Money Can't Buy You Love

After billions of dollars spent to insure that President Obama is kicked out of the White House, he is once again "Mr. President." In the months to come Republicans will try to figure out why they lost so badly--in an election that was theirs to lose. For me the answer is clear; "Money can't buy you love."

Speaking of love. Among the data that is begining to come out from this election, the one that caught my eye, is the number of evangelical votes Romney received.

Think about this, Seventy-eight percent of white evangelical Christians voted for Romney, compared to 74 percent that voted for Republican presidential nominee John McCain in 2008. Those voters were 26 percent of the electorate this year, as they were in 2008. Now, here is what blows me away, 81% of the people--in Exit Polls, said that they believed that "President Obama cared more about them" Wow!

So, evangelicals tied themselves to a candidate and a party that 81% of voters viewed as uncaring. Now, I know that evangelicals love and care for people! However, the perception is staggering for me. When you put this in the context of minorities, this perception has long-term ramifications. For, unlike the Republican Party--who now has to consider the changing demographics of our country, the Great Commission made that an individual mandate over two-thousand years ago.

Unlike going to church--for many people today, people's perception about who cares about them isn't something that is practice once a week. When we add to this the level of hate and disdain that the Republican Party has for president Obama, evangelicals will have a hard time changing people's perception.

Where do evangelicals start in changing this perception. The first place I would suggest they start is in turning off Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and Glenn Beck. These entities have done more to promote this perception than anything evangelicals have done directly themselves. I say directly because indirectly these entities dependent on our viewing for advertising dollars. We make them rich, and at the end of the day, their objectives are not the church's...their's is poles and Our's is souls.



Anthony

5 Reasons Your Best Volunteers May Be Thinking Of Quitting

From Brain Dood On Leadership Blog

"I am currently reading the book Accidental Creative: How To Be Brilliant At A Moment’s Notice by Todd Henry. This book equips creatives (someone who produces something with their mind) with the tools, practices, and behaviors to perform at optimum efficiency.

Henry teaches us that one thing highly productive creatives do is PRUNE. Pruning is the process of eliminating that which is the least effective thereby creating room for that which will yield increased growth. So how does a person know what to prune from their life? Henry gives 5 questions that people should ask to discover the answer:

Is this activity or responsibility having a negative impact on my red-zone efforts (that which gives me my highest yield) or my overall ability to stay energized in my life and work?
Has this become more obligation than opportunity? Have I lost my passion for and interest in this?

Could this be deferred until later and have a greater impact?
Am I unhappy with my current results?
Do I have a nagging sense that I need to go in a new direction with this project?

Henry goes on to add, “If the answer is Yes to any of these questions, then you may want to consider eliminating the project from your plate. As you do, you will likely find the increased space in your life yields new insights and ideas for your more pressing projects.”

Pastors, after reading Henry’s list, I had to wonder how many of our best volunteer leaders would answer Yes to not only one but all five questions. I wonder how many high-capacity volunteers live in absolute frustration over the lack in advancement in mission and vision and are considering resigning their positions.

I also had to wonder that if they did resign, if they did prune their church leadership responsibilities, because their personal growth would increase dramatically by doing something else with a greater return, would they be wrong in doing so?

Pastors, I want you to know something about high-capacity volunteers. We deeply, deeply love our church. We think the gospel message delivered through the local church is the hope of the world. Other than our families, there is nothing more fulfilling, more energizing, and more satisfying than serving our local churches. We LOVE it!

But you need to know something else. Time and influence are our most valuable commodities. Time is the one thing that once given away cannot be returned. It’s gone. Therefore, we steward it well and do not want to waste it. We want you to lead. We want to help you lead. We want you to preach the vision, bleed the vision, live the vision, and demand that we do so as well. We want the vision to own you, not you own the vision. We give you permission to even be jealous of and mean about the vision. It must be protected.

It is horrifying for me to think of high-capacity volunteers “pruning” a leadership position so that they can be freed up for “greater growth”. That is heartbreaking! What a waste. What an awful waste. But the more and more lay leaders I speak with, they just may be right.

Pastors, what can we do to address these concerns and reverse this thinking?"

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Anthony

A Reasonable Question

Recently I was asked by a dear friend, "How can I support Obama?" I wish he had said President Obama, but I know his heart and don't believe he meant any disrespect by it. Nevertheless, here is my answer to him:

Terry, I wanted to take sometime before I answered your last reply to my comments. The reason, because I never wanted our conversation to get personal. I have attempted to think through my comments to you and anyone that I have talked to about this. Unlike many people today (particular Christian Conservatives), I am not married to a party, and I am not persuaded by sound-bites from MSN, CNN, MSNBC, NBC,ABC, PBS, (I refuse to go any where near Fox). For you to ask me how can I support President Obama, in the context of his views on gay marriage and abortion sounded personal..It was as if you are questioning my commitment to Christ. So, I decided not the answer you right away. I know that discussing politics with many people today can get heated and personal. Now I am ready.

Please allow me to start by restating what I have said before, there are only two (within a Biblical construct) issues that I don't agree with the President on. I think that he is wrong on the issue of life and I think he is wrong on gay marriage. However, I do believe that these two issues are the most pressing issue that faces the Church today. It is an issue of both orthodoxy and orthopraxy. I am very aware of Parenthood's founder Margaret Sanger' attitude about African Americans.

I believe in the right to life. I have women in my church that have been raped (I guess it wasn't an "legitimate rape", because their bodies did "shut the whole thing down") and they still chose to have those babies. I have first hand knowledge of what it's like to love a child and when the birth of that child is tied to so much pain. I have watch with great awe those families love for those children. I admire strength of those women in ways that goes beyond my ability to articulate. I have (in my role as Pastor and Mental Health Therapist) counseled women who were raped and aborted those babies. I have watched the tearing apart of their souls in making that decision, that was just as painful as the rap was itself. In those cases I have--at times, question God by asking why! However, there has never been a time when I concluded that the right to life was wrong. The pain is no different for the victims of incest, and it doesn't matter if the woman is black of white. I have prayed with them and when away, prayed to God that my own daughter would be spared from such a painful experience and decision. My wife--some time ago, was on the board of the local Crisis Pregnancy Center and my mother volunteers there now.

When, it comes to gay individuals, there are those that are attracted to the same sex in my church too. They have talked to me about their pain and in many cases their hate of themselves. I have counseled them, prayed with them and also walked away and prayed to God that non of may children or children’s children would have to go through such a painful experience. I thank God for the compassionate disposition of “Come As You Are Community Church” and I don’t apologize to anyone for it. We believe in the healing and emancipating power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ--And I don’t apologize to anyone for that either!

So, why did I vote for and now support President Obama given the above? It is simple, there are a host of other issues on the table. One of the main ones is a Republican Party that has lost it’s way. They dangle the carrots of same sex marriage and abortion in front of Christians Conseratives to get our vote, while they write books about slavery being good for African Americans. They talk about economics while they believe that 47 percent of Americans are takers or (in the case of Ryan) 30 Percent 'Want Welfare State,' 70 Percent 'Want The American Dream.'

They wax eloquently about family values while prostitutes gather at their convention because they tip more than Democrats. They glory in the Constitution, while the setup voter suppression laws. They support films question the President’s agenda by Dinesh D'Souzam "2016: Obama's America," (The King's College) while he is sharing a hotel room with a woman he introduced as his fiancee that isn’t his wife. When question on it, "Obviously, I wouldn't have introduced her as my fiancee if I thought we were doing anything improper," D'Souza said, adding they have called off their engagement. They brag about this being a Christian Nation, and African Americans on a Liberal Plantation, while they are urging us to vote for a Mormon who is a part of a belief system that believes:

Brigham Young second President and Prophet:

Shall I tell you the law of God in regard to the African race? If the white man who belongs to the chosen seed mixes his blood with the seed of Cain, the penalty, under the law of God, is death on the spot. This will always be (ibid., 10:110; emphasis added)

John Taylor, third President and Prophet.

after the flood we are told that the curse that had been pronounced upon Cain was continued through Ham's wife, as he had married a wife of that seed. And why did it pass through the flood? Because it was necessary that the devil should have a representation upon the earth as well as God. . . . (ibid., 23:304; emphasis added).

LDS Apostle George A. Smith:

There is not a man, from the President of the United States to the Editors of their sanctorums, clear down to the low-bred letter-writers in this Territory, but would rob the coppers from a dead nigger's eyes, if they had a good opportunity (Journal of Discourses, 5:110; emphasis added).

I could go on, but you get the point. Based on your logic and so many more Christian Conservatives, am I suppose to conclude that because you are voting for Romney, you believe this?

Let’s be honest here, Romney hasn’t been consistence on the the issue of life or gay marriage. It always depended on what crowd he was in front of and for me that truly isn’t leadership. It is only wishful thinking to suggest that he is pro-life, remember he gave money to Plan Parenthood. Was that because of the doctrine of his church--which is more in line with Margaret Sanger, than my vote for and support of President Obama.

Terry, at the end of the day, I refuse to be anyone's puppet--Republican or Democrat. So, please give me the same respect that I have given you, in respect to who you are voting for, and let's both pray for our country and it's leadership in general. We will do more in our prayer closet, than in our voting booth to help this country and advance the cause of Christ.


Anthony

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