Popeye the sailor man was a cartoon character created in the 1930’s and was initially presented in movie theaters as a theatrical “short” before the main movie presentation. Popeye was a grumbling, pipe smoking, short-tempered character who most often found himself in a fight with his nemesis, “Brutus”, over the affections of his girlfriend, “Olive Oil”. I remember watching it as a kid in the 1960’s and like a few cartoons, made an impression in my mind which has lasted all these years.
I have been listening to a recent podcast series through Christianity Today entitled, “The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill”. The premise and proposition of the podcast is to analyze the collapse of the Mars Hill Church (Seattle) in 2014, as well as dissect the leadership style and problems of it’s (then) pastor, Mark Driscoll. The stated promise was to be “balanced” and “fair” in its presentation. Much could be said regarding the accuracy or fulfillment of that promise without even hearing the last several episodes. For me, it gave the vibe of numerous unstated, perhaps even unnecessary, agendas. However, let me set that dynamic of “unbiased journalism”, or as they call it “story-telling”, aside to address the context of the podcasts, which appear to be a smash hit in the eyes of many. The producers are attempting to deal with the concept of church abuse, hurt and woundedness, as well as pastoral authoritarianism. The entire series is not yet completed, but after 7 segments into it, along with a couple of excurses into somewhat similar disconnected themes, I feel I can safely say that I get where this is going.
I have been recently asked how gambling is a biblical worldview issue. It is a valid question and since Florida is, at this moment, considering a renewal of the 30-year compact with the Seminole tribe concerning the extent, enlargement and administration of gambling, it is a question which deserves an answer. Especially from a pastor and Christian advocacy organization which espouses a biblical worldview philosophy. (NOTE: My answer is my own and not necessarily the organization’s official position.)
As I write this post / blog, I have recently celebrated 39 years of marriage with the wife of my youth, Tracie Baird. As she could testify, I am no relationship expert. Honestly, when the Lord passed out giftings, she was given (as are most women) the innate relationship abilities. I, on the other hand (like most men), have had to learn relationship and marriage through my own ineptness and difficult process. Tracie deserves an award for patience and stick-to-itiveness. Say what you want, marriage is hard work for the vast majority of us. Yes, there are some couples who find one another, and both have certain personality types which perfectly sync, and their journey is continual, blissful joy, but that dynamic is rare. You have probably heard the old saying that opposites attract. That is often the case. We like and are drawn to potential spouses which have strengths where we are potentially weak or lacking. The relationship should work well on paper, but in reality, it can be a bumpy road. And full discloser with regards to our marriage. We have journeyed 39 years together as husband and wife, but there were some bumpy, challenging times. We made some decisions along the way to refuse to call it quits no matter the challenges.
I have read a number of articles containing information and analysis of the Ravi Zacharias sex scandal. The details are more than troubling and my heart breaks for the victims who were obviously groomed and traumatized by a man who was profoundly deceived. It is tragic and demands the brightest light of transparency for the Church and its leaders to awaken, learn the important lessons, and appropriately change its operating procedures in order that this type of violation would become a rare exception within our community. It may be impossible to completely eradicate such perverseness due to the sinful nature of humanity, but safeguards and zero-tolerance are more than possible. Any abuse (sexual, physical, psychological, and the like) should be exposed and appropriately addressed. Period. As a husband whose wife has experienced first-hand and given public testimony to an abusive situation, this is no trivial matter in our household.
Which leads me to a point of analysis which hasn’t been addressed but I see developing on the horizon. I guess I would call it the trivialization of vocabulary.
