Through a Rapist's Eyes

I received this email from a friend, and I’m publishing it for your personal reflection. I can’t vouch for the truth of this article’s source (convicted sex offenders in prison), but I can affirm the principles the author is presenting. It just makes good sense, and it tracks to a lot of the things presented by Anny Jacoby -- one of my fellow-writers on the "Time's Up!" blog site. Please read the material and feel free to add anything useful in it to your bag of tricks.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

A group of rapists and date rapists in prison were interviewed on what they look for in a potential victim and here are some interesting facts:

1. The first thing men look for in a potential victim is hairstyle. They are most likely to go after a woman with a ponytail, bun, braid or other hairstyle that can easily be grabbed. They are also likely to go after a woman with long hair. Women with short hair are not common targets.


2. The second thing men look for is clothing. They will look for women whose clothing is easy to remove quickly. Many of them carry scissors around specifically to cut clothing.


3. They also look for women on their cell phone, searching through their purse, or doing other activities while walking because they are off-guard and can be easily overpowered.


4. Men are most likely to attack & rape in the early morning, between 5:00 a.m. and 8:30 a.m.


5. The number one place women are abducted from/attacked is grocery store parking lots. The number two: office parking lots/garages. Number three: public restrooms.


6. The thing about these men is that they are looking to grab a woman and quickly move her to another location where they don't have to worry about getting caught.


7. Only 2% said they carried weapons because rape carries a 3-5 year sentence but rape with a weapon is 15-20 years.


8. If you put up any kind of a fight at all, the rapist is more likely to get discouraged because it takes only a minute or two to realize that going after you isn't worth it because it will be time-consuming.


9. These men said they would not pick on women who have umbrellas or other similar objects that can be used from a distance, in their hands.


10. Keys are NOT a deterrent because you have to get really close to the attacker to use them as a weapon. So, the idea is to convince these guys you're not worth it.


11. Several defense mechanisms he taught us are: If someone is following behind you on a street or in a garage or with you in an elevator or stairwell, look them in the face and ask them a question, like what time is it?, or make general small talk: “I can't believe it is so cold out here,” or “We're in for a bad winter.” Now you've seen their face and could identify them in a line-up; you lose appeal as a target.


12. If someone is coming toward you, hold out your hands in front of you and yell STOP! or STAY BACK! Most of the rapists this man talked to said they’d leave a woman alone if she yelled or showed that she would not be afraid to fight back. Again, they are looking for an EASY target.


13. If you carry pepper spray (this instructor was a huge advocate of it and carries it with him wherever he goes), yell I HAVE PEPPER SPRAY and holding it out will be a deterrent.


14. If someone grabs you, you can't beat them with strength but you can by outsmarting them. If you are grabbed around the waist from behind, pinch the attacker either under the Arm (between the elbow and armpit) OR in the upper inner thigh VERY VERY HARD. One woman in a class this guy taught told him she used the underarm pinch on a guy who was trying to date rape her and was so upset she broke through the skin and tore out muscle strands - the guy needed stitches. Try pinching yourself in those places as hard as you can stand it -- it hurts.


15. After the initial hit, always GO for the GROIN. I know from a particularly unfortunate experience that if you slap a guy's parts it is extremely painful. You might think that you'll anger the guy and make him want to hurt you more, but the thing these rapists told our instructor is that they want a woman who will not cause a lot of trouble. Start causing trouble and he's out of there.


16. When the guy puts his hands up to you, grab his first two fingers and bend them back as far as possible with as much pressure pushing down on them as possible. The instructor did it to me without using much pressure, and I ended up on my knees and both knuckles cracked audibly.


17. Of course the things we always hear still apply. Always be aware of your surroundings, take someone with you if you can and if you see any odd behavior, don't dismiss it. Go with your instincts!!!

You may feel a little silly at the time, but you'd feel much worse if the guy really was trouble.

When Sex Perverts Pretend to Protect Us

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all . . . are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted . . . deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. . . .
from the Declaration of Independence


John F. Kennedy was assassinated during a parade while riding in a convertible on November 22, 1963. Presidents now ride in bulletproof vehicles with darkened windows because our nation has reacted to the threat posed by this incident.





Pope John Paul II was shot and critically wounded on May 13, 1981. Popes now ride in hideous-looking vehicles with bulletproof canopies because the Vatican reacted to this incident.












On September 11, 2001 several commercial airline jets crashed in a coordinated terrorist attack. The United States government continues to react by increasing security measures at airports and on board commercial flights. The public will never know the true effectiveness of these measures, because some of the success is due to secrecy in several aspects of the screening process.

It would be foolish to credit these security measures as the sole reason for the absence of terrorist-related deaths on airline flights, just as it would be foolish to discount their role. But irrespective of the degree of their success, they have come at a high price.

The added security measures at airports in the United States are largely responsible for huge losses of liberty for American citizens who fly on the commercial airlines.

With each new security action by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) a noose is further tightened around the necks of the flying public. Accompanying each announcement of a new TSA action is a report on the nightly news, followed by an obligatory interview with someone in an airport terminal who supports the action. The field reporter finds some passenger who says “I support anything to make my flight safer.” Every time I watch these interviews, I double over with nausea. The “man on the street” interview is intended to show American citizens’ willingness to sacrifice personal liberties and Creator-endowed rights in return for the possibility of increased safety and security. With no pretense of tact on my part, I’m surprised that our living veterans of World War II are not weeping when they see how cheaply are squandered the liberties they fought so hard to preserve. It’s also alarming that the person in the interview is willing to forfeit freedoms that his or her children and grandchildren will never get back, and all for the appearance of increased safety. The flying public is now being subjected to more indignity than ever, with lost time and lost money all under the pretense of “United We Stand.”

While the indignities are becoming progressive, they normally would not merit reporting on this site. My reason for doing so is that the latest atrocity inflicted on the flying public has now crossed the line into sexual abuse.

Approximately a year ago I learned that full-body scanners were being installed at some airports. The news magazines dutifully carried the government's lies, assuring that the images were not electronic strip-searches, and showing pictures that resembled mannequins on a video monitor. Every attempt has been made to conceal the fact that these mannequin-type images were anatomically correct! Now, in a recent World Net Daily article (http://www.wnd.com/?pageId=226533) it is coming to light that these images are so revealing that some TSA officials are drooling as they view them.

TSA is continuing to press their version of the story, insisting that the images are “family friendly,” and that an air traveler who feels that the enhanced touching is inappropriate can call for a law enforcement officer. These bon mots are intentional deceptions. What passenger, desperately trying to catch a plane, has factored in enough time to call the police following inappropriate fondling by a TSA official? Add to this the fact that the airport is the home turf of the TSA official and the local police, so the odds are likely that it becomes your word against the agent’s.

An even further atrocity is the airline passenger’s option not to be body-scanned by these devices. The alternative is to have the entire body patted down by a government official, and the passenger does not always get to choose the gender of the official who does the fondling. Quoting from the above link: “One woman described how agents grabbed and twisted her breasts.” Here is a link to video testimony of a woman subjected to egregious treatment by officials:
http://wewontfly.com/question-tsa-risk

Here is another link relating to the comments of a flight attendants’ union spokesperson who said the searchers “actually make contact with the genital area.”
http://www.abc15.com/dpp/lifestyle/travel/flight-attendants-union-upset-over-new-pat-down-procedures

I’ll spare you the details about the possibilities of cavity searches, and the means that may likely be used to accomplish them. You’re probably already angry at me for the bluntness of my manner of presenting these atrocities.

If you’re not yet angry at me, I’m about to change that. If you are angry, I’m sure this will anger you further. Were you ever one of those who lost patience with people who objected to the loss of privacy in airport searches? Did you answer with something resembling “If you don’t have anything to hide, why would you object?” Consider asking a woman being subjected to a cavity search, “If you don’t have anything to hide, why would you object? After all, someone may be hiding explosive powder or a plastic weapon this way.”

If this gets too personal, then I’ve succeeded in forcing some self-examination. (Oh my, what a poor choice of words!) But I sincerely hope that you will consider joining those who will stand up to a sexual perversion by our government with the words of Job 38:11a:
“Hitherto shalt thou go and no further.” (KJV)

Remember, governments -- including ours -- derive their JUST powers (emphasis mine) from the consent of the governed. Governments -- including ours -- derive their UNJUST powers from the inaction of the governed to stand against tyranny.

Please do not allow yet another encroachment on your children’s and grandchildren’s human rights.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Here are some links brought out in the WND article:

Air Transport Association of America
http://www.airlines.org/pages/home.aspx

“We Won’t Fly”
http://wewontfly.com/about

Nudeoscope.com
http://www.nudeoscope.com/

Smarter Travel blog
http://www.smartertravel.com/blogs/today-in-travel/group-plans-national-opt-out-day-to-protest-airport-security.html?id=6240002

Honoring Veterans Based on John 13

Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
John 13:1-5 (KJV)

In John 13 Jesus is at supper with his twelve disciples the night before he is to be crucified. He knows that one will betray him, one will deny him, and the other ten will turn in their cowardice and abandon him at the cross. He also knows that he has been given all power on earth by his -- and our -- Heavenly Father, to do with as he pleases.

So what does he do? He washes their feet. He serves them!

Which, as November 11 approaches, makes me think of our veterans.

You wore the uniform and served your country. You carried a rifle. You flew a gunship. You commanded a missile cruiser. You carried knowledge that could inflict untold amounts of damage, not only to your own nation, but to the entire world. You had power.

You served in many ways. Of those you served:

• Some will denounce you as a murderer.


• Some will spit on you in the airport terminal as you return from deployment to a foreign battlefield.


• Some will find a way to prosecute you on false charges to advance their cheap political agenda, without regard for the damage they do to your loved ones as well as to you.


• Some will pervert the Uniform Code of Military Justice and make a mockery of the courts martial because they have power without decency.


• Some, failing to destroy you in a court martial, will convene a Board of Inquiry to ruin your reputation without accountability for their irresponsible actions against you.


• Some will shout with ridicule because you salute the American flag as it passes in a parade.


• Some will burn the American flag, the very flag that will one day drape your coffin.


• Some will spew hateful epithets at your funeral, even acting falsely and hatefully in the name of the God of love.

So the question before you is, What did you do with all your power?
* You put on the uniform and served.
* You stood in the way of enemy fire.
* You slept with one eye open in the desert.
* You suffered damp feet that will never dry because you lived in a foxhole.
* You lived in constant danger because you believed in an ideal and wanted to preserve it for your family and your neighbors.

You preserved freedom for those who:

• Denounce you as a murderer


• Spit on you in the airport terminal


• Prosecute you on false charges to advance their own agenda


• Pervert the UCMJ in the courts martial


• Convene a Board of Inquiry when the court martial fails


• Ridicule because you salute the American flag


• Burn the flag that will one day drape your coffin


• Spew hateful epithets at your funeral

You are a veteran. It takes a special person to be what you are, and to do what you have done.

Thank you for your service.

God bless you.
Charles+

Justice Delayed, Justice Denied, or Not

O LORD, how long shall I cry, and thou wilt not hear! even cry out unto thee of violence, and thou wilt not save! Why dost thou show me iniquity and grievance? Spoiling and violence are before me: and strife and contention. The law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked doth compass about; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth. They are terrible and dreadful. They shall come all for violence. Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD God, Holy One? Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the righteous?
Habakkuk 1:2-13 (KJV, excerpt)

Habakkuk, one of the so-called “minor prophets” of ancient Israel, cried out to God in protest of injustice and oppression during the Babylonian Exile. While his lament was on a national level, I’ve taken the liberty of applying the translated text in a modern setting.

These words scream at us today on a personal level. Just as the prophet lamented that he looked around and saw suffering, so can we. And just as the prophet included himself as one of those who suffered, so can we.

Oppression is all too real in domestic violence and in crimes against persons. Injustice is all too real in the obstacles placed before us when we want to act on it.

• When we seek pastoral counseling in dealing with family issues, and the response we get is the equivalent of "Read your Bible" or "Go to mass more often."


• When we seek redress in the courts for wrongs done to spouses and children.


• When we seek evidence buried by those entrusted with it.


• When we seek untainted autopsy findings.


• When we seek to remove the unworthy and the corrupt from the ranks of law enforcement.


• When we seek representation from attorneys less concerned with obtaining justice than with protecting their ability to perform before the same judge in the future.


• When we seek to hold our elected and appointed officials accountable for their misbehavior.


• When our elected and appointed officials close ranks, sometimes in collusion with the news media, to protect their own every time an investigation occurs.

How frustrating it is today, as we look around and see that the need for action is great, and then realize that we are so powerless to make a difference!
Well, are really so powerless?

Consider God’s reply to Habakkuk in this excerpt from chapter 2.
The LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come. Behold, the just shall live by faith. The earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. The LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

Can we appropriate for ourselves God’s reply to Habakkuk? Do we have any reason to see a vision of hope for something better? If we do, is there any reason to write it down as the prophet was commanded to do, so that it can be published far and wide?

I believe we have every reason to do so. Look around, and above all the destruction and violence we see signs that there is light ahead. Here are just a few examples.

• In the state of North Carolina, one survivor of domestic violence has formed an organization to address the subject. Some of the results have included state legislation, and a successful lawsuit against a police body that failed in its duty to protect and to serve.


• One year ago the Time’s Up! blog was started by a few people who had a vision. They followed an inner(?) drive to write the vision down, so that it would be published far and wide.


• Not long after I joined the ranks of “Time’s Up!” contributing writers, I learned of several Blog Talk Radio programs that address these issues of violence, crime, and injustice. They gave voice to those who suffer, as well as to those who actively do something about it. Lawmakers have been influenced by the spreading of this vision. If legislation has not yet been proposed, it is only a matter of time before laws will be passed.


• Resource materials are now available to assist in escaping abusive relationships, in surviving the trauma of crime, and in rebuilding the lives of survivors.


• Church leaders are recognizing their past mistakes in properly addressing violence survival issues, and the pastoral landscape is changing -- though slowly.


• Pastors are networking with resource providers and with those who are better equipped to respond effectively in a more practical manner than “Give him another chance,” “Forgive and forget,” and so on.


• In an ordination sermon I heard last summer, the criteria for success in mission work is reduction in domestic violence and providing safety for those who escape abusive relationships.


• Networking is spreading on a wider scale, to force accountability in the courts and in the halls of government when injustice has occurred and lives have been lost.

Habakkuk had a vision, and so can we. Here is an excerpt of the prophet’s response, from the third and final chapter.
His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of his praise. The sun and moon stood still. Thou didst walk through the sea, through the heap of great waters. Although the fig tree not blossom, neither fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive fail, and the fields yield no meat; the flock be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls: Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The LORD God is my strength.

In the first chapter the prophet cries out to God asking Him to do something.
In the second chapter God tells him He will, but in His own time.
In the third chapter the prophet says that while he’s waiting, he will praise God.

So you might say this is all well and good, but something is missing. And I agree. For some reason you may not find this satisfactory. While God’s timing is perfect, many people continue to suffer and die as we wait.

Here is my challenge. If this idea is distressing to you, talk with God about it. You may find an unexpected gift in His answer.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

And the enemy sowed tares

Reflections on Matthew 13:24-30

In this passage a farmer planted wheat and one of his enemies cast tares into the field. The farmer chose to let the crops grow together until harvest, when he would gather the wheat and burn the tares.

In our culture we don’t typically think a lot about tares, so we’re tempted to replace the word with "weeds." But I ran into a new concept about tares one day.

On the back of a delivery truck I saw the words "TARE WEIGHT" followed by a number. A lot of us have probably seen this lettering on trucks, trailers, and railroad cars. If we think of "tare" as the empty weight of the truck, we might also think of it as the additional load the truck has to carry to get its useful contents to the destination. So we might consider that the man who sowed good seed had to carry an extra load, those tares the enemy sowed, until harvest time. More accurately, if we consider that the soil had to carry that extra load too, we could just as easily meditate on that other parable about the man whose seed landed on various types of soil. But alas, that is not for today.

I started to reflect in a different way on tares in terms of TARE WEIGHT. So here are some illustrations that might work.

---

A young woman wanted to do the right thing. She had been told about right and wrong, and she was doing a good job until a fateful day. This is the summary of a dialog she had with a behavioral consultant. I can refer you to a transcript later.)
The consultant asked her if God had said she was not to eat of all the fruit in the garden.
She answered "We are not to eat of this one tree. . . "
And the enemy sowed tares.
She continued "We can’t even touch it . . . "
She added to the pure, simple command of God, not to eat the fruit.

---

Years later God promised Abraham that he would have more descendants than the stars he could see in the sky.
And Abraham said "I really like this. . . "
And the enemy sowed tares.
Abraham and Sara added to the simple promise of God by arranging the birth of Ishmael through Sara’s servant.

---

Centuries later God told Moses to speak to a rock to supply water in the wilderness for the Children of Israel.
And the enemy sowed tares.
Instead of speaking to the rock, Moses struck the rock with his staff. He added to God’s pure, simple command.

---

God liberated His people from slavery in Egypt. This bondage was hard labor on Pharaoh's public works projects, but more importantly it was bondage to the gods of Egypt. God gave them the simple invitation to have nobody but Him as their God.
And the enemy sowed tares.
While Moses was on the mountain receiving the Covenant, the children made a golden calf. Most likely, this was an image of Sin, the moon god of the Ancient Near East, one of the popular deities of ancient Egypt and familiar to the people.

The enemy is sowing tares about this even today. Many scholars contend that the calf was a mere platform for YHWH to sit on, or possibly a tribute to Moses’ leadership. Anything to gloss over the impact of Scripture and to lessen the severity of idolatry, you think?

---

God led the children into the Promised Land, after caring for them in the desert and defending them from enemies for so many years. He even parted the waters of the Jordan so they could walk through as their ancestors had done when leaving Egypt.
And the enemy sowed tares.
Gee, those crops looked good. Now the people of Israel remembered YHWH out there in the desert, and He did a great job providing for them in the wilderness. But this farming is really a different life, with its different struggles. Since the needs were different, it seems that YHWH might be out of His element. The locals seemed to have a handle on a god who knew what they needed. Surely Baal was more suited for their farming needs than YHWH.

---

The religious leaders of Israel wanted the people to be faithful to God’s covenant.
And the enemy sowed tares.
God’s simple commandments, with the ethical demands laid out in the Torah (the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures) often became lost among the myriad of rules and regulations issued by those who started out with great intentions. Adding to a covenant intended to be written on people’s hearts, compliance with the minutiae of rules became a source of oppression. (The fact was not lost on a lot of the leaders, as additional tares showed up in the form of loopholes for those in the know. Jesus pointed out one example, in which a person could get out of providing for his elder parents if he dedicated his wealth to God. We’ve seen some of this in our own time, haven’t we?)

---

God gave the commandment to rest on the Sabbath, for the people to remember that He Himself rested following the six days of creation.
And the enemy sowed tares.
The Sabbath, made for man’s enjoyment, became an opportunity for oppression as the leaders piled one rule after another onto the rules for observance.

---

Jesus told a thief on a cross that he would be with him in paradise that very day. The man’s simple declaration of faith was all-sufficient.
And the enemy sowed tares.
Peter, that giant of Church history, wanted Gentile converts to observe the Jewish dietary rules, adding to the simple statement that by grace are we saved.

---

Paul taught the people of Galatia that by grace are we saved.
And the enemy sowed tares.
Right behind Paul came those who forced many in Galatia to become circumcised, a slap in the face to any who claim that faith in Jesus as Savior is sufficient.

---

In Matthew’s account of Jesus’ crucifixion, the temple veil was ripped from top to bottom. A Jew writing to Jews, Matthew had one clear statement to make. No longer is the Holy of Holies off limits to everyone except the High Priest. By the death of Jesus on the cross we are all invited to come into the Presence of God. (Not only that, taking our clue from the prayer our Savior taught us, we are all invited to come into the Presence of YHWH and call Him "Daddy."
And the enemy sowed tares.
For centuries the Church built barriers, in both the architecture and the attitudes of the clergy, to restore that veil between the people and God. The Church kept the teachings in the hands of the scholars and kept the Bible out of the hands of the people. Only through the interpretation of the scholars could the people get to know the Scriptures.

---

Jesus promised that when two or three are gathered in his name, agreeing in prayer, he will be in the midst of them. The faithful could pray for each other and for themselves. Intercession is one of the most powerful forms of prayer. When we pray for others, we are following the example of the One who prayed even for those who crucified him. The Church taught that we can ask others to pray for us, even those who have gone before us and are now eternally in the Presence of God.
And the enemy sowed tares.
This is not the place where I would address the validity of asking the saints in heaven to pray for us. Rather, this is the place where I'll address the oppressive teaching: the requirement that this practice MUST be followed. Cults of Mary-worship have sprung up throughout the world, even though Mary also depended on her Son for her salvation. Some prayers to Mary have even included petitions for her to protect us from the anger of Jesus toward us. The One who prayed for his executioners, the One who is now our eternal High Priest, is constantly interceding for us. How inconsistent is a rule that we must have someone intervene against the wrath of Jesus!

---

The Christian Scriptures assure us that the blood of Jesus (more correctly, the fact that Jesus willingly shed his red corpuscles) cleanses us from all sin. By his death our debt is paid in full, and the sin of Adam has been canceled by the righteousness of Jesus for us. The Bible promises us that we are all new creations in Christ.
And the enemy sowed tares.
Oh, how seductive is the doctrine of Purgatory! Our Heavenly Father is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. When Jesus, who knew no sin, became sin for us, the Father turned His face away because He could not look upon His own Son. When Jesus became sin, his Father abandoned him. But what about me? How can the Father, Who hates sin, look upon me, in all my filth as a sinner? Out of love for my God, or at least as a courtesy, it would make sense for me to get scrubbed down. I'd be willing to spend time in a place where I can be made pure before He sees me. But to give way to such a doctrine is to deny the wholeness of the work of Jesus for us. It’s been done. There is nothing we need to do. There is nothing we can do. When we trust Jesus as our Savior, we are presented spotless before the Father. His righteousness becomes our righteousness, his perfection is the only thing the Father sees when He looks upon us.

---

How wonderful it is that God’s simple command is an invitation is for each of us. God invites you to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind!

I will close by returning to the Garden in Genesis. The sin was not due to hunger for a particular fruit. Rather, it was that the man and the woman ceased to hunger for God alone. My prayer is for you to have a growing hunger for God, that your appetite will drive you to seek Him as the only way your hunger can be satisfied.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

= = = = = = = = = =
Matthew 13:24-30
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

A personal experience from September 11, 2001

At the end of August, 2001 a pastor friend called and told me that he would be out of the state on Sunday, September 16, and asked if I could take the Sunday service at his church. The way my schedules were shaping up, this would be workable.

This congregation uses the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), which directs the readings from the Old Testament, a Psalm, the Epistles, and the Gospels. I consulted the Gospel reading and prepared a draft of the sermon I'd intended to preach. My custom was to prepare the core message ahead of time, and to modify the message as it may apply to any news events or congregational considerations during the week. This was two days before September 11, 2001.

The upheaval in the week that followed affected everyone. Nobody knew what to expect in the coming days, so I simply scrapped everything I'd prepared and waited until Saturday night to start over with something relevant based on the events of the remainder of the week.¹

By Saturday night I had been considering my remarks for the following day. When it was time to formalize the message, I reviewed the assigned readings again. To my horror I discovered that the text for September 16 included Exodus 32:7-14 (printed below). The text speaks of God's plan to bring fiery wrath onto the people of Israel who, so soon after deliverance from Egypt, have descended to idolatry.

Think fast! Can I call the church's leaders and ask them to choose a different reading? Can I simply have them pull the bulletin? Can I simply ignore the Old Testament reading, and preach some words of comfort from the other assigned texts (also printed below)?

I called several people at the church. In each case I was greeted by voice mail. With the Bible open to the Exodus text I wondered how I'd sidestep these words of judgment. But something had to be done.

Suddenly I became aware of a thought and I couldn't shake it. I'm not one to use such terms as "God told me...." I'm more inclined to say I had an impression, which I express in a way that would be in a conversation. But in order to describe my struggles and to verbalize this particular thought, bear with my personification of the text. In this personification the text said "PREACH ME."

Perhaps I could say "God was speaking to me through the text and saying "Preach this." But allow me to go with the impression as it came to me. So here is a dialog equivalent to my reflections.

The text said, "PREACH ME."

"I can't preach you. These people are in pain. The whole nation is in pain!" (Maybe the voice of the text will ease up.)

"PREACH ME."

So much for easing up. "How can you say that? What kind of pastor am I, to preach words of judgment to people who need grace?"

"PREACH ME."

"Look, I'm the substitute here! Fill-in preachers aren't supposed to beat the people down. Not even this congregation." I'd filled in there before, and we had an excellent relationship. They loved me and I loved them. How could I be cruel to them? It just wouldn't work.

"PREACH ME."

"Look, don't you realize the parallel here? All right, of course you do. You know what you're saying. So this is how I'm reading you, and this is what everyone hearing the text is going to hear.

"And the LORD said, I brought these people out of religious persecution in Europe, to the land of purple mountain majesties and fruited plains. I gave them abundance in the land, and technology to build factories and make homes and have leisure time never before known in history. Now they have used the technology to corrupt themselves. They have turned aside out of the way which I commanded them: they have given themselves over to pornography, drugs, greed, and all manner of decadence. They celebrate promiscuity and they hold up heroes from their entertainment industry. They have created their little false gods, and have worshipped them, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O America. And the LORD said, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them. I will crash airplanes into their buildings and burn them to the ground. I will bring this nation to ruin. And I will give my favor to someone else who is more worthy.

"And I'd bet you money... uh, I mean, I'm absolutely sure my colleagues have substituted something else for tomorrow's reading. The guys and gals who run the other shops are being a lot more pastoral, more thoughtful than you're telling me to be. How can you be so hard on these good people?"

"PREACH ME."

"Everybody who reads the Bible, and a lot of people who don't, have already asked whether this is God's punishment of America. Even some evangelists have already advanced the theory, and only a few days have passed. All of the 'sensible people' and 'intellectual giants' have denounced these preachers already, rolling their eyes with typical dismissive self-deception.² How can I possibly preach this?"

"PREACH ME."

"I've got it! Preach you. Now what do you want me to say?"

The dialog ended. Preparing a sermon based on this text was one of the hardest things I'd ever done in my life.

The next morning's attendance was greater than usual, as would be expected following such a horror that our nation had gone through. We began the service with the obligatory call-response of Psalm 118:24.
"This is the day that the Lord has made."
"Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

Somehow, in hearing myself and the congregation say these words, it came to me that these words are not a pep talk. They're a command. God knew we'd run into days like this one, and He knew it would be hard to "rejoice and be glad" after someone had ripped into our nation. But God didn't make exceptions for times that it would be hard to rejoice.

I leveled with the people, sharing with them that this is a hard thing to do.

The service continued as scheduled. The congregation heard the assigned reading from Exodus. And I preached from this text. But once I'd become obedient to the command to preach the text, I realized that I myself had been given grace. Up until then I'd failed to pay attention to the whole text, and in my protests I was whining about God's wrathful words to Moses. Once I had submitted, my eyes were open to the whole text. The passage included Moses' intercession, his prayer to God on behalf of Israel, and God's sparing of them. The reality of God's anger was not to be denied, not to be glossed over. But the reality of the power of prayer must also be recognized, and the reality of God's call for us to intercede cannot be denied. And the extent to which God will go to forgive His people has found a powerful illustration in this passage.

To preach the text required me to preach the whole text. And as with the preaching of any text, it requires total submission to the leading of God.
- - - - - - -
¹ One of the things I'd thought about as a teaching method in seminary, specifically for the homiletics (sermon-preaching) class, was to take this concept into consideration. At the beginning of the academic term I'd give every student the preaching assignment for the entire term. This would include the Scripture texts and any supplementary material as needed. At the beginning of the class day I would identify each student assigned to preach that day, and I'd give him or her a news report of a significant event. It would be for the student to determine, as an adult pastor and preacher, whether to modify the sermon or remain with the one already prepared. This would be in my opinion a self-teaching exercise for the student, to receive insight into the real world of preaching to a congregation.

² I'm not in any way saying that the events of September 11, 2001 were God's active judgment on America. I won't rule it out, though my current reflections lean more in the direction of suggesting that God has in part withdrawn from our nation His favor and protection. But while not saying that the events were a direct and active divine chastisement, I'll suggest that it would be foolish not to reflect on this possibility.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
The passages for the day
Exodus 32:7-14
Psalm 51:1-10
1 Timothy 1:12-17
Luke 15:1-10
The texts follow
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Exodus 32:7-14
And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves: They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them: they have made them a molten calf, and have worshipped it, and have sacrificed thereunto, and said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which have brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. And the LORD said unto Moses, I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiffnecked people: Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against them, and that I may consume them: and I will make of thee a great nation. And Moses besought the LORD his God, and said, LORD, why doth thy wrath wax hot against thy people, which thou hast brought forth out of the land of Egypt with great power, and with a mighty hand? Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, thy servants, to whom thou swarest by thine own self, and saidst unto them, I will multiply your seed as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have spoken of will I give unto your seed, and they shall inherit it for ever. And the LORD repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Psalm 51:1-10
Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
1 Timothy 1:12-17
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Luke 15:1-10
Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Nicodemus and the Secret-Service Christians

John 3:1-15 (KJV)

The opening of John, chapter 3, introduces Nicodemus as a leader of the Jews who "came to Jesus by night." Through the centuries this poor soul has received bad press from Christian pulpits around the world. "Why couldn't he come out in the daylight?" Preachers have even been quick to apply this verse side-by-side with Mark 8:38 or its parallels, referring to those ashamed to confess Jesus before the world, and Jesus' shame to confess them before the Father.

So Nicodemus came to Jesus by night in chapter 3.

Maybe there is more to look at than a cowardly man who didn't want to be seen in the daylight talking to this controversial figure. Maybe there is more because of its placement so early in the book. After all, Jesus had done very little by that time to identify himself as the Word Made Flesh (John's words in 1:14), or the Lamb of God whose mission it was to take away the world's sin (again, the Baptist's words in 1:29).

By the time we meet Nicodemus, Jesus has done only these things:
He invited Andrew to "come and see" where he was staying.
He invited Philip to follow him.
He pointed to Nathanael as an honest Israelite.
He saved a host from embarrassment in chapter 2 by turning water into wine.

Not much controversial there, would you say?

Oh, there is that other thing. He rebuked the merchants and money-changers who were exploiting the people in the temple. But surely the devout of the religious rulers would not be offended at something as righteous as that! After all, the religious leaders were not part of the "den of thieves" Jesus was talking about. Was this not before religious leaders took "commissions" from the sales of items in the houses of worship?

Well, all right. Maybe Jesus did become controversial by the time Nicodemus showed up in chapter 3.

Since Nicodemus "came to Jesus by night," can we make a case for anything but fear of loss or dishonor? Probably not, since throughout Scripture night and darkness often carried the implication of hidden deeds.

For Nicodemus' position among the rulers, he did have to be careful about his visibility. He undoubtedly had a real, and in all honesty, justifiable, fear of being seen with people of controversy. For Nicodemus, claiming any relationship with Jesus had a cost associated with it.

But it may be appropriate to give Nicodemus credit for one thing: he went to Jesus. Period. That act alone set him apart from every one of the other leaders of his time. At least, John doesn't name anyone else in Nicodemus' crowd who went to Jesus.

To what extent does that act set Nicodemus apart from so many millions of people today? Do American Christians fear or blush to speak of their faith, for fear of losing their jobs or facing ridicule? The answer is for you to consider, not for me to answer. (At the same time, if you would like to step away from reading this and go to Jesus yourself, that would be fine. We'll be here when you get back.)

Here is a controversial thought. In the 1980s the Christian radio stations played a song titled "Secret Service Christians." Unfortunately, my search for lyrics and music has been unsuccessful. Essentially, a "secret service Christian" is someone who will "go along to get along" but will not stand publicly for Jesus either as God the Son or as the needed and only Savior. He or she may admit to being a Christian, and may even identify his or her church. But such a Christian is quiet when confronted with such universalist comments as "all roads lead to God" or "there's very little difference between religions" or (my favorite) "don't shove your beliefs down our throats [while we will shove ours down yours]." The arguments sound good. The most convincing one is that if you remain quiet, you can possibly convince folks later in a different way. It's a variation of the argument that if you run away, you live to fight another day.

All of this makes good preaching material, so it's the sort of thing you would expect to hear on a Sunday morning. But here is where the real controversy comes with me. Those who call for a bold proclamation of faith are curiously silent about missionaries who sneak around in hostile lands. These are the ones who enter the hostile countries disguised as carpenters or agricultural advisers, and secretly distribute Bibles and hold worship services. It is amazing to hear the Christian talk shows interviewing these secret missionaries, extolling the virtues of their deceptive practices in witnessing to the One who called Himself "the Truth."

It is true that there is justification to this "secret service Christian" practice. Speaking bluntly, a dead missionary distributes no Bibles. But if this witness dies for the faith, that martyrdom might be the seed of some amazing conversions. After all, it has happened before. The early Church Fathers may have something to say about an open testimony to the Risen One.

There is no easy answer to this, and the reason may come as a surprise. While in some places confessing of Jesus is a capital offense, the more "civilized" societies have bought George Orwell's principle as stated in the book 1984. The government interrogator said that they do not want martyrs, so they simply discredit those who voice a doctrine contrary to that of the state. (Could this be coming soon to a government near you?)

Back to Nicodemus. First of all, the text does not say that he came once, nor does it say that this is his first time to come to Jesus. In fact, it might be appropriate to consider that the man had been visiting with Jesus on multiple occasions. Even if he had not come previously, at least he knew where to find Jesus.

Notice that Jesus honors him for coming, and he engages in conversation. It may not be the conversation that Nicodemus would have expected, but it was what Nicodemus needed to hear. Nicodemus gives all he has, risking as far as he is able. Jesus takes this opportunity to talk about being born again, and to mention the Spirit.

The Gospel passage I've chosen stops just short of the famous verse, John 3:16. But even though Nicodemus gives little at the time, it becomes the prelude to the expression of some of the critical doctrines of the Church.

Nicodemus gave little, but by meeting Jesus he was transformed. In 7:50-52 he protests to the Sanhedrin against their plot to do away with Jesus. In John 19:39 he participates in the preparation for the anointing and burial of the body of Jesus. It is fair to assume that the man was changed, and there can be little doubt that he became a man of true faith.

Maybe if we bring ourselves to Jesus, whether in our strength or our fears, he will honor us for bringing all we are and all we have to give. And truly, if we bring ourselves to Jesus in all honesty, we might also find ourselves transformed.

Nicodemus knew where to look for Jesus. Do you?

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

The Pretty Church

Gina was a survivor of domestic violence, emerging from the effects of an abusive first husband and rebuilding her life with Steve, her current husband. Never content merely to survive, Gina wanted to help others going through the kind of experience she had. She formed a foundation dedicated to the prevention and remedy of domestic violence and its effects. She and Steve also presented the concept to the senior pastor of their church as a ministry opportunity. The pastor’s refusal even to consider the possibility was a slap in the face as painful as the injuries of her first marriage.

Gina and Steve were members of what we'd commonly call a "mega-church." Personally, I’d call it a "pretty church."  The Pretty Church often has limited value for the currently suffering, other than as a beacon in the distance to provide inspiration to those who can see it.

Characteristics of The Pretty Church include attention to its preservation and growth, its distancing from what it teaches, its size, its attention to public and internal image, and its tiered structure of administration and congregation. These are all interrelated, but they each have their distinguishing elements.

PREACHING AND PRAXIS

This is the church-speak equivalent of practicing what you preach. In the eyes of the outside observer, The Pretty Church’s tendency to preach one thing and practice another is almost a given. The church teaches a lot that is NOT pretty, so The Pretty Church distances itself from its teachings. Let me give two quick modern-day examples, using Luke 7. In the narrative Jesus is dining with religious high-rollers when an unacceptable woman breaks into the banquet hall. She runs to Jesus and weeps all over his feet and wipes them with her hair, much to the disgust of the other guests. The Pretty Church’s congregation, under its collective breath, is cheering “Way to go, Jesus” as he rebukes the indignant guests. But neither the preacher nor the congregation will face the fact that Jesus, after saying “Your sins are forgiven” doesn’t say “go and sin no more.” She’s likely captive in white slavery, and Jesus knows it will be some time before she can escape her oppressor.

My first modern example is at the million-dollar retirement party of The Pretty Church’s senior pastor. Present are business, political, and other church leaders. In the corner is an insignificant clergyman from a small church across town, invited because he and the pastor were once friends. As the dignitaries eat and speak, suddenly a woman of the street breaks in and rushes to the token clergyman. As she collapses sobbing into the man’s arms, he takes her out of the banquet hall as the dignitaries curse the two of them. The bouncers are close behind, making sure of a quick return to order. The clergyman comforts the woman, reassuring her that he’s working on her escape from the street life. But he cautiously reminds her that some of her pimp’s clients are in the banquet hall, and that her pimp uses real bullets.

My second modern example is The Pretty Church’s Wednesday evening service. Virginia Dale, the guest speaker, wows them with tales of her pre-conversion life as an exotic dancer with Sally Rand and her past exploits with such notables as Jack Ruby. In celebration for the return of the prodigal, The Pretty Church kills the fatted calf. But then the congregation sees Heather Lou sitting in the audience, sobbing uncontrollably as she’s desperately seeking help to escape from the gentlemen’s club and its stranglehold. And the congregation kills not the fatted calf, but Heather Lou.

SIZE OF THE SHIP AND IMAGE-MANAGEMENT

The larger church typically has a large operating budget with reserves and an endowment to weather the storms of economic uncertainty. It also has the ability to sponsor numerous programs for member and guest participation, as well as a physical plant and staff to oversee such indirect outreach programs as Operation Head Start and Family Gateway.

But the larger church, in order to sustain the large operating budget, must give major attention to its public image. For example, when Jerry Falwell commented about the 9-11 attacks on the World Trade Center, world media outlets had a field day and damage control became a multi-year project. This leads to a paranoia that paralyzes The Pretty Church and makes them hesitant to take on any sort of controversy.

In addition to its public image, The Pretty Church must continually attract and hold large and financially strong members. It must compete effectively with other mega-churches and with the smaller ones. This requires attention to internal eye-appeal as well. The auditorium must be made beautiful with the arrangement of the performers' stage, the baptistery, the choir section, and the musicians. It must be purged of elements that would lead to controversy. Any depictions of social outreach, God\'s love for the poor, and the seedy people that Jesus associated with, are not allowed. If a cross is present at all in the auditorium, it tends to be shiny metal or well-manicured wood. Any thought of showing Jesus on the cross is quickly done away with.

US AND THEM

The worship structure is in an auditorium resembling a concert hall, with paid and volunteer musicians and a preacher who delivers a 45- to 60-minute message. The congregation's part is to sing with the musicians, listen to the sermon, and make responses when prompted. This hierarchical worship format tends to be the model of church administration as well. The leaders tend to become isolated, surrounding themselves with a small number of trusted advisers who insulate them from the needs and interests of their members.

The sermons speak of God's love for the poor, but in general and to protect its income stream Jesus' words about woes to the rich are severely qualified with a version of "I don't mean you who earned your fair wages." All words of welcome that Jesus extended tend to be followed by having the less acceptable worshipers do the equivalent of sitting in the back of the bus. In effect, the worship space must be "pretty." Any reference to Jesus' death on the cross, or any mention of blood, must remain abstract; it's OK to speak about the fact of Jesus' suffering, but it's never acceptable to speak of the forensics of death by crucifixion. References to "taking up your cross" are metaphorical, in the form of dealing with obnoxious co-workers. The fear is that members will jump ship if they are ever confronted with the true cost of their salvation, or with the true meaning of the Great Commission to go into all the world (Matthew 28:19-20).

This sentiment spills over to the church's programs. Programs tend to include the socially accepted ones, such as hospital visitation, divorce and addiction recovery, travel, book discussions, international mission support, and Bible studies.

Occasionally, depending on the demographics, the church may also include a program of re-entry into society following a prison sentence -- as long as the ex-offender's crimes fit within acceptable limits. But certain programs tend to be absolutely off limits, especially anything that ministers to victims of crime and violence. This is a continuation of keeping the church "pretty." Domestic violence is a taboo topic inside as well as outside the church, so Gina and Steve were definitely behind the curve. A rape victim, or someone disfigured by violent crime, suddenly puts a face onto the things comfortably kept on the other side of a wall. Occasionally such a face can be a guest speaker, with overhead slides and handouts, and the speaker then takes food and money over the wall to the recipients. A good time is had by all, and nobody has to take hand-wipes to photo-ops.

THE DEFENSE

Because of the need to be "pretty," the experts have constructed an eloquent defense of their practices.

• If we're pretty, we attract a lot of resources (oops, members and checkbooks) and can reach out with greater effectiveness to glorify God.
• If we're pretty, we can appeal to a wider range of worshipers at all levels of their Christian maturity. Substantive theology can be pursued in Sunday schools and Bible studies.
• Icons in our auditorium? Stained-glass depictions of Jesus eating with prostitutes and tax collectors? Heaven forbid that we would put these idols into the same place where we worship God in Spirit and Truth!
• A crucifix in our auditorium? This is crucifying Christ again!

This combined attitude borders on hypocrisy, and it is what Gina and Steve ran up against. It flies in the face of the Great Commission, and it sanitizes religion to remove all of the call in Matthew 25.

THE REMEDY

Fixing the problem is simple in theory, and it can be seen in some very happy exceptions. One of these is The Rock Church in San Diego. Under its Senior Pastor, Miles McPherson, The Rock Church runs several programs that meet people where they are, without judgment. Two such programs are "JC’s Girls," an exit program for women who honestly want to stop dancing in gentlemen’s clubs, and "Luv 'em Up," a ministry to those of different mental ability.

For resource, here are a few links provided by friends who reviewed the draft of this article.
http://openlibrary.org/b/OL8218313M/Showtime!_Worship_in_the_Age_of_Show_Business which tackles primarily the church as more eye candy than "heart candy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finley_Peter_Dunne who is credited with the quote "Comfort the afflicted, afflict the comfortable."
http://urban.pcpc.orghttp://urban.pcpc.org, a mega-church that has addressed this matter creatively. Instead of creating a ministry to "the least of these," they actively support several Christian ministries in the area. They have an urban ministries staff pastor to oversee this work and invite members to volunteer. It’s not a direct involvement, but this is a start.
http://www.theraveproject.org, which addresses these complex issues from a Christian perspective was born out of rejections and disappointments.

I received indirect references to others, but these are samples. It’s heartwarming to know that these do exist, and that we’re not pioneering the concept. We have a long way to go, but a start has been made out there. Hopefully, in your own journey you will accumulate some resources and share them as well.

We've all heard it said, "If the job of the captain was to protect the safety of the ship, he'd never leave port." I once heard this quote in a sermon, paradoxically by a senior pastor who would never do anything to put his physical plant at risk.

Contrast this to the fictional Prime Directive of the "Star Trek" series. We can learn a lot when a church puts this idea into practice. When a church places God's priorities over the protection of its assets and income, when the endowment principal is spent on outreach to the hurting of the world, that church finds itself depending on the faith it promotes among its membership. It must seek first the Kingdom of Heaven, and trust the Heavenly Father to provide for its own needs.

What a concept!

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

Second Lesson from Outer Space

Shoot the Moon!

. . . I will restore to you the years that the locust hath eaten, the cankerworm, and the caterpiller, and the palmerworm. . . .
Joel 2:25 (KJV)

The moon is approximately a quarter of a million miles from the earth. For centuries we have enjoyed it, worshiped it, built calendars around its appearance, planned launchings of ships around its gravitational pull, and promised it to those we love.

A relatively new treatment of the moon has been the novelty of going to it. Jules Verne wrote From the Earth to the Moon in 1865, a fantasy that showed his fascination with the idea of space travel and a visit to the orb. In the first volume of his Space Trilogy, Out of the Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis wrote of the moon’s orbit as a barrier preventing cosmic demon forces from assaulting the earth. So by the 1930s the science-fiction community had an established notion of the moon’s distance from the earth.

Early science-fiction authors also had a well-developed sense of the vast distances involved between bodies in our solar system and the other stars. This gave them plenty of material to teach the impact of small changes over those distances. One of the best-loved lessons was that of accuracy in our moon shots, given unfortunately before we ever attempted one. But here is how the lesson goes.

The moon is 240,000 miles away from the earth.
Since the moon orbits the earth, the radius of that orbit is 244,000 miles because the earth’s radius is 4,000 miles.
The circumference of the moon’s orbit is pi X 244,000 x 2 = 1,533,097 miles.
Therefore, one degree is 1,533,097 / 360 = 4,258 miles.

Accordingly, the lesson we must learn is that if you aim a rocket at the moon and you are off by just one degree, you will miss the moon by more than 4,000 miles!

Of course, we added a level of sophistication to our formula. Because the moon orbits the earth once every 28 days, we need to aim our rocket to a place where the moon will be when the rocket gets there. Since NASA would put a rocket into earth orbit for a while and then send it off to the moon from there, the mathematicians calculated a 4-day trip to the moon from earth. This means the moon is about 51 degrees away from the intersection point if everything goes well. Even so, the idea remains the same. If your aim is 50 or 52 degrees away, then your rocket zips right on by the moon and into deep space. (Well, maybe it goes somewhere else, but that’s another story.)

So goes the lesson. Miss your aim by a little, and you miss your target by a lot.

All right already! Enough!

This is a variation of the old saying “as the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” It’s one more of those lessons of child-rearing, education, and character formation that needs revisiting.

Let me first dismiss the lesson of the moon shot as pure hogwash! From an engineer’s perspective, nobody would be so foolish as to design a rocket like that. Consider this. You make those careful calculations, even down to the fractional degree, and you shoot your rocket up into earth orbit. Then you do your trans-lunar insertion (that’s what I think NASA used to call it) to break free of earth’s gravity and fly to the moon. Along the way something moves in the rocket, or some microscopic piece of space dust collides with the rocket, and suddenly it’s off course. Now what?

Thank goodness, while the mathematicians calculated the flight path, the engineers designed the rocket! They designed into the rocket a few extras, one of which included the ability to make a mid-course correction. From the ground NASA could fire one of these engines for a few seconds and return the rocket to its course. And of course, once we put humans into those rockets, the crew on board could fire those engines. Close to the earth the corrections are slight. Close to the moon they become more significant. But the ability to change course is absolutely necessary, since life between here and the moon is so unpredictable.

Now let’s apply this to our life lessons and beef up our teachings.

We look to our upbringing and take an assessment of where we are in our lives. We include the genetic and environmental components of our childhood and our adolescence. We consider the mistakes we’ve made, the penalties we’ve paid, the violence we’ve suffered, and the 8-ball we’re behind. From here the path to our destination looks bleak. We are going to miss our life goals, set by others or ourselves, by far more than a few thousand miles. We have wounds and brokenness to deal with, we have scars that keep us from coping with new relationships, we have memories of the hurts we’ve caused others. We’re off the chosen path.

This is where the guidance system is to kick in. Our first action is to repudiate any teaching that says our lives are on a fixed course. Our second action is to identify the resources available to us for mid-course corrections. And our third action is to fire up those engines and make those corrections so we can get off the destructive paths we think we can’t escape.

Nobody is going to say this is easy. Nobody is going to trivialize the pain that you have gone through in your life, or the heartache that accompanies the experiences you’ve had. Every pain is real. Every hurt is to be acknowledged and honored in your life. And nobody is going to say that you will accomplish total restoration in your life, though you may be surprised at what you can accomplish.

Nobody is going to say that the mid-course correction can be done alone. You may be able to do some or all of these actions without help, but you may be the exception. And if you have resources to draw on when you make changes, you can find this far more effective than when it’s a solo act.

The only part of this that you can do yourself (in fact, the only part of this that you must do yourself) is to decide to make the mid-course correction. After you have made that decision, the resources are there for you to draw on.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

First Lesson from Outer Space

It was called "Space Invaders." It was an electronic animated pinball game, incredibly sophisticated and totally absorbing! Today we would call it a "video game" where the name hadn't been invented when I first ran into it.

As soon as I put my quarter into the machine, the screen filled with several columns of hostile creatures dropping to earth with the worst of intentions. My job was to save the world by shooting them all with my ground-based defense system while moving left and right to dodge their bombs. If a bomb hit my missile launcher, or if one of them made it to the ground, the weapon disintegrated and had to be replaced by another. When the third launcher evaporated, the game was over -- unless we had enough points to get another launcher. We made points every time we shot one of those invading critters. When we shot all of them, a whole new screen of them would appear. The invaders on the new screen came down faster and were much meaner.

Video games became more sophisticated and more absorbing. Fortunately for me, there was no issue about kicking the habit and walking away from the things. Well, not quite. I had to spend a few more quarters obsessing over another game. My friends and I called this one "Spastic Spider." Its real name was "Centipede," and its title character descended on my ground-based shooter while I had to shoot all its little segments before it touched me. Every so often this eight-legged monster would come down in some random pattern and bounce around to wreak havoc, and it too had to be shot to pieces.

A lot of people were far better at these games than I was, and with their superior eye-hand coordination they always scored better than I did.

But with all these games there was one fact that finally made it into my analytical mind. Every time I played the game, I lost. Every time anybody played the game, the result was to lose.

Did we get 10,000 points?
Did we get 60,000 points?
Did we get a million points?

In all cases, the question was "How many points did I get before I lost?"

I could play once and see my score. I could play again and see a different score, higher or lower. I could play a third time and see a third score. But the final score was accompanied by those horrible words "GAME OVER" to taunt me with the reality that I LOST.

Look at the cycle.
Pay admission, enter the game.
Get beaten.
Leave the game.
Take a breather and think about what you did wrong.
While away from the game, realize you're out of the game and maybe it wasn't so bad after all. Remember what it was that attracted you to that game in the first place.
Come on, reach for that quarter. Get back into that game.

Do we have a parallel in any aspect of our life lessons here?

Pay admission by forsaking all others. Pledge to be together until death do you part.
Get beaten.
Leave the abusive situation.
While you're safely away from the abuser, reflect on the marriage and the relationship. What did you do wrong? What did you do to provoke the violence you were going through?
Look at the life you're living now. Are you really better off than when you were in the abusive environment? Was it really that bad? A few blows, some biting remarks, were they really something you couldn't handle? Wasn't that better than the loneliness you feel now? What was it that attracted you to the relationship in the first place? Didn't you love the person? Doesn't love conquer all? Shouldn't you be willing to give the relationship another chance?
Come on, reach for the car keys. Get back into the relationship.

This is one of the hardest things for me to write. Each question triggers a memory of someone who returned to some unhealthy abusive situation.

With the video game you get defeated and try again. You do better on the next try, drawing on your experience of the past encounters. You don't do as well on the next try, because some new hostile beast appears and trips you up. You lose.

With the abusive relationship it's the same thing, but the stakes are higher. We're filling cemeteries with those who can't break loose from the cycle of abuse.

If you're addicted to video games and you can't break away, there are sources of help. Please look for these sources and use them.

If you're addicted to the cycle of abuse, there are also sources of help. Please look for these sources and use them.^* Your life may depend on it.

Grace and Peace,
Charles+

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^* It is impractical to list resources, as an individual's needs are personal and unique.

The Curs(e) of Personal and Political Credit

“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”
Harry S Truman

“When will we get the sorting utility manual?” I asked of the group manager.

“Charles, we don’t have a sort utility manual because we are not going to sort our data. You need to use the indexing capabilities of our new database.”

Oh, how I wish he hadn’t sent the e-mail to the entire company. It was mildly embarrassing to me, but that was nothing compared to the embarrassment he brought onto himself. Someone who had his ear told him that I’d been working with huge volumes of data, so large that the database was incapable of handling even a small percentage would drag the database to its knees.

Two weeks later one of the project leaders dropped the sort utility manual onto my desk. I’m not proud of my next comment, asking “Whose idea did it have to become before it was acceptable?”

Computer programmers and engineers tend to be a non-conventional breed of creature in the workplace. These people tend to come up with phenomenal ideas on a daily basis, but this is coupled with weak resignation that hardly anything will be accepted when it comes from them. In geek-speak it goes like this:
The acceptability of an idea depends on its source far more than its content.

Several years ago I sent this concept to Scott Adams, creator of the "Dilbert" comic strip. He has used the idea on occasion, though I may have been only one of many who sent it to him.

Translated into real-world language, the principle works like this.

• On Monday Bob, a geek, will come up with an idea.
  Jim, Bob’s low-level manager, dismisses the idea out of hand. Management would never buy it. The idea is too much trouble to implement. It’s too expensive. It takes too long to recover the cost of putting the idea in place. It doesn’t fit with the philosophy of the company.
• On Tuesday Harold, the department head, calls a meeting of low-level managers and solicits ideas. Jim presents Bob’s idea, claiming credit for coming up with it, and Harold gives Bob the approval to put the idea in place.
• On Thursday Malcolm, the division vice president, calls a meeting of department heads and asks for status reports. Harold describes the idea he came up with, and the progress his department is already making in its implementation.
• On Friday Keith, the CEO, holds a press conference to report the state of the company and its innovative accomplishments. Keith describes his (actually, Bob's) idea, already in place for several days, and the way his hard work and creativity is paying off.
• The following Monday, as the process gets repeated, Malcolm passes Keith in the hallway. Keith smiles at Malcolm. Malcolm, now having a nice day because the CEO smiled at him, calls Harold into his office and compliments him on last week’s superb idea. Harold, courteously thanking Malcolm, leaves and visits Jim in the engineering area. Another attaboy goes to Jim, and Harold feels he has expressed adequate appreciation to Jim. Jim then goes to Bob and demands new suggestions for company improvement. As Bob smiles and promises to think of something, he sees his idea going in full force and is happy. He also has mild contempt for Jim, Harold, Malcolm, and Keith.

Because Jim took credit for Bob’s idea, and Harold took credit for Jim’s stolen idea, and Malcolm took credit for Harold’s stolen goods, and Keith made the buck stop with him, they’re all credit hounds. So in calling them “curs” my title is not a misprint.

Bob continues at the company for several years, content to see the results of his ideas making his workplace better. Just before he is laid off, however, Bob puts one final idea in place. He goes to the tropical fish store, purchases a fishbowl, and sets it onto the secretary’s desk.

Whenever Bob or any of the other geeks come up with an idea, they write it onto a piece of paper and put it into the fishbowl. Whenever a department head or a low-level manager needs a smile from a superior, it is a simple matter of pulling out a slip of paper from the fishbowl and implementing the idea written on it.

The geeks couldn’t care less. It’s affirmation enough to see the idea work. That’s their job satisfaction. They don’t have to compete; they don’t have to stab others in the back; they don’t have to get credit for their ideas. They just work until someone really smart takes the company’s reins and decides the geeks are expendable, at which time the techies are laid off and the smart managers empty the fishbowl prior to running the company into the ground.

I remember in 1968 when Alabama Governor George Wallace ran for President of the United States. The nation was mired in a conflict in Southeast Asia, among other things. I remember Wallace making a campaign speech, in which he addressed several things he planned to do for the nation if elected. After each point, especially that of ending the Viet Nam conflict, he would say “. . . and I could care less who gets the credit for it!” (Yes, of course he meant that he “could NOT care less.” But this is evolution of the English language, not illiteracy on the governor’s part.) Whatever else I thought of Governor Wallace, those words of his stuck with me ever since.

So what shall be our commitment as we address the social and political issues of our day?

Charles+

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The world is too full of examples like these. Allow me to share one more, as a footnote.

One night I rode in the police helicopter over Washington, DC. I noticed, looking down at a crime scene, that the tops of the police vehicles had luminous numbers for ID. Later I asked the helicopter pilot if this helps him to identify the units, and he said, "Funny you should mention that." Then he told me this story.

"A couple of years ago I suggested to the chief that the tops of the cars ought to have their IDs so that the helicopter pilot could call out on the bullhorn when a suspect runs past one of them. The chief said it was a lousy idea, too expensive and impractical. Then a few weeks later the Commissioner made a public statement about putting IDs on the tops of the cars. It was amazing what a great idea the chief thought it was!"

YOUR Old Familiar Hymns Aren't MY Old Familiar Hymns

I looked up the term “the old, familiar hymns” as a theme for this reflection. The exact match came in a surprising place, a teaser to an article in the Christianity Today Library.

I’ll get back to that after this.

On Tuesday morning I was in a conversation with Linda, a woman at one of my employment networking groups. I mentioned that while I’m a geek during the week, I’m also an Anglican Priest. She told me that her church, North Dallas Community Bible Fellowship in Richardson, was having a special presentation comparing old hymns to new ones. The subject of hymn sources, contexts, and intentions is one that holds my interest, so I made plans to attend the Wednesday evening presentation.

The first thing I noticed was that where we sat when we entered the sanctuary. We went to an empty row and took our seats in the middle of it. There was no strategic 50-yard-line advantage to this, as they had projectors and screens all over the ceiling and we’d be able to see everything relevant to whatever was going on. But Linda chose to sit in places other than the first two seats on the aisle.

I’ve always wondered why people will enter a church, find an empty row, and sit so close to the aisle that you can’t slide a razor blade between the person and the end of that pew! Then the next person comes to the row, already disgusted that there aren’t any aisle seats left, and grumbles under his breath because he had to climb over that inconsiderate person who sat next to the aisle. But where does that second person sit? Right next to the aisle-sitter, of course! Then the third person comes in, totally disgusted with those two rude men who sat so close to the aisle, and climbs over person one and person two to sit where? You guessed it: in position three!

OK, this is not isolated to the churches. Walk into a movie theater, and the same thing happens. I suppose the early arrivals want to dash off to get popcorn when the movie they paid $10 to see has a dull spot or a social message? Who can guess?

All right, back to church we go. It’s Wednesday evening at an African-American church. Linda and I are sitting in the middle of the row of seats, looking forward to a comparison and contrast of hymns or praise songs from different eras. So we have a presentation about three pairs, and I can only remember some by title or content. Here’s what we got:

“Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty!” as the traditional, set beside a more energized hymn with a comparable theme

“Majesty, Worship His Majesty!” as the traditional, set beside a more energized praise song with a comparable theme

Two reverent songs essentially expressing “There’s Something About That Name [Jesus]”

I enjoyed the presentation, but what struck me is that “Majesty” and “There’s Something About That Name” were considered “Traditional”! The first time I heard -- or heard about -- either of these was in the second half of the twentieth century! Just how young are these people, that these are “traditional” musical offerings? (Or just how old -- oh, forget it, ha ha!)

Now back to the Christianity Today Library teaser. The leaders of a congregation are arguing over the worship leader’s choice of music. One of them complains “If he'd just play some of the old familiar hymns once in a while. Those new tunes are so difficult to sing. When he gets going on that instrument, it seems like he's in another world.”

The argument took place in 1730.

Please take time to enjoy some of the old familiar hymns.

Charles+