In front of closed doors

Michael and Breanna Mahon

The doors to the back of the chapel are closed.  The bridesmaids have made their way down the aisle, been greeted by their groomsmen counterparts, and have taken their place for the ceremony.  Michael, the groom, stares at the double doors with great anticipation.  He isn’t alone.  All of us who have gathered to witness this union have contorted our bodies in the pews and are bobbing our heads back and forth to secure just the right perspective through the crowd for the moment when the doors will open.

Then, one door moves ever so slightly.  A chuckle comes from the group because what we see isn’t what we have been anticipating.  The door closes behind the tiny flower girl who has emerged (she will later refer to the bride as her best friend at the reception), and she goes about her flowery task.  She finishes her trek and everyone re-fixes our gaze on the doors.

Youth Ministers facing charge in child abuse cover up offer incriminating defense

Oklahoma Capitol (Photo credit: ana branca)

“Failure to report” was the charge against two Tulsa, Oklahoma youth ministers upheld by a judge last November (Christianity Today, Jan/Feb 2013).  The attorney for John and Charica Daugherty had filed a motion to dismiss the charges with the reasoning, as reported by Tulsa World News, “the definition of abuse in the failure to report child abuse statute applies only to people who are responsible for the well-being of the child – which [the attorney] argues that John and Charica Daugherty were not.”

A former church employee had pleaded guilty to six felony sex crimes against children.  The charge brought against the minister couple, who are also the son and daughter-in-law of the senior pastor, is because a 13 year-old girl had informed them about the abuse and they waited two weeks to report it.

Downton Abbey . . . yeah, I watch it.

Highclere Castle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Okay guys, hear me out on this one. I mentioned this at our young adult Bible study on Wednesday, and there were some very surprised looks. Here goes. I’m up to date on all of the episodes of Downton Abbey.  There, I said it. Now, before I have to forfeit my man card, let me tell you why.

CJ Leslie . . . I’m a big fan

Credit: USAToday.com

I don’t follow college hoops much until March Madness.  So, I didn’t know a lot about CJ Leslie before the interview he had on TV yesterday.  What he did on the court amazed me.  Yeah, he led North Carolina State to a win over #1 Duke with his 25 points, but that wasn’t the best part of the story.

It was enough to cause me to extend my current blog series (I love to stay on schedule) because it relates to the theme so well.

God the jokester

Zechariah & the angel (Photo credit: Lawrence OP)

I love scaring my kids. Creeping ninja-like to avoid the sound of creaky floorboards . . . waiting in silence for several minutes at just the right spot, and then . . . “Raaaaaaa!”  Recently, my daughter Jess jumped and threw all of her laundry in the air, and she and her accouterments fell to the floor. I’ve taken to getting video records of their reactions (which are hilarious), but I won’t share them with the world so as to avoid expensive therapy.

Zechariah, who would become the father of John the Baptist, was performing his priestly duty when an angel crept up on him in Luke 1. It was his turn to offer incense before the Lord alongside the daily sacrifice.  It’s an honor that priests had only once a lifetime, if they had a chance at all.

So, kiss a little longer

Kissing Black-tailed Prairie Dogs (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

An article on Yahoo! gives six ways that kissing is good for you:

1. Your pearly whites stay cleaner
2. Keep a younger looking face as you age
3. A revved up metabolism
4. Your immune system gets a healthy boost
5. Improved mood and decreased stress levels overall
6. A natural source of pain relief

In a totally unrelated strain of thought – I was at a youth retreat with 37 of our high school and middle school kids and five (very brave) adults from our church last weekend.  The theme was “Compelled,” based on 2nd Corinthians 5:14-15:

In defense of marriage . . . act

Vanda and me in Arizona

Same-sex marriage isn’t our biggest problem. It’s too often a scapegoat. Like the majority of Americans, I am overwhelmingly in favor of the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman. If you believe that the defense of marriage act and the prevention of marriage for homosexual couples are the best methods to preserve traditional marriage, you are sorely mistaken. Maybe it’s because of this particular day on the calendar that my sentiments are what they are.

Christians need to listen . . . and learn

A miner listens to the movement of the mine. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’ve often asked for comments in opposition to my blogs, and recently I’ve been getting them.  A danger of following a perfect God is that we tend to believe that our knowledge of him is perfect too.  But if you don’t listen, you can’t learn. Some of us manage to get past doctrinal barriers put up by our denominations, but there is another barrier of our making: those who are skeptical about Jesus and the Bible. I’ve been challenged recently by comments from my cousin Ron, who is a Christian (and certainly not skeptical about Jesus) on facebook about my last post. But go ahead and check out comments on this site by kirk kirkjerk, particularly on my most recent blog and the one from July 31, about Chick-Fil-A.

Should I support Chick-Fil-A tomorrow or not?

Chick-fil-A Austin-TX (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It’s not easy to keep quiet. My practice is to stay away from politically charged discussions. There are some who I may someday influence for the cause of Christ who would stray if they knew my stand on political issues. One of the first sermon series I did in our church plant during the last presidential election was called Going Purple. There are few things that cause division among people than politics, but our Christian communities need to be places where people can disagree on things and still worship together. Churches shouldn’t be blue or red. I remember a pastor pointing out that numbered among Jesus’ disciples were Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector. Talk about extremes in political thinking! Zealots wanted to kick out the Romans and re-establish the kingdom of Israel while tax collectors were Jews who gathered up taxes that supported the foreign occupiers. I’m sure Jesus was intentional about this. The Bible doesn’t record it, but I wonder if those two hashed things out from time to time. Maybe they didn’t. Maybe the purpose and power of God among them helped them to see the greater cause? This thought prompts me to stay quiet in such times. However . . .

“Dark Knight” shooting shows promise of a brighter day

Friends from Living Hope Church got me this t-shirt. There were lots of requests for info on how to get it. My friends just got it by typing “Dads Against Daughters Dating” on eBay. It’s a funny shirt that annoys my eldest daughter. I know how young guys are (cause I was one). In most cases, they have a lot to learn about how to treat a girl before earning the right to date one of my little ladies. Many guys never figure it out.

But, the story of four boyfriends at the movie theater in Aurora, Colorado shows that there is hope for the next generation.