Empire, up to our treatment of Native Americans and our invasion of Iraq. Scripture seems clear, God is on the side of love not on the side of the sword.

But I am hoping to develop these ideas better and answer some of my own questions as I continue to study more in the future. Those are my thoughts for now.

More than you ever wanted to know about my money

Usually April 15 is the worst day of my year. I am stressed and stretched to get my taxes done. The last few years, because I have to make estimated payments for my taxes, I am behind on my taxes. This started in 2003, when I recorded my self-employment tax wrong, and ended up owing 2000 more than I thought I did. So, I write up a payment plan and send it in with my taxes, knowing I owe a lot more money to the IRS. I pay most of it off, then find some way of getting credit to pay the rest of my taxes off from the previous year so that I can get on a payment plan for the next year, because my extra money was going toward paying back taxes. It was a vicious cycle.

Also, when I moved here to Colorado Springs I had other transition costs. My wardrobe was not suitable for a formal, high-end church. I had to spend between 1000-2000 to get my wardrobe up to date. My couch broke, so I bought a new one. I had lots of repair costs to my car before I decided that it would be less expensive to get a new one. I was getting paid more in Colorado Springs, and falling deeper in debt.


Slowly I have been working my way out of that hole. Part of that is due to my mother's guilt. My mother did not have a lot of money when we were growing up, and so she was not able to contibute much more than a little spending money toward my sister and I's college education. Thus, when she got a workman's compensation settlement that she was going to pay down our student loans with some of the money. I asked her to pay down my taxes, and a few small, high interest retail credit cards (Firestone, Casual Male). It helped me catch up a little.

Then, on December 31, I got married. Several folks were generous, and we had some extra money after the wedding. We got a few toys with the money, but Jen and I decided to put enough money into savings to cover a vehicle deductible and split the rest of the money to pay down some bills. I paid off much smaller than previous years amount in January to the IRS.

When I did our taxes this year, through saving up since January, paying more on my estimated taxes, and the fact that I am married, I was able to pay our taxes in full this year. AND I KNOW I FILLED OUT THE FORM RIGHT WITH TURBO TAX. So, this April 15, I am not necessarily happy, but I am thankful. And a lot less stressed. Because taxes are paid in full, and we still have money in savings and money in the bank. My credit rating is higher than it has been in years, and I feel like I am finally having a little more financial discipline. And, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with my car payment and my student loans.

Oh...and did I mention that since I have not had a ticket in four years I was able to transfer Jen onto my car insurance and ad renters insurance for the same cost as I previously had for just my car insurance. When I came to the Springs 5 years ago the staff told me if I got another speeding ticket they would not be able to carry me on their insurance. Now my driving record is clean. Yipee.

I have had a few breaks to get me to having a peaceful, easy feeling on April 15 this year, but I do feel good. I owe less. We have money in savings. And although I do have my small addictions that cost me more than they should (books), I feel good because I have recovered some of my financial discipline. Jen and I both eat out less. We ride together and save money that way. Financially, it almost like we have breathing room. We have even been able to cover our car repairs this winter. God has blessed.

The Year of Living Biblically

There is a book called The Year of Living Biblically that is getting lots of attention. Briefly summarized, it is a book about a Jewish agnostic who seeks to take the Old Testament as literally as possible.

I have not read the book. But if this sounds interesting there is a number of reviews of the book. Some of them are:

From the God's Politics website

From my friend Michele

From Theologian Ben Witherington

I love this commercial

Links of the Week

Steve's visit to the dentist (for real this time)

Michele's thoughts about grandmothers.

Marko's thoughts on pronouns for God

Amy's struggles as a missionary in Africa

Summer in April in California

Youthworker woes from Jason

Site about saving money

Praying mantis pics

Sue's risque poetry

Ivan's nature mystery (read and guess before reading the comment)

Family Prayer Needs

After years of battling mental health and substance abuse issues, my mother's cousin lost his fight with those illnesses Saturday night while being involved with this incident. I did not know him well, but my great aunt and uncle are dear to me, and they are having a difficult time at the moment. My great aunt is in the hospital with chest pains, and the family is very worried about her as well.

My grandmother (aunt of the deceased) is wanting to come home to be with the family, but my grandfather is in need of a liver transplant in the very near future at their winter home in Florida and needs full-time care.

Needless to say my extended family needs a lot of prayer at the moment.

At a Youth Conference in Denver for the Weekend

Jen got a new job yesterday (probably)

Jen has a new job! She starts at the Arkansas Valley Community Center as a case worker on May 5, unless something really unforseen happens. Yipee. Strange how things just keep falling together.

She got a call for the interview at the same time I was at the Healthy Small Church conference. At the time of the call for the interview, Mike Oldham had everybody there take a moment to pray especially for Jen and I and our transition to Fowler. Strange How God works.

This will be a welcome job change after a stressful few months being dragged into this case because she was the only one left in the office who didnt have personal issues that related at the time, and this case because she had went on a previous call last year to this persons home.

Pictures of the Inside

This is the view from the front door as you look to the right. The church is still working on painting the walls in there





This is the other side of the living room from next to the french doors you saw earlier.
On the front right of the picture is the door to the stairway. The plywood has some purpose in the renovation, but I am not sure what

More Pictures of the Inside

This is a picture of the kitchen. It is also still in progress




One of my favorite parts of the house is this enclosed back porch. It looks like a good place to grow plants and to read a book!