Watching TV

I was watching a movie the other day, and there was a preacher in it, and, yes, he was a buffoon. And in the spirit of Hollywood and Alex B., I found myself falling into the Hollywood mentality of making fun of the man. Then, I caught myself.... how could I have gotten caught up in this typical stereotyping of ministers by the movie makers?

Easy - for over fifty years I've been told, by the same Hollywood types, that vulgarity, perversion, and being ungodly is normal and acceptable. They also tell me that being a conservative, or being a Christian, is narrow minded and intolerant.

At one time I was thinking of getting one of those really cool, really big, flat panel HD televisions. Then again maybe I just don't need one. I could read more - it might be healthier.

Learning Growing & Prospering

The environmental movement and the church are having to deal with some of the same problems. These problems are stratagies that don't solve problems and hinder effectiveness.

Historically, environmentalists have been anti-technology and anti-growth, according to Mark Horwwitz, a New York editor. "They believe bikes are better than cars, open space is better than development, and less is better than more." As a result their leaders have focused on government regulations and laws that restrict and limit, which flies in the face of today's thinking. This environmental strategy has not worked in the past, nor will it work in the future. Since the year 2000, the 36 industrialized countries who are committed to reducing carbon emmission have not met even minimal goals, their emission have actually gone up - not down. According to Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, Break Through: From the Death of Environmentalism to the Politics of Possibility, "even if every American SUV owner were to buy a hybrid tomorrow, it wouldn't come close to offsetting the environmental damage being perpetrated around the globe."

Rather than leading into the future, with a pro-growth, pro-technology, and pro-environment position that almost everyone would buy into, environmental leaders have chosen to "scold, limit and be doomssayers" at every turn.

Can I apply this lesson to the church? To succeed the Church needs to lead by supporting a pro-growth and a pro-opportunities approach instead of limiting, regulating, scolding, and casting clouds of doom on its listeners. I firmly believe that God will supply the opportunities if we will recongnize them and persue them.

Like Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, we need to advance a "Politics of Possibility" mentality. Their book seeks to create a new way to think about our problems.

Sometimes a fresh approace is not a bad thing!

New Technology

I've never been to Bend Oregon before. I was expecting a farm town, but what I found was a community that reminded me, to some degree, of Aspen, Colorado. Bend is a ski and recreational area that is located on a high desert plain. It's economy was originally built around the processing of lumber. The old mill is now a mall - how many times have you heard that one?

We, Barry and I, were not there for the skiing or for recreation. We had arrived in Redmond the night before and were picked up and taken to Bend, some 20 miles away. Our purpose was to evaluate a new possibility that could be beneficial for the Alaska District. We are looking for something to add to the Alaska's district ministerial support offerings. This would be beyond the district's Multi-Cultural Leadership Development and Education Emphasis, the Revolving Loan Fund, and the Ministry Development Endowment Funds. We are looking at providing some technology solutions for the Alaska District. Bend is the home of a corporation that could provide us with some unique opportunities in this area. We have taken and are taking our time to be thorough, utilizing a lot of talented people before coming to any conclusions.

I'll keep you posted.