Who is to blame?

This article should be on the front page of every newspaper.  It was Charley Reese's final column, who was a journalist for 49 years, printed in the Orlando Sentinel.  It is truly one of those articles that hit the nail directly on the head, defining clearly who it is that in the final analysis must assume responsibility for the judgments made that impact each one of us every day. It is COMPLETELY NEUTRAL and I received it as an email, but felt compelled to add it to this blog.

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don't propose a federal budget. The President does.

You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a President to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The President can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He and fellow House members, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If the President vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ...

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.  They, and they alone, have the power.  They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees...

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

Our prayers for ACFD

Back to Church at Rockford #6

I Don't Like Church

I have a confession to make: I don't like church.  I've been a Christian for thirty years (since I was six years old) and have attended services at churches that were Southern Baptist, Independent Baptist, United Methodist, Free Methodist, Presbyterian (both PCA and PC[USA]), Pentecostal, Assembly of God, and various denominations that call themselves 'non-denominational.'

I've been in some churches were the preacher spoke in dulcet tones and others where he'd speak in tongues.  I've been in churches were the congregation sits in the pews and others were they roll in the aisles.  I've been in churches where people raise their hands in praise and others where they keep their hand on their wallet.  I've been in everything from mega-churches in California to house churches in Japan.  In other words, I'm no stranger to church.

But no matter where I go there is always one idiot who ruins the experience for me.  They think they know more theology than the pastor or believe they would do a better job leading worship than the music minister.  They are invariably unfriendly, judgmental, hypocritical, and more than a little bit smug.  Every church I go to I find a fool like that and so I shop around trying to find one that won't let someone like that join their ranks.  But he's always there.  No matter what I do I can't shake him.  Because that guy is me.

So I have to admit that I don't like church.  I'd rather sleep in on Sunday mornings.  I'd rather follow my own path.  I'd rather excuse myself from public worship until I can "get right with the Lord."  But I can't do that.  Church is where I belong.

In a recent interview with CHRISTIANITY TODAY, Eugene Peterson explains why the church is necessary:

“ But many Christians would look at this church and say it's dead, merely an institutional expression of faith. What other church is there besides institutional?  There's nobody who doesn't have problems with the church, because there's sin in the church.  But there's no other place to be a Christian except the church.  There's sin in the local bank.  There's sin in the grocery stores.  I really don't understand this naive criticism of the institution.  I really don't get it.

Frederick von Hugel said the institution of the church is like the bark on the tree.  There's no life in the bark.  It's dead wood.  But it protects the life of the tree within.  And the tree grows and grows and grows and grows.  If you take the bark off, it's prone to disease dehydration, death.

So, yes, the church is dead but it protects something alive.  And when you try to have a church without bark, it doesn't last long.  It disappears, gets sick, and it's prone to all kinds of disease, heresy, and narcissism. 

In my writing, I hope to recover a sense of the reality of congregation - what it is.  It's a gift of the Holy Spirit.  Why are we always idealizing what the Holy Spirit doesn't idealize?  There's no idealization of the church in the Bible - none.  We've got two thousand years of history now.  Why are we so dumb?”

Why AM I so dumb that I expect the church to be something it's not?  Why can't I recognize that the trouble with the church is that it accepts sinners like me?  If they excluded the people who could ruin it church might be a better place.  But it would also be empty.

As Peterson says, there's no other place to be a Christian.  I may not like church but it's where God wants me to be.  And though I may be nothing more than deadwood in the pews, I'll still be there, doing my part to protect the life of the Church within.

From www.evangelicaloutpost.com; 2/28/05; Joe Carter

Back to Church at Rockford #5

Wide Angle: Live What You Believe

A study by Baylor University on piety in America released this September reveals both good and bad news about the religious landscape.  The good news is that Americans are still extremely religious.  Nine out of ten Americans affiliate themselves with a congregation, denomination, or other religious group.  In fact, less than 5 percent of Americans claim a faith outside of the Judeo-Christian mainstream.

But as the survey digs below the surface, the news begins to look much bleaker, and the need for training in biblical worldview begins to look much more urgent.  For example, nearly a quarter of those surveyed would describe God as distant and not active in the world.  They think of God as a cosmic force which set the laws of nature in motion, not as the engaging Father we find depicted in the Scriptures.

Among those who would label themselves as mainline Protestants, 22 percent believe the Bible is an ancient book of history and legends, another 22 percent never read the Bible, 12 percent never pray, and 14 percent never attend a weekly service.

It's no wonder then that when George Barna did a similar survey in 2003, he found that only 4 percent of American adults have a biblical worldview as the basis of their decision-making.

The bottom line is that there is a huge disparity in the numbers of people who claim to be Christians and those who actually hold to biblical faith.  This should not surprise us, I suppose, given Jesus' warnings in Matthew 7:21 that not everyone who calls Him Lord will enter into the kingdom of heaven.  But it ought to propel each of us to a deeper concern for the souls of those around us, even many in our own pews.

Christians need integrity.  The word INTEGRITY actually means wholeness.  In our culture there is such a tendency to compartmentalize faith.  Like the designers of the Titanic, we believe that if we compartmentalize the hull, the rest of the ship won't sink.  That's why the people in these surveys can say they believe in God, but then live lives of practical atheism.  But understanding and applying a biblical worldview to all of life means integrating your faith into the nitty-gritty details of Monday through Saturday.  It means there is integrity between what you believe and the actions that flow out of that belief.

As Rick Warren says, "Worldview is the most practical thing in your life."  I completely agree.

From BreakPoint Commentary; 12/11/06; Charles Colson

Back to Church at Rockford #4

Are Teens Losing the Faith?

Six out of 10 teens involved in a church will probably not continue their spiritual commitment into early adulthood, according to a September 2006 study by the Barna Group reported by Associated Baptist Press.

The study, conducted from 2001 to 2006, shows that despite previously high levels of spiritual activity, many people in their 20s lose interest in religious activities and often carry that apathy into middle age.  But the survey also found that 20 percent of people in their 20s maintain the same spiritual activities -- like attending church, studying the Bible, donating money and using Christian media -- they did in high school.

Nineteen percent of teens who did not participate in those activities remained disconnected from the Christian faith in adulthood.

David Kinnaman, the research director, said some experts question whether the disengagement is just a phase typical of that age or whether it is unique to the current generation.  Both explanations have some merit, he said, but ultimately that debate misses the point.  "[The point] is that the current state of ministry to 20-somethings is woefully inadequate to address the spiritual needs of millions of young adults," he said.

On the other hand, ministry to teens is thriving.  According to the report, half of the nation's 24 million teens attend some sort of church-related activity each week.  More than 75 percent discuss faith with friends, and three out of five attend at least one youth group meeting at a church during a three-month period.  All told, more than 80 percent of teens attend church for at least two months during high school.

Kinnaman said teens are generally so receptive to matters of faith because of a certain willingness to explore their character, try new things and establish an identity.

"There are certainly effective youth ministries across the country, but the levels of disengagement among 20-somethings suggests that youth ministry fails too often at discipleship and faith formation," he said.

From Preaching Now (www.preaching.com); 9/25/06

Back to Church at Rockford #3

Church Not Important For Spiritual Growth, Americans Say

Almost three-fourths of Americans claim to be Christians, but only a small fraction consider church the place to deepen their faith, a new survey says.

Less than 20 percent of American adults believe participation in a congregation is critical to spiritual growth, and just as few agree that only through participation in a faith community will they reach their full potential, the Barna Research Group reported April 18, 2006.

Based on interviews with 1,003 adults from across the nation, the telephone surveys also found that as few as 17 percent of adults said "a person's faith is meant to be developed mainly by involvement in a local church."  What's more, only one-third of all evangelicals -- the group most likely to attend church -- endorsed the concept.

And while 72 percent of Americans claim they have personally committed themselves to Jesus Christ, less than 50 percent attend religious services on a weekly basis.

"These figures emphasize how soft people's commitment to God is," evangelical researcher George Barna said in the report.  "Americans are willing to expend some energy in religious activities such as attending church and reading the Bible, and they are willing to throw some money in the offering basket, but when it comes time to truly establishing their priorities and making a tangible commitment to knowing and loving God, most people stop short."

Barna also said the results should challenge church leaders to foster a "more positive community experience."  Instead of a generic church model, which emphasizes attendance and experience-driven services, Barna said, churches should try for relationships that are less fluid in nature.

"Jesus' example leaves no room for doubt about the significance of involvement in a faith community," he said, adding that a "biblical understanding of the preeminence of community life" takes strategic planning and time.

The survey, conducted in January, queried a random sampling of people 18 years and older living in the continental United States.  The geographic distribution of survey respondents corresponded to that of the U.S. population.

From Associated Baptist Press (www.abpnews.com); 4/21/06; Hannah Elliott

Back to Church at Rockford #2

The Church Is Essential To the Christian

The great preacher Elton Trueblood once described the church like this: "The church is essential to the Christian, not because it brings him personal advancement or even inspiration, but because, with all its failures, it is an indispensable instrument for the redemption of the world."

(Dynamic Preaching)