Elections matter, but politicians can't solve America's problems

Lord, we beg you to save us from election time. If I see another stupid political ad, promoting one candidate or trashing the opponent, I might just lose my mind.

I, along with the vast majority of American people, am completely and utterly disgusted with our political leaders right now. I was always taught to respect my elders and respect those in authority over me, but I cannot bring myself to muster even a smidgeon of respect for the people running this country right now- Republican, Democrat, or Independent.

So, we will have another election, with all candidates telling us what they are going to do, how so-and-so must be stopped, how the other party is systematically working to undo everything that you hold dear, how the economy will collapse if their opponent is elected, how society will implode if the other party gets power, yada yada yada.  I'm as sick of it as you are.

Now, don't get me wrong- who has authority matters. We see that in Houston right now- the mayor of Houston, a militant openly-gay woman, has committed more First Amendment violations in one day than I've seen in my entire forty years on this planet.  She was elected with a 13% voter turnout. By the apathy of the voters of Houston, many of whom sit in churches whose pastors are being threatened and intimidated, they allowed this to happen.  So, elections do matter.  Activists are one thing; activists with the full power of the state behind them are another thing entirely.

However, don't look to this election to solve America's problems.

Why?

Because there are no political solutions to spiritual problems.  America's problems right now are spiritual, not political.

The top four problems in America right now are:

1) Destruction of the Family. America resembles an ebola-stricken victim.  A tiny virus, too small to be seen by the eye, can destroy a full-grown human being.  How? By destroying one cell at a time. America is made up of cells, called families.  When the families are healthy, the society is healthy.  When the family is dysfunctional, society will follow.

Right now, 41% of children are born outside of wedlock. This increases their chances of growing up in poverty, being incarcerated, not finishing high school, etc. This is a spiritual problem that will not be solved by any election or law.  The family is God's design, God's idea, and was set up by Him to include one man and one woman committed for life, and from that union to produce children.

If I were Satan, trying to destroy a society, I would attack the family. I would do whatever it took to change the definition of the family, to move it as far away from God's design as I could, to belittle and trash God's design, to marginalize it, to move sex outside of marriage, and to tell the people, "Society is better without it.  You don't need one man, one woman committed for life.  You can be happy other ways. Children don't need two biological parents in the home. Sex is fun- don't save it for marriage!"  We see the results of the spiritual problem of the destruction of the family, and neither Mitch McConnell nor Alison Lundergan Grimes being elected will solve that.

2) Marginalization of faith.  John Adams said, "Our Constitution was only made for a moral and religious people.  It is wholly inadequate to the government of another."  When a society rots morally and spiritually, freedom is the first victim.  When people have no agreed-on set of morals, no common religion, they will begin to abuse freedom. When freedom begins to be abused, we have to pass more laws.  When people cannot police themselves- when they cannot be trusted to live honestly, to tell the truth, to make decisions based on character and not convenience- the only option left is a police state with no freedom.

It is time for America to get serious about church again.  It is time for America to get serious about religious freedom.  It is time for America to realize that the marginalization of faith- their apathy towards church, their negligence in passing on faith to their children, their routine neglect of God's word, their self-centered (if at all) prayers, and their disobedience to the Great Commission- has cost us and cost us big time. Our country will not last without the church- it will not last without the Christian faith.  Oh, we might have a country, but it will be a country that resembles the Soviet Union or North Korea, not the America I grew up in.

Faith must become a potent force in America right now if America is to survive. There is no other option.  This, again, is a problem no election can solve.

3)  Materialism and Selfishness.  Our desire for entertainment and possessions has led us to the terrible position of being indebted.  Most people know that our government is more than $17 trillion in debt.  However, the average American household is more than $15,000 in credit card debt.  I would imagine that most of that $15,000 isn't because of rice and beans and water.  American households don't go $15,000 in debt trying to survive.  No, most of that debt is because of non-essential items- more phone than you need, more vacation than you need, more house than you need, more clothes than you need, eating out more than you can afford, etc.

Not to mention that the average Christian gives around 2.5% of his or her income to the church and/or Kingdom work. That qualifies us more as good Muslims than it does followers of the Bible. The desire for material things- for things of this earth, more than we need- is in direct contradiction to God's word.  Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven, not on earth.  He said that true treasure is loving our neighbors, giving to the needy, blessing others with our resources, caring for the orphan, caring for the widow, etc.  That is the kind of treasure that is valuable in God's eyes.

However, Americans don't think that way very often. The debt that we have as a nation and as individuals is a spiritual problem that won't be solved by politicians. We have a growing sense of entitlement, craving more and more and more, shouting about our "right" to certain things that everyone else has. This is a spiritual problem that cannot be solved by an election.

4) Lack of fear of God. The Bible tells us that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. We are to live as people who will be held accountable by God for every word we speak and every action we do. People who know they will be held accountable act very differently than people who think "no one will know."

How different would your decisions on money be if you knew you would be hauled into God's office for an accounting of how you spend His resources? (Yes, I said HIS resources- all you have is His.  You are simply a manager of His resources and will be held accountable for it). How different would your words be to your family if you knew all of them would be posted in Times Square for all the world to see?  How different would your decisions sexually, morally, financially, etc be if you acted as a person under accountability?

Sadly, the fear of God is disappearing from American society. We increasingly act as people who are not under authority or accountability. As a result of this, we live less and less wisely. We do not live our lives as people who have a fear of God. Wisdom is disappearing from our society, and no election or politician will solve this. This is a spiritual problem.  America must once again regain its fear of God, or we will face increasing judgment on our communities, families, and nation.  We are already seeing it.


All of America's problems boil down to spiritual issues.  The only thing politicians can do is pass laws.  There are no laws that can solve America's spiritual problems.  Only repentance and commitment to God's ways can solve the problems facing America right now. Don't count on this election to solve anything. You are the solution to America's problems.  Question is- are you part of the problem or are you part of the solution?

2 Chronicles 7:14- "If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and heal their land."

The darker side of First Amendment violations in Houston

I am completely and totally outraged at the actions of the Houston mayor, who is openly gay.  For those of you who do not know, she has actually subpoenaed sermons from pastors (no joke) to check them for references to homosexuality, gender rights, and herself. She has threatened the pastors with contempt of court if they do not comply.

First of all, I believe she has forgotten the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech and freedom of religion. This is an unconstitutional action.

However, looking beyond this, there is a darker side to her actions.  I believe she knows it is unconstitutional. I believe she knows there is no way this will stand up in court.  So why do it?

I'm sure she realizes that sermons are not secret.  They are public.  They are spoken publicly to anyone who will listen- there is no "members only" policy at churches, there is no admission fee, there is no restriction to who can hear sermons. They are public domain.  Besides that, most churches, mine included, podcast their sermons.  Sermons can be listened to by anyone and everyone who cares to listen.  The mayor and her cronies could simply subscribe to the podcasts and listen to them on their own time without the pastors even knowing it.

So why subpoena?

There can only be one reason for this action- to send a message to churches.  Specifically pastors.

That message is- you'd better toe the line. We can and we will shut you up.  That is the ONLY reason for this action.  The mayor is not concerned with what was said. She's not looking with an objective eye seeing if churches are in compliance with the Johnson amendment which was intended to shut churches up by instituting 501(c)3 status. No, she is sending a message to churches- "We don't like you and we will shut you up."

This is what happens when agenda-driven people gain control of government- they begin using the full power of the state to go after their opponents. This is Chicago politics at its worst. I see Chairman Mao and Comrade Stalin nodding their approval here. It is no secret that the homosexual movement and Christianity are at odds.  That's no front page news. So, when an openly gay mayor gains power, she goes after Christians. She goes after the heartbeat of Christianity- the sermon. She knows that her actions will not stand in court, but she doesn't care.

It's a shot across the bow to her opponents.  She also knows that if it goes to court, she has more resources than churches do to fight this thing.  She has an unlimited credit card, courtesy of the taxpayers, and she can hire as many lawyers as she wants, drag this out as long as she wants, and go as long as she wants.  Even if she loses, she will have bankrupted the churches who do not have the nice benefit of a taxpayer-funded credit card. Attorney's fees and legal costs will bury the churches even if they win in court. So, even if she can't shut churches up, she can put a hurt on them financially making them unwilling to continue in their actions.

Like I said, this is Chicago politics at its finest. She could have found out what the pastors were preaching by simply showing up on a Sunday morning or listening to the podcasts. There was no need for a subpoena if all she wanted to know was what was being preached.  No, the subpoena was an intimidation tactic, used by big government liberals, to send a clear message to pastors that Big Brother was watching.

Well, mayor of Houston, I have a message for YOU.  There are a lot more of us than you, and we're tired of your sort. You can't shut the church up. Learn the lessons from history- mayors come and go, politicians come and go, governments come and go, but the Church always endures. Where are your heroes- Chairman Mao, Adolf Hitler, and Josef Stalin? Dead. Where is the Church? Still thriving.

Ms Mayor, Christianity was founded on persecution. Christianity's biggest heroes were people like Paul, Peter, and John who received much more persecution than you will ever give. They didn't care what the authorities said- they continued to practice their faith against extreme opposition and persecution. The governments that went after them are gone- their faith is still here. Ms Mayor, I've read the Bible.  We win. So, we aren't afraid of you. Bring it on. Bring the full power of the state against us pastors. We will never give in or shut up. The more you persecute, the more we thrive.  Learn that lesson from history as well.

The biggest victory, however, will be the fact that no matter what you do, we will never stop loving you. Just as our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ asked God to forgive those who were killing Him, loving them to the very end, we will do the same. We do not hate you- no action you can take will make us do that. That is the supreme victory of the Church over you and your agenda-driven cronies: no matter what you do, you cannot make us stop loving you.  You cannot make us stop praying for you. You cannot keep us from practicing the command of Jesus: "Love your enemies and pray for those that persecute you."

The more you persecute, the greater our reward in heaven. Jesus told us, "Blessed are you when men revile you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.  Rejoice and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same manner they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Matthew 5:11-12).

This is our message to you. We are not afraid and we are not laying down, and we will protest your actions because you are in violation of the Constitution of this country. We will seek your removal from office because you are a tyrant, not a mayor, who does not understand the fundamental rights God has given to each one of us. However, we will also pray for you- the Apostle Paul was once a persecutor of Christians.  You could have the same story if God gets ahold of your heart too.  Just know, Ms Mayor, that while we deplore your actions, we love you and pray for you.

Now, Christians, what are we going to do?  First of all- pray.  Pray for strength for the Houston-area pastors. Pray for strength for them to defy the subpoena, defy fines, and make the city put them in jail. That's what I would do in their situation. Second, be ready to go to Houston for rallies and protests- peaceful, that is. We are not thugs and we are not rabble-rousers. Third, encourage your pastor to preach in defiance of this new bullying fascism. This has gone far enough, and it has to stop NOW.

Christians make up the majority of this nation. It's time to make our voices heard.

Coming Face-to-Face with the "American Parent, version 2014"

I am a high school soccer referee.  I am also a kids' soccer coach.  Both put in close proximity with American kids on a regular basis.

95% of the kids I see are fine. They play by the rules, they are respectful, and they don't cause any problems.  However, I've run across two problem kids in the last two weeks.

Well, I shouldn't actually say problem kids. It's really not their fault. The problems lie with the parents.

Example one- I was refereeing a high school match that was rather boring. One team was beating the other team rather handily, and the winning team was quite mouthy. Every time a blade of grass landed on one of them too heavily they complained about a foul. "Ref, didn't you see that?" "Ref, aren't you going to call that?" Well, obviously, my reffing wasn't affecting them THAT much, seeing as how the other team rarely got the ball past the half line and they maintained possession of the ball 90% of the time. They just needed something to cry about, I guess.

Well, I won't go into details, but let's just say that one of the players, after scoring goal #4, looked at me and mouthed off something that was quite disrespectful. I gave him a yellow card, which was just a warning. I figured that would be enough- I mean, for crying out loud, they were up 4-0 with six minutes left in the game. What do you need to be mouthy about?

When I showed him the card, he looked at me in a condescending manner and said, "I guess you're really proud of that one, aren't you ref?" and as he ran by me, patted me on my shoulder. Rule one, sonny- don't touch me. That's an automatic ejection from ANY sport. Don't touch the ref. If that wasn't enough, your mouth just earned you an ejection and a one-game suspension. Out came the red card. He was gone.

After the match, the coach came over and tried to blame me for his player's actions. He explained to me that I couldn't expect a 17-year-old to maintain his composure in a hotly contested district match, and that my attitude was responsible for his ejection.  Now, I'm trying to think of what would had happened if I, as a 17-year-old, would have said what that player said to any adult, let alone a ref. My dad would have run down on the field, dragged me off the field by my ear, made me apologize, and grounded me for a week. My coach would have made me apologize and probably made me do pushups and run laps, and probably would have suspended me for another game.

I told the coach that the ejection stood and he needed to teach his players to shut up, especially when given a yellow card. I told him to quit rationalizing his player's behavior or he would never learn his lesson.  The next day, I get a call from our referee assigner, saying that the player's little mommy had called him, demanding to know my name, phone number, and why I was allowed to ref.  Apparently the player had gone home and told his mommy that big bad mean ref was cussing out the players, and all he did was stick up for himself.  Of course, mommy believed her perfect little boy and caused a huge stink.  When I explained to him what had actually happened, he muttered in disgust and said not to worry about anything else.

Example two- without divulging too much information, one of the players I coach exhibited terrible sportsmanship a little while ago after a win. During the handshake, instead of saying, "Good game" like he was supposed to, he said, "Thanks for losing, thanks for losing" to all the players, rubbing salt into their wounds. When I confronted him on it, he promised me he hadn't said it, even going to far as to say "I swear to  . . . " that he didn't do it. When an adult on the other team pointed him out, I confronted him again, and at that point, he confessed to saying it.

Okay, so bad sportsmanship AND lying to my face.  Not a good combo.  I told him, "Come on, let's go apologize to the other team." So he followed me over and apologized. Good boy. I was just about to ask him if he had anything to say to me for lying to me, when his mom got in my face and told me in no uncertain terms that I was never to "single her boy" out like that again.  I was quite taken aback. Single him out? He had not only insulted the entire other team, exhibiting poor sportsmanship and, quite frankly, being a jerk, but also lied baldfaced to me!

I asked her, "So what I did was wrong.  Making a kid apologize to people he's offended is the wrong thing?" She muttered in disgust, turned around, and walked away.

Face to face with American parenting, 2014. There is a very toxic strain of American parenting that says, "My kid would never do anything wrong, and if you have the gall to call it, YOU'RE the bad guy."  I have a new sympathy for teachers and educators who deal with this kind of lunacy everyday.

If this is you, as a parent, shame on you. You are crippling your children. You are raising them up to be sociopaths- people who have no conscience, who blame others for everything, who will always see themselves as the victims, who will never respect anyone or anything (including themselves) and who will have no character. You are raising your child up to think he can do no wrong.

What are you going to do, toxic parent, when your child gets fired from his first job? Call the CEO and complain? Sue the company? Swoop in and save your child from his own actions? Probably. You've been doing that all his life- why would you stop now?  How will your child ever succeed if he never learns the hard lessons in life?  Hard lessons such as- being disrespectful closes every door to opportunity your child might have; mouthing off to adults gets you labelled a "bad kid" and no one gives you the time of day; lying makes people dislike you and not trust you; being a bad sport makes you a very lonely person because no one wants to be around you; and those that can't control their mouths develop the reputation as being a jerk.

Like I said earlier, 95% of the kids I work with are fantastic. Honestly, these two kids would probably be good kids if they had better parents. However, their parents have set them up to fail, and fail hard. A 17-year-old who is old enough to drive, who will be voting next year for our nation's leaders, and who is about to go to college who thinks he can speak to adults in disrespectful tones is going to fail in life. He won't be able to hold a job if he talks to his boss that way. He won't be able to stay married if he talks to his spouse that way. He has learned, by his parents' actions, that speaking that way is okay. They've totally destroyed his future.

Likewise, a younger child who is capable of looking into a grown man's face without hesitation and lying, even invoking the name of God to cover his lie, isn't going to get very far in life. Not only have the parents not taught them the right way, they actively criticize and go after the one who called them on it!  Those kids learned two things- it wasn't their fault, and they were victims. Nothing they did was wrong- it was the big bad adult who was trying to "single them out" and make them feel bad.

I hope that these two incidents are isolated, but I'm afraid they aren't.  I'm hearing of this more and more- parents who go on the offensive against anyone who dares call our their kid on what everyone else agrees is inappropriate and/or wrong. Kids never develop character; society de-evolves as a larger number of kids become adults who were coddled, told they were perfect, never disciplined, and never corrected.

My condolences to all adults who work with kids- I'll bet you have stories similar to this where you have encountered the "American Parent, version 2014." My prayers are with educators, coaches, youth and children's ministers, and all others whose only reason for staying in the game is that their love for kids is greater than their disgust at APV 2014. If you are an APV 2014, change now. You are destroying your children as well as annoying all the rest of us.  Stop it now, and begin building character in your kids. Believe me, they will thank you later.

Waking up stubborn kids for school- a glimpse into America's situation before God?

I am a father of four children (three here on earth and one in heaven) and like all parents, it's my job to make sure kids get to school.  Now, this becomes a problem when tired kids don't want to get out of bed.

I'm an early riser.  Always have been, always will be.  I am both a night owl AND a morning person, and getting out of bed has never been an issue for me. Most of the time I don't even need an alarm- I tell myself when I go to bed what time I need to be awake, and most of the time, I wake up within a few minutes of that time. Yes, weird.

However, it would appear that none of my children received this "wake up on your own" gene from me, especially my teenagers.  Those of you with teenagers know the difficulty in getting non-morning people out of bed: it is a frustrating battle sometimes.

I've found that I typically go through five stages when trying to wake my kids up:

Stage 1- gentle words.  "Time to get up, sweetie. It's 7:00.  Time to get up," said in a very gentle, low tone.  Sometimes that is enough.  When it isn't, however, I go to stage two.

Stage 2- gentle touch. Continuing to use gentle words, I reach over to a shoulder and gently shake. Sometimes THAT is enough. When it isn't, however, I go to stage three.

Stage 3- stronger words.  "Okay, it's really time to get up. Let's go.  Out of bed," using a more military, commanding tone.  Sometimes THAT is enough. When it isn't, however, I go to stage four.

Stage 4- stronger touch. Continuing to use stronger words, I do something that resembles playing drums on their arms, shaking them a little more strongly.  Sometimes THAT is enough.  When it isn't, however, I go on to the fifth and final stage.

Stage 5- The Icewater Bucket.  No explanation necessary.

One way or another, the kids are going to get up.  It is not an option for me to stop at stage two, or three, and say, "Wow- I think I'll just let them sleep in today."  Not an option.  They WILL get out of bed.  The only question is, "How much pain are they going to experience BEFORE they wake up?

As a parent, I would rather my children wake up on the first call.  I would much rather just use gentle words and have them pop right out of bed.  I don't enjoy raising my voice and I especially don't want to douse them in ice water. I will if I have to, but that is not my intention.

However, the ball is in my children's court.  They decide when they wake up, they decide which stage is the one they respond to, and they decide how much pain they will endure before they wake up.

The same is true of God and our beloved America, particularly the church.

John Piper, writing about revival, says this,

“Revival is the sovereign work of God to awaken His people with fresh intensity to the truth and glory of God, the ugliness of sin, the horror of hell, the preciousness of Christ’s atoning work, the wonder of salvation by grace through faith, the urgency of holiness and mission, and the sweetness of worship with God’s people.”- John Piper, A Godward Life, p 111

The sovereign work of God to awaken His people.

Throughout history, God has awakened His people.  There have been many awakenings here in America.  When a country or nation drifts away from God, begins to spiral downward into sin, thumbs its nose at its Creator, and shouts like a defiant teenager in God's face, God moves to awaken them from their sin-induced slumber.

 God progresses through these stages like a parent trying to wake up his child.  First, He uses gentle words. No physical judgment or pain yet, just corrective words. If the nation responds and wakes up from its disobedience and repents, no further action is necessary.

However, if the nation doesn't respond, God allows a little physical discomfort. Maybe the economy dips slightly, maybe crime rises, maybe atheistic forces win a few court cases.  Still, nothing major- most people are not affected and continue on their daily lives, still asleep in their sin and apathy towards God.

Then, stage three hits and stronger words are used.  God's prophets used words comparing Israel to an adulteress, calling them to repentance and calling them to turn from their sins.  If the nation stubbornly refuses to change, God moves to stage four.

Now, real physical pain starts. Godless nations rise against the people (the Assyrians for Israel and the Babylonians for Judah). Secure foundations are shaken- military suffers a defeat or two, economy hits the skids, social problems arise such as escalating divorce rates, escalating abortion rates, corrupt leaders. God begins to move in a more direct disciplinary fashion, removing idols and allowing the house built on sand to begin imploding.  All of this is still His attempt to wake up a slumbering nation from its sin and rebellion.

When that is not enough, God moves into the final stage- judgment.  This is the ice bucket in the face of the sleeping teenager.  In Israel's time, the Assyrian army conquered the northern kingdom, killed the inhabitants, ripped open pregnant women, and carted the survivors off into captivity and slavery. God allows evil to have free reign for a limited time so that the people can see the true fruit of rejecting God. The same was true of Judah- the Babylonian army smashed the walls of Jerusalem and did the exact same thing. 

The question for the nation isn't whether or not we are going to wake up.  The question is only at which STAGE are we going to wake up. How much pain are we going to endure before we repent and turn back to God? Will it be at God's gentle words? Or will it take the stage five ice bucket in the face?  

Will America only repent and turn to God if ISIS infiltrates our nation and kills millions of people in nuclear terror attacks? Will America wait until an Ebola plague that kills millions to wake up and repent?  Will America only repent when our dollar overnight becomes worthless and our economy resembles the Weimar republic with millions thrown out of work, every day becoming a challenge just to get bread and water?

Like I said, God isn't going to just stop at gentle words. He's not going to stop at a gentle shaking.  I don't do that as a parent, and He doesn't do that as God. If He is calling a nation to repentance, it's going to repent.  The only question is how much pain that nation will experience before it repents.  

I say we learn the lessons of history. I say we as a nation, and especially as a church, repent for our sin-induced slumber. We must repent for our cowardice in proclaiming the gospel. We must repent for our desire for comfort at the expense of the hungry. We must repent at our lack of Biblical knowledge.  We must repent for our belittling the glory of God.  We must repent of our idolatry, allowing sports and money and cars and status and houses occupy our hearts and minds. We must repent of our dishonesty and lack of integrity.  We must repent of raising our children without character and without values, placing within them an entitlement mentality where they can do no wrong. 

We must, finally, repent of our neglect of the Great Commission and the ease with which we sleep at night knowing people are going to hell never having heard about Jesus.

I say we are somewhere between stage three and stage four right now as a nation, America. History has shown us what happens when we refuse to wake up, and I don't want to go there. There is still time. Call on the Lord, for He is merciful and loving, slow to anger and quick to forgive.  Let us turn from our sin, our lethargy, and our idolatry and allow Him to heal our land.  

Allow Him to heal the state of our marriages.  Allow Him to heal the home.  Allow Him to heal us of the drug epidemic and and STD epidemic. Allow Him to replace the hopelessness and cynicism and unbelief with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. It's up to us, America.  God, like a parent, is trying to wake us up.  I say we take the hint.