I WILL NOT BE STANDING WITH THE NC GOP ON THIS ISSUE.

N.C. GOP leaders push to have marriage defined.

I consider myself a political conservative & have voted Republican 96% since I registered to vote in 1982. I have voted for a democrat when I considered that person to be the best qualified. I am also a Christian, a follower of Jesus and my faith is dear to me and the defining guide of my daily life. I am also a citizen of The U.S. and the great state of N.C.

Sometimes I find my faith and citizenship to be in conflict. I am a citizen of this nation and a follower of a Jewish Rabbi from the 1st century. When this conflict happens I must always look to love and care for my fellow secular citizens and neighbors just as much as those inside my faith. With that in mind I have chosen a more secular view on the gay/lesbian marriage debate.

I believe in LIBERTY, FREEDOM, PERSONAL RESPONSIBLITY, the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS and that the Declaration of Independence & The U.S. Constitution are the sacred documents of our nation. If your life or lifestyle does not cause me, my family or my neighbors harm I believe you should be left alone by the law and any moral code someone else has chosen. I will not use my rights or moral code to restrict your freedom if you will give me the same courtesy. If a married lesbian or gay couple becomes my neighbor they would in no way harm me or my moral code. They would also not harm my marriage or your marriage for that matter. As a matter of fact and biblical teaching, I truly beleive I should invite them over for dinner and love/protect them like any other neighbor. On this issue I beleive my NC GOP leaders are violating the very code of liberty and freedom they say they hold so dear. LIFE, LIBERY & THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS should also include my gay and lesbian neighbors.

Lenten Thoughts

I grew up in the South. I also grew up in the evangelical church of the South. We did not celebrate Lent. Thinking back, I am not sure I had a any real understanding of the Lenten season until I was in HS. In my thirties like many I began to ask simple questions about my faith, my world view and my future. In this time of searching I read authors I had never heard of, built friendships with people from different Christian traditions & more than once asked myself, "Why did we do/believe that?".

Along the way I discovered many of my Catholic brothers & sisters of the faith had just that...faith. Faith in the same God, the same scriptures and the same Christ. Their faith and worship was rich with images not only for the eyes, ears, but also the palate of taste. I had not only discovered new members of my spiritual family, I had also re-discovered my faith in a new and vital way.

Advent & Lent are now a part of my annual worship experience and each year The Spirit teaches me something new and beautiful about following this Jesus the Christ.

I am excited about what I shall discover over the next 46 days.

PS Just so you will know, here is what I am fasting from the next 46 days.

1. I will be eating vegetarian

2. I will be consuming no desserts, sweets, candy and will avoid white sugar.

3. I will limit myself to 3 pints of local brew per week.

4. My Facebook statuses will be limited to the things I HEAR from God's presence as I practice LISTENING.

Jesus is for Losers

Brant Hansen writes one of the best posts of 2008.

David Hayward has great thoughts on feelings and faith.

Take 45 minutes and watch this great "sermon" by Reggie McNeal



Read "The Rescue of MoonBase Asimov" and the follow-up post by Dan Edelen, both worth the read and the brain energy expended as you ponder.

What do you think?

There is a 15-30 second commercial before the report.

Watch dogs at the door of peace...

Bill Kinnon always has an eye for a great article. This one is scary...

He's just so darn cute! Like a lynx.

I did NOT see the 60 Minutes piece last night, here is a link to the videos. My family and I were enjoying the N.C. State Fair and our share of fair food fare. Mr. Osteen has been a topic of conversation here in the Chalmers' home over the last few days. So, I would like to clear the air and make one statement.

Joel Osteen is NOT preaching the story of Jesus his father John Osteen preached. Joel Osteen is NOT preaching the truth of the good news of Jesus contained in the Bible. Period. There I said it.


Michael Spencer did watch the show. Here are his thoughts.
Just so you will know, Michael and I do not agree on some things. On this topic, I find myself in his camp, on his side, waving his banner.

Here are the thoughts of a real live, theologian and scholar.

Words of Wisdom in Chaos

7 Loving Challenges

As I have mentioned before, I am really not wanting a fight. If I can love my wife, my daughters, my family and community, I will have a full day. Oh God, Please help!

Sweet Lies

As a person of faith, I want everyone to have an opportunity to know the God and Jesus of the bible. Yes, the God/Jesus of the bible, not the caricatures created by religion or denomination.

As a parent, I want my children to know the God/Jesus of the bible. I am not arrogant enough to think my girls should know my God/Jesus, because I want more for them than the God/Jesus I have lived. I'm sure I have a caricature of God/Jesus that I have created in my mind and heart through the years. I know I exaggerate certain parts of God's/Jesus' character that I need or am dependent on, while I diminish the parts that make me uncomfortable.
Some of you are saying, "But Jimmy, you are to be the spiritual leader, the spiritual guide for your family and church."
I know, but I must admit, "If you are going to follow me, you had better stay back a few feet, I may step off a cliff!"

My wife and I have prayed for our girls, from conception until now. We have pointed them toward God/Jesus, from conception until now. We have lived a stumbling-bumbling life of faith for them, from conception until now. We have taught them the greatness of the bible, from conception until now. We have taken advantage of each and every "teachable moment", from conception until now. All of these we will continue until we exit this planet.

We need help! We cannot, nor should not, be the only reflection of faith our daughters see and experience. They need to see the faith of their grandparents, aunts and uncles, community members and our spiritual family(church) and members of other spiritual families.

All that long introduction to say this: the past few years our daughters have attended World View Academy each summer. The leaders are great men, but are not perfect. They have caricatures of God/Jesus just like me. Still, they cling to God/Jesus and the bible with a passion.
I can and will highly recommend this organization as another tool for "teachable moments" of faith. Our girls learned lots this year and this past Sunday, they lead our conversation at "church". The springboard for there "sharing" was a lecture they heard by Brandon Booth.
It was titled, "Seven Sweet Lies You Already Believe". I have been thinking on this conversation since Sunday and want to spend a few posts discussing what my daughters learned and in turn, taught me. So, come back and read about the sweet lies.

Follow-up: My daughter Katy posted this morning about "her" faith and "her" walk.

I just gotta shout....Aaamaaaeeennn!!

The InternetMonk rants.

"Shake that bush one more time!!"

Listen to the Sweetness and the Samson

Len Sweet is one of my favorite communicators. He is fast with a retort as well as a metaphor. He has challenged the church for years to look into the past and the future at the same time and pull them both together into the now. He does not write a blog, but he does podcast. About once a week he sits down and records his thoughts. I look forward to his words each week. I am also honored that he considers me his friend. Take a listen and enjoy.

Will and Lisa Samson are a great couple with a great family. Lisa is an author, Will is a leader in the Emergent Village. They are attempting to live out biblical justice in an unjust world. They have written a book, "Justice in the Burbs". It is available the first of August. Here is their promo video. Take a look and buy the book.

Old folks, old memories

The past few weeks I have been thinking about stories. Not just any stories, but stories that relate God's grace and mercy. I was purposefully attempting to remember stories that illustrated "the gospel". Stories that would illustrate the good news of Jesus even if Jesus and the "plan of salvation" were never mentioned in the telling.

I remembered one that fulfilled all the requirements I had set in my head for these stories.

• The story had to be a first hand account. That would limit me to people I knew or could communicate with personally.
• If the story could be put on film and was to have no audio tract, the visual pictures would still scream of Jesus and grace.
• The story had to involve "ordinary", "every day", "every-man" people. Not paid or trained church "professionals".

I communicated with a person directly involved in this story of grace. She is still alive and doing very well at 86. As a matter of fact, she is still writing stories of God's grace and mercy by the life she lives. Her energy and passion for serving people are amazing, but you cannot meet her yet. Monday she told me the story. For over one hour she told me stories, showed me pictures, read me scripture, newspaper articles, artifacts from a life and story that smells of "the gospel" and God's grace. In the telling she had to mention people I have known my whole life. Some have died, others have moved from the area, others are living life and Jesus daily, a few have moved into a retirement community in Pittsboro, N.C.
The story teller was quite blunt, she asked, "What are you doing on Wednesday?"
I had only one reply..."I have an open day on Wednesday."
I then called my mother Joyce, she knows the story and was involved in many ways.
"Mom, is your calendar open on Wednesday?"
"Yes", was her simple reply.
"Will you go with me and the story teller to the Pittsboro Christian Village to visit Mel Pierce?", I asked.
"Yes, son, you need to see Mel."

It was set. I would drive my 76 year old mother, the 86 year old story teller and her 93 year old house guest to Pittsboro to visit Mel Pierce and other christian old folks.

Oh yeah, you guys don't know Mel Pierce. Mel was a teacher. She was my high school chorus teacher and director of a touring choir I was part of in those years. She was also a wife to Wilber and mother to Scott, Polly and Penny. The entire family attended the church I did as a young man. They always wore the most beautiful hats to church each week. Mel, Polly and Penny wore the hats, not Wilber and Scott. Mel and Wilber sang duets on a regular basis. They could sing well. They sang "old school" church songs. I can still see them in my mind singing together.
Sometimes, Scott and Penny would join them and the duet would become a quartet. Wilber is in heaven now. Mel and my mother are dear friends of forty years. The story teller is also close to Mel.

Mel was and is a classic southern lady, even though she grew up around Chicago, Il. She enjoys beautiful things, good books and good friends, she also loves Jesus very much. She had a profound impact on my life as a young man. So did the story teller, and my mother, and my father and the list becomes endless.

We left Durham around 9am last Wednesday morning headed for Pittsboro. My mother, the story teller and Louise. The ride was fun, even though my mother and the story teller, we will refer to her as "ST" from here on out, disagreed on how we should drive to Pittsboro. I tried to drive "my" way...that lasted about 30 seconds.

Pittsboro Christian Village is a unique place. They have a few private homes, probably a dozen or so apartments and than a top notch care facility. Many older believers have spent their last years here with a good staff and excellent care. ST and my mother lead the way from room to room; speaking to each resident with love and genuine interest. You could tell they come often as staff and residents were familiar with the both of them. They were also happy to see me, a few were happy to see anyone. Many of the names and faces were people from my childhood. My mother and I made a visit or two to total strangers. I am always amazed how a five minute visit and a few words can seem to bring great joy to seniors.

Mother moved me on to Mel's room. Mel was there, sitting in her chair. She had the same aire of quality and dignity I had always known, just bent a wee-bit more. She greeted me with laughs and many hugs. We had a wonderful conversation for almost an hour. She cannot walk at this time without assistance, so a wheelchair is her vehicle up and down the halls. She loves the village and her life as it is. I heard no discouragement, no pity for herself. She was filled with thankfulness and praise for God and Jesus. It was good to spend time with her and I hope and pray God's grace and mercy will follow her up and down the halls as she wheels around.

I then went to visit Minnie Chandler. She is in her nineties and still painting beautiful pictures regularly. She and her husband Russell attended my 1st birthday party, so I have known Minnie my whole life. She and Russell were "old" when I was little, or it seemed that way to me.

I was invited to eat lunch in the dining hall. The meals are served family style at tables of five or six folks each. I spent lunch with five wonderful ladies, including a retired missionary/nurse who served in the Congo, Africa. the conversation was good and the food was..O.K.

After lunch many went to quarters for after noon naps. Mel P, Minnie C, ST, my mother, the 93 year old house guest and about six or seven other ladies went to the sitting room. They began to share stories of my childhood. They spoke of the communities of faith from my childhood, the pastors and leaders, camps and VBSes and songs. They wanted to sing!
we did, songs of the faith from the past. Songs with great theological depth and songs with shallow christian sentiment, but all, full of faith and trust and assurance that life does not end on this planet. For ALL of them, life today and tomorrow are dependent on a relationship with a person. A person that is real , alive and living with and in them. Dare I say it, that person is Jesus Christ! This group of ladies were an example to me of lives lived with Christ.

I Tim 4:12

"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity."

For about an hour we sat and chatted and sang. There were laughs, a few tears and great faith. One by one, they walked, rolled and hobbled away. I rolled Mel back to her room and helped her get back into her chair. I was humbled!! I experienced much joy, much faith, much grace, much of Jesus while there.

My three passengers and myself returned to the Triangle via Chapel Hill and ended the day at ST's home. A pot of coffee was brewed and she began to tell the story again. This time I had my laptop, a good microphone and Audacity. I recorded the story for over one hour.I returned to the story tellers home again on Friday and recorded for over two hours. I now have over three hours of raw audio of a BIG story of God's grace, God's mercy and God's people. I also have the memories of a day at a Christian seniors village. I am attempting to edit the recordings, I am also attempting to be changed by my day with a bunch of old people and some old memories.

Christian?

Do you really wanta call yourself a Christian in this culture?

MY sermon for the day....

Even though I preach almost every Sunday, I need to be preached to. I listen to podcasts, read blogs, and read others sermons. Fr. Schmitmeyer is one of my "web-pastors", here is his sermon for today. It makes me want to visit his parish.

Top 50

The 50 Most Influential Christians in America.

Wrestling Match

Thanks to Will Samson, here is an artcile we should read. After we read, we should pray. I know what scripture has to say regarding this issue...I want to know how we should respond,in light of the GOOD NEWS of Jesus.