christmas in the white house

the first lady recently fulfilled one of her traditional roles of hosting a televised tour of the white house christmas decorations. if hilary clinton is elected president will former president bill clinton be in charge of the white house decorations and will he appear on the annual televised tour? I look forward to that!

as much as i like barak obama, i've been very disappointed in his attacks on hiliary clinton, then equally disappointed in the way he responded when she attacked him; as if he didn't start the whole thing.

i'm amazed that republicans are already attacking senator clinton; they must assume she is the candidate to beat.

prediction: if hilary is elected president, and the economy rebounds, she will serve two terms. if barak is her vp, then he will be the first vp in my lifetime to serve two terms as president. (president nixon was elected twice but did not complete two terms in office) if someone else is her vp, and many of the other democrats would make great vp's, i.e. biden, richardson, etc, then barak might still be the president who follows her.

other predictions: if romney is elected, he will do well with domestic issues but not foreign. if giuliani is elected he will be a so-so president. if mccain is elected he will do the best job of taking care of iraq, but not in a way anyone expects. he is also the only republican who will have democrats in his administration. clinton is the only democrat who will have republicans in hers.

so what does any of this have to do with a blog that is at its basis a discussion of spiritual issues. a lot.
all of the top presidential candidates have faith backgrounds. across the two parties you will find a cross section of christianity; methodist, catholic, mormon, episcopal, baptist. you can find out more on beliefnet.com
the past simplistic claims of the religious right that only republicans are believers no longer holds up. i'm glad. i want the candidates to be confronted by faith. i want them to think about how their faith will impact their responsibilities as president. i hope all of them call up jimmy carter and ask for his imput. it's not the president's job to promote christianity, that's my job and yours, but i don't want a president who leaves his or her faith outside the door of the oval office.

destruction is easy

it took less than 10 minutes.
my neighbor's house was destroyed this morning
intentionally.
they are going to build a new house on the property.
we live at a lake surrounded by a combination of old cottages
and new homes.
all the new homes are sitting on sites of previous cottages.
our neighbors inherited the cottage from her family.
it was orginally built 50 years ago from lumber recycled from a hen house.
over the years the family added rooms with very little thought to design.
now a new house will be in place assembled from all new materials
following an archetect's plans.
the new house is scheduled to be completed may 19.
it will take six months to complete the project.
the old house was destroyed in ten minutes.
we stood, cameras in hand and watched the bull dozer take it down.
an hour later and half of it is loaded into the back of an open semi trailer
to be dumped.
by days end the lot will be cleared and next week the foundation will be dug and in place.
a real life example of the contrast between building up and tearing down.
it's easy to tear down.
in my career i've supervised a lot of people.
my experience as a supervisor started my senior year in high school when my
boss made me his relief manager at the fast food restaurant.
I picked my own team to work with me every saturday and sunday so he could
have some time off.
i found it easy to criticize one of my crew who was not doing a good job.
it was much harder to help the person correct his or her mistakes.
tearing down is always easier than building up.
the job of the church is to build up.
too often we spend a lot of time tearing down.
destruction takes ten minutes
building takes six months

more bible

a recent industry poll indicates that 55% of people in churches
want to understand the bible in greater depth

over half
of the people
already in church
have a desire
to know
the bible
better

this news excites me
this news disturbes me

it excites me because i am a bible teacher
i love to teach the bible
all levels of the bible
last year i taught two survey courses in the bible
one old testament
one new testament
the classes were exciting
people were reading portions of the bible they had never read before
yes, we covered the minor prophets
yes, we covered numbers
yes, we covered revelation
yes, it was fun, it was exciting, it was energizing to me the teacher

but the news disturbes me
does it mean that my compatriots (other bible teachers) and i are not doing a good enough job
the bible is the biggest selling book in this country and in the world
it outsells everything
yes, even after all this time, more bibles were sold last year than any other book
more copies of the bible were purchased than copies of the newest harry potter book or newest grisham novel or lastest self-help tome
i know this because "wife of fish" is now in the bible selling business, at least the editing portion
the bible is still an interesting book to many, many, many people

there is an old, very old, country song adamsfishyodor learned once upon a time while spending a weekend in athens, ohio
the song is titled, "dust on the bible"

dust on the bible
dust on the holy word
the teachings of the prophets
and the sayings of our lord
so get the dust off your bible
and redeem your poor soul

during the early years of his ministry
billy graham gave out specially made bibles with red Moroccan leather covers
the color was chosen because he believed the bible needed to be "read"
perhaps a bit corny, but it was the early '50's

even after 30 years of teaching the bible
there is still work to do

twenty-one

little fish turned twenty-one.
big stuff.
screaming jon visited to help celebrate.
almost daughter loren also came. (she's been little fish's room mate for three years so she qualifies as an "almost" daughter.)
they are the next generation of christian leaders.
screaming jon is also a pk.
neither he nor little fish are planning to become pastors even though they started their own church last fall.
any church who has them involved (almost daughter too) will be blessed to have them.
i suspect they will shy away from churches that are too slick or try too hard to be relevant or make big claims to be "unique."
i suspect they will want someplace with good music, good teaching, and good friends.

music part three

radio
where would music be without radio?
i remember summer days listening to top ten am radio
("it's my party and i'll cry if i want to . . . hey, hey paula . . . dream, dream, dream, dream, dream . . . little gto . . .)

but there have been times
and still are
when radio music is stale, very stale

my junior year of high school, an evening dj started playing an expanded play list that included "underground music"
he introduced me to groups like vanilla fudge and eclectic artists like arlo guthrie

unfortunately, even though i loved it, someone else didn't and the dj was gone

a few months later,
late one summer evening, listening to a new radio my father bought that had fm as well as am and suddenly "the who" was coming out of the radio,
"i can see for miles"
at song's conclusion the dj said, "that was side two of the who"
i thought, "what radio station plays a whole side of an album?"
then the dj introduced the pusher
i was amazed
those songs were not heard on the radio
i was hooked on an afternoon show called "jelly pudding"
every day during my senior year of high school i listened to "jelly pudding" and heard frank zappa, the dead, jefferson airplane, and many other artists that received little or no airtime on am radio.
it expanded my musical horizons
and expanded my record collection
on a radio station that the rest of the day played classical and jazz
a little known cincinnati radio station called webn
within a few years it was a 24 hour rock station
today it is a pretty stale station that broadcasts
the same repetitious playlist that hundreds of other stations duplicate

when i listen to radio today, while back in cincinnati
i am drawn to wnku, especially in the mornings
with michael grayson
good guy, old friend
plays a great, eclectic assortment of music
give it a listen, 89.7
if you do not live in the cincy area, you can listen on their web site
www.wnku.org

so what about "christian" radio?
that's a different story
for a different entry
stay tuned . . .

christianity . . .

christianity . . .
tormenting atheists since 30 ad

(the preceeding thought from son of fish)

invisible god

some people only know god through the rules they keep
and the activties they avoid
this is an invisible god

bible shopping

The Catholic Bible
The New American Bible
The Word on the Street
The Bug Collection Bible
Baby's First Bible
Billy Graham Training Center Bible
Amplified Bible (but is there an unplugged version?)
Everyday Life Bible
True Identity (for women)
Grace
The Message Remix
Archaeological Study Bible
The Power of a Praying Woman Bible
The Holy Bible
Illustrated Study Bible
The Duct Tape Bible
Apostle's Bible (is it just the old testament?)
New Jerusalem Bible
Couple's Bible
Women of Color Study Bible
Becoming (for women)
Quest
Bible in 90 days
Sanctuary (for women)
Seek/Find: The Bible for All People
The Bible Experience
Extreme Teen Bible
The Maximized Living Bible
Friendship First

some of these, i find incredibly offensive. some of them are laughable. but the point is that my cart is still empty.

good music prt. 2

good music is listening and performing
the previous blog described how i started performing music
listening is equally important
sometimes more important
listening involves connecting with good music
a matter of personal taste
there has always been music i do not like, with exceeptions
most soul music from my teen years i did not like
the exceptions - marvin gaye, wilson pickett, some temptations
disco could not fade soon enough
but donna summer was a great talent
disco ruined the bee gees
heavy metal has mostly excaped me, though led zepplin I & II; amazing
today i avoid rap, though a few months ago i saw a rap artist on letterman who was really good, very intelligent lyrics, very melodious, i don't remember his name
what do i like or have learned to like
beatles, beach boys, bruce cockburn, stevie ray vaughn, wagner, italian opera, early chicago
CD's i've recently listened to over and over:
beatles on capital, vol 1 & 2
love, beatles
tom petty, highway companion
rod stewart, great american songbook, vols 1-4
michael mcdonald, motown vol 1 & 2 (especially 2)
stevie ray vaughan's first three recordings (texas flood, couldn't stand the weather, soul to soul)
ric blair, fields of freedom (check out his web site and order his cd's: www.ricblair.com)

if no one listens, is it still music?

little fish has eclectic taste in music, very indie

good music, pt. 1

good music has always been important
very young i ran around the house singing elvis, "you ain't nothing but a hound dog" and everly brothers "dream, dream, dream, dream, dream"
uncle elwood was my first musical influence;
sitting on the floor in the middle of his living room surrounded by his friends;
guitars, mandolins, fiddles;
country, gospel, rockabilly
a blur of chords, melodies, harmonies
i wanted to do that
my first guitar, the vagabond, came from my grandmother's cousin who played in a square dance band.
my grandmother took me to see them
during their break i talked to her about her guitar and how she played it
it was the only time i remember seeing her
the next christmas her guitar was leaning against the couch in the living room with my name on a gift tag
she bought a new guitar and decided i needed her old one
it leaned against the wall in a corner of my bedroom until february 9, 1964 - the day the world of music changed for me
i had heard beatle singles on the radio, "I want to hold your hand" and "love me do" and "my bonnie" (sort of a beatle song) but did not grasp the whole package until ed sullivan said, "ladies and gentlemen, from liverpool, england, the beatles!"
i was speechless, mesmerized, inspired
i wanted to do that
i got out the guitar
a mystery of strings, wood, ivory
fortunately 20 or so friends had the same dream
we taught each other
uncle elwood taugh me a couple of chords
house of the rising son - the most chords, if you can learn that one, you know almost every chord you need for rock & roll
louie, louie; satisfaction; peter gun; twilight zone theme; walk don't run - guitar primers
it was frustrating but i needed to learn
pain in finger tips, bloody callouses, we played for hours, we sounded horrible
thank God for parents who endured
formative musical years
later came music for Jesus
then it was just music because

how wrong can you be?

An old, often repeated joke, though the names tend to change according to setting:
A new arrival to heaven is being escorted down a long hallway with doors on each side bearing the names of various denominations. He passes the Lutheran door, the Methodist door, and the Presbyterian door but upon reaching the (exclusive denomination of your choice) door, his escort says, “Be quiet near this door, they think they’re the only ones here.”
I have heard the joke told about various Christian denominations and systems.

Christians pass judgment on other’s qualifications for heaven. It might be based upon the amount of water used in baptism or the ability to speak an unknown tongue or ones voting preference.

Last year an acquaintance was condemned near and far because of his convictions as a universalist; he believes everyone will be in heaven. As I read the various denouncements of him, I wondered, if his critics expected to see him in heaven? Most Christians, be they evangelical, fundamental, liberal, or some other brand, basically believe that salvation is a free gift of God based upon acceptance of Jesus. A few put some additional pieces to this acceptance like baptism or speaking in tongues or voting republican. (Joking, I haven’t actually met anyone who will admit to placing adherence to the Republican party as a prerequisite for salvation, regardless of their practice.)
So the question is:
How wrong can you be?
How wrong can you be and still get in?
Will the universalist be there?
What about a homosexual friend who’s not living a celibate life?
What about a grad school T.A. who described himself as a “dyed in the wool evolutionist?” (He was a research scientist, volunteered as a T.A. in Hebrew for the fun of it because he loved languages.)

The universalist, the homosexual and the evolutionist are all Christians. Do their convictions disqualify them for heaven?

My conviction: everyone has something wrong. We are human, we are broken and “we see in a mirror, dimly.” In heaven we will see clearly.

Salvation is a free gift and the level of understanding necessary to experience and possess salvation is very small. Little Fish accepted Jesus at age three. She was not as stubborn as her father who was not able to accomplish that simple task until eighteen.

Do I believe there will be universalists in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be homosexuals in heaven? Yes.
Do I believe there will be evolutionists in heaven? Yes.
Why?
Because I think God is up to the task.

Do I believe that there will be people who do not make it into heaven? Yes. I think the Bible is very clear on this. I’m very glad, though, that the task of condemning people to hell is not in my job description. That responsibility resides with one who has far greater qualifications for the job.

futility of the red bird

a red bird, aka cardinal lives on our property.
every day, all day long it flies into our windows.
the house has three floors.
it is no respecter of floors.
if i'm on the bottom floor it flies into the glass door for the deck.
if i'm on the second floor, the living room, it flies into the large windows.
if i'm on the third floor, it flies into the bedroom windows.
in my wife's office, third floor, it flies into her window.
as i write this it is flying into the window in front of me.
if we go on the deck it flies away.
the previous owners warned us about the bird.
they believed it was a deceased father reincarnated.
since i do not believe in reincarnation, i believe it is a bird with nothing better to do than fly into the windows.
we researched, how long do these birds live?
sometimes 15 years.
that's a long time to fly into windows.
one day the bird was sitting on a tree branch in front of the house chirping at me.
it's the most i've heard the bird say.
the bird's activities are a waste of time.
are human beings any better?
at times is the church any better?
i was at a church that had the same easter service every year to "bring people to christ."
good intentions. in five years, two people became christians on easter.
i'm glad they did.
but all the other years . . . no one.
were we flying into windows?

new stuff

people have asked, "what are you doing next?"
the current, correct answer is, "not sure."
we, meaning the family, have talked and brainstormed and are open to many possibilities.
i've been in touch with some churches.
I've looked into doctorate programs.
i have a couple of start up ideas.
mostly i'm not sure.
many of the ideas are good.
right now i'm trying to give myself a little time to adjust.
it's different to sit here, look out at the trees, birds, and deer in our backyard and know that i have no appointments, no pressing issues to resolve, no phone calls to return, (except to one friend who has called twice, sorry about that mike), and very few emails.
it's refreshing, except for those moments when i wonder , , ,
"what are you doing next?"
and i have to answer, "not sure."

friends

experiences of recent months have included reconnecting with old friends.
some i've not seen, spoken to, etc in many, many years. didn't know so many years could pass with no loss of friendship. friends are good. friends are important. friends are eternal.
never know when a new person becomes a friend.
one i met while sitting in the library in undergraduate school.
we sang together, traveled together, lived together, experienced anger, joy, disappointment, disagreements, unity and bonds of love. we were in each others weddings and each others lives. and all these years later we are still friends.
next week little fish shows up in florida with a group of friends. it will be her last spring break at our florida house because we are selling. one of her friends is her room mate since freshman year. she has become a second daughter to us and is an important friend to little fish. i hope they are in each others weddings (not too soon) and rejoice with each other thru the years with the arrival of children, job changes, and the movement and changes of life.