Bad News / Good News

Well, the Winter Olympics are finally over. It would be an understatement to say that I’m not a huge fan. For me the biggest thing about the Olympics was that I have to decide whether to watch the 11:00 p.m. news on Channel 3 or Channel 13 because the Norway vs Sweden curling match went long again on Channel 10. And does anyone else suspect that the real reason people like to watch skiing, ski jumping and even skating is also the reason people watch NASCAR… the crashes?

The US team actually did pretty well this year. Sure, their total of 9 gold medals and 25 total medals was down 20% from Salt Lake City, but the drop off after hosting an Olympics is usually 40%. The US team placed second in the medal count, which is pretty good. But the overwhelming feeling is that this Olympics was a total bust for the US team. High profile failures of high profile Americans like Bode Miller and Sasha Cohen leave the impression that this year was a total downer. You see, a little bad news seems to trump a lot of good news.

That is how it is in our lives, isn’t it? God blesses us in so many ways. Sure, we may have been blessed by God with great families, jobs, health, friends, houses, food and on and on. But what we tend to focus on is that we’re not advancing in our career as fast as we would like. We convince ourselves that we really won’t be truly happy until we’re able to replace that old clunker of ours with a brand new car. God may bless our church with great people, fresh perspectives, opportunities and freedom, but what we focus upon are the few things that we don’t like and won’t be happy unless and until they are changed. Perspective! Job faced the disasters of his life by saying, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”

Hotter Than a Pistol

Jason McElwain ended his high school basketball career on a high note, scoring 20 points on 3-three pointers in just under four minutes. He says, “I was really hotter than a pistol!” He was. The amazing part of the story was that Jason McElwain was the team’s manager, not a player. He had been the junior varsity’s manager before that. The game in which he scored 20 points was not just the best game of his high school career… it was the only game of his high school career!

Jason McElwain is autistic. He didn't begin speaking until he was 5 years old. He was once terribly shy and withdrawn. So it was totally out character when he approached the basketball coach in junior high asking for a tryout. Jason so impressed the coach that he was made the team manager. And it was love for basketball and the team that brought Hason out of his shell. He made friends. He found a place on the team. And he thrived. And then came that magic night with his team far in front and the crowd chanting his name. He finally got into the game… and the rest is history! His teammates carried him off the court, his coach said, “It was as touching as any moment I have ever had in sports.”

What a powerful metaphor for church! Church is not to be just a focal point of religious activity (as in worship). Rather we are to become a family where we get to know and love one another. Church is a spiritual family that celebrates one another’s victories and shares in one another’s sorrows. Paul says that we are to “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”(Romans 12:15). Church is the safe place that cheer one another on to love and good works (Heb 10:24). Church is the place where we carry one another—sometimes on our shoulders in victory, sometimes on our backs in weakness. When church functions as church, then even the slowest and smallest of us can feel “hotter than a pistol.”

Cruel and Unusual

My dad sometimes likes to parody the politician who says, “I have friends on one side of this issue and I have friends on the other side… and I always stand by my friends.” Sometimes it is just hard to know what to think; sometimes it’s just easier not to think.

The death penalty is back on the front burner of public debate. In 1983, Michael Morales was convicted of the 1981 and murder of 17-year-old Terri Winchell. He was scheduled to die by lethal injection last Tuesday, but the execution was put on hold by district court judge Jeremy Fogel. Fogel was not be satisfied that Morales would feel no pain in dying by lethal injection, and inflicting pain would be cruel and unusual punishment. So Fogel ordered that an anesthesiologist or other medical professional must administer the anesthesia (the first drug in the lethal injection tail). Since this tends to violate the Hippocratic Oath (ya think?), no such medical professional was found. So the execution was put on hold and after almost a quarter century, due process is still processing.

At the same time I’m following this story, I’m reading Richard North Patterson’s novel Conviction. The story centers around a retarded and black man on death row and his lawyers' valiant efforts to save him. The problem is that no one except his lawyers believes that he is retarded nor (everyone presumably concedes that he is black). The drama in the novel is played out in the same court as the drama in real life. The details are different, but the debate is much the same.

Patterson's story gave me reason to pause; sometimes the issues we want to be cut-and-dry just aren’t. While I am sure that capital punishment is just and right, I am also very not sure that it is carried out justly and with impartiality. If the poor and the non-white are so much more likely to be on death row, does that not cast dount on the fairness of the whole process? One of Patterson's characters (a lawyer) suggests that the one trait all those on death row have in common is that they had incompentent lawyers.

This story in the news bothers me. The presumption that the “cruel and unusual” clause in the Constitution precludes any pain is preposterous. The guys that wrote that clause knew all about hanging and firing squads; they would not have known of any way to execute without pain! Even more disturbing to me is the fact that of the two dozen or so web sites I scanned on this story, about half had pictures of Morales. A fourth had pictures of death penalty protesters. They all had ads. None had pictures of Terri Winchell. No one talks too much about her cruel and unusual death.

What are my views on the death penalty? “I have friends on one side of this issue…” I do believe that without faith in a just and loving God, true and final justice is only illusionary.

Actually Believing...

I was never a fan of the old Seinfeld TV show. I know some of you (like my brother-in-law) thought it was the funniest show ever, but I just never got it. Hey, it was a “show about nothing,” so what was there to get? But as I was flipping channels last night, I came across an old Seinfeld rerun and paused just long enough to catch the following exchange. I think it reminds us of something about our world.

Jerry, George and Elaine were all sitting in a restaurant talking, and Elaine was upset. She had borrowed the car of a friend (presumably a new boyfriend) and was surprised to find that all the buttons on his car radio were tuned to Christian rock stations. It bothered her that he would listen to Christian rock. George replied, “I like Christian rock; it’s so… uplifting.” But Elaine moaned, “You don’t suppose that he actually believes in something.”

Jerry came to her rescue, “Maybe the buttons were already set that way when he got the car and he never bothered to change them.” Elaine said, “Yeah, he is kinda lazy.” Jerry continued, “Or maybe he just didn’t know how to program the radio buttons.” Elaine replied, “Yeah, he is kinda dumb.” Jerry then asked her, “Why does it bother you so much that he would have beliefs?” Elaine said, “Lazy I get. Dumb I get. I just don’t get religion.”

That’s the world we live in... and we need to make a note here. There was a time when most people were something religiously. Maybe they hadn’t been to a church in awhile, but they at least understood the concept of Christianity. That is no longer the case. We live in a secular world that no longer really understands faith. We are surrounded by Elaines who just don’t get Christianity. It is up to us to live it—powerfully, positively and pragmatically. If there was ever a time when it was appropriate for believers in Jesus to endlessly debate the fine points of theological minutia, today is not the time! It is time for believers to come together at the cross, live the cross, and take the message of the cross to the world. We are never going to agree on all the details— two thousand years of church history should have convinced us of that.

Our world is casting about for something in which to believe. When it sees Christians fussing and fighting among ourselves over issues that make no sense, surely they will respond—“Lazy I get. Dumb I get. I just don’t get religion.”

Lessons From Noah

An article by Scott Sager in the latest issue of New Wineskins gives a rather imaginative application to the strange story of Noah’s drunkenness after the flood. Noah went on a bender and found himself naked and in a drunken stupor in his tent. Ham did not treat his father with dignity, and is later cursed for his disrespect, but Shem and Japheth covered up their father’s nakedness. Noah was a good man who made a bad choice; Ham’s bad choice was not handling his father’s failure with sensitivity.

Sager uses the Noah story to point to our restoration heritage in Churches of Christ. He suggests that, like all religious movements, there have been moments in our past when we have had our “Noah moments.” We’ve made bad choices that have had bad consequences on our desire to follow after God. For example, for years our accepted practice regarding racial equality and segregation was just wrong. Rather than covering that nakedness, we either were silent on or even openly opposed civil rights. What will we do with the nakedness of the past? Let me quote one section of the article--

Honest reflection requires an admission that there have been times when we have somehow gotten drunk on pride and made a spiritual decision that exposed our own nakedness. For instance, in the past some of us have gotten drunk on the pride of being “the only Christians.” We have exposed our nakedness by telling the world we were the only ones going to heaven…We exposed our nakedness when we drank the pride of a superior blueprint theology and exposed our nakedness when we insisted that kitchens in church buildings, one cup or two, Sunday school or not, mattered to God.

What are we going to do with our Noah moments? Shem and Japheth are the heroes in Noah’s story because they worked to cover over their father’s nakedness. If we are to be faithful sons and daughters of our spiritual forefathers, then we must do the same. That does not mean that we ridicule or belittle their choices or their faith—that was the way of Ham. It means that we will work to continue their commitments while making better choices in those areas where we believe they got off track. We place our trust in the God of grace to cover over our inadequacies in our choices… and trust the next generation to continue our quest.

Take the Test

I read recently of a new test for people fifty and over. Since I’m rapidly rolling downhill toward that demographic, this got my attention. This twelve question test measures your chances of dying within the next four years-- the more points you get on the test, the greater the chances that you will die. The test was created at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center to measure risk factors linked with mortality. For example, I would get two points just for being male (a bit gender-biased but I would get to skip the two for diabetes or smoking. The test is supposedly 81 % accurate for older people, but critics point out that it does not consider family history and that it is almost meaningless for people at the younger end of the scale.

I must confess that I’ve considered the question of morality a bit more often than I used to. If nothing else, turning fifty in July will mean that I have to live to be 100 just to be middle aged now! Bryant Clayton kidded me last night about living through more football history, “Like back when they played without facemasks!” The sad thing is that I he was right! I used to watch Tommy McDonald catch passes from Roman Gabriel; McDonald retired in 1968 as the last player who played without a facemask! Time marches on.

But no matter how old you are, death is an eventual certainty. It doesn’t matter whether you think about it or not. It doesn’t matter how well you score on some test. And it doesn’t even matter whether you are prepared or not. Unless Christ returns first, all of us are going to die. The ratio is 1:1 of biths to deaths! None of us knows exactly when it will happen, but all of us need to live like we know it will happen. How will live while we are alive is the only way we can prepare for a life that never ends.

God Is Interested

Rob Schenck and two colleagues entered a U.S. Senate hearing room the day before the January confirmation hearings for Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito and anointed each seat with “holy oil” to bless the proceedings. He had done the same thing for Chief Justice Roberts' hearings. We explained to the Wall Street Journal, “God is interested in what goes on there.” Schenck is president of “Faith in Action,” an evangelical organization whose mission is to “reintroduce the Word of God into the public debate surrounding legislation and policy matters.” Schenck considers himself “missionary to Capitol Hill.”

Our fellowship has always taken radically different viewpoints concerning Christianity and political involvement. Alexander Campbell spoke before the Virginia House of Delegates; David Lipscomb wrote a book arguing that Christians should not run for office, serve in the government in any form or even vote. I think our tradition broad enough to satisfy any political, non-political or even anti-political stance.

I think Schenck is right when he suggests “God is interested in what goes on” in our nation’s capitol. Paul specifically tells us “Pray this way for kings and all others who are in authority, so that we can live in peace and quietness, in godliness and dignity” (1 Tim 2:2, NLT). The king for whom Paul solicits prayers here is Nero Caesar, the very king who would later have Paul killed. If Paul wanted the church to pray for Nero, then we should be praying for our rulers. God is concerned with what goes on in our government and our country. The gift with which He blesses us all is intercessory prayer. Why not take a moment to pray for our leaders that they may lead so that “we can live in peace and quietness.”

More Than a Cup of Coffee

Convenience store operator Dale Lanier has found an interesting and creative way encourage people to read and memorize the Bible. If they walk into his store in Snead, Alabama and recite the Bible "Passage of the Month," they get a free soft drink or cup of coffee. It's not like he expects folks to memorize Genesis or something. This month's verse is Psalm 118:8, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." Lanier has been doing this for the last six years. He says that he usually gives away between 2 and 12 drinks a day. Sometimes an entire family will come in, recite a passage, and receive their free drink. Lanier believe in the power of the Bible, and he has found a very practical and imaginative way to emphasize it.

That got me thinking that we should do that. Next Sunday, anyone who comes in and quotes a Bible verse can have a free cup of coffee. (Of course, anyone can come Sunday and get a free cup of coffee, but don't tell anyone). If we really do believe in the power of scripture, won't we do something concrete to prove it? If we really do believe that the Bible is a word from God, then won't we show that in some real life way? The real prize we win when we commit ourselves to learning something from the Bible is a fresh and renewed view of God. What David said about sacrifice in Psalm 50:23 applies to our prusuit of scripture as well--

²³ He who sacrifices thank offerings honors me, and he prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God.”

Worship Together

Well, we are a month-and-a-half into our new worship schedule. I guess that is too soon to decide whether it is a good thing or a bad thing… or just a thing. On the one hand, our worship has been tremendous! The combination of our praise team with the whole church singing together (rather than divided into two services) has been pretty amazing. I’d rather worship with you guys than anywhere else! (And I’m sure you’d rather hear me preach than Jeff Walling or Max Lucado! Amen? Hello?) But the other hand, it still feels really strange to have church first and then Bible class. After 26 years of preaching and then going home for lunch… well, it is hard to get used to something different. I’m probably not the only one who is struggling a little bit with change.

The change was intended to bring us back together into single communion service as a way of emphasizing unity. Gathering around a common table to simultaneous remember the sacrificed body of Christ and proclaim our unity as one body in Christ is a powerful metaphor. No one (at least, no one here) would argue that multiple services and multiple communions are wrong. There are many different ways to “do communion” (Tressa and Angelynn visited a church that has weekly communion on Sunday night in small groups, trying to recapture the communal setting of the first century). But for our specific church situation, the elders thought the symbolism of one communion service bringing us together as one body (1 Cor 10:17) was powerful enough to make squeezing together into one service worth the effort.

Symbolism can be profound. But we need to understand that everything about our worship proclaims (or should proclaim) unity. We sing together with one voice praising God and encouraging each other. We come before the throne of God together to petition Him in prayer. We come together as children allowing God to speak to us together through his word. Everything about coming together in worship proclaims that we are one family coming to worship one God. The power of our worship together is the together!

Where We Hang Our Hat

Dan Ericksen tells a story all too familiar in the annals of church history. In the 1890's there was a small Baptist church in Mayfield County, Kentucky. The church had two deacons who were constantly arguing and bickering. One of them put up a small wooden peg on the back wall so that the pastor could hang up his hat. When the other deacon discovered the peg, he was outraged, “How dare you put up a peg without consulting me!” The people in the church took sides and the congregation eventually split. Today the residents of Mayfield County still refer to the two churches as Peg Baptist Church and Anti-Peg Baptist Church.

How silly! But before we get too smug lookign down our nosesa on those Christians for their silliness, we have something of a history of division in Churches of Christ, don't we? A casual observer may find our reasons for our division just as silly as the Peg/Anti-Peg controversy:

• At the same time the controversy raged in Mayfield, our churches were splitting over church music and how to best support our missionaries and mission efforts.
  

• Since that time, we have divided over how cups in communion, classes in Sunday School, and what precisely will happen at the end of time (like God is waiting to see what we decide so He'll know what to do).

We could go on and on enumerating controversies, but this list is depressing enough. All of these are pretty petty reasons to divide. In fact, it is rather hard to imagine a noble reason to divide the church Jesus prayed would be one. Sure, there may be many reasons why we feel comfortable at one place and not at another. Paul and Barnabas had to agree to disagree at one point. But pointing fingers? Splitting hairs that split the church? Gathering our robes around us and proclaiming, "All who are on the Lord's side come to me?" Is that our job?

In 1 Coprinthiasn 15, Paul gives us a peg upon which to hang our hat, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures." We will never stand together on all the minutia of things that take place when one is "doing church." And we shouldn't all agree on such things; there is something to be said for variety! But let's hang our hat on the one thing that really matters-- the cross on which Jesus died.

Some Heavy Thoughts

I have been having trouble generating any enthusiasm about getting back seriously on my low-carb Atkins diet. The combination of the holidays and our cruise has left me with an additional ten pounds that I would like not have. But after eating bread, pasta and even pizza for awhile, going back to doing without them is difficult. I’ve considered the idea of trying another approach to weight loss; is there a bread and pasta and pizza diet? But what I won’t be trying is the Hong Kong approach I ran across recently--

A bold weight-loss program of the Life of Life Healing Spa in Hong Kong involves actually setting fire briefly to the parts of the body holding the most fat, according to a December dispatch in London's Daily Telegraph. According to owner Karen Chu, the fire follows an energy flow "reading," full-body exfoliation, high-pressure hose spray, and herb-and-potion and alcohol rub-downs (but wet towels and a fire extinguisher are at the ready in case of problems). Chu said about 100 clients have undergone the treatment, with no complications, and the ones interviewed by the Daily Telegraph reporter praised the service. Chu said the treatment is based on traditional Chinese medicine, but a Hong Kong doctor interviewed by Agence France-Presse said, "I have never heard of such a thing."

Ouch! A lot of people have been burned by fad diets and crazy weight loss schemes, but this is a bit ridiculous! It kinds makes my low-carb breakfast bar seem like a piece of cake!

Has it even hit anyone as a bit ironic that we live in a country in which one of our major problems is getting too much to eat! No matter what approach we take to weight-control, we are truly blessed to live in a time and place in which food and other life necessities are so plentiful. How dare we take that for granted! How dare we forget about those who don't have enough. Maybe if I spent more time in prayer thanking God for His bountry and asking His blessing on those in need, I wouldn’t have so much time to hear the call of that bag of cookies that someone left in the kitchen after the Super Bowl party!

Twist of Fate

I ran across the following story in an news article on MSNBC’s website recently. In is one of those "Twist of Fate" things that reminds us that our actions can have real and positive consequneces of others and ourselves.

Seven years ago, Kevin Stephan (10) of Lancaster, N.Y., was a bat boy for a Little League baseball team. A player warming up accidentally hit him in the chest, and Kevin’s heart stopped beating. A nurse named Penny Brown happened to be at the game, and she rushed to Stephan and performed CPR. It was fortunate for Stephan that Brown was even there at the game that night. She had been scheduled to work, but was given the day off at the last minute. Here quick thinking and training saved a life; what she didn’t know at the time was that this would save her life as well.

Seven years later, Penny Brown was eating at the Hillview Restaurant in Depew, N.Y., when she began to choke on her food. When people realized that she was in serious trouble, they began to scream for help. Fortunately for Brown, working that night at the restaurant was one Kevin Stephan, now a seventeen year old Eagle Scout and volunteer junior firefighter. He rushed to Brown and performed the Heimlich maneuver. He saved Brown’s life-- the saved had become savior.

We live lives that are so interconnected with those around us. John Donne reminds us that none of us are islands apart from others; we are all “a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” The life we live impacts those around us, just as their lives impact us. As Christians, we must realize the influence we can have on others around us. We impact others as we serve God joyfully and faithfully. We are a blessing to others when we refuse to be negative or pessimistic. We add to the good in the world when we avoid gossip and criticism. We bless others when we thankfully focus on our blessings. And in turn, they become a blessing to us. The joy of the Lord will be our strength… and it can become the strength of others as well. The spiritual life that your positive influence will help save just may be your own!

Bad Game / Good Time

Sure, it was a sloppy game between inferior teams (neither of which were the Colts). But our 12th annual Super Bowl party was a huge success. We had a great crowd for our worship (at the strange hour of 5:00 p.m.) The competition in our homemade soup (SOUP-er Bowl, get it?) was fierce. The winning soup along with all its competitors was polished off along with our Outback Potato Bar, a jillion hot dogs, and plethora of other foods with no nutritional value whatsoever. I just hope that no one was noticing that despite preaching yesterday on self control, I sure made my share of trips to food tables! “I couldn’t help it; that’s just the way that I am!”

We saw something important illustrated last night. In the second quarter with the action heating up, there was a disastrous fumble. Not in the game... here! Our aging video projector was blindsided and tumbled off its stand and bounced several times on the floor, pieces flying in all directions. The crowd was hushed. Trainers rushed in and feverishly began to work. After as long delay, a picture was restored… with purple blotches (damaged LCD panel) and a ghosted picture (a twisted cable). It was a miracle the bulb didn’t pop. As we worked on the projector, no one left or complained or seemed to care. The game was on hold, but the party continued! We were there not just for the Super Bowl—we were there to be together! We were able to finish the game; sadly, it looks like the projector is finished as well!

One of our guests commented on how great it was that we were able to be together as a church to have fun together. He said, “That is the way it should be.” You know, I think that’s right. We had a great time of worship and teaching yesterday. It it’s great we could just have a great time together too!

Super Bowl Sunday

I can’t believe that is almost time for the Super Bowl. OK, what I really can’ believe is that my Colts again went home early after it really looked like this was the year. I have to admit that I had a hard time getting too excited about the big game. I mean, the Seattle Seahawks for crying out loud? Who would ever think that “Seahawks” and “Super Bowl” would ever be used in the same sentence? And no matter how hard I try to stay on my diet, every time Sunday they mention Ben Roethlisberger (Roesthlis-BURGER), I’m going to want to get something to eat!

So who cares about the big game? Well, I just happened across a story about the Christian faith of some of the key players on Seattle Seahawks. Team leaders and huge stars like quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, safety Michael Boulware and MVP running back Shaun Alexander are all extremely vocal about their faith, routinely giving praise to God and referring to their faith in post-game interviews. And when the Seahawks take the field against the Steelers, head coach Mike Holmgren will be without his wife Kathy and one of their four daughters. They will be on a medical mission trip to the Congo with Northwest Medical Team, a Chriustian relief group. He explains, “My wife has been there before and my daughter is a nurse so they will enjoy it more. It’s more important.” More important? Than the Super Bowl? To the coach? Defensive line coach Zerick Rollins put it this way—

My faith in God is first in everything I do. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Super Bowl or a preseason game. You have to prepare to do your job and do it well, but the first thing you do is give God praise because He deserves it.”

It’s great to run across people on the center stage of this Super Bowl soap opera that have their lives centered. So just when I’m ready to declare myself a Seattle Seahawk fan, I run quotes like these—

"I don’t think we put any value on marriage any longer in our country and, to me, the wedding band is a symbol of my wedding bond with my wife and my bond with God." (Safety Troy Polamalu on why he will wear his wedding ring during the game)

"People think this game may go down in history, but it’s really only temporary. I thank God that I am here, but I know I have to ask Him for guidance because I didn’t know what to expect.... I can’t let this game get me too high or too low. I have to stay focused on God and stay focused on His word." (Wide receiver Antwaan Randle El)

"I’ve been praying every day that I would honor Him and I’m praying now that I don’t embarrass Him during this time. I want to give Him His praise all the time and use this time as a platform not for me, but for Him." (Center Jeff Hartings)

Cool, huh? Here are guys that have worked all their lives to get into the big game, and when they get there, they want to talk about faith and God! So who am I rooting for in the big game? Seems like I have brothers on both sides… and I always stand by my brothers!

When You Trip and Fall

I knew there was a reason that I stayed away from museums… and china shops. A recent Reuters report tells about a visitor to a museum in Cambridge, England who tripped over his own loose shoelace and tumbled down a flight of stairs. The good news was that he was unhurt. The bad news is that he tumbled into a display case housing a collection of vases from the Qing dynasty of China, shattering every vase in the display!

Here was this guy who goes out for an afternoon to the local museum to expand his horizons. One minute he was taking in some culture; the next minute he is tumbling head over heels, smashing the culture to smithereens! Museum director Duncan Robinson was actually quite stoic, “It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed.” At least that is what he said.

We’ve all been there more often than we will admit, haevn't we? One minute we are browsing around through life without a care in the world; the next minute we are tumbling head over heels smashing through something valuable and breakable. We say or do exactly the wrong thing at precisely the wrong time… leaving a pile of shattered feelings behind in our wake. we know what the guy felt like sitting at the bottom of the stairs with the shattered pottery pieces all around him. Aren’t you grateful that God is eternally forgiving and gracious when we trip and fall? Shouldn’t we seek to be a little more forgiving and gracious to one another?

A Matter of Priorities

OK, I'm just a little sensitive about buying this new TV, OK? Huge case of buyer's remorse. Hey, I bought it so that I could give the old one to my daughter who lost her's to a thief. Of course, I could have bought her the NEW one, but I'm trying to teach her reserve and self-discipline. (No one is buying this, are they?) Then I come acress this story--

MANTECA, Calif. -- A California pastor accused of selling his town's oldest church has pleaded guilty to embezzlement and agreed to 18 months in prison. Randall Radic had preached at First Congregational Church of Ripon for nearly a decade before he sold the church last October for $525,000, allegedly using the money to buy a BMW. Authorities said he also faked documents that gave him possession of his house, which was owned by the church, then used the property to take out loans.

So maybe preachers can be as swept away by materialism as anyone else? Maybe from watching religious TV, you may have the idea that we have MORE of a problem than anyone else! There is nothing wrong with a new TV. (Pause for an "Amen"). Hey, there is nothing wrong with a new BMW (but $525,000?). There is something wrong when we let our values get completely out of control... or controlled by the world. That's somethign we all have to struggle with at times. Excuse me, but I need to check the BestBuy delivery schedule for this week!