Tommy Mitchell / The Rurban Church Blog

I Don't How I am Going to Vote Tomorrow!

Tomrrow is primary day here in Mississippi!  I am assuming that the ballot will feature the following names:  Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Mitt Romney!  I am not sure whether or not Ron Paul is on our ballot, but I do know I have no interest in voting for him.

Which brings me to my problem! I see good, specific qualities for each one of these men. Yet, I find myself wishing - that someone else was running! They aren't - and I want to participate in the process.  Praying about which one to nominate has not yet yielded an answer for me. 

Strengths:  Mitt Romney, I believe, is a good man! He has been faithful to his wife and family! He has real business experience.  He has executive experience as a governor! 

Rick Santorum, I believe, is a man of strong character.  His family is to be admired.  He stands by his family and obviously has very strong core values.  He probably knows a bit more of how most of us live.  He has served in elected office, but got defeated, though he was far from the only Republican defeated in that election. I tend to believe he is the most conservative.

Newt Gingrich, I believe, is an experienced man in Washington! Obviously he had a great run when he was speaker of the house. I have listened to him carefully regarding his "failings" as a husband!  I will take him at his word that he is repentant and has sought forgiveness.   He does have a tendency to "overthink" in my opinion - which leads him to put out some rather strange ideas. 

I am not alone in wishing we had the toughness of Gingrich, mixed witht the character of Santorum, mixed with the business and executive experience of Romney! 

Which leads me back to the beginning!  I have no leanings for tomorrow - I still don't know who I am going to vote for tomorrow!

Times are Tough! What Do We Do?

Without question, times have become more difficult!  Expenses are up! Gas and groceries, our most common and necessary expenses, have risen greatly! All of us feel the pain of these two items! And although I can name many other areas where our expenses have risen, there is not much need to do so! We all have enough first hand experience to not argue this reality.

People have become more difficult as well!  We see more evidence of a society that has become more unhinged than ever before from moral truth!  People have always sinned - and for the most part - acknowledged that reality! These days, folks may or may not acknowledge their own sinfulness - but it seems many more just don't care whether their actions are sinful are not! 

In addition, we see great changes taking place in society where we are quickly losing our "work ethic" for an insidious dependency - mostly on government!   There are as many if not more who are "takers" than there are producers!

So, what do we do about it? We can moan! We are good at that! We can see who can state the above with greater force, deeper clarity, and with more clever and compelling speech!  We can analyze it - endlessly!  None of these things will make much difference.

While the challenges are great - the opportunities for the church - the body of Christ - have never been greater!  And there are many things we can do to take advantage of these times of challenge!

1. In the body of Christ, we can love one another - by pooling resources, sharing creative ideas for surviving the times, by bearing one another's burdens - by meeting one another's needs!  Loving one another is a grand theme of 1 John!  And that love is noticed by a love starved world!

2. We can learn to live more for Christ than this world!  Food, shelter, and clothing are our basic needs!  Everything else is much less essential.  We can learn to once again live more for Christ and His purposes than all of our many and sometimes trivial pursuits!  Living with less on the plate frees us to meet the basic needs of others who have need!

3. We can return to the GOOD NEWS! We can return to the centrality of Gospel of Jesus Christ! The Gospel is the message of genuine liberation - genuine freedom! It is the "truth that sets you free!"The Word of God, prayer, and devotion to Christ are essential to making a difference!

4. We can set a righteous example! We are not really great examples of anything if we do not live by God's holiness!  Moral failure, in some areas, is as great in the church as in the secular world! We must be devoted to Christ in every way - including how we live out our daily lives.

5. We can see ourselves as missionaries!  We are after all!  Start praying for wisdom, understanding, and opportunity to reach our own neighbors, co-workers, friends, and associations!

There are many more ways we can help in these times - but I hope you will consider these!

 

Something is Missing!

How about having heart surgery without a surgeon?  How about having surgery without an anesthesiologist? How about having an election without candidates? How about having school in session without teachers?  How about having a war without an army?  How about having everyone gather to watch a football game without a football?

Ok - well now that I have worn you out with silliness - how about one more..   How about having a memorial in New York commemorating the loss of life and attack on our country on 9/11 - but banning prayer, clergy, and the New York Police and Fire Departments?  Well - as unbelievable as that sounds - that is exactly what Mayor Bloomberg is planning!

We shouldn't be surprised! This is increasingly a country without any thought of God!  Memorial - but no prayer! No clergy! And absent the very people who rushed into the inferno!  I don't use this word lightly - idiocy!

 

 

Lessons from Tiger Woods!

It is sad to watch the disintegration of character right in front of your eyes! We have seen that with Tiger Woods over the last few days.  It is certainly my hope that he and his wife can reconcile and that the harm of all this to his children can be minimized.  There are lessons to be learned here:

1. Integrity always trumps accomplishments!   We live in an age where people constantly say that our work can be separated from our personal life.  But integrity in our personal lives, or the lack thereof, will be remembered far more than our accomplishments.

2. Success does not guarantee integrity!  Sometimes we believe  that if we are as successful as a Tiger Woods, then we would not "have" to cut any corners.  Tiger has lived the dream - and still chosen to cut a relationship corner.

3. Envy is a wasted desire!  Many people go through life wishing they were like someone else. I'm sure a lot of golfers wish they could golf like Tiger.  But some go further, wishing they had his home, his beautiful wife, and his wealth!  It turns out that he, like all of us, is prone to doing the wrong thing. Who really wants his troubles today?

4. But for the grace of God.....goes the rest of us! None of us are without the ability to fail in a variety of ways, including morally!  We all must be careful, lest we fall into sin and damage our own reputation.

5. The world is watching! The idea that someone is watching you is true! We must always take care to protect our integrity, and the integrity of the body of Christ. That is the responsibility of every believer.  You really don't want to find out how many are watching by blowing up morally.

Keep Tiger Woods and his family in your prayers - and don't throw stones!!!!