Forty-seven years ago yesterday, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most famous speeches in American history.  I am ashamed to admit that--until tonight--I had never watched the speech in its entirety.  

If you're like me and you've never seen it, or if you've watched it many times...take a few minutes and allow the words of an American prophet to move you.
Word, Dr. King.  Word.
 
 
A great quote that I read this week...

"I know passions get enflamed and sometimes should around political issues. Let us remember that Jesus brought a zealot and a tax collector together and said, "Follow me." In our churches, He brings together democrats, republicans, green party members, libertarians, and independents and says the same thing, "Follow me."

Christ followers will always be politically diverse. Following Him alongside people who talk, think, and act differently than you is not optional. If you refuse to do so, then you refuse to pursue Christ. The moment at which you wish to see someone crash and burn because they think differently than you—you have stopped following Jesus. The moment at which hate begins to burn in your heart towards another person, for whom Jesus died, because they disagree with you on policy—you have stopped following Jesus. The moment you stop seeking justice, love, kindness, and a humble walk with God—you have stopped following Jesus. So, we repent when necessary and remember that policy and governance never change the human heart—the Gospel does. The breadth of Christʼs good news must fuel our passion and guide our actions in every sphere of life."

-Issac Hunter

Now, if only I would let God help me LIVE this way.  Then I'll be set.
 
 

 
 
For those of you that are entertaining thoughts of running for any sort of political office this year, I've put together this helpful fill-in-the-blank template.

--------------------

[Cue slideshow of ominous black and white pictures of well-known politicians who are part of the "Washington Elite"]

"Are you tired of the same old thing in Washington?  Are you ready for new blood?  It's time for a changing of the guard!  Let's vote out the liberal socialists who are ruining our country and mortgaging our children's future!

[Cut to softly filtered video of well-groomed families sitting on front porches, freshly mown grass and well groomed farmlands]

I am a Washington outsider.  I have never taken money from those evil lobbyists who have infilterated the ranks of our nation's capital.  I spent my formative years working in my [fill in the blank] family business.  I have [X] number of years of Real World Experience running [insert name of privately owned] business.  

[Cut to a headshot of yourself, looking earnestly into the camera.  Try to wear a sternly passionate, outraged-about-what's-happening-in-Washington sort of look on your face.]

I will bring Real Change to Washington!  My name is [X] and I would sincerely appreciate your vote on [fill in the election date]."

--------------------

You're welcome.  You can thank me by sending massive amounts of pork to my congressional district after you're elected.
 
 
So...since no one else will be blogging about this subject, I thought I'd step up and fill the gap.*  

As I reflect on the passage of the historic healthcare reform bill, I wonder how America's Christians are reacting.  Some thoughts...

To my brothers and sisters on the Left who are rejoicing at the passage of the healthcare reform bill, a gentle reminder:  This bill does nothing to eliminate Christ's mandate for us to personally care for the poor.  If history is any judge, the government will struggle to oversee the massive task they've just voted to put on their own plate.  Bureaucracy, inefficiency, and corruption may well swallow up their good intentions.  We Christians must stand in the gap that's left.

To my brothers and sisters on the Right who are lamenting the passage of this bill, may I gently suggest the possibility that we (I) have failed to live out Christ's directive to care for those less fortunate than us?  Perhaps if we as the Church cared for the poor, marginalized, needy folks in the world as our founder did...then maybe, just maybe...Congress wouldn't have had to step up and do what we were capable of, but refused to do.

I recently read Shane Claiborne's Irresistible Revolution (which I highly recommend) and I thought this excerpt was striking (and applicable to those on both ends of the political spectrum).

It is much more comfortable to depersonalize the poor so we don't feel responsible for the catastrophic human failure that results in someone sleeping on the street while people have spare bedrooms in their homes.  We can volunteer in a social program or distribute excess food and clothing through organizations and never have to open up our homes, our beds, our dinner tables.  When we get to heaven, we will be separated into those sheep and goats Jesus talks about in Matthew 25 based on how we cared for the least among us.  I'm just not convinced that Jesus is going to say, "When I was hungry, you gave a check to the United Way and they fed me," or, "When I was naked, you donated clothes to the Salvation Army and they clothed me."  Jesus is not seeking distant acts of charity.  He seeks concrete acts of love: "you fed me...you visited me in prison...you welcomed me into your home...you clothed me."

My life has seldom lived up to Christ's words.  May God have mercy on me and grant me strength to do better.


*That was sarcasm, just in case you didn't catch it.
 
 
Picture
Arby's, marketing the healthy food angle...looks like it says:


"Never fried.  Never greasy."


I'm not sure though; it's kinda hard to read...through the grease stain.
 
 
Someone asked me the other day what my opinion is about Tim Tebow's upcoming Super Bowl ad.  Here's my two cents worth:

1.  I whole-heartedly support Tebow's right to say whatever he wants on national television.  It's a free country last time I checked; live and let live.  However, lest I be misunderstood on this issue, I should note that the necessary corollary to this position is that Mancrunch.com (the gay dating site that also applied) should've been allowed to purchase TV time as well.  Fair is fair.  Be careful what you ask for my conservative friends; you just might get it.

2.  My personal preference is that "positions-based" advertising (from either side) not be aired during the Super Bowl.  It's an American past-time for crying out loud.  Must we use it as an opportunity to inflame those who disagree with us?

3.  While I appreciate (and agree with) some Christians' desire to eliminate/minimize abortion, I'm not sure that this is/was the best way to accomplish that.  I could be wrong, but I have a hard time believing that a highly controversial 30-second spot is going to suddenly cause 100's of women across America to call and cancel their appointments at their local abortion clinics.  Why not take the obscenely large amount of money that's being spent on this, and put it towards something that we know reduces the chances of an abortion happening?  May I suggest Option Ultrasound or your local crisis pregnancy care center instead?

4.  Christians standing up for their "rights" in the public arena seems, to me, to be counter-intuitive to the message of Christ.  Isn't that the whole point of Christianity, that we give up our rights?  Why can't we Christians work on "changing America" one person and one heart at a time?  It might just work better than the top-down approach that seems to be turning people away.
 
 
Barrack Obama, talking about Scott Brown's election to the late Ted Kennedy's U.S. Senate seat:

"Here's my assessment of not just the vote in Massachusetts, but the mood around the country. 

The same thing that swept Scott Brown into office swept me into office. 

People are angry, and they're frustrated. Not just because of what's happened in the last year or two years, but what's happened over the last eight years."

I disagree vehemently with the President on some things, not the least of which is universal healthcare.  However, this is one thing that I agree with him on.  

I have many friends on the Right who would like to hail Scott Brown's election as historic moment that signals a seismic shift away from Obama's vision of America.  I think it's more a statement about America's anger.  We're mad and looking for something to take out our anger on.  Whichever side (Right or Left) that is better able to stir up the anger in its base leading up to election time...is the side that wins.

November could be interesting.


P.S.  For my friends on the Left, you should know that I passed up some pretty good Ted Kennedy jokes/jabs with you guys in mind.  I just wanted you to appreciate that fact.  :)
 
Solitude 01/09/2010
 
It is good to be tired and wearied by the futile search after the true good, that we may stretch out our arms to the Redeemer.  - Blaise Pascal

A week ago today--at the suggestion of a book I am reading--I set aside about an hour of time to spend in solitude.  No one else, no people, no distractions, no agenda other than to be alone with God.  

I cried.  In a good way.  To say that it was "good" would be an understatement.  Not necessarily easy, but definitely good.  I HIGHLY recommend it.

Often I spend so much of my time chasing after so many things that I wear myself out.  Don't get me wrong, I think the things I spend my time doing are good, worthwhile things.  It's just that I try so hard to get everything done, everyone taken care of, every situation resolved....that I forget the most important role that I can fill is just being God's kid and hanging out with him.

Last Saturday I got to hang out with my Abba.
 
 
I haven't blogged in a while; here's my stream-of-consciousness on a snowy Sunday night.  Enjoy the following seven items, helpfully itemized in a numerical format.  There are seven because that's the Biblical number of perfection (also it's mostly because I got a little tired and I couldn't think of any more).

1.  I think it's just a little bit creepy when I'm reading through my Facebook page and my profile says:

Boyd Allen "Likes" So-And-So's "activity".

What does that even mean?  I liked your status or your post...not your "Activity"!  What is that?!  It sounds gross, whatever it is.

2.  I LOVE Kansas City Chiefs Football.  I know, I know, we were horrible this year, nay, even atrocious.  It makes no logical sense, but I love the Chiefs.  It's been a really, really tough year, but days like today make it a little more palatable.  We defeated the horrible, ugly, dreaded Broncos en route to breaking several Chiefs records.  And to make it better, we beat the Broncos at THEIR house, ended their already slim playoff hopes, AND avenged ourselves of the beat-down they put on us in KC a few weeks back.  It was a good way to end the season.  Go Chiefs!*

3.  Saturdays are a my new favorite day of the week.  Sarah and I have been deliberately taking Saturdays off (or in Christianese, "taking our Sabbath") for the last month or two.  It's hard to make yourself NOT do anything for a day, but it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever done.  If you are the kind of can't-do-nothing, addicted-to-doing-things, let's-get'r-done kind of person that I am, then I highly recommend it.  Rest is good for the soul, mind, body.

4.  I have an awesome family.  Christmas and the holidays are best spent in the company of those who know and love you best.  Thank God I got to do that these last few weeks.  I am very blessed to have a great family and great in-laws.  Plus they have really, really sick senses of humor.  I admire that in people.  Thanks for being so freakin' cool guys; I love you all.

5.  I started reading Donald Miller's "To Own a Dragon" the other day.  He is just the right mixture of honest, funny, and readable.  I like the book so far.  If you haven't read Miller's "Blue Like Jazz", you should.

6.  As much as I rant about snow, sometimes it's mildly cool.  If only I had a snowboard...and a mountain in my backyard, then I might LIKE snow.  Also, it's kinda eerily cool how it brightens the night and makes it look like perpetual twilight because all the light reflects off of everything.

7.  My 11 month old is teething again; two molars at the same time.  It seems like hard work.  I hope that I'm not one of those biological freaks who loses all his teeth when he's 50 and grows a whole other set.  I don't think the coolness factor would outweigh the pain.  Doesn't seem worth the trouble.


*I still want Todd Haley fired!