Blogging Techniques Offer from Simpleology

I'm evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they're letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog.

It covers:

• The best blogging techniques.
• How to get traffic to your blog.
• How to turn your blog into money.

I'll let you know what I think once I've had a chance to check it out. Meanwhile, go grab yours while it's still free.

Christmas - my irreverent thoughts

My bottom line on Christmas is simply this: it's a secular/pagan holiday that does NOT honor Christ, does NOT advance the gospel, and basically leaves people with warm and fuzzy sentimentality while (hopefully) emptying their pockets. The biggest smiles and the merriest Christmas belong to the retailers. January is doubly bleak, because the weather is usually disagreeable, and the bills come in.

Jehovah's Witnesses have hit this one right (and they are also right on the Pledge of Allegiance). Christmas is not for Christians. When you celebrate your birthday (if you do), do you break out your baby pictures? Do you relate a historically incorrect rendition of your birth? If not, then why is this done for Jesus Christ?

It's just Saturnalia, folks: A Pagan Holiday in drag. No "Christmas" before about the 4th Century, when the political powers that then existed apparently realized that the only way to control the Christians was to infiltrate them, something very difficult when the church was underground. So they made Christianity the 'official religion' of the Roman Empire, something to which the church never aspired.

And guess what? Same deal today: "Christianity" is the "official religion" of America, and the government (our pagan masters) controls the whole show through its network of 501(c) 3 franchises that dot the landscape.

Have you ever seen an "American Flag" in a church building? Why is that? Just who do they serve? Do they collect taxes from the folks who work there? Are they under submission to Federal, state, and local civil governments? If so, why? Perhaps because the "Jesus" they serve is also under submission - a FALSE CHRIST (that's what "antichrist" means, by the way) that has been manufactured for people who don't really want the real One.

Hmmmmm.

"We Are The Borg"

Star Trek - The Next Generation had, as one of the nemeses of the Enterprise crew, a foe called The Borg. This was a community of people who submerged their identities into the collective and, by technological means, became completely interactive with each other. The goal of The Borg was to assimilate everyone and, of course, this meant overcoming the resistance of any who did not wish to become part of the Borg collective.

I leave it to you, reader, to determine if that's the direction we're going and, if so, whether we really want to go there. I fear that when a lot of people decide they don't want to go there, it will already be too late.

Unless, of course, we experience one of those 'singularities' that takes out our technology and puts us back where we were in the 19th century.

For myself, I'm 'tech'd out' so to speak -- I've had too much of what our technological world offers and I'm tired of it. That's why I haven't blogged in the past three months and why I'm not renewing my web sites. I fear that it can only get worse, and that possibility does not excite me.

We Are Not Professionals

I just finished reading John Piper's plea to pastors, entitled Brothers, We Are NOT Professionals in which he outlines what he calls an appeal for "radical ministry." The word 'radical' comes from the Latin word 'radix' meaning 'root.' Ironically, radical ministry today just means getting back to the roots -- the basics -- of what ministry was when the apostles lived.

My thanks to Jim Hatfield for recommending it.

The book was published in 2002 and I don't know how long it takes for something like this to gain traction in the 'marketplace of ideas' but I sincerely hope, in this case, that it's quickly. It targets pastors, but since a pastor is a spiritual shepherd, the lessons apply to anyone in the Body who has a leadership role relating to anyone else. Fathers are 'pastors' of their families and church staff members similarly are in leadership positions.

Read it and then return to this blog and post your thoughts.

Taking Hell Seriously

Bill Weise (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ho9iA2pJ9SM) claims that in 1998 he had an out-of-body experience in which he visited hell.

This is, to me, a very sobering thought. Today, it's theologically fashionable to postulate that either everyone will be eventually saved, or that hell is not really that serious; that is, either it's not permanent or the flames aren't really that hot.

Or that it's all parables and figures of speech ... I won't catalog all the theories; just ask any ten church-goers and you'll hear plenty.

Weise and those who interview him tend to think that this experience, and Weise's relating of it, are intended to energize the believers in their efforts at 'soul-winning.' I'm too Reformed to accept that, and think the problem the Lord is addressing lies elsewhere.

Of course, it's also evangelically fashionable to believe that the Lord is basically very satisfied with us: our attitudes, our lifestyles, our effervescent worship services, etc. So we're lagging a bit in the area of personal evangelism and He sends us a wake-up call in the person of Bill Weise, and the message is "Get out there and witness! Your neighbors will go to hell if you don't warn them!"

As I said, some Reformed thinkers may find this problematic. I certainly don't believe the Lord will allow someone to perish because I am disobedient. We can pursue this later (or write me). I think the real problem is ingratitude in the Body. We Christians don't really believe that being saved from hell was all that big a deal, so we lack gratitude for what Christ has done for us.

Check out the video. More importantly, check out what the Bible has to say about hell. Read Jonathan Edwards' classic Sinners In The Hands of an Angry God. Meditate on what God says you were like, and what condition you were in, before you were saved. Then thank God for His grace toward you, and for the mighty deliverance that was wrought for you in Christ. A flat tire, a layoff, a serious disease, a tax levy -- none of these should be even considered as evidence against God's passionate love for you in light of your deliverance from hell. So don't insult Him (as I confess I have) by questioning His love and compassion because of the temporary inconveniences of this brief experience we call life. I don't know what you may be going through right now, but no matter what it is, it sure beats hell.

Ron Paul - President or Savior?

Let me state at the outset that I really like Ron Paul. Of all the announced Republican candidates for President, he is far and away the best. But my comments concern his supporters, and it's just a caveat: Ron is running for President, not Savior. I have no doubt that he would set nothing but good precendents, that his appointments would be stellar, and that, if given the necessary support, he would do more to enhance and restore this country than anybody since maybe Andrew Jackson.

Having said that, I still think it needs to be repeated often that we didn't wind up in this mess because we voted for the wrong guys. This country is suffering from severe moral lapses. The blood of over 50 million dead babies still cries out to the Lord for vengeance, as does the blood of countless tens of thousands of others whose untimely demise is directly attributable to overt or covert actions of American political regimes. And we remained complicit as long as the market was bullish. We continued to look the other way, default on our moral and civic responsibilities, and go along with the status quo when we thought it was too hard or too unpopular to do otherwise.

If there are not tears in the streets, I still fear there will be blood, even if Ron Paul is elected. He may be the leader God gives us to shepherd this country through its repentance. But repentance there must be before national restoration and renewal can occur.

We can't just elect one 'good guy' and expect that everything will be fine.

So, to my fellow Ron Paul supporters I say: let's bear in mind that this is a spiritual mess we're in, and let's become the kind of people who deserve a Ron Paul presidency.

Take Your Conscience To Work - National Campaign

We really don't need pastors to be out in the street or in the face of all those unbelievers out there. All we really need is pastors who aren't afraid of their congregations and who will challenge their people to "Take Their Conscience To Work" - and hold them strictly accountable if they don't.

What most of us don't understand -- or refuse to believe -- is that WE ARE DOING THIS TO OURSELVES. The IRS doesn't send an agent from Utah or WashDC to harass us and steal our stuff. They have a local office, and a sheriff, and a judge, etc. etc. These local people are members of our churches, or neighbors, maybe even members of our families. The places where they work run because WE staff the offices and 'turn the wheels.' If all the 'behind-the-scenes' people, the clerks and so forth, simply REFUSE to participate in illegal activities, the whole process stops. True, it will tend to stop quicker if the judges and our elected officials stop their state-sponsored terrorism against us (is there any rational person who thinks the IRS is not a terrorist organization?), but if every Christian finally decides to just do what's right, the system will grind to a halt.

But we don't. We Christians continue to function and give our little daily pushes to the wheels of tyranny because we say, "I'm not really doing anything wrong. I just _______ (open the mail, answer the phone, administer the network, take out the trash, etc.) If our duties, as menial as they might be, were not essential to the functioning of the business or office, our jobs would be eliminated. If immorality, societal decay, socialism and tyranny are being promoted in any way by the business you are in, you are contributing to it.

So I think "Take Your Conscience To Work" should become a rallying cry of the patriots. Let's truly integrate our Christian principles in our life's work and refuse to do anything that contributes to the further decay of our culture. The problem isn't Mexicans coming over the border, or megalomaniacs in DC. The problem is that we each, in our own little ways, contribute to tyranny every day. Why? Because 'we need the money,' and if we don't perform, we don't get paid. And if we are willing to be slaves to mammon, we will get just what we deserve.

Perhaps this is why neither Jesus, nor John the Baptist, nor Paul railed against the oppressive Roman government. They each realized that the empire's engine of oppression could only operate with local support. So instead of decrying 'the government,' John specifically addressed the agents through whom tyranny was exercised: "Collect no more than what is appointed for you." "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages." (Luke 3:13-14) No railing against "the system" and no attempt to change policy or politics. Just do what's right.

Jesus also dealt with the tax system when He called Matthew: "Follow Me." (Mark 2:14) That was it; one less tax collector for the people to deal with. What will happen if every Christian in the government decides to truly follow Christ, instead of just paying Him lip-service on Sunday? And what would happen if, as I suggested previously, the pastors would hold their members accountable for seven-days-a-week discipleship? Jesus saw two clear and exclusive loyalties: God and Mammon. It's gotta be one or the other; can't be neither and can't be both.

Paul said, "Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hand the thing that is good, that he may have something to give to him who has need." (Ephesians 4:28) We all know (or sure should by now!) that the mis-applied 'income' tax is simply theft. Those who promote it and those who benefit from it are stealing property. Again, Paul does not rail against 'the system' but rather simply tells Christian participants to drop out of it.

Most Christians I've met are too immature to understand the power of this sort of obedience, even though Jesus Himself explained it in clear terms in Matthew 16:19. Your un-Christian neighbor wants to be 'just as good as a Christian' (is supposed to be) but doesn't want to get involved with church, religion, or (God forbid!) obnoxious Christian people. Still, the standard is set by the people of God. When we quit trying to tell the world how they should live (self-righteousness or holier-than-thou, both nauseating to Christ) and start living as we ought, we will raise the bar and set the standard to which the culture must rise if they want to be 'just as good as a Christian.'

It's really no more complicated than that. As long as we're content to gather in our little buildings and sing our little songs and have our little Bible studies, the world and the culture will remain unchanged. As long as we continue to ROT as we pretend to be disciples and are really just compliant cowards, our culture will continue to deteriorate. Chuck Missler has pointed out that "faith is not belief in spite of the evidence. It is obedience in spite of the consequences."

When we start taking Christ seriously and we take our Biblically-informed consciences to work: when we refuse as a matter of faith and obedience to participate in any way to the further destruction of our culture, THEN we will start having an impact.

The longer we wait, the bloodier and messier it will be.