DISQUS

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I just wanted to say THANK YOU for everyone who's been commenting on this very powerful subject. Thanks for being respectful, and I hope no matter what happens tomorrow - we'll all learn to love more and more like Christ.

I'm on my comeback tour!

<abbr>alex mcleans last blog post..Sunday Setlist</abbr>

I don't know, I think I'm leaning towards Jack Bauer. Chuck doesn't use any technology, just brute force.

hmmmm I don't know, I think if Jack Bauer was leashed upon the island all problems would be solved in 24 hours. But that wouldn't be any fun.

I just had a thought - Jack Bauer vs. Chuck Norris? Who wins?

Jan, yeah sounds like wisdom from a difficult journey. Thank God you came out on the other end with such clarity.

Jenni, yes, profound - that's the work I was thinking of!

it's HOT, I'm ready for winter... oh that's right we have 2 weeks of winter in March... :(

"Pretty soon, they'll be reading *our* eugoogaly!"

Wow, I didn't realize how freakish I look in that photo - I promise I'm not that weird! Really.

Roma - I totally hear your heart! I think Heather brought up a great point on the MILLIONS of dollars raised in the name of legislation... I wonder how much better that money could be spent. ESPECIALLY since most of it was probably on advertisements, which will be gone after November 4th.

Bobby - I don't know the exact details of the arrangement, and to be honest I don't know the laws surrounding civil union - I better get busy learning...

Heather - I already mentioned you above, but you also bring up another great point and that is that the responsibility lies with parents to bring up their kids, to show them right & wrong, teach them what the real world is like... And yes you are a true hippie at heart, and that's not such a bad thing.

James - I love how you are looking at this. I wish it was so cut and dry for me. I'm still in process...

Mom - First off, awesome to have you commenting on the ol blog. For all of you who don't know my mom, she's quite web 2.0! I think you do bring up some good points that have to be considered. Legal ramifications of legalizing gay marriage, workplace ethics, non-discriminatory acts - if you're a church you should be safe, but what about a non-profit that has Christian values? Would they be forced to hire people who don't hold their values? Laws...

Peter - as always, you seem to BRING IT. America is the place where human rights are supposed to be highly valued, human rights... no other qualifications. Be a human = life, liberty, pursuit of happiness... Now I'm just talking crazy talk...

Thanks everyone for a good conversation - keep it going!

Oh yeah and Louisa, you can always drop that kind of stuff by. I'll run it all by John and see if we can promo it. Where have you been by the way?

Hey Heather thanks for the love. Jesse, I totally respect your views, and this is a place to converse. I'm not sure which question you're referring to? Is it the "who should I vote for?". If so, let me clarify. I'm still undecided, and all I'm looking for is some honest and open discussion on the upcoming election.

One area I seriously disagree with you on is the "if you value life either don't vote or vote for McCain". That's such an absolute statement - it shuts down conversation. I want people to process through this, I want to process through this. I want to remain understanding & compassionate, and continually learning.

Nice catch Conner... And yes, I didn't like the Jim/Pam phone call. I need to work on that romance thing more, at least that's what my wife says.

I think it's easy to get passionate and focus on one issue, I don't fault anyone for that. Life experiences & your culture tend to determine that. I do agree that one candidate will not put an end to abortion - like I said, I think if they're lucky, they'll be able to follow through with about 1/4 of what they're promising...

Yeah Joel Weldon rocked my High School years too! I can't believe he's leading worship at a church just around the corner from me now!

Heather, you bring up a great point! Maybe post worthy. Like I said, I'm not a political deep thinker type. I consider myself a more 'to the point' person - give me practicality.

Anyway, I think Christians are the worst at politics. We get our nose in so many places where we end up embarrassing the name and purpose of Jesus Christ. I know a lot of people disagree with me, but standing on a corner condemning gays, abortion, prayer in school, etc. is not my idea of what Christ would do, or is doing these days. I think Christ is more concerned about meeting people's needs, showing compassion, showing them the beauty of a life redeemed by his love...

And then we demonize certain people for their political views. And then we demonize certain groups for their moral views.
And then we draw our lines in the sand and separate from the 'world', and before you know it we've become completely ineffective as representatives of the God who is love.

You know the old adage, 'don't talk about religion or politics'... how dumb & backwards is that? Let's talk about life, and the giver of life.

Yes, 'technically' we are always the church, when we gather to worship, serve, remember, preach, etc. It's just nice to redefine what 'serve' means sometimes - to get out of the 4 walls.

And yes, WorshipCity, we did work rather than hold services - it was awesome.

Stout, you were amazing, running all over with the video & still cameras.

Here's some that you may or may not be reading that I've been enjoying:
Letters from Kamp Krusty
My good friend Vince has some good stuff
You're probably already reading Pete's blog
Bill Reichart's Ministry Best Practices, awesome!
Tim Schraeder's blog is a new favorite

Those are some of my top reads right now.

Jordan, awesome thoughts - thanks!

yeah karls comment was pretty much awesome

<abbr>alex mcleans last blog post..What Kind of Leader Are You?</abbr>

Travis, I'm honored brother.

you'rewelcomeverymuch...

I think Rich makes a great point. Some are called/gifted to plant, others to cultivate, others to mend and fix, others to challenge, etc.

I think it really depends on the combination of church/staff. Some churches value long term investment and can see the payoff of investing in the lives of their staff. Other churches value immediacy and results and if you can't produce, you're outta there. Maybe neither wrong, just different.

So then there's the US part. Some of us aren't wired to stick in one place of ministry, whether geographical or positional...

My preference - what sits right in my heart? A church where family is crucial, teamwork, and investment are highly valued. Where a commitment to cultivating staff and seeing that healthy growth happens from the inside out. So for me, I'd love to see churches be more committed to their staff, and their staff more committed to their churches (which equals people being committed to relationships). I've said too much...

if you want to hang out and feel bad together, I'm here for you in Cali...

kristen, no worries at all - I sent Jen yer info. thanks for stopping by again!

james, good call. I've been taught to bring a pad of paper to times of dedicated prayer to write things down that cloud the mind, ideas, worries, just to get them out.