It happened again yesterday. Barb and I were on the Stemmons Freeway heading into the city. As is the pattern, I heard the high pitched whine before I saw him. I glanced in my rear view mirror and caught a glimpse of a lime green sports bike. He went by me on the right, swung across the front of my car pulled into the center far left lane. I was driving at 60 MPH, but he had to have doing at least 100 MPH. I am just glad he is not my kid, I thought to myself.
The reality is he is someone's son, grandson, or nephew. I've grown accustom to them. You can't get on a highway in the DFW area without encountering at least one sports biker. The worst experience is to encounter a pack of them at night. I recall one evening in particular. We were on Loop 12, coming back from a Ranger game. There must have been fifty of them riding single file. I am sure they were traveling at twice the speed limit as they snaked around cars. All of a sudden there were brake lights ahead. I slowed down enough to view a twisted bike laying by the side of the road. His name appeared in the paper two days later as a statistic. I wonder if any of his biker friends showed up at the funeral. I don't recall seeing any of them having stopped to check on him that evening.
I have thought about the sports bikers. I have even prayed for their safety. I also have a theory about them. In their mind there is no difference between fantasy and reality. Allow me to explain: If you have ever been around a video arcade you have seen the game where the player sits on a motorcycle. I tried it once, but my reflexes are not quick enough. In the game you are on the bike traveling at over 100 MPH weaving around curves, dodging pretend obstacles, or slower moving vehicles that appear in your path. If you crash, you just hit reset.
I have tried my hand at other video games. I still enjoy my NASCAR game that allows me to drive at high speeds around the various tracks. In the game I can compete against my heroes, and yes sometimes I win. I also got to drive one of those 3,400 lb. beasts for real, thanks to a Christmas gift from our kids. Let me tell you, I was a lot more cautious than I am on the computer. There is a big difference between driving 150 MPH on a real track and that same speed and faster in a computer game.
I think we have a responsibility to help kids see the difference. That involves talking to them about their gaming experience and even limiting how much time they do it. It also means talking to them about our concern for their safety and the importance of making good choices. Remember, there is no reset button in the game of life.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Monday, August 26, 2013
Why I am Glad to be Living at This Time
I sent out my monthly email newsletter this morning. With the touch of a button, I had scheduled the newsletter to go to almost five hundred individuals at exactly 7:00 AM central time. Within minutes I was able to log on and check to see who had opened the email. I did the writing and layout myself. I even added pictures and graphics with a click of my mouse. I had my wife do the editing and proofreading. The marketing service I use allows me to maintain a mailing list and monitors who is reading my publication and what links they follow. They even offer ideas on how to reach a broader audience more effectively.
I couldn't help but think about how different my world is than thirty years ago. It was about that time that I, along with good friends Larry Brandt and Jack Giles, launched Parish Ministries Resources. We were directors of Christian education (DCE's) and our goal was to produce resource materials that our peers would find useful. Our first product was a quarterly newsletter, Insights into Christian Education. In addition to monitoring trends in Christian education and offering tips for professional educators, we reviewed products. What Consumer Reports Magazine did on automobiles and refrigerators, we did for Sunday school, vacation Bible school and adult education materials. We got a lot of positive feedback. One major Christian bookstore in Chicago even asked us to do their annual VBS workshop. They liked the fact that we didn't try to sell a product, but rather helped leaders identify the curriculum that was most suitable for their needs.
Jack, Larry and I were able to keep that ministry going for eight years, even though it never reached the point where we broke even. It continued to cost us money out of our own pockets just to keep things afloat. In the end we sold the publishing rights to LEA-TEAM (now the Parish Education Network of the Lutheran Education Association) for $1.00. Overhead expenses did us in. Most of our money went into typesetting, printing and postage. It probably cost us about a thousand dollars to do each issue of Insights into Christian Education. The monthly expense to do my Passing the Torch newsletter is about 2% of that.
We all should feel blessed to live in such a time as this. The resources and the network we need to pass on the traditions of faith and values to our children, and grandchildren are readily available. We have no excuse. God has provided us with all the tools we need and he has blessed us with an awesome, life-changing message to share. Pass the Torch!
I couldn't help but think about how different my world is than thirty years ago. It was about that time that I, along with good friends Larry Brandt and Jack Giles, launched Parish Ministries Resources. We were directors of Christian education (DCE's) and our goal was to produce resource materials that our peers would find useful. Our first product was a quarterly newsletter, Insights into Christian Education. In addition to monitoring trends in Christian education and offering tips for professional educators, we reviewed products. What Consumer Reports Magazine did on automobiles and refrigerators, we did for Sunday school, vacation Bible school and adult education materials. We got a lot of positive feedback. One major Christian bookstore in Chicago even asked us to do their annual VBS workshop. They liked the fact that we didn't try to sell a product, but rather helped leaders identify the curriculum that was most suitable for their needs.
Jack, Larry and I were able to keep that ministry going for eight years, even though it never reached the point where we broke even. It continued to cost us money out of our own pockets just to keep things afloat. In the end we sold the publishing rights to LEA-TEAM (now the Parish Education Network of the Lutheran Education Association) for $1.00. Overhead expenses did us in. Most of our money went into typesetting, printing and postage. It probably cost us about a thousand dollars to do each issue of Insights into Christian Education. The monthly expense to do my Passing the Torch newsletter is about 2% of that.
We all should feel blessed to live in such a time as this. The resources and the network we need to pass on the traditions of faith and values to our children, and grandchildren are readily available. We have no excuse. God has provided us with all the tools we need and he has blessed us with an awesome, life-changing message to share. Pass the Torch!
Monday, August 19, 2013
Why Belief in Biblical Creation is Important
A few years back I heard a presentation by creationist, Dr. Ken Hamm. He happened to be doing a keynote address at a conference where I was also on the program. One of the things that Dr. Hamm said has stayed with me. More children begin to question their Christian faith during high school than during college. That flies in the face of what I had always believed. During adolescence teens are still living at home under the influence of their parents. Many teens attend worship regularly and are involved in the youth ministry at their church. How can it be that the young people we see in church every Sunday might be actually slipping away when it comes to a relationship with their Lord and Savior?
I thought of Dr. Hamm's words recently when I read the latest statistic when it comes to the belief in a Biblical creation. The report, released by the Federal Government, indicates that there has been an 8% increase in the last ten years in the number of people who believe humans evolved from another form of life. While only 21% of Americans believe in evolution per se, we are a divided nation when it comes to whether both creationism and evolutional theory should be taught in our schools, 40% support it and 32% are opposed.
In Dr. Hamm's mind, and I happen to agree, the issue of evolution is often litmus test when it comes to a young person's faith. For many young people it is the first time they are taught something that runs counter to what they have teen taught in church and Sunday school. That, coupled with the opinion among many young people that the church is hypocritical, leads them to at the least view church as irrelevant. At the worst, they see Christianity as nothing but "smoke and mirrors."
How do we respond to this disturbing trend? It begins when we equip children and teens to respond to the tough questions. How can they defend their faith when it is called into question? Secondly we need to make the church a place where questions about the tough issues can be asked, without being labeled a heretic.
Biblical creation is a doctrine that is worth defending. While it has nothing to do with our salvation, that can only come through belief in Jesus Christ, it is an important component. When it comes to God's Word I don't believe we can pick and choose when it comes to what is truth and what is fiction.
I thought of Dr. Hamm's words recently when I read the latest statistic when it comes to the belief in a Biblical creation. The report, released by the Federal Government, indicates that there has been an 8% increase in the last ten years in the number of people who believe humans evolved from another form of life. While only 21% of Americans believe in evolution per se, we are a divided nation when it comes to whether both creationism and evolutional theory should be taught in our schools, 40% support it and 32% are opposed.
In Dr. Hamm's mind, and I happen to agree, the issue of evolution is often litmus test when it comes to a young person's faith. For many young people it is the first time they are taught something that runs counter to what they have teen taught in church and Sunday school. That, coupled with the opinion among many young people that the church is hypocritical, leads them to at the least view church as irrelevant. At the worst, they see Christianity as nothing but "smoke and mirrors."
How do we respond to this disturbing trend? It begins when we equip children and teens to respond to the tough questions. How can they defend their faith when it is called into question? Secondly we need to make the church a place where questions about the tough issues can be asked, without being labeled a heretic.
Biblical creation is a doctrine that is worth defending. While it has nothing to do with our salvation, that can only come through belief in Jesus Christ, it is an important component. When it comes to God's Word I don't believe we can pick and choose when it comes to what is truth and what is fiction.
Monday, August 12, 2013
Kids Have it Easy These Days, and So Do We
While sometime television commercials can be annoying, they do provide us with insights into our culture and way of life. One example is the series promoting ATT U-verse. The commercials feature kids reflecting on the "easy lifestyle" of their younger siblings. When reflecting on the ability to move the television around without a connection, they remark, "Kids have it easy these days." I see it as a comment on both how quickly our world is changing and how blessed we are to live at this time. We don't have a remote TV, but we do have a satellite dish that provides over a hundred channels, most in high definition. Not only is television different, but millennials are the first generation to grow up not knowing what life is like without a computer. We can also point to the fact that teens, and those younger, are the first to live in a world where they don't know about life before cell phones.
As I reflect on how much I rely on my mobile device, I too find myself thinking; "How did I survive in the old world?" I use my cell phone to: keep my personal calendar, check my e-mail, take notes, read the Bible, play games, take pictures, surf the Internet, and yes I make phone calls on it too. I get constant updates on news, sport scores and use it as a GPS. I can read books, watch videos and shop using my mobile device. Oh: and it has a piano and drum app and also a flashlight I can use to find my way in the dark. Amazing, my first computer was a hundred times bigger and didn't have any of those functions. Come to think of it: it had no memory. Everything was stored on floppy disks.
I personally have no desire to go back to the way things were. I enjoy the convenience of today's technology. My hope is that all of us who can still remember the "good old days" will learn to embrace change rather than resist or complain about it. That might mean learning to love those folks who walk around looking at their mobile devices or who have those buds sticking in their ears. One of those folks might be me.
As I reflect on how much I rely on my mobile device, I too find myself thinking; "How did I survive in the old world?" I use my cell phone to: keep my personal calendar, check my e-mail, take notes, read the Bible, play games, take pictures, surf the Internet, and yes I make phone calls on it too. I get constant updates on news, sport scores and use it as a GPS. I can read books, watch videos and shop using my mobile device. Oh: and it has a piano and drum app and also a flashlight I can use to find my way in the dark. Amazing, my first computer was a hundred times bigger and didn't have any of those functions. Come to think of it: it had no memory. Everything was stored on floppy disks.
I personally have no desire to go back to the way things were. I enjoy the convenience of today's technology. My hope is that all of us who can still remember the "good old days" will learn to embrace change rather than resist or complain about it. That might mean learning to love those folks who walk around looking at their mobile devices or who have those buds sticking in their ears. One of those folks might be me.
Monday, August 5, 2013
The Pope Gets It
While I am not a Catholic, I am growing to like and respect Pope Francis. He seems to have a sincere passion for the lost and broken people in this world. I also appreciate the fact that he has shunned some of the extravagance that traditionally has come with the office. He also made a statement last week than reinforced my esteem for the pontiff. Concerning gays he stated, "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge."
Don't get me wrong. I still believe that homosexuality runs counter to God's desire for his people. I also maintain that the marriage relationship should be limited to one male and one female. I have come to the conclusion that being gay is not a choice for some people. Some people are born gay. It is the way they are wired. They have a natural tendency to be attracted to those of the same sex. They are who they are. I remember telling my students when I was teaching psychology; it's not the emotion or desire that is bad, it's what we do with it. We have a choice when it comes to behavior. Our actions should always be God pleasing.
God desires a relationship with each one of us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our advocate and make that possible. When we seek that relationship, our lives are transformed. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live lives of service. The color of our skin or our sexual orientation does not change that.
Jesus loves all people. We need to go no further than John chapters 3 and 4. In John 3, He has a conversation with Nicodemus, a man who represented everything Jesus stood against. In John 4, He encounters a woman who is living with a man outside of marriage. Jesus loved them both for who they were, not who he wanted them to be. He calls us to do the same. Our world is full of people who are different than us. Some of those people live lifestyles that run counter to ours. Others have worship traditions or revere gods other than The Trinity. In some cases we might even find friends or members of our own family heading down that path. God calls us, in all circumstance, to be Jesus and love them for who they are, not who we want them to be. Without a relationship we have no opportunity to make a difference in their lives.
Don't get me wrong. I still believe that homosexuality runs counter to God's desire for his people. I also maintain that the marriage relationship should be limited to one male and one female. I have come to the conclusion that being gay is not a choice for some people. Some people are born gay. It is the way they are wired. They have a natural tendency to be attracted to those of the same sex. They are who they are. I remember telling my students when I was teaching psychology; it's not the emotion or desire that is bad, it's what we do with it. We have a choice when it comes to behavior. Our actions should always be God pleasing.
God desires a relationship with each one of us. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be our advocate and make that possible. When we seek that relationship, our lives are transformed. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can live lives of service. The color of our skin or our sexual orientation does not change that.
Jesus loves all people. We need to go no further than John chapters 3 and 4. In John 3, He has a conversation with Nicodemus, a man who represented everything Jesus stood against. In John 4, He encounters a woman who is living with a man outside of marriage. Jesus loved them both for who they were, not who he wanted them to be. He calls us to do the same. Our world is full of people who are different than us. Some of those people live lifestyles that run counter to ours. Others have worship traditions or revere gods other than The Trinity. In some cases we might even find friends or members of our own family heading down that path. God calls us, in all circumstance, to be Jesus and love them for who they are, not who we want them to be. Without a relationship we have no opportunity to make a difference in their lives.
Friday, August 2, 2013
Kortni's Last Request
It's been four years since the death of Kortni Marshall. I thought it was time to again honor her last request. This is a blog that first was posted on August 4, 2011.
The realities of our sinful world have hit me hard over the last week. On Friday night my brother, Jim, called to tell me of the death of his wife's nephew. Jason was only thirty, but had a hard life. His mother deserted the family when he was a child and he struggled with a bi-polar like disorder. Jason also battled the demons of addiction. He spent time in prison, but was finally putting things back together. He was in a halfway house and had even reconnected with his family. They found him dead Friday afternoon.
On Saturday I got news of the sudden death of one of my former Lutheran High students. Kortni Marshall and her twin sister, Kimberly, were in our daughter Katie's class. My memories are of a smiling, pixie-like face. Kortni was too innocent, almost naïve, but always full of life. There was another side to Kortni. Like Jason, she fought the demons of addiction. Her last requested is posted on the Dallas Lutheran Alumni page on Facebook. "Tell everyone. Addiction is real, and it's a disease that can kill you."
Drugs and alcohol are a reality in the teenage world. The choices kids make can lead to tragedy and heartbreak later on.
Two realities:
The average teenager has their first experience with alcohol during the middle school years. Most of the time it takes place in an unchaperoned home environment. Alcohol is considered to be a "gateway drug." Kids who try alcohol in any form are at risk for trying other drugs..
While drugs have been an issue since I was in college, the culture is much different today. The marijuana available today is twenty times stronger than the stuff smoked in the sixties and seventies. It's also usually laced with other drugs that are designed to create dependence.
Kortni was a baptized and redeemed child of God. She now rests in Jesus strong arms. The demons can harm her no more. Just remember her last request. Please talk about this issue with your teens. "Addiction is real and it's a disease that can kill you." I only wish Kortni was still here to deliver the message personally.
The realities of our sinful world have hit me hard over the last week. On Friday night my brother, Jim, called to tell me of the death of his wife's nephew. Jason was only thirty, but had a hard life. His mother deserted the family when he was a child and he struggled with a bi-polar like disorder. Jason also battled the demons of addiction. He spent time in prison, but was finally putting things back together. He was in a halfway house and had even reconnected with his family. They found him dead Friday afternoon.
On Saturday I got news of the sudden death of one of my former Lutheran High students. Kortni Marshall and her twin sister, Kimberly, were in our daughter Katie's class. My memories are of a smiling, pixie-like face. Kortni was too innocent, almost naïve, but always full of life. There was another side to Kortni. Like Jason, she fought the demons of addiction. Her last requested is posted on the Dallas Lutheran Alumni page on Facebook. "Tell everyone. Addiction is real, and it's a disease that can kill you."
Drugs and alcohol are a reality in the teenage world. The choices kids make can lead to tragedy and heartbreak later on.
Two realities:
The average teenager has their first experience with alcohol during the middle school years. Most of the time it takes place in an unchaperoned home environment. Alcohol is considered to be a "gateway drug." Kids who try alcohol in any form are at risk for trying other drugs..
While drugs have been an issue since I was in college, the culture is much different today. The marijuana available today is twenty times stronger than the stuff smoked in the sixties and seventies. It's also usually laced with other drugs that are designed to create dependence.
Kortni was a baptized and redeemed child of God. She now rests in Jesus strong arms. The demons can harm her no more. Just remember her last request. Please talk about this issue with your teens. "Addiction is real and it's a disease that can kill you." I only wish Kortni was still here to deliver the message personally.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)