A Red Neck Ponders The Ballet

Growing up was challenging. My father is the orginal outlaw redneck. My mother was a hippie/flower child. This led to many internal conficts as a kid. Dont get me wrong, I love my parents. But it can be challenging to hear Waylon Jennings with your dad and Simon and Garfunkel with you mom. I appreciate my mom making learn about culture. She impressed in me a love of reading and the arts.

Monday night my wife and I were the guest of Dr. Dale Lunsford, president of LeTourneau Univeristy in Longview where I graduated from in 2000. The St. Petersburg Russian Ballet was performing Romeo and Juliet. Now I have never been to a ballet. I have seen a couple of differrent movie versions of the story. My mom made sure I saw the movie and we read it in school.

We had a fancy dinner with the president before the performance. Lots of pretty food. Some of it was rather disgusting but, I ate what was set before me as the Bible says without asking questions of concience. At the same time I tried to keep my pinky finger extended. During the dinner we got to meet some of the ballerina's. Only one of them spoke english.

We went over to the Belcher Center to see the performance. I really did enjoy seeing the performance. It was incredible. Now as I was appreciating the performance and the music, I had an internal struggle. I felt something rising up within me that I had to fight against. It was the spirit of "Larry the Cable Guy." I felt many comments and jokes that wanted to come out of me. They revolved around tight pants, flesh tone body suits, guys with make up, a girl who looked like cat woman and various trailor park humor. I thank God I was able to overcome and persevere.

If you ever have the chance to see a well done ballet, do it. Put on your best sunday go to meeting clothes, have a nice dinner (a place where they use plates) and go and enjoy it. It will bless you. Just remember....PINKY OUT!!!!!!

Jesus Freak

I am not the sharpest "theologian" in the box. When I get into conversations with friends as to the definitions of what church words mean...I can keep up to a certain point. More and more I here about new church words that I have no clue what they mean.

I remember while I was in seminary that telling someone that I went to a Bible church. One of the other students ask me if I was a "dispensationalist." One of my first answers was no, I quit doing that....Just joking. Honestly I thought, "well I can't spell it, so I don't know if I am one or not." Honestly 7 years later, I don't know if I am one.

In seminary I learned all srts of big words to describe what people are and are not. Probably only seminary students care about these sort of things. Untill the day I started going to seminary I did not know a calvanist from Calvin and Hobbs. I did not know an Armenian from Amsterdam. It turns out the bulk of students and professors at the seminary that I went to were calvanist. Some even call them selves "5 Point" calvinist. The more I studied, the more I became convinced that I was not one. I wanted to form my own student association called Armeniast Annonomoys. I did not think it would go over very well.

I started reading books that I was not encouraged to read. I read about Westley, Finney, The Book of Acts, 1 Corinthians and books by Jim Cymbala. After a dynamic encounter with God while I was at the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York I really had to sit down and examine myself and my theology.

So what am I? Am I Pentecostal or Charismatic??? My Answer is yes. Well am I a dispensationalist? I could be, but I still can spell it so I am with holding judgement on the subject. Now I work with some guys who are teaching me words like Missional, Evangelical, Post-modern, Emerging, Liturgical, Reformed.....what is a poor red neck like me to do??????

I have decided to simply adopt the title of Jesus Freak. It was good enough for DC Talk, I figure it is good enough for me. Your Thoughts?

Dont Shoot The Wounded

Some times we as christians can be very cruel. When one of our brothers and sisters is overtaken in some sin, we walk away from them. But we dont do this with all sins. We are especially hard on those who have been leaders. I am guilty of this myself. But as I read God's word I think, who am I to look down on anyone? What ever happened to restoring the one overtaken in sin. Helping them to be reconciled?

We also seem to be harder on those who have a struggle with a sexual sin. We seem to be able to look over and wink at some things but as soon as someone has "one of those problems" we are ready to crucify them. I am not saying it is ok to sin sexually, but isnt sin...sin??? Just because one brother or sister struggles with one sin and not another does not make one sin better or worse does it?

We can make it very hard on people who want to repent and be right with God. We seem to want to add things to people that God does not want them to do. We are all dirt. We are all ragamuffins. We are all loved by God. We should always be ready to be reconciled to our brother and sister. We should not be a stumbling block in someone's path towards repentence.

People can still be used after a fall. We should be ready to help someone. I know their are consequences. But do we have to make it worse? I catch some flak for listening to Jimmy and Donnie Swaggart. I know Jimmy had a problem in the 80's. I know he disgraced the church and himself. But he continues now to preach the word of God. I enjoy reading his study bible. I dont always agree with him, but my faith is not based on him. Jim Bakker was able to be used of the Lord again. There have been others.

Wasnt King David still used of God after the rooftop?