This was posted on Slice today

Imagine asking a pastor for advice and Bible verses on dealing with a specific problem. He isn’t your pastor, but it’s someone you respect, and you ask for advice. Within a short period of time, the pastor decides that the news is so juicy, it just has to be told publicly. That’s what happened to Sarah Palin when she returned a September 6 phone call from Rick Warren and asked him for Bible verses on dealing with pressures she is facing. (He stated it as though she had called him out of the blue for advice.) Rick Warren’s apparently insatiable need to hang with the movers and shakers and to puff his ego was bigger than his respect for Mrs. Palin’s privacy.

Uh… I am pretty sure that Warren knows when it is appropriate and unappropriated to share information with the public. This is hardly a case of a pastor breaching the clergy confidentiality agreement. Growing up in a pastor’s home, information was often leaked to us via overheard phone conversations, impromptu counseling sessions in the living room and poorly placed mail. We learned very quickly what was appropriate to share and what had to be kept confidential. Telling the press that someone called for Bible verses is hardly a problem. And, since the Palin campaign said nothing about the incident, one would assume this would be fine.

Once again — ODMs trying catch Warren in any snare possible. I found it funny that this was under the section of “purpose driven madness” on the Slice Site.

Someone known to be wise once wrote:

What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

Is there anything of which one can say,
“Look! This is something new”?
It was here already, long ago;
it was here before our time.

There is no remembrance of men of old,
and even those who are yet to come
will not be remembered
by those who follow.

How true. One of the other writers here noted the innate sadness of this particular news story, in which a young college coed has decided to sell her virginity (”legally” through a Nevada brothel) in order to fund her schooling. In reading this, I’m reminded of a story I’ve heard several times:

A man approaches a young woman and asks “If I paid you a million dollars, would you sleep with me?” The woman thinks about it and says “A million dollars? Sure, I suppose so.” The man replies “OK, how about $20?” The woman, indignant, says “What do you think I am?” to which the man replies “We’ve already established your profession, now we’re just haggling on the price.”

In the aforementioned news story, we learn that the woman isn’t just going to go for the highest bidder:

Dylan is a bright, beautiful young woman who’s going to consider a number of factors in her decision because she wants her first time to be a positive experience. “Natalie is a very smart girl. All she wants to do is get her master’s degree in family and marriage counseling and be a psychologist. She’s selling her virginity to accomplish that, [...] She’s smart enough to sell it. This is empowering her.”

So far, hundreds of offers have already come in including some from male virgins. Natalie says she won’t give up her virginity to the highest bidder. She’s also seeking other qualities from her first lover. “I’m looking for intelligence and an overall nice person,” said Dylan.

Read the rest of this entry »

First Off, An Apology from the Blog Manager:

Last night, I was a bit grumpy, and wrote an article for my personal blog, accidentally posting it to .Info. In the course of messing around with it, I accidentally deleted Jerry’s post just before it. I’ve recovered this particular post (”Yes, yes, yes…Oh, no”), but not the comments attached to it.

Below is Jerry’s original post, along with an update from Jerry (to save having to recreate where he and a few commenters had arrived).

Again, my apologies for the error…

The Original Post:

Friends,

I haven’t posted on anything from SOL for a while–fact is, I haven’t even visited it SOL much recently. I stopped in for a moment this evening to see what was happening and I was thrilled to see this post: The Centrality of the Cross.

My goodness, the author of Slice was rolling along beautifully. I mean it. It was a wonderful post with wonderful words and a wonderful reminder of the atoning work of Christ. Then, in the midst of the great piece about the Cross, and while I was reflecting on the work of Christ, I came across this:

At a time when emerging authors and leaders like Brian McLaren attack the all atoning work of Jesus Christ on that cross, how important that we remember that without it, we could not be saved.

I found myself saying: Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh…no! Ruined. Ruined because she just could not stop herself from from sneaking in an attack. I just wanted to say that I appreciated the post, the hymn, the brief history lesson, and the author’s reflections on her worship experience today. But in my opinion, the entire post was ruined because she just had to throw someone else’s name into the post.

If only she had left well enough alone. Yes, the cross is a beautiful thing. Yes, the cross should be preached. Yes, we should sing hymns, and Psalms and spiritual songs to our God. Yes, (sometimes) we should observe the so-called church calendar. But if that cross was for the author of Slice, it was also for others–even, and perhaps especially, those with whom she disagrees.

I’m sorry and sad that the post ended the way it did. I’m sad that an otherwise wonder word of encouragement ended so abysmally because she just couldn’t resist playing the role of the accuser. Sad. Really. Really. Sad.

jerry

Jerry’s Update:

Friends,

How shall i say this? Well, one of the difficult lessons one must learn in life is that it is unwise to become too comfortable in any environment. i learned that lesson again last night after i made this post and was called out by Joe Martino and a commenter named Nick. After several back and forths between the three of us, i updated this post and asked for the forgiveness of those with whom i had sparred (Joe & Nick), the other writers of CRN.info, and Mrs Schlueter.

Somehow, purely by accident (as Chris L will explain), the post was deleted from CRN.info. It was, to be sure, a pure accident and i assure you that it was not i who deleted it, that there was no subterfuge involved; i regret that it was lost. i’m just arrogant enough that i wanted people to read my update and apologies. All of those have been lost, but we have managed to recover the original post and it is reposted here with this update.

The point of contention is that i gave the appearance of being contradictory and inconsistent due to my posts and comments concerning Julie N’s posts at Loneprairie. i was judged as being unfairly critical of the author of Slice while being overly warm towards Julie’s posts without the same critical eye. In short, i was judged as hypocritical. i don’t deny that judgment and i apologize again to the readers and writers of CRN.info for that serious error and lack of judgment on my part. i offer no excuses. it was plainly and simply a poor choice on my part–especially after so much contention on other threads here last week.

i would be happy if you would disregard this post entirely (except for this update) and not even bother to read or comment (even if i know that is not going to happen). i retract my judgment of SOL’s post and the author’s intentions and stand humbly corrected by my peers. i ask for forgiveness of anyone that i have offended. i am thankful for the encouragement of the other writers here, but i have also decided to take a little time off from CRN.info to re-evaluate my reason for writing here and to think and pray about what the Lord wishes me to do with my time. i love writing and blogging has proved a helpful medium to that end, but i need to be certain that i am in the Lord’s will too.

thank You for your time and patience. i am still learning and growing and seeking. i offer again my apologies to the editors of CRN.info and the readers for my poor behavior in the thread of the OP (before it was deleted). i apologize to Joe M for accusing him of ‘bashing’ me. i apologize to Chris L for creating so much work for him. i apologize to Ingrid Schueter for my unfair reading and commenting on her post. i apologize to you, the readers, for letting you down and if i come back and write again, i promise i’ll do better.

may all of you be blessed in the Lord.

jerry

I cannot tell you how grumpy I am right now, other than to point out that it’s after 2 a.m. and I’m not in bed asleep.

I’m grumpy because I have allergies which show up every year at this time, stuffing up my head like a wet rag in a blender.

I’m grumpy because it’s been a rainy, icky day.

I’m grumpy because I spent 4 hours at a double-overtime game blown by my team yesterday.

I’m grumpy because I can never keep up with email.

I’m rather grumpy because apparently it’s not OK to be grumpy when you write and to express raw human emotion, otherwise you will offend someone else’s sensibilities.

I’m grumpy because I see family members struggling with studies of one type or another and I can’t just jump in and fix it for them. In fact, it would only screw things up if I tried.

I’m grumpy because it’s an election year and trying to not write about politics is a royal pain, and the thought of an idiot like Obambi screwing up the judiciary and putting his blame-America-first policies into place is depressing.

I’m grumpy that because I mentioned something political, Evan will now monopolize the comment thread with DailyKos moonbat gasbaggery, Rick will re-declare political agnosticism, and PB will come give all of the wrong reasons (or the wrong arguments about the right reasons) in agreement with my position.

I’m grumpy because some folks I know (including myself) just can’t seem to get along, instead baiting and acting like defensive, childish brats out of some warped sense of ‘honor’…

And I’m grumpy because It’s impossible for me to just pour out feelings on a page without feeling the gnawing need to bring it around to something positive or good, when that is not how I’m feeling.

Like this.

After all, I should really be thankful.

If the only health I’m struggling with is my weight and a yearly allergy, I should be thankful I can walk around and enjoy most things in life and that my health is much better than what a lot of people are experiencing.

Why should I complain about the rain when so many people had their homes washed away yesterday in Texas and Louisinana?

Instead of complaining about the game yesterday, I should be thankful I have been blessed with the income to allow me to purchase season tickets in the first place, and that I got to spend the day explaining the rules of football to my girls (who may not have cared all that much, except that they were with their dad having fun.)

I should be thankful I have email, though I should learn to pick up the phone or be physically present even if an email would be easier.

I should just be encouraging and supportive of people with burdens, walking alongside them – even if I cannot ease the burdens myself.

I should be thankful to live in a country which peacefully turns over its leadership every 4-8 years, and guarantees my right to religious freedom, and the other freedoms I have been blessed with.

I should be thankful for people who disagree with me on political issues, because they were made in God’s image just as much as I have been.

I should be thankful for people who agree with me, even if they do so in embarrassing ways, because they, too, are in God’s image.

I should be thankful for being able to converse with friends and acquaintances about matters of much (and little) import.

I should desire a role of peacekeeper then there is disagreement, rather than just wishing the disagreement would go away.

I should always desire to do good and to teach well in any situation.

But I don’t.

I’m pretty sure I’m whining right now, but for the life of me I don’t know how to stop. I seriously wonder if I should just delete this and let the facade of perfection slip – the same facade that probably fools nobody but myself.

But I won’t.

Why?

Because the most frustrating thing about this particular medium is that it is so sterile, and it allows us to put forth only the better parts of ourselves, if we so choose, making us appear either self-righteous or utterly boorish or so much more than what we are really like inside. Instead, it is probably better that we are able to see each other more authentically, for how else can we love, care about and life up each other if we never know what we struggle with?

Not only do I suffer from seasonal allergies, but I also deal with seasonal depression, as well. I suspect I’ve built up a pretty good front for folks that know me in real life, because I frequently hear comments about how positive and upbeat I am, and how I am an encouraging person – and that’s not what I feel I am like, even though I wish it was true.

You have my apologies for dragging you, my friends, with me through this mental muck.

I really have no defense other than to say that it’s 2:30 a.m., I’m unable to get to sleep, and…

I’m really grumpy right now…

UPDATE: And I’m a little more grumpy now that I realize I published this in the wrong blog…