ascent

"i was stoked when my peeps told me it was church time!" that's how i translate psalm 122:1 "i was glad when they said to me, 'let us go to the house of the Lord!". this ancient psalm is a song of ascent. it is one of the songs the Hebrew faithful would sing as they made one of the tri-annual trips up to jerusalem for worship. they literally ascended to a place of worship, climbing the 'hill of the Lord.' but even more powerful was the spiritual and emotional ascent the journey provided. it was uplifting, an ascent. our dream for breiel church is that it will be the most positive, uplifiting, hopefilled place in this entire region- the best in the WORLD at offering our community hope. our dream is that going to breiel, being around breiel people, is an ascent- spiritually, emotionally uplifting. i think we're getting there, just keep climbing. hope is stronger than fear.

thoughts on the election

regardless of one's political affiliation, it seems to me that one would have to be totally unplugged emotionally not to be moved by the outbursts by the masses following tuesday's presidential election. particularly moving was the hope in the eyes and voices of african americans who now can believe that possiblities really do exist for all people in america, a nation with the ideals of christiainity embedded deeply in its frabric. we will not all agree with the decisions our new president will make, that is for sure. some of us may be cautious, even suspicious of him. but as christians we must all pray for him, and i think as christians and americans we can be proud of what having an african american reach the hightest office in the world represents. america has come a long way...from abolition, to voting rights for all, to electing a black president. that is positive. that is maturity. and the church has played a pivotal role each step of the way.

on a personal note....growing up in milton louisiana i went to grade school with Derrick. He was the only black kid in our grade and he was my friend. we grew up together. he got me my first job bussing tables at the Landing restaraunt. I haven't seen Derrick in 20 years, but today my heart is glad for Derrick.

anything else would be uncivilized

i think john the baptist used right guard deodorant (i'm sure he would need it). no really, i think he did. because all the crazy dudes do. i've come to this conclusion because i remember the old commercials, when they use to have all those ruthless football players, dressed up in tuxes, telling me that using anything else would be "uncivilized." i've read about john the baptist, and look, he was really different. i suspect he never even tucked his dress shirt in. in fact, i would be surprised if he even wore a shirt half the time. and yet as eclectic as he was, he was totally dialed in to what God was up to. he was a step ahead of everyone else when it came to sensing the activity of God in the world. jesus himself said of john that no other person got it, understood it, pursued it like john the baptist did. john was an example to others. i'm not sure how i feel about a shirtless wild man being my example. but then how i feel about it, really doesn't matter. it just matters that my opinion line up with God's opinion..."anything else would be"uncivilized."