Luke 10: 35 The next morning he gave the innkeeper two silver coins and said, “Please take care of the man. If you spend more than this on him, I will pay you when I return.”
Today I know there will be those that disagree with part of what I am going to say, but I ask, please keep an open mind and think about the attitude of Jesus here, not the attitude of a political party or supporter.
The 2008 Presidential Election in the United States had a number of issues that caused voters to cast their vote for one candidate or another. One of those issues which drove a lot of Christians was the issue of health care. It is important to understand, abortion is not the only issue related to faith that drives a Christians vote. Unfortunately, many forget about, or make excuses regarding their support of those in need of health care. One of the most common excuses many Christians use is that health care should be the responsibility of the church, or that if the church was doing her job, there wouldn’t be any need for health care by the government. While there is a measure of truth here, we need to be careful to not stand up for, and help those with issues related to appropriate and basic health care.
When we look at the life of Jesus, we can see emphatically, that he cared about meeting the physical needs of others. He did this when he provided healing, spoke about the need to serve the poor and sick, and even used stories like the passage in Luke where we see one of the heroes of the story, providing health care for someone they were normally known to dislike. It is clear, Jesus taught to more than just his followers, he taught to whoever would listen, including the political leaders and public servants of the day, whether a military soldier or the wife of a political ruler. Jesus message was a message for society, not just his followers.
Today we live in a world where there are rising health costs and a system set up in such a way in at least America, which has as a primary purpose making a profit, not providing appropriate health care. It is why we see so many trying to obtain health care in emergency rooms as opposed to through their doctors, and why we see so many suffer because of their inability to afford medication or appropriate treatment. While some service is available once a person is on their deathbed, help and assistance to help the poor obtain preventative care is not available and often the help that is provided is too late. I have to wonder, as should we all, what would Jesus response be to this situation.
I had the unique privilege of working at one of the initial pilot programs for Managed Care in America, Trend Community Mental Health in Hendersonville North Carolina. It became obvious, quickly, that the primary issue was turning a profit, not providing needed and appropriate care. This eventually led to some legal issues for Trend Mental Health, but the problem wasn’t unique to them. This is part of the problem with the public sector in their treatment of the sick. We are a system driven by profit and greed, not caring for people.
In the passage in Luke, we see that in the story of Jesus, the person took from their finances to provide care to another individual. The person was willing to spend more if necessary to help. Here is my question, especially for those who pay taxes; what would you prefer your tax dollars go for? Some may say for roads or infrastructure, others may say to support their military, yet others may say for things like public service positions While there are benefits to all of these programs, I think I can support the idea that Jesus talked more about helping the poor and needy than any other group. The widows and orphans of Jesus day are the poor of today. They are the Samaritans that need help they can’t afford, or don’t know how to obtain. As followers of Jesus we are commanded to go out of our way to provide the help they need. As long as we continue to argue about things like whether or not mental illness is spiritual or neurological, or whether or not we can provide care for a poor single pregnant teenager, the system, the state, has to be a part of the mechanism we support and desire to use our tax dollars to help others.
One of the things that has confused me, is why anyone, even Christians would be opposed to their tax dollars being used to help the poor and needy in the area of health care? It confuses me because if the tax dollars used are our dollars, if our government is a government for the people and by the people, don’t we have a right to voice where our tax dollars are spent? Shouldn’t we want them to go where Christ would have us serve, no matter what political party we support? How can we justify for any reason, the lack of support and help in regards to medical care for those that need it when Jesus directive on this subject is so clear?
My hope is that at the very least we will be challenged to think about what Jesus position and practice was regarding helping the poor, needy and the sick. May we begin to apply that in our lives as we should all seek and attempt to become a Good Samaritan to those with health concerns?
Thought for the Day: Yes it is the churches responsibility to help the poor and needy in regards to health care. That said; remember if you are a follower of Jesus, you are the church. I challenge you, spend time with a poor person today, just talk to them and ask them what it is like getting the health care they need. Then if there is something you can do, do it! Otherwise you may be speaking out of ignorance more than knowledge when you oppose the need of meeting the medical needs of those that need help.
While many talk about the need to obtain insurance, it is as if they have never experienced what it is like with most insurance companies. Check out the following video for a taste of what it is like, it is unfortunately something many can relate to. If the video don't appear, just click on the link:
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew P.O. Box 17731 Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
Today’s posting will be without all of the photographs, video’s, salesmanship, solicitation, all of that. You see today is a special today, effective today, 7:00 PM EST or thereabouts, I will have been married for 29 years. Yep, ol’ Mike here has been married for 29 years today as today is my anniversary.
I realize how blessed I am. I have stated many times, even write about it in my book, that I don’t think I ever felt that I experienced real physical love until I met my wife, at least a real love that has lasted now for 29 years. I had experienced the love of a Savior, but I honestly believe that outside of my savior, the most perfect love I have experienced is from Mary Jane, my wife.
Tonight I have a card and a small gift for her, and I am taking her to a local dinner theater afterwards to see a play and have a good meal, maybe a glass of wine, and some time on what I customarily, (Thursday Nights) our date night. That’s right, we still take dates, still do the simple things. I try to open the door for her, hold her hand on occasion, give a kiss goodbye, all of those types of things.
I have done a lot of really stupid things in my life, but marrying Mary Jane, staying married to her hasn’t been one of those, next to accepting Jesus into my life, it was easily the smartest thing I have ever done.
I am going to ask those reading this to do something for me. If you don’t mind, go to Mary Jane’s MySpace page and request her for a friend if you haven’t done so. Her page is www.myspace.com/maryjanefurches If you are reading this and don’t have a MySpace page, email her at maryjanefurches@netzero.com There is no doubt in my mind that I got the better end of this deal. November 20 would have been her parents 50th wedding anniversary celebration which we would have held together except her mother died in the months prior to our wedding, and what would have been her 50th wedding anniversary. For that reason, I am sure that our wedding is a bittersweet moment. Letting her know how much you appreciate all she has done would be a wonderful thing, for those of you that really know her, it would be great to let her know how important her support of me as my wife and partner has been. Without her, I know I couldn’t have carried out much of the ministry I have done. For those of you who actually know her, you know that what I am speaking is true.
Thanks for your prayers, and my prayer is that God will provide you someone to love you the way he has me.
The following is a single photo from 29 years ago.
For those that know anything about me and the work I am involved in you know I am a little diversified, from being a pastor, to writing about horror, doing movie reviews, and trying to hold the church accountable to be the church Jesus called her to be. In fact, some of you know I have some issues with what the church has become; it is one of the reasons that in conjunction with Hollywood Jesus I started the ministry of The Virtual Pew. There was the hope we could reach out to people feeling the same way as us, you know, people who had kind of given up on church and who had issues with the church. The people I call The Lost, The Last and The Least. It was after some time in my own life that I came to the conclusion that a lot of people agree with Gandhi, who essentially said, “Jesus is cool, some of his followers are weird.” While that is not an exact quote, it is pretty close paraphrase.
One of the things I have tried to do with The Virtual Pew is to have us be a ministry that gives back. There have been a couple of times I have offered my books at reduced rates, btw, they still are, contact me for information on how to get a book at a reduced rate, but I have also given books away on occasion, plus DVD’s, other books, even on a few occasions cash prizes and movie tickets. There is usually something involved in the give a ways, like picking and choosing from those that sign up for the newsletter that type of thing. Well I am back with a few give a ways.
The Creek, a contemporary independent film that tells the story of a ghost that is coming back to haunt some friends. While the film is not rated it could carry a “R’ rating for language and violence. Personally I would go with a pg-13 rating as the gore isn’t bad and there really isn’t much violence. It is a rare horror tale that relies on story as opposed to special effects. I wrote about this film, which you can read about by clicking here.
The second DVD up for give a way is Lonnie Frisbee, The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher. This is a wonderful telling of part of the history of the modern day Jesus Movement. Lonnie Frisbee was an individual who was largely responsible for the growth and development of three major denominations. Calvary Chapel, The Vineyard, and The Four Square Churches. Lonnie died of Aids and the film is a terrific examination of his struggle with homosexuality and his acceptance, and then rejection by various religious groups. The movie is loaded with special features and you can see some of my comments and thoughts about the movie and Lonnie by clicking here.
Now how do you become eligible to win one of these 8 DVD’s? It is quite simple, all you have to do is go make a comment dated after November 18 on one of two locations, 1) to The Virtual Pew postings on The Virtual Pew website, accessible through http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ or by linking to it via the resource page at http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/ The posting has to be made on one of the articles on The Virtual Pew site. 2) You can also make comment at one of the blog spots, via the MySpace page at, www.myspace.com/mikefurches Now note that on both of these pages there are various postings, make sure to check out the archives, and I will know when you have made the comments. Your comments should be about the article you have read. I will then, on November 30, at 5 PM CST, randomly draw 8 names to contact regarding the receipt of the DVD’s. I will give each winner a choice as to the DVD of their choice, after the DVD choices are gone; the remaining DVD’s will be awarded to the other winners. The DVD’s will be shipped to the address of your choice, (If you want it as a gift, I will even gift wrap it and send it to the address of your choice, from you.) Note on this, I even pay for all of the postage, unless overseas, if outside of the United States, you will pay the difference and if insurance is desired the winner will pay for insurance of the shipping of the item.
There is some cost for The Virtual Pew, which is okay. I am simply trying to increase readership to the blogs, membership boards, and The Virtual Pew website. I also want to increase readership at Hollywood Jesus, and my MySpace page. You can also access The Virtual Pew via Hollywood Jesus at http://www.hollywoodjesus.com/, just click on The Virtual Pew link at resources, or by going to the HJ Live page, searching through the pages, and clicking on one of the stories there. If having a hard time, just Google “Mike Furches, The Virtual Pew” and you will easily find listings of numerous articles.
I appreciate your friendship, and your willingness to support the work of The Virtual Pew. This is simply one of those ways I want to give back to you.
Good luck to all, and God Bless you.
Mike
On the following videos, just click on the video, if the video don't appear, just click on the link.
The following is the trailer for Lonnie Frisbee, The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew P.O. Box 17731 Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
Luke 9:58 Jesus said, “Foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man doesn’t have a place to call his own.”
I love barbeque, in fact, I consider myself a connoisseur of this fine food. I have eaten at some of the best establishments on the planet, from Ridgewood in the Tri Cities in Tennessee, to Stutts Barbeque in Tulsa Oklahoma; I have eaten the best, and make a pretty good smoked barbeque myself.
I don’t know what it is about the food that I love so much, maybe part of it is being from the south, and maybe it is the work it takes going into good barbeque. I don’t know, bottom line, I know what I want for a last meal before I die. I pray I can eat that last meal and aren’t living on tubes or something. I have it planned out, a nice plate from Ridgewood, an order of their fries, slaw on the sandwich, and a glass of Cheerwine Soda.
While growing up I was homeless for a while. I would live from place to place, staying with friends, various relatives, and off and on for two years living in a YMCA transient center. I have always had a special place in my heart for people that are homeless; I don’t know why that is other than having gone through the experience myself.
Recently my love for barbeque and my appreciation and desire to serve the homeless crossed unexpected paths and I ended up learning a valuable lesson. While in Kansas City for a wrestling tournament I was speaking at, I decided to take my family to one of the famous establishments, Gates Barbeque. It was located near the Municipal Auditorium where I was speaking so I decided to give it a try. Now one of the things I have discovered about barbeque is there are various styles, some I love, and others I’m just not that crazy about. Personally I am a Tennessee style guy, using as a base of smoke, honey or sweetener of some type, and of course a good hickory flavoring. After paying for our meal at Gates, I found myself eating a style I just wasn’t that crazy about. I had just taken one bite of my food; my wife had one bite of her food, and my son, one bite of his. Frankly, we just were not that crazy about our food so we decided to get our $50 worth of barbeque, bagged it up and took it out to find some homeless people to share it with. It was a lot of food, and would easily feed 4 – 6 people with the serving size provided.
We begin to drive the streets of Kansas City asking a local police officer where the best place was to find some homeless people. After about thirty-five minutes of driving we finally found a man willing to take our food. He had a big smile on his face, thanked us and proceeded to get a few of his friends to enjoy a meal he normally wouldn’t have had the chance to enjoy.
This experience got me thinking, often times, we seem to provide for the homeless during certain holiday peeks, normally Thanksgiving and Christmas, while this is admirable, there are another 362 days a year at a minimum these people need food. Despite what some think, being homeless isn’t all that fun or easy, finding a safe place to sleep, finding food to eat, having a clean shower, and the list goes on. While it is easy for people to judge the homeless I wonder, if Jesus was here today, if he was living on the streets, how would he eat, how would others show him love? What would our response be to him? Would we be willing to feed him? Would we provide clothes for him? Would we ignore him as we walked by and saw him lying with his head on the concrete trying to get some sleep?
Despite what we think, despite how we act, we need to remember, Jesus has a special place for the poor and homeless because he walked in their shoes. It is one of the reasons he commands us to show love, feed the hungry, visit the sick, provide care for the helpless, and on and on. Let me be blunt, I know some of you may have worked in a homeless shelter, may have done some volunteer work for a holiday meal, but have you ever gone out, purchased a good meal and taken it to a homeless person. Have you ever gone and put someone up in a motel on a harsh night? If not, why not? What do you do with the verse where Jesus tells us, that what we have done for the least of these; it is as if we have done it personally for him?
Unfortunately, the poor, the homeless will always be with us. This doesn’t mean we shouldn’t show love and provide love to these people. We need to remind ourselves that what we have done for the least of these, is as if we are doing it to and for Jesus. What are you willing to do this week to show Jesus you love him?
Thought for the day: How about going to a local restaurant, buying a few meals, and taking them to the homeless. Don’t preach, just say; “Here is some food in Jesus name, enjoy it.” While it is nice to help out on Thanksgiving and Christmas, don’t forget about the folks we can show love to the remainder of the year.
I like the song in this video. I like what these churches are doing under a street bridge three times a week even better.
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew P.O. Box 17731 Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
Luke 9: 46-48 Jesus disciples were arguing about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what they were thinking, and he had a child stand there beside him. Then he said to his disciples, “When you welcome even a child because of me, you welcome me. And when you welcome me, you welcome the one who sent me. Whichever one of you is the most humble is the greatest.”
I have to be honest, titles don’t impress me, in fact, I don’t think titles impress most people who are honest with themselves. Sure they may impress some, but normally those people seem so stuck up they walk around with their nose up in the air and live life with few friends. Usually these people are so full of pride they aren’t aware of the snickers that come from those that observe them from a distance.
Don’t get me wrong, respect is an appropriate thing. I believe in calling people “Sir,” or “Mamm,” I believe in respect for others, especially those in positions of authority. That is just a decent thing to do, but I have even more respect for those who see themselves as equals, not superior. I think that is where most people are at. It is one of the things that have gotten skewed in society, we seem to place a higher level of importance on people than they often deserve.
What ends up happening is we become so filled with pride we forget that when compared to the person of Jesus, we don’t measure up. Over the years I have been honored to serve as an Executive Director of various organizations. I feel a little proud that I obtained a certain measure of success in certain fields, despite my coming from the streets and homelessness. I have never forgotten my roots. I have done crazy things like not wanting an office, or if having an office making sure there wasn’t a door on it. I wanted people to always feel welcome without ever fearing that I thought I was better than them. I never had my staff do anything I wasn’t willing to do myself. I always made it clear to my staff that they were there to serve the people around us.
I was sharing with a friend the other night about my managing an organization where we had a commercial kitchen to operate. In that kitchen we had what many commercial kitchens have, a grease trap which had to be cleaned on a regular basis. I don’t know what you know about grease traps but I will state, they are nasty, stinky, filthy disgusting things. I had a staff person once who refused to clean the grease trap. She seemed to think that because she had a college degree it was beneath her to clean it. Her particular job entailed working alongside persons with severe mental illnesses, instilling hope, and focusing on their strengths and abilities while at the same time helping rediscover their job skills. This person was clear though, while she was a “mental health professional,” her job description did not entail cleaning a grease trap.
I called her into the kitchen one morning and told her, “If you don’t mind, I want you to come here so I can show you something.” She came into the kitchen and while there I proceeded to get on my hands and knees, take off the top of the grease trap, took a large metal spoon, started skimming off the grease, and cleaning the trap. She stood there watching as I cleaned the trap. I detailed the specifics of what I was doing, while I was doing it, and in the process letting her know that when helping people do things, we had to be careful as it could instill an attitude of being less than if we were telling them to do something we were unwilling to do ourselves.
Upon completion of showing her how to clean the grease trap, she said something to me like, “You don’t really expect me to do that do you? I mean I didn’t get my college degree to clean things like that!”
I asked her, “Do you know what my job description is?”
“Yes,” She replied in a serious but somewhat questioning tone. “But what does that have to do with anything?”
“Well,” I stated in a serious tone while looking her in the eyes, “I am the executive director of this agency; I sign your pay checks. I just finished cleaning this grease trap because I value the importance of serving others, and the value of never asking someone to do something that you aren’t willing to do yourself.” I then stood up, and said emphatically, “If I as the executive director of this agency am willing to stoop so low as to do a dirty, filthy job of this nature, I expect my staff to be willing to do the same thing.” Then in a firm but straight forward way I stated, “For staff that think they are beyond the executive director of the agency, that think they are so good that they don’t have to do something he is willing to do, then they need to leave the employment of this agency. If however they decide they should stay with this agency, they will either do what is expected in the area of service, or I will be forced to terminate their employment.” Unfortunately, that particular employee didn’t make it with the agency. I suspect she is working some place now behind a desk, with her diplomas up, somehow thinking she may be too good to stoop so low as to do a dirty job and serve someone.
We often find ourselves thinking we are better than someone else, thinking that God has made provisions for us. Yet Jesus made his perspective clear, we are expected to welcome the lowest of the low, to love the least of these, and to serve even small children. Our status when it comes to following Jesus isn’t based on a piece of paper, or a level of education, it is based on a willingness to love and serve, we are if you will, called to take up the towel that Jesus illustrated when he was willing to take on the role of a servant and wash the feet of not only his disciples, but also the one who would betray him to be crucified.
Each of us, as we go through life must realize, that Jesus, the son of God, and even God himself, put himself in a position to serve others. When we think of ourselves as being too good to serve, we must reconsider this thing we call ourselves, followers of Jesus. Jesus made it clear; we show our love to him, by showing love to others. There is no higher calling than to serve others, Jesus lived that example, and it is an example we should follow.
Thought for the day: As you go through the day, look for a way you can show your love to another by serving them. Let them know that they are important, by your willingness to serve. When you do this, your life message will have a far greater impact on those you come into contact with.
The following video is of one who understood the importance of serving others. We sometimes make excuses as if we didn't already know we aren't Jesus. We have examples though of those who would be willing to serve. To see the video, just click on it, if it don't appear, just click on the following link:
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew P.O. Box 17731 Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
Last Winter I took my son to see Senator Barack Obama speak at a rally in El Dorado Kansas. El Dorado is a small town outside of Wichita where Obama’s mother’s parents are from. After standing in the very cold snow storm for over an hour, we finally got in, sat in some VIP seats and listened to his presentation. At the time I was seriously considering voting for Senator Obama. You see, while I have been registered with the Republican Party since the election of President Bill Clinton, I am still open to voting for the best person, not the party. As a result, Senator Obama sounded like someone I could support.
Well the rest is history and the following is a continuation of the limited celebrity I have experienced since that rally. You see I was interviewed for an article at the rally by Salon.com. That story went international and since then I have heard from people all over the world regarding my position and beliefs. In the weeks leading up to the election I have been interviewed by various media including this week, The Canadian Free Press and The Daily Telegraph out of London England. I have also heard from various individuals, radio programs and more. To say the least, after some discussion I felt it important to give clarity as to my thoughts in this article. While the reporters have been respectful and friendly, I find it important and realize that no media can print or cover an entire interview; as a result, some of my opinions and thoughts have been misconstrued. , I am hoping to clarify some of my thoughts here. I do want to make clear, these are my thoughts. While I believe I have spoken to a large number of people who agree with me, there is no recorded data to support my positions. I do believe there are many others who will hold to, agree with my positions, and support the assumptions made. That said, here goes, hope you enjoy the read, and hopefully it clarifies up some of the misperceptions some have had.
Note: While the following shows who I am supporting and voting for regarding the President of the United States, I must make clear, I like Senator Barack Obama, I also have concerns about him. I am not one of those who will vilify him at this point, I just don’t know enough about him to do support his run for president.
The following is titled How Talk Radio and The Religious Right Influenced The Election of 2008
There are several things, among others, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and other in the Religious Right and I agree on:
1. We support John McCain for President. 2. We like Sarah Palin and believe her selection as Vice President helped the Republican ticket for President. 3. That I am wrong about what I am about to write.
Now don’t get me wrong, I actually like Rush, have listened to him since he started in the late 1980’s. At one time I considered myself an “Ottid Head.” Now you would have to have listened to Rush for sometime to know what that term is because it isn’t used anymore. Over the last year while I wouldn’t consider myself a “Ditto Head,” I would say I agree with Rush more than half of the time and am entertained by his radio program.
Sean Hannity on the other hand is one I tend to agree with philosophically but disagree a great deal with the approach used on his programs. I personally find Hannity degrading, inflammatory, and largely disrespectful to opposing views, seldom giving others the time to express their views when they call. I can’t deny it though, I listen to one as much as the other, likely Hannity more because of the hours his program is aired is times I am in my car more. I also enjoy watching his show and despite the unjustified criticism I believe Fox News gets, know that Hannity and Colmes along with The O’Reilly Factor are two of the programs that trounce all other cable news programs in the ratings wars. While this must keep some up in arms, it really don’t bother me as I believe that in comparison to most network programs and other media outlets, those like myself, centrist with a slight lean to the right deserve what I consider “fair and balanced” programming. While many may disagree with this assumption, I challenge they likely don’t watch the programming at Fox, if they did, they would see there are those who do present a countering view with programming and many guests from “the Left,” who support the assumption that Fox is more balanced than given credit for. If I must say so, one of the things that have as of recent turned me off of the Senator Obama band wagon is his continued blasting of Fox in ways I believe are largely unjustified.
One of the things I was asked in the early Salon.com article was of my reasoning for supporting Senator Obama on some areas and not on others. The answer to that is really simple. I appreciate some of the positions Barack Obama has taken. There are some positions such as his position of some social oriented programs, and especially health care that I support more than McCain. In some of the web sites you can visit to rate your positions alongside the positions of the candidates, there has been a even split, with a one or two percentage point separating my positions in comparison to these two candidates positions.
With the above said, there is I believe a reason John McCain will loose this election. While there is still a slight outside chance he can win, I personally believe McCain will loose the election between 6 and 11 points at the least. In this day and age, that will be considered a landslide. In this election year one may assume various reasons Senator Obama will win by a large majority. Some of those may include the large numbers of youth and blacks he has inspired and motivated to get to the polls, while this is certainly true, the other truth is many of those would have voted for the Democratic ticket anyway. Some will say it was President Bush, and while there is truth that President Bush has deservedly lost favor with the American people, for those that follow politics, we know better than to believe the political spin that Senator McCain will be another 4 years of President Bush. Some will point to Senator McCain, and while his campaign officials haven’t run the best campaign, there are other factors he has had to respond to which has made this election difficult for him. Some will ask then, what do you believe to be the contributing factors in this election? To that, I would say, Talk Radio and The Religious Right did Senator John McCain in before the nomination was even secured.
I realize there will be many who will take issue with my position here but let me respond with what I believe to be factual issues of how especially Conservative Talk Radio and The Religious Right did in Senator McCain even before he secured the nomination. I am sure many will recall that it seemed as if the first priority of the Religious Right and Talk Radio during the early stages of this election was to belittle and tear down first and foremost Senator Hillary Clinton. I was one of those who stated there was no way I could vote for Hillary. I have realized and stated that her husband, President Bill Clinton did a much better job at president than many will give credit for. That said, his moral indiscretions concerned many people. Hillary among those on the right was unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on whom you talk to, directly associated with her husband, therefore being guilty by association. I am not certain if this was a fair criticism, and I will readily admit, I was pulled into the discourse and attacks. In fact, I changed my party affiliation in Kansas this year to specifically caucus for Barack Obama and vote against Senator Clinton. How much was I into Senator Obama, a little know fact is that at this point I haven’t spoken, I was 2 votes short of becoming a delegate for Senator Obama in the caucus delegate selection process.
If the attacks on Senator Clinton didn’t in part allow for the votes to swing the nomination to Obama, then the belittling of two candidates in particular by the Religious Right, and Talk Radio, would. This would show one of the great dangers of the marriage which had taken place between the Republican Party, Conservative Talk Radio, and The Religious Right.
It was apparent that the Religious Right and Conservative Talk Radio had put their cards behind Governor Mitt Romney. In the process the Religious Right would leave one of their own, former pastor and Governor Mike Huckabee behind. Even as Governor Huckabee gained in popularity from his debate performances, he received attacks from these groups. Both Governor Huckabee and Senator McCain were the blunt of many attacks for their positions during the primary process. Governor Huckabee was attacked because of his social positions related in part to his faith, and Senator McCain was attacked for the positions he had taken on issues such as immigration. Both of these individuals at the time were attacked with the threats of endorsing Hillary from such people as James Dobson, Laura Ingram, and Ann Coulter. Also hinting at such an endorsement was Rush Limbaugh. It is hard to tell though and truth is my memory isn’t totally clear with Rush on this one. I know he kids about things like this but do believe his attacks on McCain were legitimate as he had little respect for his political positions. The evidence was clear among these groups, Senator McCain had not made friends with the Religious Right or with Talk Radio.
Over the course of the primary season, the social conservative, and those within the faith community had taken their issues seriously. Their primary source of information was obtained by hearing primarily from Talk Radio and Religious Right Information Groups. It wouldn’t take much to confuse this population, and potentially drive those from the religious community over to Senator Obama. While I would consider many of those voters suspect, in other words not solid as to if they will vote for Senator Obama when they step in the voting booth, I think a good many of them are solid. It won’t surprise me if the numbers driven to Senator Obama are the numbers to show the difference in this election.
There are several things as a person of faith that bothers me on problems that have surfaced during this election. One is that Christians in particular have been duped to be persuaded by the so called leaders of the Religious Right who are driven more by Republican Policy than they are Jesus. Another thing is that we who are moderate on some issues seem to have no voice in either party, whether Democrat or Republican. As a follower of Jesus, I have a mandate to follow Biblical guidelines as opposed to policy and political guidelines as have been established by individuals in their smoke filled rooms, in their thousand dollar suits, while filled with deceit. Most of us would never bother to step through the doors of this corruption.
I have been asked several questions, one of which is what I think could have been done differently. I think the worst candidate to put up against Senator Barack Obama was Senator John McCain. I say that not out of disrespect of Senator McCain. It sickens me at how people have belittled him and ignored the significant contributions to his country, both via his military service, and his political service where he has been on the opposite side of the Republican Party numerous times. Senator McCain just doesn’t have an approach that can compare to a charismatic, well trained lawyer who has a legitimate gift of communication. Senator Obama, through the mantra of change has electrified a voting segment that in reality likely doesn’t know, and frankly don’t care what his political positions are. Just as Talk Radio and the Religious Right made the mistake of thinking they could capitalize on these facts, I believe the Democratic Party made the same mistake regarding what they thought was their ability to capitalize on a candidate like Governor Huckabee receiving the nomination. I believe Governor Mike Huckabee may have been the only Republican in this election who could have competed with Senator Obama.
Governor Huckabee was my candidate of choice. I admire a man who stands against his party, but also stands up for the rights of the unborn, plus having a large respect for life, even for one who is up for consideration for the death penalty. It is those issues of supporting Biblical justice though that got Governor Huckabee in trouble with many of the National Talk Show hosts as well as the Religious Right. While he garnished some support for his position on the flat-tax, that support always seemed to come as a secondary endorsement after he had been belittled in the bulk of the conversation. If one recalls though, Governor Huckabee showed a lot of promise.
Governor Mike Huckabee was a little known politician from Arkansas prior to the primaries. During the primary season Governor Huckabee gained more and more attention for his positions, lasting longer than any other candidate other than Senator McCain, and gaining in popularity all along the way. The one person, who in fact could counter Senator Obama’s eloquence and ability to communicate, was a trained speaker, who as a pastor had learned to use humor, and bring up talking points and sound bites at the spur of the moment. This would have continued to increase the popularity of Governor Huckabee up until the general election, but certainly in the debate process. One of the things we heard on a continual basis was there were no “moments” in the series of debates between Senator McCain and Senator Obama. As a regular guy who loves the political process, I agree, the debates were boring with no memorable moments that swung the victory in those debates to Senator Obama not Senator McCain.
There have been other questions asked; one I will spend limited time on is the selection of Governor Sarah Palin as the Vice Presidential Candidate for Senator McCain. I didn’t make up my mind as to who I was voting for until late. It was the open forum on faith with Senators McCain and Senator Obama hosted by Rick Warren at Saddleback Church that begin to move me in favor of Senator McCain. He simply knew what he wanted, was quick with his answers and it gave me the assurance, that at least on issues he was clearer than was Senator Obama. While I did not support every one of his positions, I knew where he stood and supported most of them. To the Senator Obama supporters I will say, with clarity, Senator Obama’s answer to the question regarding abortion in that forum still deeply bothers me. Not so much his position but how he responded and answered the question by avoiding it. This was the first time I had seen Senator Obama as more of a politician than I did a guy who cared about serving the nation. It was something else that came out of the Obama and Democratic campaign that finally moved my vote to Senator McCain.
The undue attacks on Governor Sarah Palin disturbed me. I as many others who did not care about the cost of her dresses, which she did not buy and is donating to charity, who did take seriously the allegations in the trooper gate stories, which in fact her brother in law did threaten the life of her father and did taze his son, saw Governor Palin as a regular person, who had addressed the issues of her state, and more importantly saw the need to stand up for what was right as opposed to standing up for her party. It was her willingness, as a Republican to take on the Republican Party which impressed me. The unfounded attacks, the blasting, sexist comments and more were the final nail in the coffin to cause me to vote for Senator McCain. I didn’t see this much different than those who supported Congressman Ron Paul. Like Congressman Paul, Senator Obama is a man I personally like, will consider voting for in the future depending on what his experience in the national spot light shows me, but get this, many of his followers and supporters scare the hell out of me. Like Congressman Paul supporters, many which believe the events on September 11 were an inside job by our Government, many in the Obama camp believe in fruitless, and insane concepts. If they actually believe some of the rubble that has been stated about Senator McCain or Governor Palin, I just can’t bring myself to support them. It is a case where the supporters may have done their candidate more harm than good.
Now as I stated earlier, I hope I am wrong about this election, I don’t think I am though. I blame part of that on the actions of President George W. Bush. I voted for him twice, but would not do it again. For me the turning point was what I believe to be the turning point in the war in Iraq, it was the lack of response to former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during the Abu Graves Prison incident. Friendship and loyalty where not what was needed during this incident which seriously jeopardized our troops by damaging the respect of many of the people they were attempting to liberate. Rumsfeld and his cronies knew we had done wrong, and instead of swiftly and severely dealing with the issues for all involved, they attempted to pass the blame. President Bush on the other hand, was unwilling to admit the mistake and do what was right.
Now I realize that in my assessment, I have likely gotten President Bush supporters, Senator McCain supporters, and Senator Obama supporters mad at me, heck I even imagine that some Ralph Nader supporters are mad because I didn’t mention him. That was not my intent. My intent is to call each of us to the place where we watch carefully, we listen carefully, and we do something the forefathers in this country encouraged us to do, become involved in the political process. Now I am not here to say that Senator Obama supporters or any other supporter is ignorant or wrong in their positions. I am fully aware that many have watched Senator Obama and support his positions. I am also aware that thanks to some like Howard Sterns recent example of asking voters on the street about their candidates position, that many have no idea what their candidate of choice believes. That is sad, and as a result, in some ways, this may be the most uninformed decision the American Voter has ever made. Not just about any one candidate but about all of the candidates. How soon we forget people like Laura Ingram stating she is going to endorse Senator Hillary Clinton. How we forget people like Ann Coulter spewing her hate not just towards the Democrats but also the Republicans like Senator McCain. Frankly, I don’t know of any other way to say this, but for those not involved in the process, for those not knowing the issues, and for those believing the continuing tripe spewed out by their Party pundits, talk radio, and the religious right, we might, just might, deserve what we get.
The following is a video that is an indication of what I have been talking about. Tell me that didn't hurt the McCain party. Just click on the video below, and if the video don't appear, click on the link:
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
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If any of you want to be my followers, you must forget about yourself. You must take up your cross each day and follow me. If you want to save your life, you will destroy it. But if you give up your life for me, you will save it. What will you gain, if you own the whole world but destroy yourself or waste your life? If you are ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when he comes in his glory and in the glory of his Father and the holy angels. You can be sure that some of the people standing here will not die before they see God's kingdom.
As I write this the United States of America is in financial crises. Some are predicting a great depression, some economic catastrophe, and other a total collapse of our worldwide economic systems. Many of the citizens in America are upset, upset with terms like bailout, and approaches where it appears large companies who overpay their executives are getting preferential treatment. People are losing their homes, there is a threat of job loss, and it seems as if the poor and working middle class continue to be abused by political powers that seem to be in charge.
While this is the case for most of America, it is rather interesting to look at the teachings and perspectives presented in the Bible. While the world seems to have a primary interest in retirement accounts, investments and their 401-K’s Jesus seemed to teach us that there is more to life than this. In fact, being a follower of Jesus is more about caring for others than it is caring for and providing for ourselves.
While some will have issue with this, it seems to be a constant message with Jesus teachings, and is carried out and taught by his followers who wrote most of the New Testament. There is no doubt that the early followers of Jesus, and Jesus himself taught about the importance of doing things for others more than doing things for self.
In one translation, it talks about building up for you treasures in heaven as opposed to treasures on earth. Many have wondered what those treasures are that Jesus is talking about. I think they are investments in the lives of others, whether seeing someone getting to know and have a relationship with Jesus as their forgiver and leader, or, learning more about, and becoming more like Jesus once they have known him.
The movie It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Steward gives a wonderful illustration of the importance of helping others and developing lasting relationships. When all things fail, just like in the movie, the economy, what really matters is the friends you have. It matters what kind of an impact you may have had on the lives of others. Those are treasures that will have a fulfilled meaning, even after we are dead and gone. These relationships will mean something because they are relationships we will have the potential of having forever.
I don’t think Jesus would have us be foolish with our finances, but neither do I think he would have us place our finances in a place above and beyond people. When we do that, we are no better than the drug dealer who is simply looking out for his own welfare not considering the harm he or she is doing to those they pedal their drugs on. While they run the risk of destroying life because of their selfish ambitions, we do the same when we place our financial security above the need of people.
My prayer is that we all place a higher level of importance on the people we come into contact with than we do our 401-k. May we realize that one does us no good when we die the other will have eternal consequences and will go with us to Heaven.
Thought for the day: Dear God, may I spend as much time diversifying my faith by serving others, as I do diversifying my investments that in the long run, will do me very little good.
I love this video by one of my favorite groups REM. The video, titled Shiny Happy People has some great symbolism in it. Just click on the video, and if the video don't appear, click on the following link:
Another one of my favorite groups U2 does a song called, Beautiful Day. One of the reasons I love YouTube is the ability to make videos like the following using It's A Wonderful Life. Enjoy the lyric, and the video.
Now for those that do not know, make sure you check out the numerous articles and blogs by checking out the archives. If visiting The Virtual Pew or MySpace they are archived on the left hand side of the page. Scroll down to where you see newer or older listed under archives and then click there. There are hundreds of postings so make sure to check out the archives. You can also contact me for a free e-book pre edit version of The Keystone Kid at mike@thevirtualpew.comYou can visit http://www.thevirtualpew.com/ and on the front page down on the left side you sill see our store. Your purchase provides needed funds to The Virtual Pew. If you do not see something to purchase you can click on the search engine, (do not put anything in the search box at this time). You will be taken to Amazon where you can search for anything you desire. Hopefully you will consider a gift to The Virtual Pew.
Now I get asked this quite often, Can we repost your blogs or articles? The short answer to that is, what an honor that you would ask, and by all means, spread the word.Here is our contact information
The Virtual Pew P.O. Box 17731 Wichita, KS 67217
Click on the following links to learn more about The Virtual Pew
Luke 10: 35
I had the unique privilege of working at one of the initial pilot programs for Managed Care in America, Trend Community Mental Health in Hendersonville North Carolina. It became obvious, quickly, that the primary issue was turning a profit, not providing needed and appropriate care. This eventually led to some legal issues for Trend Mental Health, but the problem wasn’t unique to them. This is part of the problem with the public sector in their treatment of the sick. We are a system driven by profit and greed, not caring for people.
My hope is that at the very least we will be challenged to think about what Jesus position and practice was regarding helping the poor, needy and the sick. May we begin to apply that in our lives as we should all seek and attempt to become a Good Samaritan to those with health concerns?
