Inviting Jesus to Be Our Conscience Coach

 

from Clover Media

Inviting Jesus to be our Conscience Coach…

Exodus

20:17"You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, male or female slave, ox, donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Please know that the command, as it is stated, addresses the neighbor’s economic, or financial resources. Even the wife in those days was considered property.

Our society does not consider women as property. Changes in society and culture do impact our application of words from thousands of years ago.

This command, original to the top ten, set in stone commandments, deals with our internal thought life rather than outward, observable conduct.

God seems to care about our conscience as well as our conduct.

Society does a good job of regulating our conduct.  If you rob a bank, prison is the consequence. If you tell lies while under oath in court, jail time is the consequence.

Murder is punishable by incarceration.

Ony those three of the top ten, set in stone Commandments, have legal consequences.

Others, such as honor for parents, Sabbath-keeping, though without legal consequences, have the possible consequence of social and church disfavor or reprimand.

But our conscience is beyond either legal or societal consequence.

And so, for the devout Christian, keeping a watch on our nature to covet, to entertain desire, must be regulated by our own sense of personal integrity.

Who influences your personal integrity?

Is it commercial advertisers, is it unbridled envy of someone else’s ministry?

Yep, again I encourage looking to Jesus as our Conscience Coach.

Allow his teachings to direct how we are to regard our neighbor, and our neighbor’s property either physical, intellectual, or financial.

Neither the eyes of the legal or the social world will know your heart.

But God will.

Psalm 139:23-24

23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Peace, Pastor Mike

Encouraging Richard M. Nixon's Call for Peace

 

 

From Whittier College blog post

The inaugural address of President Richard Nixon, January 20, 1969, begins thusly…

“Senator Dirksen, Mr. Chief Justice, Mr. Vice President, President Johnson, Vice President Humphrey, my fellow Americans, and my fellow citizens of the world community.”

Recently viewing that address, I paused upon hearing the words “my fellow citizens of the world community.” The very conservative, law focused, patriotic, president addressed the world community in the same breath as “My fellow Americans.” President Richard Nixon, with those words, considered himself and the rest of us as citizens of the world community.

President Richard Nixon, born into a Quaker family, having gone to a Quaker college, surely was influenced by the value of peacemaking.

About two minutes and ten seconds into his address he spoke “The greatest honor history can bestow is the title of Peacemaker. This honor now beckons America. The chance to help lead the world at last, out of the valley of turmoil, and on to that high ground of peace man has dreamed of since the dawn of civilization.”

I cannot think of anybody who would describe Nixon as naïve. And regardless of political persuasion, I think most folk would accept that he was competent for the position of President. And there, up front in his address, in a very presidential style, he revealed his priority…world community, peace.

Neither am I naïve. I know that whatever our priorities and goals, we cannot intimidate reality toward our own will, neither does reality negotiate its own willfulness.

But this does not relax us from the burden of trying to seek peace.

I petition everyone, whether in prayer as a person of faith, or in respect of human conscience, to work toward peace.

This election, November 3, 2026, make peace the priority it was for Nixon.

Let us commit to carrying forward his call for peace in the world community.

Elect candidates who will not only speak peace but also have shown a consistent work toward peace.

The full Inaugural address can be viewed at this link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipyhSEvfaUs

for information regarding Nixon’s time at Whittier College, please visit:

https://www.whittier.edu/admission/blog/richard-nixons-34-legacy-whittier

In Support of Messenger RNA Vaccines

 

    Sometime during the mid-2000s, long before it had taken on ideological controversy, I had read about the development of Messenger RNA.

    I remember being impressed and injected with hope that diligence in research and science will deliver a physical, economic, and social salvation for humanity.

  By the time that Covid 19 happened upon the world in 2020, I had already been introduced to Messenger RNA. I was familiar with the term, and I trusted what I had already read before it became ideologically controversial.

I was not only comfortable having the vaccine, I was eager for vaccination.

There are many that report a pride in that they did not take any vaccine during the Covid pandemic. Most of those people who I know personally that declined vaccination had become seriously ill for days or weeks. Most of those people had isolated themselves from others outside the home and thus were not a health risk to others.

Some people that I know personally and had declined the vaccine had passed away.

As I am active in many ways professionally and socially, as I have low tolerance for the discomfort of physical illness, I determined that I did not have time nor inclination to suffer physical illness and time away from my normal routines of productivity.

Nor was I about to subject my health to danger in service to transitory ideological posturing.

For those that declined vaccination and self-isolated so as not to be a contagious threat to others and were willing to suffer physical illness…find comfort and take pride in that you made a decision right for you.

I took the Messenger RNA vaccine. I regularly tested myself for Covid. Never did I test positive. Never did I become ill. Never was I disrupted from my work. I made a trip to the local Lowes store and purchased industrial masks for resperitory protection. I enjoyed good health, stamina, and energy to continue with my routines, work, and general productivity.

I made the right decision for me.

I hope, as we go forward, socially and politically, we will discontinue thrusting upon developments in science and medicine a figurative litmus test for ideological purity.

It is my encouragement that we make financial investments according to financial goals…not political posturing.

I hope that we make medical and health decisions attending to personal health goals, seeing to it that we are safe to be around others rather than being an inconsiderate risk to the health of others.

Let us set aside political posturing and ideological purity when it comes to scientific, medical, and educational matters.

Scenes From "The Jake" Ribbon Cutting Event Concord High School Football Field

 

Fifty-two years after graduation from Concord High School and twenty-four years having left employment of Concord Schools as a Janitor Extraordinaire, today I visited the ribbon-cutting event at “The Jake” Concord High School football field totally recreated.

    Named after Larry Jackowiak, former Athletic Director and Assistant Superintendent, who passed away in 2009. My memory of him includes the time he was tasked with delivering the disturbing news of a large increase in Health Insurance Premiums. All school employees were gathered in the performing arts center for the report of the premium increase.

We sat there, as he was next to speak, we heard from off stage a clunk…another clunk…yet another, and another until he emerged from off stage in a suit of armor.

Once everyone caught the full sight of him in that armor, we all laughed deeply.

The gimmick seemed to work.

The humor helped to ease the apprehension of the moment.

The Jake has a football field that feels like stepping on a large cushion, yet with confident traction.

All things new…the bleachers, the score board, restrooms, concessions, track.

Come on over to their first game of the season, August 21.

Experience The Jake in person.

You can find out more about Larry Jackowiak at his published obituary:

https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/southbendtribune/name/lawrence-jackowiak-obituary?id=14325809

 

Celebrate Constitution Day Septemember 17

 

So, now that we are past July 4, semi quincentennial of the Declaration of Independence, don’t sell all of your flags, sparklers, and other items of celebration. In eleven years, September 17, 2037, we will celebrate the semi quincentennial of the adoption of the Constitution.

But, if you need a celebration a little closer on the horizon, let’s celebrate the Constitution this coming September 17(Constitution Day) through September 23, those seven days known as Constitution Week.

Whereas the Declaration did not form a new government or nation; it merely “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

The Constitution did, in fact, create a nation from thirteen free and independent States.

E Pluribus Unum.

I count the beginning of our nation as September 17, 1787.when the members of the Constitutional Convention signed and adopted the document.

I recognize and celebrate the Constitution more so than the Declaration as the beginning of nationhood.

I acknowledge there are no long-odds battles won, heroes in blood-stained uniforms, or stories of sacrifice to effervesce the emotions regarding the Constitution. Probably, the state-by-state ratification process, as the inevitable became clear, muted whatever emotional fizz may have been present on September 17, 1787.

But the Constitution, debated and discussed all summer long in 1787, establishes and articulates the essence of the United States version of Americanism.

By ratifying the Constitution of the United States, the independent States, whatever proclaimed religious views those States previously required, embraced this new law of the Land that provided, in Article VI, Clause 3,  no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.

This very preeminent right provided by the Constitution, even before the Bill of Rights, established absolute right of individual conscience, free of State imposed religious acquiescence.

That is worth celebrating as much or more than the Declaration of Independence.

 

Actually, the Constitution, after a series of votes to ratify among the various states, became effective, the law of the land, on March 4, 1789. But let’s keep it simple for the purpose of celebration by observing September 17 as Constitution Day.

Vote for Mother Teresa Rather than Gordon Gekko

 

My point in this commentary, which I present upfront here, is:

The purpose of business is in stark contrast to the purpose of government and so, when electing officials, we should elect people who have a grasp of the government systems rather than people who will try to run government like a business.

The goal of free market business is to make a profit for owners and shareholders.

The purpose of production and sale of goods and services is to make the business profitable.

The accounting method, known as Financial Accounting and Reporting, is structured to identify income, expenses, and resulting profit or loss which then impact the balance sheet of Assets, Liabilities, and resulting Equity.

The management systems are in place to efficiently affect productivity.

The whole mindset of the organization is toward profit. Not charity or social conscience.

In short, financial accounting asks “How much did we make or lose?”

Contrarily, the goal of government, much like charitable organizations, is to spend money and apply other resources so as to provide goods and services; not to make a profit.

Deficits in business immediately affect equity negatively.

Deficits in government, if managed according to predetermined policies, can achieve favorable economic conditions.

The accounting systems for governments, usually known as Fund Accounting, differ from Financial Accounting and Reporting.

Government Accounting aims to see that the funds are received, applied, invested, and spent according to policy and law.

In short, government accounting asks “From whom and where did the money come and to who and where did it go?”

Business accounting is all about profit.

Government accounting is all about policy.

Having formally studied both, Business Management and Public Management, I have concluded that much of our problem in government is that far too many business-minded people are trying to run governments as if they were businesses.

Of course, many people who have been good in business can, with diligence and reordering of their management mindset, become effective at governing.

But, I think our governments are at a precarious moment and are in need of managers, leaders, and politicians that can navigate the public policy arena free from the hinderance of the business profit/loss mindset.

As we move toward election day in November, become accurately informed of candidates. Vote for the candidates that understand government policy rather than quarterly corporate financial statements.

To become accurately aware of the qualifications of candidates, familiarize yourself with a candidate’s work history, was it about self-serving profit or about service to others?

A candidate’s history of service to others will reveal the creative capacity to achieve policy objectives, often with meager financial and volunteer resources with which to work.

Business people know how to make money.

We desperately need people that understand how to implement policy, law, and government.

They likely will not be the headline grabbing, envy-stirring, greed advocates such as Gordon Gekko of the Wall Street movie.

And I don’t expect Mother Teresas on ballots in November.

But I would definitely vote for those candidates that more closely resemble Mother Teresa rather than Gordon Gekko.

Voting citizens cannot abdicate their responsibility to be accurately informed.

The elected official is in office because we gave them our consent to govern.

 

 But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.

Those words from the Declaration of Independence are not an incitement to succeeding generations toward violence in change of government.

Those words helped steer the design of the Constitution.

Article I of the Constitution provides each change in Congress (currently number 119th) much legislative authority to, in effect, change government by proposing bills which, being voted and subsequently signed by President, then change, by small or large impact, national governance.

Members of the House of Representatives serve a two-year term, providing for relatively immediate change by will of the voters, senators a six-year term, again by voters, but provide stability and deliberation before drastic governmental change.

The President is elected to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed”. This executive will serve a four-year term followed by a second four-year term if properly elected. The election of a President is also an aspect of a “change in government”.

And the Supreme Court , the least change in government as they “shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour” (it does not say “lifetime”). The Supreme Court helps anchor government so that it may be predictable rather than abrupt and unwieldy. Provided they actually and faithfully abide by “good Behaviour”.

Yet another element of designed change of government embedded in the Constitution is the amendment procedure. Although I acknowledge that ratifying an amendment among fifty states is a bit more cumbersome than a few thirteen, fifteen, or twenty states.

My point is that the Constitution was designed for a continual and incremental change in government without violence.

I believe that the Constitution, when faithfully implemented, is the best form of provision of government available in history.

But the buck stops with the voting public.

Not with any elected official.

The burden of good Constitutional governance rests with the voter.

Not with any appointed Justice.

The elected official is in office because we gave them our consent to govern.

The voting public cannot abdicate our responsibility to become accurately informed of the issues, the candidates, and to actually cast a ballot.

Our Constitutional government is properly designed.

It is our voting behavior that directs the changes.

Like it or not, we, the voting public, own the government we have.

Note of clarification…the Second Continental Congress took the extreme action of separation from Great Britain, not because the colonists were inconvenienced by King George III. They did so because they had been subjected to absolute Despotism.

Sharing Resources and Responsibilites is Part of our National Conscience

 

 

The national, state, and local sharing of resources and responsibilities is neither socialism nor communism.

The practice of shared resources and responsibilities is embedded in our national conscience.

The Mayflower Compact of November 11, 1620, speaks of “the general good of the Colony”. Nowhere does this Compact speak of willy-nilly anarchical liberty, or even free market capitalism.

From the conclusion of the Declaration of Independence, we read: “we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.” I believe those words applied, not only to the fifty-six signers, but also to their families and everyone they represented as members of the Second Continental Congress. But, the Declaration, like the Compact before it, does not enshrine free market capitalism.

And from the Preamble to the Constitution: “to promote the general Welfare”. Again, no mention of free market capitalism.

This is not to bad-mouth capitalism. But it is to assert that self-serving capitalism is not all that that our nation is about.

In all of these founding documents we gather a sense of a national conscience that reaches beyond personal or individual interests only.

Examples of these shared resources and responsibilities:

    Police and Fire protection, even for churches which pay no income, sales, or property taxes, thereby shifting that tax burden to homeowners, and consumers.

   Roads, highways, interstates, and bridges; along with the National Transportation Safety Board.

  Weights and measures departments that protect the credibility of amounts of consumer goods purchased.

Social security and Medicare because we know that, left to our own immediate gratification tendency, most of us would not save sufficiently for retirement or health provision. Many of us never have reasonable opportunity to earn enough to save sufficiently.

Medicaid and Snap because often our entrepreneurial business projects fail and resort to bankruptcy leaving our creditors to lose financially and moving us to need public assistance.

And many other services that benefit the general population.

To label services of our National Conscience as socialist or communist is egregiously un-American.

Hot Dogs at Bonneyville Mill and Discovery of William Tuffs

 

Today, July 4, 2026, Sherry and I visited Bonneyville Mill County Park in Elkhart County.

As a celebration for Independence Day, they were offering hot dogs and apple pie with ice cream for a very reasonable price of $5.

While paying for our treats, an employee, on the mature side of age and noticing my attire, jokingly said to me “Are you’re the ghost of William Tuffs?”

I figured he was referring to some Revolutionary War fellow, but I did not know the name and so I responded, “I don’t know that fellow.”

He then went on to explain that Mr. Tuffs was a member of the Boston Tea Party. I was tempted to ask if the Boston Tea Party had issued membership cards but thought perhaps, I should not confuse the moment with my “Bob Newhart” style of humor.

But, thanks to this employee, I discovered that William Tuffs is buried in the Bonneyville Cemetery close to the County Park.

The gravestone has a plaque mounted by the Improved Order of Redmen, which I had not previously known.

It appears that they are still in existence. At the website of

http://redmen.org/

On July 25, 2026, there will be “Boston Tea Party Participant Marker Ceremony” hosted by the William Tuffs Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, Elkhart County. Indiana.

This event will take place at 11:00AM.

Sherry and I are sure to be there.

You can view my video recorded today at

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JygmHMVfB1U

The Naming of the United States: A Semi Quincentennial Momment

 

 

 

A brief observation regarding the naming of the United States,

Jefferson's "original Rough draught" of the Declaration of Independence shows both words “United” and “States” as being capitalized.

The following, found at the Library of Congress, shows the original naming.

A Declaration of the Representatives of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in General Congress assembled.

But then, by the time Congress has edited the document, we read from the National Archives…

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

Here the word “united” is not capitalized.

But then, by the time we have our Treaty of Paris 1783, we return to Jefferson’s original naming…

and of the United States of America

And to complicate things just a bit more, from the last paragraph of the Declaration we read…

That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States;

A diligent reader and sleuth of history will ask…”Well, which is it. “united States” or “United States”, or “United Colonies”?

Thanks for asking…

It was on September 9, 1776 that Congress officially adopted the name “United States as read in the original motion…

 “That in all continental commissions, and other instruments, where, heretofore, the words ‘United Colonies’ have been used, the stile be altered for the future to the “United States.”

Trivial it may seem, but even within the published Declaration of July 4th , 1776, it seems that Congress could not agree as to whether it was "united States” or “United Colonies”.

Resisting the Temptation to Pounce and Denounce

 

image from behance.net

 

Proverbs 18:13 To answer before listening—
    that is folly and shame.

 

This writing is an encouragement for us to hear each other out rather than pounce upon someone when we hear them speak a word or phrase that we can then grab and use as a means to attack them.

 Example…a few years ago I was attending a meeting when a fellow was describing a situation, and he innocently used the term “those” as in “those people”. He did not use the term with a pejorative tone as in those people. He obviously used the word as an identifier. As in…”those cars in those parking lots are driven by those people who work in those factories”.

Noting pejorative.

But someone in the group, having heard the words, “those people”, immediately pounced upon him accusing him of exhibiting social disdain.

It was obvious that the pouncer had embedded a meaning in those words which the speaker had not intended.

If the pouncer had dismounted from their high horse of condescension long enough to hear the speaker out, the pouncer might have understood the context and point of the speaker.

It’s easy, especially when we are ‘on the edge of our seat’looking for it, to find an opportunity upon which we can ponce and denounce someone.

Especially in this season of partisan political bickering… let’s all dismount from our high horses, hear each other out, and maybe discover a fresh idea.

Jesus, Politics, Women in the Pulpit: A Free-Form Commentary

 

 

At the recent annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention approximately seventy-five percent of votes cast were to ban women as pastors. That means that approximately twenty-five percent thought otherwise.

I imagine much political campaigning having been done to achieve that particular outcome, fully anticipated though it may have been.

But please note that their political campaigning and maneuvering took place within their religious community. I find no record of them making an appeal to Congress or President to achieve such a ban.

Likewise, Jesus and his disciples can be described as having been political within their religious and cultural community. But there is no record in the New Testament of them traveling to Rome to make appeal to Emperor or Roman Senate toward any public law or policy.

The context of Jesus being political was within his religious and cultural community. Not what we today understand as government.

My words are not meant to discourage people of the Church, Mosque, Temple, or Synagogue from exercising influence upon government. One point I make is that it is our Constitution that enables the exercise of influence rather than any example of Jesus or his disciples who were never politically engaged with what we would understand as government.

About now I presume many readers to offer “But Peter said We must obey God rather than men.”

And this opens the door to my immediate argument regarding women in the pulpit.

Please note that Peter was speaking to the Sanhedrin, the religious establishment, not the Roman government.

Just as the Sanhedrin was trying to silence the voice of those God had called to speak of Jesus, the Southern Baptist Convention is trying to keep from the pulpit people that God has called to be there.

Perhaps those women would find an affirming home in the United Methodist Church which recently celebrated seventy years of full participation of women in the church, including the pulpit, with these words in our official law “Women are included in all provisions of the discipline referring to the ministry.”

To keep women from the pulpit is tantamount to the Sanhedrin telling Peter to “Shut up about Jesus”.

The Public, Rather than the Pentagon Decides What is a Valid Relgion

 

Image from Britannica,com

The recent reclassification of recognized religions at the Pentagon, and subsequent revision is in blatant conflict with the First Amendment.

It is an “in your face” hideously ludicrous example of government respecting preferred establishments of religion while prohibiting others.

The Pentagon should recognize all religions or none.

No jurisdiction, department, or branch of government has the authority to prefer, establish, or set aside any religion.

Government is not designed, nor is it competent to decide or define what is a church or religion. Nor does it carry the authority to attempt to impose upon the human conscience, even by appearance, what is legitimate religious thought.

This is an example of government hubris that reinforces my call for an arm’s length relationship between government and church.

Unequivocally, government cannot prohibit the free exercise of religion or, even by sly implication, suggest that some are more valid than others.

Contrarily, it is the Church, Mosque, Temple, and Synagogue that enjoy the freedom of speech to inform the government as to how to achieve the promotion of the General Welfare, a purpose established in the Preamble of the Constitution,

I find it helpful to think of promotion of the “General Welfare” as improving the conditions of the people.

The Abrahamic religions, the Buddhists, and others promote care for the poor, inclusion of the marginalized, and freedom of personal conscience.

Government, in all areas, would do well to attend to these “General Welfare” exhortations and thereby improve our conditions rather than spend time and resources attempting to sidestep the Constitution (to which all government officials have taken an oath) in pursuit of any expression of religion preferred by any Administration that happens to be in power.

The Election is Not Over Until Certification Day

 

Observing posts on Facebook, I conclude that  many people do not understand how elections are managed. This is understandable for most people who have not served as a poll worker on election day.

I further conclude that many people who should know, take political messaging advantage of this situation to stir up conflict for political gain.

I have served as a poll worker in Elkhart County for many election cycles. I offer the following…

Just a few of the quality control measures we perform before election day and through election day:

Poll workers are required to attend training before election day.

On the day of election, poll workers take an oath regarding many provisions, the first being to support the Constitution of the United States and the Indiana State Constitution.

We run a “zero tape” before the polls open and a before any votes are cast. This tape is a print-out of the record of all votes cast for all races. Before polling begins, it should show zero for each of all races. We then have everyone in the election center sign that they agree that no votes have been cast before the polls open.

All actions throughout the day are done by Republican and Democrat workers working together.

If a voter needs help with navigating their ballot, a form is signed by both and Republican and Democrat workers and then both of those, together, assist the voter.

All of these signed forms are returned at the end of the day to election headquarters.

Many such activities like those are performed with both parties working together.

At the end of the day, the polling center supervisor and a main facilitator of the other party, together in same car, drive all election materials to election headquarters.

I assert, if any shenanigans take place, every poll worker at the election center must be in on it…Republican and Democrat.

You know those early voting ballots? They are saved in a secure location until election day (by law) and then tabulated on election day. There could be tens of thousands of these votes.

Have you ever, on election day, forgotten to bring your ID? You have the option of a “Provisional Ballot”. You may cast a ballot, but it will not be tabulated until you present your ID at the Clerk’s election office before “Certification Day.” Certification day is the final day to tabulate provisional ballots.

Certification day, according to each state law, may happen 30 days or more after election day.

The election is not over until Certification Day.

This is why the vote results may change from those reported on election night.

The following website, provided by National Council of State Legislatures, shows the Certification dates for each state.

Rather than be manipulated by those who know better and just want to stir your sense of political insult, check out this site and other Secretary of State sites of each State and see for yourself how elections are managed by Law.

https://www.ncsl.org/elections-and-campaigns/election-certification-deadlines

The Declaration Does Not Endorse Ideological Violence

 

Often, I hear that “the people” have a right to bear arms to effect a change in government. Sometimes they say, “It’s in the Constitution.” But there is no provision anywhere in the Constitution for such violence.

I think what they refer to is a statement in the Declaration of Independence, of which the fullness of the sentence follows…

“But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”

That sentence is a philosophical rather than legal statement in what is essentially a Congressional intent press release (significant and elaborate) rather than a legally authoritative document.

Please note that the statement describes a “long line of abuses” including “absolute Despotism.”

It does not authorize or encourage violence against the government merely because a faction of the people disagrees with the ideological landscape in the nation.

The preponderant point of the Declaration was to communicate, to a candid world, the justification of “last resort” action when all good faith negotiations had failed.

The Declaration was never intended to excite future generations to attack the Capitol, or any other hall of government, at any time, even when a Constitutional process is taking place of which some people object.

As we approach our Semi Quincentennial, let’s not only attend a parade and wave a flag, let’s actually read the Declaration.

littera scripta manet

The Christian Faith Does Not Need the Endorsement of Government

 

 

image from churchvisuals.com

 

During all of my life, every Sunday, as well other days of the week, churches have held services in which confession and repentance has been offered, praise has been lifted, a return to God has been observed; In houses of worship which open with a literal or implied Invocation of the Presence of God.

In fact, the predominant religion in the Untied States is, and always has been, Christian.

I have read credible statistics indicating that between 62% and 66% of adults in the United States are Christians.

The idea that this nation has ever drifted away from this religion is inaccurate.

It is true that churches have suffered a decline in attendance over a number of decades but that does not indicate a decline in Christian devotion or sentiment.

It is likely that the 20^th century form of church, with large buildings, structured Sunday/Wednesday meeting times and scripted liturgical conduct, is giving way to in-person and Zoom smaller gatherings of sincere Christinas who Pray, study, and care for each other in much the same way as is described in Acts 2: 42-47.

These new “gathering “structures will not be countable and reportable for number and attendance.

Denominational structures with set and unflexible worship times, which formally gather and report attendance figures, may be transitioning to informal structures which have the flexibility to arrange meeting times for the availability of the participants.

This does not mean that the Christian faith is in decline. It is taking on new expressions.

Yes, from a cultural, rather than legally imposed, point of view, the United States is, has always been, and will for the future, be Christian as to religious identity, not by call, force, proclaimation, or prompt of government, but by the movement of the Holy Spirit. 

Encouraging Split Figure by Stephanie Lynn Miller

 

Split Figure is a psychological thriller that compels the reader to turn the page to discover yet another hint or clue as to where the characters may be advancing.

The words, sentences, and paragraphs move lyrically such that the reader can almost hear a sound track accompanying the suspense, developing the plot, and punctuating the resolution.

This book is indeed an edge of the seat, turn the page suspense story sure to keep your interests.

The early pages begin to introduce you to the characters. Before long, around page six, the roller coaster of emotional thrill sets in and takes you for a literary amusement ride.

Split Figure by Stephanie Lynn Miller is available for purchase at amazon.com.

The paperback is $12.99

The Kindle digital download is $5.99

Granger Good Shepher United Methodist Church will be hosting a book-signing on Sunday, May 31^st following the 11:00AM worship service. The book signing will take place about 12:15PM.

Also that day, during the worship service, we will enjoy the incomparable voacal talent of Robert Michael Havard.

So, come on over, hear some great music, meet Stephanie Lynn Miller, author of Split Figure.

My video invitation can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0S7A9iFchvE

Granger Good Shepherd United Methodist Church

 11:00 AM Eastern is our regular worship time on Sundays

51521 Elm Rd, Granger, IN 46530