Living in Community in the Church

In Sunday school, we are going through Thom Rainer's I am a Church Member. The concept behind the book began with a blog post. The book is a short read, about 80 pages, broken into 6 chapters. We are covering a chapter a week. This week I was asked if I would teach on Chapter 1 of the book. Following are my thoughts.

This past week there was a protester in front of my house. She was holding a Japanese flag and sign saying “Fukushima is here”. Seeing as she was in front of my house, I went out to talk to her. Her main concern was raising awareness of radiated water from the nuclear power plant coming our direction. I asked what her solution was and she said we needed to gather as a community at the bay and sing songs and our metaphysical forces combined will cleanse the water.

When I told some people about her, they mentioned that it sounds like Rick Perry asking for people to pray to end the drought in Texas. Perhaps.

There are some important concept she knows and acknowledges. There are supernatural forces at work in our world and together we can accomplish more than alone. However, there is a stark difference between her beliefs and the beliefs shared by Rick Perry and myself, the source of the supernatural power. God is the source, not our combined conscience.

Over the next 6 weeks in Sunday school, we are going to be talking about working together in community and how together we can have a great impact on our community for God.

I am a Church Member is written by Thom Rainer. He is currently the President and CEO of LifeWay Christian Resources. LifeWay is a Christian resource provider and an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention. He is a Pastor and has served at many churches throughout the SBC.

I think a great summary of the book is found in the subtitle, Discovering the attitude that makes the difference. What attitude should we as church members have in order for our church to best function?

The book is broken into six topics.

• I Will Be a Functioning Member
• I Will Be a Unifying Church Member
• I Will Not Let the Church Be About My Preferences and Desires
• I Will Pray for My Church Leaders
• I Will Lead My Family to Be Healthy Church Members
• I Will Treasure Church Membership as a Gift

Today we will focus on I Will Be a Functioning Member. But first, I think it is important we establish a few working definitions of What is the church and What is a church member

So what is the church? Our word church comes from the Greek word Ekklesia. Using Strong's concordance, we find the following definitions.

• a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
• an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
• the assembly of the Israelites
• any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
• in a Christian sense
• an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
• a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order's sake
• those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
• the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
• the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

I bring up all of these definitions to show that the church has always been defined as a group of people, not a physical place.

If reminds me of the old hymn, I am the Church.

The church is not a building;

the church is not a steeple;

the church is not a resting place;

the church is a people.

I am the church! You are the church!

We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus,

all around the world!

Yes, we're the church together!

The Church is the body of Christ. 

If the church is a group of people, who are the people that make up the church? They are the members of the body of Christ. We who are Christians are all members of the Church. This is not restricted by physical location, denomination, country, language, worship style, how often one joins together.

Then what is the local church? Local Christians, a subset of the larger body, who are brought together by physical location, for the purpose of carrying out the mission of the body of Christ. 

What is it to be a member of a local church? It is important for administrative concerns. In our local church, it is important for voting on things like our budget or holding certain leadership offices in the church. It is not important in us worshiping together, partaking in the Lord’s Supper, or even being active in ministry in and through this local church. We have many very active people in our church who are not members of this local church.

For this study, a think a good church member working definition we can use is Members of the body of Christ, that is Christians, who join together for the purpose of glorifying God through faith, worship, love, and works. Given we are gathered together as a local church, we want to focus on the members of the Church who join together with their main physical gathering place in this building.

We’ve established some basics of what is the church and what is a member. The church is the collection of Christians who are members of the body of Christ. Let us now consider our text for today.

1 Corinthians 12: 12-31

Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. If they were all one part, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Our society has various clubs where we are members. Some such clubs include country clubs, civic organizations, churches, political organizations, aquariums, travel clubs (AAA), professional organizations. I think we can break these clubs into two categories. Groups we are members of for the benefits and groups we are members of for service.

Regarding groups we are members of for the benefits. These would be things like travel clubs where being a member gets you benefits like free maps, roadside assistance, and trip planning help. I have been a member of groups strictly for the benefits. When I was a school teacher, I was a member of a teaching association for the insurance they provided as a benefit. I am a member of the local aquarium because it is cheaper than paying the entrance fee. I do nothing with these other than pay my annual dues and receive the benefits.

We also have groups we are members to join together for a purpose. My father in law is a member of a civic organization. His club is a group of people who come together with a purpose of helping the local community.

In the book, Rainer says many people in the church treat it like a country club. Now, I’ve never been a member of a country club. The closest I've come is the Travis Tritt song I’m a member of a country club, country music is what I love. I did date a girl who was a member. Her dad told me to take her to dinner and put it on his tab. We went and ate dinner and I ended up getting sick at the table. That's about my entire involvement with a country club. For our discussion, let’s compare it to placing it in the first category, we are a member for the benefits. I am a member of the church so that the pastor will teach me. I am a member of the church so that the youth group will teach my children. Or for a mayor in a town I use to live in, I am a member of the church so the local community will vote for me. He only attended the month prior to the election and he attended both services.

That is not why we are a church. So what does it mean to be a member of the church in order to join together for a purpose? First, we must acknowledge the other members in our church. We are in Community. Paul talks about this when he wrote The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 

A local missionary with Military Cru often says the Bible is about relationship. Relationship between God and man, man and God, and man and man. If the church is a community, we are concerned with relationship between man and man to create and enhance relationships between God and man.

Ross King has a song titled Community I've written about before. It is a simple song, but a great message. A few lines from it are:

Teach us to be community Jesus, teach us to be community, unify our hearts as one. 

One church, one family, sharing their all, to each as they need, one goal, one purpose, glory to God in this we agree. 

One part suffers, all parts suffer together, one part honored, all parts rejoice.

We are all different people, from different backgrounds, we don’t agree on everything, but we are unified in Christ. The diversity is good for the body

However, we must acknowledge that we are not only in a community, but that we are connected and affected by each other. When one body part gets sick, the entire body must be treated. We must take care of each other. 

When our worship pastor shared his vision for the church, he used the example of his time in the Army. As those of us in the military have seen, we know our Sailors will take care of each other when there is a need. When I am on deployment, I know that my wife and family will be taken care of. I know not only would she be called weekly, but if she needed something, people would drop everything to come help, even in the middle of the night. I know because it has happened. When one of my Sailors was in need, his fellow Sailors and his leaders will take care of him. This can range from issues in the military to issues with his credit card or his land-lord. We depend on each other and help each other. It is a great model for the church.

We do well to pray and care for each other when we have needs, but let us not neglect to rejoice together with our praises. Our deaconesses do a great job of this. Anytime someone is in need they organize meals. They send out birthday cards to everyone. Their birthday card was the only card that came on time besides my wife and children. Thank you to all the deaconesses. 

I was once asked three questions by a pastor. Where are you in your walk with Jesus? What do you suffer with? What can the church do for you? These are good questions and we should all ponder them, but lets rephrase the third question like John F Kennedy. Ask not what the church can do for you but what you can do for your church!

To do that, we need to be a functioning member.

What does it mean to be a functioning member? Let's look at what it means to not be functioning. If a body part gets gangrene, what must happen? It must be cut it off or the rest dies. It doesn't affect just itself, but the entire body.

So what are the different parts of the body of Christ? As parts of the body of Christ, we each have a role. What is your role? What are the gifts God has given you to use? Paul mentions spiritual gifts in several of his letters, this is just a short list: Pastor, Leadership, Teaching, Administration, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Faith, Discerning, and Mercy. Beyond these spiritual gifts, God has blessed each of us with practical gifts, our abilities, to carry out our spiritual gifts. Paul writes in Romans 12, not all have the same gifts, but whatever your gift is, do it.

I am reminded of the Public Service Announcement “Anyone can be a father, but it takes a man to be a dad?" What’s the difference? Involvement. This same is for the church. Anyone can go to church, but it takes a Christian to be a church member. We need Sunday morning teaching, we need to be spiritually feed, we will need to be ministered to, but we also need to minister to others in whatever way God equips us to.

How do we carry this out? What allows us to rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn? (Romans 12:15). Love. How do we define love? 1st Corinthians 13 is the best definition of Christian love. Without love for others, we cannot minister to them. We cannot have a relationship without love. And we cannot love except for God loving us first. 

Throughout the book, Rainer gives six pledges. This is the first Pledge. I like the metaphor of membership. It’s not membership as in a civic organization or a country club. It’s the kind of membership given to us in 1 Corinthians 12: “Now you are the body of Christ and individual members of it” (I Corinthians 12:27). Because I am a member of the body of Christ, I must be a functioning member, whether I am an “eye,” an “ear,” or a “hand.” As a functioning member, I will give. I will serve. I will minister. I will evangelize. I will study. I will seek to be a blessing to others. I will remember that “if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:26).

We all have a role. We must listen to the spirit to know our gifts and know how to employ it. We are to use our role in the church. Our church is a community and we must care for each other and celebrate with each other. Our church extends beyond these walls to all Christians world wide. But first, we must love. Without love, we are nothing. Love God, Love your neighbor, Be a functioning member.

Considerations on My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

On Good Friday, I was asked to share with the congregation of my church on the passage of Jesus on the cross when he says My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? This was part of a Good Friday service in which the lessons were drawn from the Seven Last Words of Christ.

This line comes from Matthew 27:46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

Following are my thoughts as delivered.


"Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?"

"My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  These words are uttered by our Lord as he hangs on the cross, suffering awful physical pain from crucifixion and the events over the last day.

Just days earlier, crowds had turned out to welcomed him into Jerusalem. He had ridden into town like a king, riding on a donkey. The adoring crowds laid garments before him, waving palm branches. “Hosanna!” they cried. “Blessed be the king of Israel!” “Praise to God in the highest!”

His arrival in Jerusalem had turned the town upside-down. Everyone was talking about the king who had arrived. The crowds followed him everywhere he went, clinging to his every word. Every morning they would gather in the temple to listen to his teaching. The entire town, filled with Jews coming to celebrate the Passover, was paying attention to this man Jesus and his message.

Religious leaders demanded he silence the people. They demanded answers to their questions, hoping to catch him in a trap. They tried to lead the people away from Jesus.  Nevertheless, through all of this, the crowds kept gathering and those who opposed him were silenced by his answers.

Then one night, while in the garden of Gethsemane at the Mount of Olives, he was taken away in the darkness by men bearing weapons, betrayed by one of his own disciples. Most of his other disciples would flee in fear, one of his closest even publicly denying he even knew Jesus. He was brought before the religious rulers, Herod the tetrarch of Galilee, and Pontius Pilate the prefect of Judaea. Despite being given a mockery of a court trial, he was found guilty of no crime, yet sentenced to be punished by being lashed. He was tied to a post and beaten by whips until the near the point of death. His back was torn to shreds with wounds deep into the muscle. He was untied and left lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. The guards ridiculed him by dressing him up in a robe, making him hold a scepter, and fastening a crown made of thorny sticks and placing it on his head. They then beat him and spit in his face while mocking and insulting him.

The crowds, those same voices who just days earlier had chanted “Hosanna in the highest!” at his arrival now cried “crucify him! Crucify him!” Pilate responded to their cries, “I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death.” But their pleas continued. "Away with this man!” they shouted. “Release to us instead the murderer!” Pilate grew fearful because of the crowd. Having turned against Jesus, the cries of the crowd compelled Pilate to sentence Jesus to the cross, the man who Pilate said he could find no wrong doing in.

After enduring the flogging that brought him close to death, he was forced to carry his own cross through town until he could bear it no longer. He was taken outside of town, on the hill of Calvary.

He was then placed on the cross. Nails were pierced through his wrists and his feet. He was then lifted up, naked before all, under a sign King of the Jews. The weight of his entire body hanging on these nails would cause excruciating pain. The very word excruciating was created to describe this pain and literally means “a pain like the pain of crucifixion.” His legs are bent at 45 degrees, causing them to become extremely fatigued and overcome with cramps. The weight of his body causes his shoulders, elbows, and wrists to become dislocated. To take a breath, he would have to lift his body up, each breath only continuing the agonizing torture he was enduring. In his chest, the sac around his heart was filling with fluid, compressing his heart. Indeed, Christ was living out the very words David wrote in the 22^nd Psalm, I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eh-loy-ee Eh-loy-ee, la-ma sa-buck-tani' that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  

My god, my God, why have you forsaken Jesus?

1500 years earlier, at this very same time of the year, hundreds of thousands of Israeli slaves were about to have their last night in Egypt. As God had commanded, Moses had the people slaughter the Passover lamb. They then dipped hyssop into the blood and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the doorframe. When the Lord came through the land to strike down the Egyptians that very night, he would see the blood on the doorframe and would pass over that doorway, and not permit the angel of death to enter their houses and strike them down. When the angel of death came that night, the death in Egypt was so great, Pharaoh and the Egyptians pleaded for the Israelites to leave. The lamb was slayed so that the people might live.

For 400 years the people of Israel were in a land that was not theirs, a slave to another people, awaiting deliverance by Yahweh. He heard their cries and had not forsaken them. That very night, through the blood of the Passover lamb, Yahweh delivered his people as his wrath was poured out on Egypt because of Pharaoh. The blood of the Passover lamb was shed for deliverance from God’s wrath for those people who God had chosen to save.

In the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This was the one thing which God had warned them not to do. Through their willful disobedience to God, sin entered into the world, man fell into sin, and Adam and Eve were banished from the garden where they enjoyed relationship with the Lord. For this sin, we were all born under the condemnation of God. Indeed all of us have freely chosen to sin through willful disobedience to God and are well deserving of this condemnation.

Ever since the fall, all creation has cried to God to restore the relationship. God’s faithful people offered animal sacrifices, but these could not remove the guilt from the heart of the sinner. God’s people continued to cry out for salvation from sin.

But the condemnation of sin is not easily removed from before the eyes of the most righteous God. His wrath for transgressions against him must be satisfied. Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness and whose blood should be shed except the one who committed the sin. For man, there was no hope for forgiveness, only death because of their sins.

But Yahweh heard their cries and had not forsaken them. Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Lamb of God, came in the flesh. Just like the Passover lamb 1500 years earlier, Jesus was slaughtered, his blood poured out. His blood was placed on those who believe, and when God comes in final judgment, those who are marked with the blood of the lamb will be passed over, and the angel of death will bring no harm.

He suffered humiliation on the cross and died through one of the most cruelest forms of death man has ever invented. His last day was filled with great physical suffering. He saw the crowds who welcomed him into town call for him to be taken from town and killed. He was abandoned by God the Father, endured the wrath of God, and allowed to suffer unto death. And all of it was so that those who had sinned against God could be forgiven and come to God. Jesus was forsaken so that you could be cherished. He was killed so that you might live.

My god, my God, why have you forsaken Jesus? So that I might be remembered and forgiven. I know no way to thank you, my dear Savior.

It's OK, no one noticed

Last time I talked about how people mess up and we take comfort in no one seeing the mistake, except for those who saw it. At a recent church service, I was in that same position. It was OK, no one noticed.

I was helping to serve communion. This is twice now that I have messed up while serving communion. In this church, the elements are distributed to the people in the pews, then the pastor reads from the Bible, says a blessing and prayer, then the people consume to element.

We had passed out the wine and I was back in the front of the church with the other servers. The pastor said a prayer, then there was a pause. Thinking it was time, I consumed. The pastor then said "After supper he took the cup..." Oops.

No one noticed, right? I looked up and saw the guy sitting in the first pew chuckling at me. I smile then look a few more rows back. Another guy is staring at me with a smirk.

OK, no one noticed, except for two people.

It's OK, no one noticed

Whenever I hear someone make a mistake while making music, either getting off tempo or playing the wrong note, I'm always reminded of what my band director in middle school always said, "No one except you noticed the mistake."



I always feel I should comfort that musician afterwards. "Don't worry, no one noticed your mistake, except for me..."

That's not very comforting.

3 Prisoners Problem

In one of my classes, we were given the following problem.

Three prisoners, A, B, C are in their cells. They are told that one of them will be executed the next day and the others will be pardoned. Only the governor knows who will be executed. Prisoner A asks the guard a favor. “Please ask the governor who will be executed, and then tell either prisoner B or C that they will be pardoned.” The guard does as was asked and then comes back and tells prisoner A that he has told prisoner B that he (B) will be pardoned. What are prisoner A’s chances of being executed, given this message? Is there more information than before his request to the guard?


At first glance, it probably seems that prisoner A would have a 50/50 chance of pardon. That seems obvious since Prisoner A knows that Prisoner B or C has one of the pardons and the other would go to him or the remaining prisoner. But let's take a look at the math.

In this case, there are four possible cases.

Case 1: Prisoner A is to be executed, Prisoner B was told by the guard he was to be pardoned.

Case 2: Prisoner A is to be executed, Prisoner C was told by the guard he was to be pardoned.

Case 3: Prisoner B is to be executed, Prisoner C was told by the guard he was to be pardoned.

Case 4: Prisoner C is to be executed, Prisoner B was told by the guard he was to be pardoned.

There are no other possible valid cases.

So given those 4 possibilities, we find the following probabilities:

p(Btold | A) = 1/2, p(Btold | B) = 0, and p(Btold | C) = 1.

And from the problem statement, we know that p(A) = p(B) =  p(C) = 1/3.

However, we are trying to calculate p(A | Btold). Let's use Bayes Theorem.

p(A | Btold) = ( p(Btold | A) * p(A) ) / ( p(Btold | A) * p(A) + p(Btold | B) * p(B) + p(Btold | C) * p(C) )

p(A | Btold) = ( 1/2 * 1/3 ) / ( 1/2 * 1/3 + 0 * 1/3 + 1 * 1/3) = (1/6) / ( 1/6 + 2/6) = 1/3

So we find that the probability of Prisoner A being executed given that Prisoner B was told he will be pardoned is 1/3, the same as before he know of Prisoner B being pardoned. However, for Prisoner C, since we know that the probability of p(B | Btold) must be 0, that is that Prisoner B cannot be executed if he is told he will be pardoned and p(Btold | B) * p(B) = 0, and the probability of p(A | Btold) + p(B | Btold) + p(C | Btold) = 1, that is that one of the 3 prisoners must be executed, we find that the probability of Prisoner C being pardoned is now 1 - 1/3 = 2/3.

Alternatively,

p(C | Btold) = ( p(Btold | C) * p(C) ) / ( p(Btold | A) * p(A) + p(Btold | B) * p(B) + p(Btold | C) * p(C) )

p(C | Btold) = ( 1 * 1/3 ) / ( 1/2 * 1/3 + 0 * 1/3 + 1 * 1/3) = (1/3) / ( 1/6 + 2/6) = 2/3


Additionally, I wrote a python program that allows execution of the 3 prisoner problem.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9EB3hdj0VV9ZkdZTDR4UkpwbEU/edit?usp=sharing


The best strategy though might just be to stay out of jail.

Most of them grew

This morning at church, the topic of the parable of the sower came up. Something I had never thought about before is that in the story, most of the seeds began growing.

Matthew 13

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!”

A few verses later, Jesus explains the parable to the disciples.

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

Something that struck me was of the 4 seeds, 3 of them began to grow. Only the one on the path didn't begin to grow.

So that leaves 1 on the rocky soil, 1 in the thorns, and 1 on the good soil. Of those, they all heard the gospel and made some type of response. An interesting discussion could be had regarding the state of salvation for each of them, but that clearly isn't the point of the parable. What is the point is that we aren't called to just have an initial response to the gospel, but for our entire life to be a response to the gospel and to produce a harvest for God.

We are called for more than a sinner's prayer and walk down to the front at the end of a service.

This is Truth!

In 2001 I had a Palm Pilot. I don't remember much about it, a year later it got wet and never dried out. But I was cool before cool was cool, because  I used my Palm Pilot for my Bible at Breakaway at Texas A&M. Now, you can't go to church without seeing people using their iPhones for their Bibles. Back in my day, we used our Bibles. Except for me, I was cool. I used my Palm Pilot.

On Tuesday mornings I attend a men's breakfast at my church. We have breakfast followed by a devotion. This past Tuesday, the gentleman leading the devotion was using his iPhone for his bible. During a dramatic point in his devotion he said "This is Truth!" I looked  and he was holding his iPhone up like a Southern Baptist preacher waving the Bible around.

What Have I Become?

I stopped at Starbucks today.

When asked what I would like, I said without hesitation "A tall blonde, to the top. Everything bagel, toasted, with creme cheese." I actually sounded legit.

I am so ashamed.

Oh Snap! Hello, World!

In programming, the first program that many people write in a new language is Hello, World! A simple program that displays "Hello, World!" on the screen.

I think we should change from Hello, World! to Oh, Snap!

The Oh, Snap! program is based on the Oh, Snap! flowchat.

Here is Oh, Snap! in three languages, Python, C++, and Prolog.

Python

#ohSnap.py
#Clinton Woods
#Python 3, ver: 3.3.2
#Wing IDE 101, 5.0.1-1 (rev 30370)
#Program determines if an "Oh, snap!" is appropriately warranted.

def ohSnap():
    YES = ["YES", "Y"]
    NO = ["NO", "N"]
    YNOPTIONS = YES + NO

 
    while True:
        toldCheck = input("Did someone get told? ")
        if toldCheck.upper() in YNOPTIONS:
            if toldCheck.upper() in YES:
                print("Oh, snap!\n")
                break
            else:
                print("Tell them.\n")
     
        else:
            print("Invalid input. You got told.")
         
#__main__
if __name__ == "__main__":
    ohSnap()


C++

//ohSnap.cpp
//Clinton Woods
//C++
//Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Express Ver. 10.0.30319.1
//Determines if Oh, Snap! is warranted.

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
#include <sstream>

using namespace std;

void ohSnap (){
string told;
string yes = "yes";
string no = "no";

cout << "Was someone told? ";
getline (cin, told);
if(told == yes){
cout << "Oh snap!" << endl;
}
else if(told == no){
cout << "Tell them." << endl;
}
else{
cout << "Invalid input. You got told." << endl;
}
return;

}

int main(){
ohSnap();
return 0;
}


Prolog

%ohSnap.pl
%
%Clinton Woods
%Created: February 1, 2014
%
%Written in Microsoft Windows Notepad
%Developed for and tested using SWI-Prolog version 7.1.5
%
%This program runs on query.
%
%This program query's the user to determine if the use of Oh Snap is warranted.

ohSnap(oh_snap) :-
told(yes),
        !.

ohSnap(tell_them) :-
told(no),
        !.

ohSnap(invalid_input_you_got_told) :-
        told(C).

getTold :-
write('Did someone get told?: '),
read(A),
nl,
assert(told(A)).

query :-
retractall(told(A)),
getTold,
ohSnap(B),
write(B),
nl.

Chant a Psalm

I love reggae music. One group I really like is Steel Pulse. One of my favorite songs of their's is Chant a Psalm.

An interesting concept presented in the song is that chanting keeps the devil away.

Get behind me Satan
I got chant

The last verse tells us about all of the heroes of the old testament who chanted psalms.

Moses he did chant chant
Samson he did chant chant
Elijah he did chant chant
I want the whole a we fe chant chant
Solomon he did chant chant
His father King David chant chant
John the Baptist chant chant
I want the whole a we fe chant chant.

Chanting is not something any church that I have attended has done, but it is a beautiful thing. 
Many of the songs we sing in church are based on the psalms. I think it is amazing that for thousands of years, Jews and Christians have been singing and reciting the same words to express our praise to our God.

Maybe we should give chanting a try sometime. It just might keep the devil away.

Bang a drum for the rain

Jon Bon Jovi and Chris LeDoux recorded Bang a Drum together.



My wife and I are from Georgia and Texas, respectively. Both states have endured droughts in recent time. In both states, the governors Sonny Perdue and Rick Perry called on their citizens to pray for rain.

In our paper here in California this week was this advertisement.



We now live in a very different state.

Does a crimson tide flow in Auburn?

This past Sunday at church, we sang Julia Johnston's classic hymn, Grace Greater than all Our Sin.

 

 The third verse reads
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
brighter than snow you may be today.

The line about There is flowing a crimson tide made me wonder if this song is sung in churches in Auburn, Alabama.

Children Theology

Today during church, we took communion. During the time of preparation, the pastor read from 1 Corinthians 11:23-34. After he read the 27th verse,So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord, a young girl in front of me turned to her older brother and said "That means chew with your mouth closed."

Joseph was a step dad

The Sunday before Christmas, the pastor at the church we attended appropriately continued his sermon series on the birth of Jesus. He discussed Joseph's dream, when the angel came to him and said "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:20-21)

The pastor discussed how Joseph accepted his responsibility as the father of Jesus and raised him as his own son. He did stop short of saying that Joseph was a step dad, but the idea was there.

It is OK for us to admit it, Joseph was the step-dad of Jesus. Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus nor did Jesus have a father who surrendered his parental rights.

Jesus had a biological father through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20). Though most people at the time, and certainly many today, thought/think that Joseph was really the biological father, Joseph, Mary, and Jesus all knew who the real father of Jesus was.

Jesus also acknowledged many times who his father was, and his father acknowledged who Jesus was. The earliest we have Jesus publicly acknowledging who his father is was when he stayed behind in Jerusalem after the Passover. His parents have left Jerusalem after the Passover and later realize that Jesus is not with them. When they return to Jerusalem to find him, they find him in the temple. Mary admonishes Jesus for staying behind, but Jesus says to her “Why were you searching for me? Didn't you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:42-51) At the baptism of Jesus in the river Jordan, God the Father speaks and says “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

Now I can't recall any sermons I have ever heard on being a step dad. Perhaps in some personal story a pastor was sharing. Maybe we avoid it because he causes us to get into topics we don't like to discuss like divorce and remarriage. But maybe starting with Joseph might be a good place to start talking about step dads in church.

Music for Friday

It's Friday for most people today.

This song(s) is by Steve Fromholz. It is a trilogy about the struggle of life in Texas around Kopperl, Texas in Bosque County.

I first heard it from Lyle Lovett's version. I loved the song from the first time I heard it.

This is Texas Trilogy, as performed by Frommux, Steve Fromholz and Dan McCrimmon.



Another one for today

This song is called Man with the Big Hat. I first heard it in New Mexico when it was performed by Bill and Bonnie Hearne. I picked up one of their albums, Celebration: Live at La Fonda, and it included this song with Steve Fromholz performing with them. What a treat that was.

Now I know I'm home

Tyler Barabas, Laura Cheek and Ian Latimer wrote a song about their excitement about returning to Texas so they can have Whataburger. They had been in California where one can find In-n-Out, which while it is a good burger, it isn't a Whataburger.



This past weekend I made a trip back to Texas.

Leaving Monterey, California involved a short hop on a short plane to San Francisco.



The pilot said the inbound flight to MRY saw whales in the Monterey bay, but while I was seated by the window, I did not see any.

Now flying out of MRY is usually not to save time, but convenience. I had a 2 hour layover at SFO before my next flight. Factor in the 20 minute flight and the hour before boarding, a the time spent flying from Monterey to San Francisco is longer than if one just drove. But the convenience of not fighting traffic on 101 through San Jose was nice.

While in San Francisco, I thought I'd get some lunch. Outside security I saw a Subway, but thought I could do better. I cleared security and found numerous restaurants that wanted $20 for the privilege of enjoying their cuisine. My taste buds aren't that picky.

So I found a Greek restaurant. Seemed legit.




Now babynames.com says that the name Max comes from Latin, not Greek. That might have been a good first clue.

I ordered the lamb gyro and sat down. Here is the beauty of that gyro.



Did I win? Well the lamb was OK, i wasn't hungry after I ate, and I didn't pay $20.

Next was the hop from SFO to DFW.



The plane was slightly bigger than the one from Monterey.

When I got to my seat, 15C, there was a gentleman already seated in it. Assuming he was really in 15D and just hoping no one was going to sit in C, the aisle seat, I asked "Are you in 15D?" He said that he was. I put my bag in the overhead and then thought I should encourage him to get into his own seat so I could sit down. I said "Do you just not want to sit in D?" He said that he didn't realize he was in the wrong seat, apologized, and moved over. I was trying to be polite, but I'm pretty sure I came off as being a jerk. My bad.

Onward to DFW.



Landing in DFW, my brother picked me up. First meal in Texas? Need one ask?



Two late night sausage, egg, and cheese taquitos and a coffee. Now I know I'm home.

The weekend went well. I was visiting my brother and his family. I had not met my nephew yet, so it was good to see him. Though he is 6 months old, he is bigger than Jonas who is almost 18 months.



My niece loves coloring, so I picked up a coloring book from SFO. We spent the weekend coloring it, as well as using side walk chalk outside. If you color with a child, you have made a friend for life.

A good game one might want to play is to determine if the drawing is made by me or a 4 year old.

The Fort Worth Museum of Science and History had a Curious George exhibit. My niece wanted to go, and who wouldn't want to meet Curious George?

Now being in Texas, one must eat BBQ. I lived in Georgia for almost 4 years and grew sick of their so-called BBQ. They chop up pork and call that BBQ. It is an insult to BBQ everyone.

I went to a place called Smokey's BBQ in Fort Worth on East Lancaster.





It is in an abandoned Dairy Queen and has a fire truck out front. This place is legit, and not in a Max's Greek kind of way.

I might not be as big of a BBQ aficionado as this self proclaimed BBQ snob, but I did enjoy the BBQ. I found the brisket quite tender, the jalapeno sausage tasty, the sauce had good flavor, but the portions were small.

 Monday morning found me visiting with my niece's preschool class. It was veteran's day and I was asked to talk about the Navy, so that is why I am in uniform in the earlier photo.

After school was a visit to the zoo to see the baby elephants.

On the way to the airport, one final stop to Whataburger was required. I had a Whataburger Jr, with cheese, all the way. I could have done better, but sometimes simple is beautiful.

My flight from DFW went to Phoenix Skyharbor. Walking around, I found this directional sign interest.



It may be hard to see, but beneath the glowing advertisement is 3 directional signs, North, West, and South. Thinking about the cardinal directions, one finds these directions broken. I'm probably the only one to notice or find it humorous.

Landing in Monterey, I drove home and found my family fast asleep. Seeing them, now I know I'm home, Whataburger or not. At least there is Whataburger ketchup in the fridge.