Thanks Kent. I’m still tinkering with that essay. It’s released so many memories, I can’t stop adding sentences.

I wanted to make clear that I totally agree with you. I never in any way wanted to imply that someone skips church and God sends depression as a punishment for backsliding. My father’s genetics, biochemistry, choices, actions, relationships and many other things combined into depression. Sin- as defined in Christian theology- is wound tightly throughout the whole experience. I want to emphasize again that I believe that if I REMOVE the element of our own decisions, choices and actions from the mix, I am removing one of the key elements of recovery. Let me use an example.

We have a friend who is a classic case of manic depression. No doubt, genetics and biochemistry are the foundation of this problem. But at every turn, treatment for this person has emphasized MEDICATION ONLY. Not counseling. Not personal responses. Not self-understanding. Not rational therapy. Not spiritual issues. Because of this “one dimensional” approach, this person takes meds and sees some rather dramatic improvements, followed by the predictable and discouraging return to manic symptoms and behaviors. But at least so far, to my knowledge, counseling has been almost totally avoided. No books read. No spiritual paths pursued. No support groups joined. No personal engagement with issues like responsibility for living with a problem, patterns of relating and repeated mistakes in relationships that result in a return to depressed feelings.

I really fear the American, therapeutic idea that those with “disease” model problems (i.e, alcoholism, rage, depression, etc.) are not “sinners.” Think about it. Not from the aspect of “these are rotten sinners and that’s why they have these problems.” NO!! Rather, we are fallen, and that’s why we have these problems. But we are sinners, and that’s why we deal with them so poorly. We need the grace, love and acceptance of God in the Gospel to deal with aspects of these problems that aren’t part of the “biochemical” explanation.

Can I be blunt? That I am depressed, have an anger problem and a weight problem may not be things that are ultimately my responsibility. What I say and do to my wife, children, co-workers and neighbors as a result of these issues may (may)- and usually are- very much be my responsibility. Once I have some understanding of these problems, and the path of living with them, I have an increased responsibility. This is why I deal with students who have diagnosis like Oppositional Defiant Disorder, as responsible people. Responsible to take their meds (we discipline if they don’t.) Responsible to get up, show up and do what’s right. So far, the overwhelming evidence I have from my experience is that this works far more effectively than telling that student, “You’re ODD. You won’t be punished for verbally abusing teachers.”

My dad never got counseling for his problem. He never- to my knowledge- had even a rudimentary understanding of it. I could see him constantly interpreting his problems as the curse of God because he was divorced. (This “curse of God” thinking is very much part of mountain culture, and I have it running around in my head as well.) So dad did a lot of thinks that were hurtful, and knew they were wrong, and sank deeper into his depression.

He needed more knowledge. Compassion. And responsibility. He needed the dignity and humanity of understanding what was not his responsibility, and what was his responsibility.

Michael, thanks for the IM essay about your father. If your father and eric’s father were combined into one person you’d have my father. Intertwine that with my father’s mother, who’s care we manage and I too think a lot about the mysteries of the biochemical and genetics of depression (and everything else).

The fall affected everything, the chemistry of our bodies and our minds, our DNA, even the salamander groans.

My story is in the works, likely I’ll be done in my seventies. I really connected with your experience of watching your father go through psych treatment in the late sixties/early seventies. That’s the same time that my father was in and out of psych units. My own metaphor for my father’s condition was one of those copper foil art bass relief craft thingies that where you spread the foil over a mold, rub on it with a stick and then attach it to a piece of wood. My dad proudly gave me one of those that he made in a craft group on a psych unit when I was around 13 or so.

My dad, holder of a law degree, the bank vice president, the smartest, most powerful man I’d ever known at that point in my life; that man was reduced to being proud of tacky dime store art.

If I’m ever able to put together whatever it is that I need to become a writer, it will come out of those thoughts, feelings and experiences.

Michael Card’s written a song called The Edge:

I promise I will always leave the darkness for the light,
I swear by all that’s holy, I will not give up the fight,
I’ll drink down death like water, before I ever come again,
To that dark place, where I might make, the choice for life to end.

If any of you don’t have a copy of this song, buy it. My dad didn’t come back from that “dark place”, he made the “choice for life to end” on May 28, 1975.

It’s interesting how things work out, here’s Jollyblogger on depresssion.

My new IM essay on a father’s depression, and a boy who finally understands.

If you read it and like it, pass it on to someone else.

I’ll just tell you to click it, look and draw your own conclusions about our culture.

And now for something completely different, Newsforge has run an article talking about (gasp) Christians using Open Source software and solutions.

I guess I find this kind of interesting, because it always seems like the Free Software hackers are young, liberal, anarchist types who detest organized religion. Maybe there’s more of us Geeks 4 Jesus out there than we think. :)

At times I hate being on the left coast. Ya’ll go away…..I miss the conversation until 9am PST :-/

More fun stuff from my vacation last month…

We met some friends from Texas at Lake Tahoe. They were staying at the parsonage at Fallen Leaf Lake because her brother-in-law the Episcopal priest was filling his two-week obligation at the local chapel. So I was sitting on the porch, talking with said priest, (his name is Rich), and we were talking about things theological. He was telling me about a problem in his diocese, and then made the following comment:

I’ve often wished there was a church that combined Reformed theology with the beauty of liturgical worship. And then I realize, “hey, that’s what we’re supposed to be.”

We both laughed, because it is so true. The English Reformation gave birth to the expression of the church I love the most. Here I am, a PCA Presbyterian by membership but an Anglican at heart. I love Anglican worship, but stumble a little bit over the episcopal form of church government. I affirm the presbyterian form of government, but grow weary of the generally bland, loosey-goosey, neo-Southern Baptist-type worship.

So, Phillip, even though you are the only official Episcopalian here in the bar, I stand with you in spirit.

I’ve been invited to move to Kansas City:

“When his kids are out of the house, he would love to move to a little reformed church near a good pub and a minor league ball park, work with university students and cook Italian food for the mob. ”

You might like to live near Kansas City on the Kansas side. There is at least one reformed church in Johnson County, just south of KC, pubs in the Westport section of KCMO, and the a (sort of) minor league – well, independent league at least – KC T-Bones park in Wyandotte County: http://www.tbonesbaseball.com/ They are doing better than the KC Royals, for sure.

There are colleges in Kansas City KS, and you could become a Jayhawk with less than an hours drive.

Italian ingredients are surely available, along with other ethnical dishes, if you ever feel like expanding your food interests. Just a thought.”

Nancy http://todaysbible.lifewithchrist.org

Danny: I wonder what the percentage is of MTV viewers/readers who understand Moby’s comment. It’s probably a negative number.

I am not a fan of “laws”. I don’t like rules or any of that restrictive stuff. I see the government, as per the US Constitution, to allow the people to govern the government so that the government protects it’s citizens. I am really indifferent when it comes to legalizing drugs. I’d like to try some shrooms personally but haven’t been anywhere that permits such use. Oh well.

Many people, including Neo-Zionist Xians Evanjellyfish, believe that more laws will increase peace. This is absurd. I am not providing a solution but I figure the more people out of jail means more people paying taxes, making money, feeding the economy.

Anyone else find it odd that the best “citizen” is the Believer? We are commanded to pay our taxes and follow the laws of the land. Some countries make Christianity illegal but why? WHY!? We’ll pay taxes and feed people. I don’t get it.

The “government” has never been the answer to humanity’s problem. It goes deeper than that. We know it.

eric: If I said something you agree with, it must be right.

“All I like to do is work. Perhaps it’s lingering Calvinist guilt?” — Moby

LDS conversions in my city is on the rise. Just a culture note, the crossing arms is poor body language and I’m sure some theological observation could be made.

Riiiiiiiiiiight.

Not sure if ya’ll knew about the slain Xian campers. Really sad.

I was especially interested in your view on the comment that we need a “ruined” government and the church should actively be ruining it. With the “gospel” sword, whatever that means. What are they talking about?

Michael: I cannot pretend to know what anyone else thinks. But I can respond with what I think about the comment quoted here.

The Federal Government is like a fruit tree that has grown wildly out of control. It was planted for a specific purpose, (to provide a particular kind of fruit in a particular season), but it has grown bigger and bigger till it crowds every other plant out of the garden, sucks up all the water, blocks all the sunlight, and has become a haven for every sort of foul beast. It has tentacles extending into virtually every realm of life and commerce – places it was never meant to be, doing things it was never meant to do. More »« Less

Oklahoma also has the “click it or ticket” law. On the news they showed where the next two weeks the Tulsa PD is going to be watching closely for ALL traffic violations, including not wearing your seat belt, with the pretext of trying to catch drunk drivers.

Now, the Tulsa PD is short about 100 cops due to various reasons, like they require a college degree (why I don’t know) and low pay. Plus, the murder and violent crime rate has skyrocketed in the past couple of years. But they are going to spend their time and energy looking to see if someone has their seatbelt buckled. Where are the priorities here, people?

Now, as far as churches getting involved in legal issues, we have a state question coming up in November to approve (or not) a lottery for the state of Oklahoma. The proceeds from the lottery would go to benefit education in the state. Oklahoma allows betting on horse racing, and even though casino gambling is not allowed by the state, various Indian tribes run casinos on tribal land, some right within the city limits of Tulsa. But the Baptists, in particular, and other churches I’m sure are gearing up to denounce the lottery from the pulpit so their people will be sure to vote against it. My question is why is the church expending its energy on this when there is not ONE WORD ABOUT GAMBLING IN THE BIBLE, at least that I have seen?

Jack, thank you for two of the best comments I’ve read regarding our government’s “war” on drugs:

If the government didn’t making drug trafficking so profitable, then fewer people would be trying to make money dealing drugs.

and

Why is it so stinking hard to understand that in the same way Prohibition created and sustained the Gang culture and the Mafia, The Drug War has created and sustained the drug culture?

Bravo!

Jack, you said, “If being stupid is a crime…we should ticket people..that… don’t snap their seatbelts in the car.” Well, it seems that Indiana is doing just that! Read a little about it here.

Glad to see my tax money going toward a great cause! (BIG JN)

Does anyone else have a problem with this little gem on evangelism I found in some Sunday School literature? Or am I just too cynical?

“Statistics show that June is the number one month for families relocating. Form search teams to look for moving vans in the neighborhoods around your church.”

The few, the proud,...

John at Monergism sends along this link to a pdf version of Sproul’s 100 Essential Truths of the Christian Faith. This is a great little book that profiles an entire systematic theology in 100 1-2 page summaries. Very useful with classes and new believers. (Thanks John.)

I’m fishing on Pipertalk and elsewhere to see if I can get some takers on this web project. Not going to disturb you boys with it. Don’t want anyone to have an accident and have to go home and change clothes. :-)

Jack: I was especially interested in your view on the comment that we need a “ruined” government and the church should actively be ruining it. With the “gospel” sword, whatever that means. What are they talking about?

Yesterday’s Clay County newspaper had a huge picture of our congressman, Republican Hal Rogers, standing elbow to elbow with the pastors of two large churches, all beaming. (One of them authored this.) It was a real visual reminder that the church has invited the state to do its thing and is blessing all the state’s efforts and methods. Also, the local sheriff’s office (not highly regarded by Christian conservatives in our area) is saying the 8 million is just creating political jobs and making a lot of publicity. (They are also funding a private, faith based treatment program, which totally scares me to death.) From what I can tell in the 24 who were arrested, they were going after the “street” guys at this point. I assume they know about the big dogs. So we will see. I’m still very, very ambiguous. This is the church involved in the drug war up to its ears, and libertarians ought to be down here signing people up. They just might get me.

(To any Clay Countians reading this: I join you in wanting the plague removed, and I believe government has a role. I want bad people stopped and hurting people helped. I am struggling with the federal government’s role as our savior in this, but I know our financial realities here. It’s their money/help or virtually no money/help, I’m sure.)

Jack, first thanks for the blog comment, it’s such an encouragment.

Second, (and probably third) I tend toward agreeing with you related to the Drug War/Prohibition comparison; I’ve worked with addicts and have come to the belief that many would keep hitting themselves over the head with insert drug of choice no matter what happens…why criminalize something that’s impossible to stop? I did say tend, meaning I’m not fully convinced and I have to acknowledge that I’m not fully versed on the subject.

Third (yep, went there), at it’s simplist, local form, “government”, especially in a Republic, is, well, us. I agree that we have crossed a line in our country, most people around here want to work for the Feds, the State, the County or the local Municipalities…in that order. It’s where the money is. I think some people think it would be great if everybody could work for the government. The simple logic of “who pays taxes” escapes them, they’d simply say, well, “government workers pay taxes”. For the benefit of those who don’t see the difficulty with that, please remember that the government, by definition, does not produce anything.

But at some level, what “government” can be, especially if more are involved at a local level, is “people working together to solve problems”. Some of that actually happens despite opinions to the contrary. Children are educated in our county…of course the school districts are always trying to get more “federal money”, thinking perhaps that “federal money” poofs into existance without anyone having to pay taxes…but the education does take place. Problem (imperfectly) solved. The same with hospitals, the same with law enforcement. Our officers just last winter shot and killed someone for the first time in years, and this guy needed killing. Problem (imperfectly) solved.

I see that there’s a line between solving problems and becoming a Big Brother, and I’m concerned that we’ve crossed it in many ways and in many places. But I’m not willing to toss out “government”, I don’t think it would be better if the “government” fell to pieces as the writer of the letter Michael posted prophesied. I believe “government” is good and instituted by God; Rutherford’s Lex Rex has a lot to say about government’s rightful place, much of it I didn’t understand but much of it I did. Our founding fathers knew Rutherford’s work, and knew that men needed government, and that the power of government comes from the consent of the governed. Good stuff; to the extent that we can move back to that, good. To the extent that we move toward anarchy, not good.

I also agree that many believers have lifted politics to the level of an idol, but I believe that’s another subject.

Bill: I love hot sauce, but I have found very few that I think are worth the effort. I keep coming back to the Original and Reigning Champion – Tabasco Sauce. It is pure, simple and nearly perfect. Red peppers, salt & vinegar, aged in oak casks in the salt-marsh air of Avery Island. I love to eat it on popcorn.

While my wife & I were on vacation last month, we drove through Napa Valley, (talk about a surreal experience…) , and I tried something called Napa Hot Sauce. It takes the basic idea of Tabasco, adds a little cilantro and uses chiles instead of red peppers, but it is aged in oak casks just like Tabasco, (and just like that other product that made Napa Valley famous). It is the first Hot Sauce I’ve tasted that comes close to Tabasco.

There was a little greasy spoon Mexican restaurant in the town I used to live in back in Texas. They made the hottest, best salsa I have ever put in my mouth. I despise sauces that are hot just for the sake of hotness, but when a man can pack a headful of flavor AND hotness into a sauce – ay-yi-yi-yi-yi. I used to eat his tacos with one hand and keep a towel in the other hand to wipe the sweat off my face. Great stuff.

One of the most pleasant culinary surprises of the last couple of years is a chain called Chipotle. It’s the Subway concept with burritos, and they have the best mass-market hot sauce I’ve ever tasted. I love it. I wish I could take some home and put it on my eggs in the morning.

(Man, I’m getting hungry…)

I think your writer is right. God has established spheres of authority for the Church, the Magistrate, the Family. Somewhere in the last 150 years, (I believe it happened when the South lost The War to Prevent Southern Independence), Americans of all stripes have come to believe that if a problem exists, the government should fix it.

And that is wrong wrong wrong.

Would Clay County be any different today if the Feds hadn’t criminalized the sale and distribution of marijuana and meth-amphetamines? I assume that the amount of money that a drug grower/dealer can make far exceeds any income he could earn legally. But if that is true, then we have an economics problem, not a crime problem. If the government didn’t making drug trafficking so profitable, then fewer people would be trying to make money dealing drugs.

Legalize drugs. Declare victory in The War on Drugs and go home. License the sale of drugs. License the manufacture of drugs. Fine the bejeebers out of anyone who makes or sells them without a license from the state. Tax the sale of drugs. Instead of spending money locking up non-violent drug offenders, (to the tune of several tens of thousands of dollars per prisoner per year)< how about making a little everytime Ricky wants to get high? We do the exact same thing with liquor and society has somehow managed to survive in spite of it all.

Won’t more people use drugs if they are legal? Possibly. Maybe even probably. But as your writer said, if there is anything wrong with getting high, its b ecause it is a sin, not a crime. Therefore, it is an activity that falls within the sphere of authority of the church, not the state.

If Christ is the Lord of every square inch of this planet and every minute of time, (and He is), then the state violation God’s law when it assumes powers not granted to it by God. Furthermore, it is idolatrous for Christians to look to the state for deliverance from the negative effects of drugs. The government – and out attitudes toward it – needs to shrunk back into its rightful sphere.—————————————————————————————————————————-
Why is it so stinking hard to understand that in the same way Prohibition created and sustained the Gang culture and the Mafia, The Drug War has created and sustained the drug culture?

Man has always always always found ways to anesthetize his pain – legal or illegal – and there is nothing the state can do to stop it. Using drugs is stupid. But if being stupid is a crime, then we should prosecute cigarette manufacturers and fast food restaurants, we should ticket people who don’t wear helmets on their motorcycles and don’t snap their seatbelts in the car.

Oh wait…

When stupidity is outlawed, only outlaws will be stupid.

An outstanding sermon over at Monergism on the Sheep and Goat judgement. You don’t hear preaching like this these days. Don’t give up on this one….stick with it. It will reward you.

Quote of the Day: “The fact that “Dr.” Phil has the number 1 cookbook on Amazon.com makes me want to end it all.” – Alton Brown of “Good Eats”

We’ve been reflecting a bit on how we’ve changed since our penta-evangelical days, sometimes we don’t know exactly where we are, but it’s becoming pretty clear where we are not.

I didn’t realize how cathartic blogging can be…

Michael: Per your A Rebuilt Church and a Ruined Government? post; there’s a lot of disturbing stuff to think about on that one. I find the letter quite frightening, sort of the logical fringe outcome of separatism and a hyper-politicism (is that a word?) of Christianity.

I syched it to my PPC and want to read it through a couple of times. Frankly, on first perusal, it reads like something I’d expect from Al Qaeda.

Play performance tonight, we’re half way through!

[apologies for the formatting problems. our net burped.]

Michael: Maybe it’s just a knee-jerk response that comes out of over-exposure to Brennan Manning, but whenever I hear the “The Christian response is…” or “The Christian answer is …”, I think, “there they go, shoulding all over me again.”

From what I can see in scripture, how I should respond is as follows:

• I am to have respect for the government and its laws, and obey them except where they clearly violate the principles of morality set down by Jesus. (Romans 13, 1 Thess. 3, Titus 4)
• I am to have compassion on those victimized by the situation, and that extends to just about everyone involved: the users of the substance, those involved in trafficking (who often are compelled by unjust economic practices or blackmailed by organized crime into such endevours), the agents obligated to enforce the unjust laws, and the officials who promote them while ignoring the unintended consequences (willfully or otherwise.) (Galatians 5)
• I am to work within the limits of the above to address injustice and promote mercy. (Micah 6:8)

www.corruptworld.com is about to expire and wondered if anyone here would like it. That means you have to register (read: cost you $) but you’d have a pretty cool name’d site that use to be a pr0n site (still getting residual traffic). My latest post is a short story about Jesus playing poker with Peter. Didn’t end the way I wanted but I think it works. Currently you can get a good deal at www.bloghosts.com

I’d like some feedback if you don’t mind on the story. The thought of putting words into Jesus’ mouth is frightening and this is the first time I have done so. WWJS? Dunno, but I tried.

For some time, I’ve had a piece at Razormouth and ms.us dealing with the drug war here in our county. Read it if you haven’t. It’s short and has nothing to do with Dr. Piper :-)

Background: Our county is drug infested. It’s awful. We are among the worst in the country. The violence and death increases every year. It is a real challenge to libertarian notions. Recently, Christians have really gotten visible, and the local politicians and pastors have joined together to get an $8 million dollar federal program in place. Lots of DEA. A treatment center in the works. Lots of court help. $8 mil. The local officials can hardly keep the sheriff’s office open, so this money is really big news. The pastors and the politicians are all over the local paper today, which is led off with the pictures of 24 folks arrested. All minor to mid-level street dealers and growers. No big dogs yet. Lots of hot tip lines. Cleaning up the mess is at a fever pitch here. My essay captures my ambiguity.

SO….today I get this letter. It was so interesting I wanted your reaction, particularly to the BOLDFACE type. Please blog your longer reactions, and comment thread the short stuff.

The human race somehow muddled through without goons in copters until very recently. While marijuana is improperly used as an intoxicant, the sin is not a crime. Sins are to be addressed by the Church, not by the sword of the magistrate. That said, legalization without careful groundwork laid by the church would be a disaster. Massive use of government force has ironically accomplished the glamorization of the drug anti-culture.

Your “conservative Christians” are not extending the Lordship of Christ by petitioning the government for more interference, intrusion and accompanying tax hikes. They are “praying” to the government for their salvation, and those illegitimate powers are more than happy to fill the void left by a God the Church itself has largely abandoned. The hotter the drug war, the more the problem is exacerbated. Whenever government enters a sphere in which it does not properly belong, the only possible outcome is failure. Lack of success is always used by out of control government as a reason for redoubled efforts to address the failure, which only results in a bigger problem, and the cycle continues.

The Christian answer (in my opinion) is a rebuilt church and a wrecked government. A church militant assault on America with the gospel sword, resulting in the emasculation of centralized socialist government and a return to civilization and freedom is the ultimate solution. Your thinking is perhaps tentative because we are all easily confused by the overwhelming societal message that our only hope is more and more of the same thing that works less and less well even as it grows bigger and stronger: government.

Until the church repents, the only path that is humane and compassionate is the patient presentation of basic truths in the nooks and crannies. Truth leads to freedom.

On a completely unrelated, and less controversial topic: Anyone collect hot sauces? What’s the best?

I don’t particularly like the stupid ones that have pure capsaicin in them that are inedibly hot. I like them to have flavor also.

Talk to the pastor about his sermons? The gall! He is the Lord’s anointed. He is given his messages directly from God. If he preaches about money management, then that is what God wants you to hear. He is the undershepherd, you are the sheep. Remember your place. Be obedient, be submissive. More »« Less

Proposed Addendum to QotD:

I’m wondering if anyone has had success in confrontations such as we’re describing, i.e., have you spoken to church leadership regarding some issue or another and seen a positive change as a result?

Statement of Record:

Looking back at some of my recent posts and comments I realize that I’m sounding pretty tough on pastors. Actually I’m pretty tough on the pastoral profession as it’s practiced in many churches. I want it on record that I’ve had two relationships with men who’ve pastored me (us) that have been so wonderful as to overshadow any of the bad experiences I’ve had.

I truly believe that some awesome men (and women) are out there pastoring the flock, but I also believe that in many cases they are doing what they are doing despite the burdens of the “organization”.

One great point that McLaren made in A New Kind of Christian was that pastors of liturgical churches had much more time to spend with their people because they were able to teach from the lectionary, and didn’t have to spend so much time preparing an “event” each week.

I’d love to be pastored by Thomas Wingfold (Geo MacDonald character), but I believe that the two men who God has placed in my life have been wonderful substitutes.

So how many of you would go and talk to someone else (like the elder mentioned) before talking to the pastor? If so, how does that jive with Matt 18?

I would definitely talk to him, probably after the first time he preached like that. But I am very non-confrontational, in the sense that I will avoid making someone angry or hurt almost at any cost (which can be detremental to me at times), but I would ask him out for lunch or something. Or if I knew him better I would maybe say something funny and lead into a conversation that way, maybe in the vestibule or something. But I would definitely not stay long if I thought the focus of the church was on anything not Christ-centered. I am very tolerant about topics of conversation pretty near anywhere else, even to some extent the classroom (I’ve been known to chase a rabbit or two), but the church, IMO, has a very specific purpose, and it ain’t the 7 tips for a better whatever.

Thankfully, for the past seven years, I haven’t had to worry about that :)

How much of this will you take before you communicate with him about the problem?
I want to say two weeks. I’d probably be like two months. In reality probably never.

When you do communicate with him, what do you say?
I’d be too timid. If I said anything it’d be too harsh. I gotta figure out how to do this stuff. Perhaps speak to an elder first.

Perhaps someone can explain to me why politics should be preached at all. Speaking out against the Government is almost counter-productive and the few times I see Jesus mention the Government it is either “pay your taxes” or “I have power over you”.

Ken: Boyd isn’t a great name, no offense, perhaps your dughter could use a cool last name like mine. Muuuwaaaahahahahah. [jn] Mmmmm. Calvinists.

My oldest daughter, Laura, began her studies at John Brown University this past week. I have discussed the doctrines of grace with my family on various occasions, but have always impressed upon them to study the Scriptures and not just believe something because their Daddy did. Anyway, this email was in my in box this a.m.—-

See, I did all my studying this afternoon, in my free time, since I only had two classes today. So tonight I didn’t have anything to do. This guy, Tim, from Ft Smith, invited me to go to Deja Vu, the coffee house here in Siloam, with him and some other guy who was coming later. So, me, him, Kandi and Michael went. We played Mao, the card game and they played chess for a while and stuff. Then some people had to get back, I stayed. We got in a big discussion about beliefs and Calvinism, and “seeker sensitive” churches, different evangelical methods and stuff like that. Very deep. Anyway, Tim went through the five points of Calvinism, which I had already known from you, but had forgotten. But he went on to say that skits in church are wrong because God didn’t ordain them for worship and he thinks that churches who do things to be “seeker sensitive” are wrong. He used some passage in Lev. We did a lot of pondering and they are all deep theological and philosophical thinkers. Pretty cool, but hard on the brain when it goes on for two and a half hours. Heh. Anyway..I’ll let you get back to work. Just thought I’d tell you about all that.. I’ll do some studying and reading on my own to figure out what I believe, and figure out if I believe all five points of Calvinism. Anyway! I gotta go. Review some deep stuff before I go to sleep. I want whatever C.S. Lewis books you have and that New Way to be Human book. So, if you could get those for me, I’d appreciate it. But I’m gonna go this time, really. I love you Daddy! Love, Laura