Took My Chances on a Big Jet Plane, Never Let Them Tell You That They're All the Same

Congratulations to Mr. Andrew Tuegel for correctly naming "Glamourous Indie Rock 'N Roll" by the Killers as the Friday Song of the Day.

On Friday, I ran across this excellent Op-Ed piece that Charles Marsh contributed to the NY Times. Marsh, a professor of religion, at the University of Virginia struck a strong chord when he quoted from the Lausanne Covenant of 1974 that "the church is the community of God's people rather than an institution, and must not be identified with any particular culture, social or political system, or human ideology."

Often, I am deeply troubled by the growth of assertions by some church leaders that the pursuits of the American government in the realm of foreign policy somehow open a new field for the gospel, even if access to that field is gained through bloodshed. As I read the Gospels, I continue to discover that Christ's ways of approaching and interacting with people were very different from those that people in his day used. Christ did not seek to defeat the oppression of the Romans through a violent opposition, but instead continued to seek deeper relationships with all of those around him, even those who sought his ultimate demise.

To continue to be a church that recognizes the inherent value of each and every human being, despite their political ideologies, despite their national origins, despite their affiliations, and despite their leanings, we must recognize that Christ came for all and not simply for those that prescribe to our own view of how the world should operate.

In a tangent, this morning at Highland, Jerry Taylor talked about heaven. I'm pretty sure there is no other subject that I would rather hear about or one that could put me in a better mood. Thanks, Jerry.