Feel My Faith

Storage Sale

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:26:39 PST

On Feb. 10 - 11 (8 a.m. - 2 p.m.) Ridgecrest Baptist Church (www.rbconline.net) will hold a storage sale. We will offer a massive inventory of items which include children's furniture, church furnishings including pulpits and a communion table, drama and stage items, electronics, various construction material (doors, ceiling tiles, etc), and tools. For more information visit our Facebook page.

15 Years

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:52:17 PST

A lot of things have changed in our lives over the last 15 years. The increasing numbers of grey hairs near my temporal region indicates that in the next 15 years things will change even more. We have two daughters now. We don’t eat Little Debbies as much as we once did. We went through a Peanut M & M’s phase, but now our cravings have gone more Peppermint Pattie. We survived Y2K. We started out in a Queen bed, now we have one with zip codes. We have had 8 different cars and lived in 3 houses. There are many things about us that are similar to the people we once were, but in a very distinct way, we are nothing of the people we used to be.

In the last 15 years we have learned to laugh more. We have learned how to laugh less at the television and laugh more at each other. When I asked Shannon to marry me I did so because I thought I loved her and I thought I knew what it meant that I needed her. 15 years later I realize how deeply I love her and how much she really does complete me (silly movie quotes aside). 15 years later I know what it means to need her. I am still learning how to love her. I am having a blast with the whole thing.

Yet being married is not about what the other contributes to you, but what you contribute to the other. I hope in the last 15 years I have shown her Christ. I have endeavored to give her the greatest memories of her life. 15 years later I can say that I would not be who I am without her, which I would contend is a far greater version of me. My goal for everyday we have been together is for her to be able to say the same. I don’t want her to just love me, but I want her to love “this”, this whole thing of being married to me and how that expresses itself each day. I want her to have a blast with the whole thing.

I love you Shannon. You make me laugh. You make me great. You are what I am not. Happy Anniversary my Sugar!

One Week After the Storm

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:01:39 PST

There are only two seasons in Alabama; football season and tornado season. Actually football season never really ends here. The teams only play 11 games but the fans talk about them 365 days a year. Tornado season usually takes up about 8 months of the year. There will be tornadoes somewhere in Alabama every week of the Spring and Fall; you can count on it. Kansas has nothing on Bama. The Wizard of Oz was supposed to be based on Dorothy from Tuscaloosa, but everyone knows the wizard behind the curtain of Bama is The Bear. No surprise there, so they moved the plot to Kansas just to keep the story interesting.

A white Christmas in Birmingham is the unicorn of holidays. In 2010 Bama had snow on Christmas day. Last winter brought us lots of snow, another oddity in Alabama. Then came Spring/tornado season part 1. Tornado season is always dangerous in our state. Last April it was devastating. All of us have been weather paranoid since April. We did not have snow this past Christmas, but we had thunderstorms just a few days into the New Year. Lightning in January is another weather unicorn. This past week only continued the rare weather that seemed to begin Christmas of 2010. In the third week of January a series of F3 tornadoes ripped through our state. The fact that it happened in January, once again, makes it a rare event. This year the storms did not wait for Spring. But this time the tornado was different for me and my family. Not because the storm came early this year, but because this storm had a familiar face.

When tornadoes hit Alabama we watch it on the news and if it is within proximity we load up the following Saturday and go help. You go to hurting people, but they are people you have never met and will probably never see again. As devastating as the April tornadoes were to our state, and as much work as we did at the time, my heart grieved for the people impacted, but I did not know any of them. I helped them, but I did not know them. When the tornadoes hit our state last Monday night, they hit just up the street from my house. I know dozens of the families impacted. 13 families in our church were affected. My daughters go to school with children who are sharing story after story of what happened at their home. When I watch the news I see people who I have met on a ball field, people who once attended our church, people I see almost every day. In April I helped and watched people in North Smithfield, Tuscaloosa, and little towns all over the state. This week it has been Jane, the Tice’s, Ms. Trice, Cheryl, Patsy, A.P. and Toni, the Bohan’s, on and on. The guy on the news is Ken. I remember when his kids were small. His brother-in-law was our youth pastor. This storm did not hit my house, but it severely damaged my home.

I still do not know what it feels like to look at your own house and all that’s left is a pile of debris. I have no idea what it must be like to lose a daughter in a storm, but I was closer this week to understanding those feelings as I have ever been before. None of it happened to me, but it happened just up the street. The first house we put on offer on when we moved here was destroyed last Monday night. We were one signature away from “that” house being “our” home. I moved bricks and tossed debris at one house while a group of men crawled beneath the pile trying to salvage anything of value they could find. I knew the people in the pictures they were pulling from the rubble. I saw chairs and tables crushed beneath the walls of living rooms and dens where I have led families in prayer many times. This week was a reminder that in a moment everything changes. One storm blows through your community and in 10 minutes every scene that has been familiar for 9 years becomes barely recognizable.

Tornado ravaged areas all look and smell the same. If you have seen one, you have seen them all. Yet the world is so huge that the storm always seems far away. Tornadoes happen, but they happen somewhere else. Then it is your street, your family, your friends. No one is immune.

Many people view the Bible as a narrative that occurred a world away and in another span of time. Our world seems so different now than then that the two could not possibly intersect; then suddenly they do. The Bible is honest about a world created with good intentions but ruined by sin. Because of our rebellion in the garden the world that was created to sustain our lives will sometimes fight against us and take our lives. Because of sin the story of the Bible is full of storms. Because that story continues with us the storms will continue as well. The storms remind us that the story of Scripture is not that far away.

After the storm we rush in, desperate to save a life. We become desperate to make things right. Yet ultimately we realize that insurance helps us recover but it does not help us redeem. I visited a man in the trauma unit who told me that this was not his first trip to the hospital after a storm. No matter what we rebuild we know we may be hit again. Our rescue efforts, volunteer cleanups, and insurance policies can make the moment somewhat better but we are powerless to ultimately make it right. We are incapable of looking any of our neighbors in the eyes and saying, “I promise, this will never happen to you again.” It is a cruel reminder that we cannot save ourselves. We need good news.

The Bible is honest about the storm and it is confident about redemption. Along with the angry palpitations of our planet there are also promises of hope.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Romans 8:18-25

The good news is that the world was not supposed to be like this and because of Christ it will not always be like this. The difficulty is in the waiting, but we do not wait hopelessly, we wait with hope. Waiting hopefully does not mean we passively subscribe to Christ and wait patiently to die. Waiting with hope means that we live for Him now. Waiting hopefully means we must realize that recovery is not simply about extending Christian charity, but about spreading the gospel message. It is calling people to repent of sin and submit to Christ as the ultimate expression of hope. Some may charge that calling for repentance at at time such as this seems cruel, but if we merely rebuild homes in Jesus’ name, we have redeemed nothing. All we have done is recovered and rebuilt something that may be destroyed again. The message of the gospel is that in Christ we enter into a new hope that will sustain us in the storm because we know one day He will come again and return the world to right. We wait for Him to come then, but in the waiting we live for Him now. The promise of the gospel is that one day Christ will end the terror of sin. When sin ends, so will the storms. In the weeks to come our task is to rebuild, but our call is to tell. We must rebuild homes, but we must also give people hope by sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ.

These are our neighbors. These are our friends. This is my community. Jesus Christ is our hope.

Hypocrites and Tornadoes (Just Ask)

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:18:06 PST

Question: I am dealing with people in my family not wanting anything to do with church because of hypocrites. I need help in this area. What can I do?

The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word that means “an actor on a stage.” It describes someone who is able to play a role in a certain context, but who lives a very different life “off stage.” This is certainly true of many people in the church. The Bible is honest about their existence. We also know that Jesus did not shy away from using the word in His confrontation with the scribes and Pharisees (Matt. 23). We certainly have warrant to use our common sense and discernment to recognize people who are hypocritical. They are not difficult to spot.

The existence of hypocrites in the church, however, does not give one warrant to reject the church. Some would say that they can follow Christ without the church. This concept is foreign to the New Testament. Biblically it can be argued that one cannot follow Christ without the church. Therefore, it may sound more noble to reject the church because of its hypocrites, but it is really foolish.

Not going to church because there are hypocrites is like saying you will never again eat bananas because there are brown spots. Yet exposing the illogical and foolish nature of the argument may only add to your frustration or sorrow in dealing with your family over this issue. The best you can do is to continue to proclaim the gospel to your family and live it out before them. Don’t be a hypocrite! In the end it is important for your family to know that the hypocrite and those who despise them are all in the same boat, sinners in desperate need of Jesus. Those of us who are not hypocrites are merely more honest sinners than they. Jesus died for all - the honest sinners and the hypocrites alike.

Question: What is Ridgecrest (the church I serve as pastor) doing as a whole to help the victims of the tornado? I know other local churches have groups together and designed teams to go and volunteer; what is RBC doing?

This has certainly been a surreal week in our community. 13 homes in our church family have suffered minor damage to total destruction. One family in our church suffered injury and has spent the week in the hospital. Since the storms members of the pastoral staff, deacon body, and membership at large have been extremely active in our community helping families remove trees and salvage belongings.

This weekend there will be several opportunities to serve. If you will contact the church office rcore@rbconline.net or jmann@rbconline.net we can share with you some specific work sites where you may volunteer. We are also encouraging our people to partner with other works, churches, and organizations in our area. Responding to a storm of this magnitude is a team effort. No one can do it all alone. Below are a few listings and opportunities that have been passed along to me.

The Birmingham Baptist Association - sending out teams daily, contact: http://bbaonline.org/

ClayRidge Baptist in Clay is looking for volunteers to carry meals into Centerpoint on Friday and Saturday. They especially need men to help through the weekend to help make delivery more secure. There are also debris cleanup crews meeting and leaving from the church parking lot.

The following note comes from Jae Skinner, one of our members and a teacher at Erwin Elementary:

Hey! If you don't have to work, we need HELP AT ERWIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL moving classrooms for the Centerpoint teachers. If you can come help, please do! I (Jae) will be there at 8:00. Call me 966-7133 and I will get you plugged in somewhere. Trying to get the school ready for kiddos so they can get back to a normal routine!

An Open Letter to My Congregation

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:42:18 PST

There is no easy way to say goodbye to a group of people whom you sincerely love. With a great deal of sadness a meaningful chapter in my life closes and with a great deal of anticipation a new one begins. Since October 27 of 2002 I have faithfully served as pastor for the people of Ridgecrest Baptist Church in Trussville, AL. On February 22, 2012 I will begin a new assignment as pastor for the people of Liberty Baptist Church in Dalton, GA.

In times like these we feel an array of emotions. Shannon and I, from the time we realized this move was immanent, have experienced a range of feelings from anxiety to excitement, from sadness to joy. Birmingham is very much home for us. Until recently, even through some of our most difficult struggles, we never considered leaving Ridgecrest. It took a great deal of convincing through prayer for us to accept this move. We did not approach anyone at any time about going anywhere. Yet the whole thing has been very providential and God’s call for us is unmistakable. We love this area and its people. We think its funny that you talk college football 365 days a year and that the sports guy on the news shares stats from practice. Only in Birmingham will people have their homes destroyed by a tornado, but still be sure to have plenty of Milo’s sweet tea on hand. We will miss living in a town with a 1:1 ratio of BBQ joints to Baptist churches. We will miss your gigantic iron statue of a guy in desperate need of shorts and your milk jug yard torch things at Christmas. Indeed there will be some in our congregation who are simply saddened while others may feel angry and betrayed. However you feel, I assure you of this. Shannon, the girls, and I love all of you and I count it a great honor to say that I have served you as pastor.

Vision and leadership is not only about seeing where you are going, it is also about being honest about the end. The worst mistake a leader can make is to continue leading past his vision. While I see many great things ahead for Ridgecrest, God has made it clear to me and to my family that our assignment here has ended. Over these past 9+ years, together, we have experienced no small changes. Our path to where we are now was no easy one. We have bought and sold property. We have made difficult decisions and taken responsibility for the consequences. We have dared to do something most people thought would not work in purchasing a warehouse on less than two acres of property and making it a launch pad of missions and ministry. None of it has been easy and everything we have done has come in rapid succession. There is yet more to do in finishing the final phase of our current campus and in realizing the financial vision for missions and ministry God has given us. The vision itself is not over, but God has shown me clearly that it is time for another voice of leadership at Ridgecrest.

In recent years God has blessed Ridgecrest and it has become a growing congregation once again. It is difficult to leave those of you who are new to RBC, especially those of you who are rising up to leadership. We have some promising men and women in our church that I believe will become crucial to the church continuing to increase. To these I charge you to keep your hand to the plow and don’t look back. Yet I want to also express how difficult it is to leave another group of people, those who did not quit. No matter how long God gives me to serve Him, no matter where I serve, there will always be a special place in my heart for those of you who never gave up, who endured the days before our relocation, who submitted themselves to the crucible of change God put us through, and remained faithful to the end. You did what you said you would do and I love you dearly for what you have done.

Certainly this has been a difficult week for all of us, and my announcement does not help. The timing of all of this is unfortunate but beyond my control. As much as I would like to delay this announcement, it has been made known to me that the news is out. Therefore, it was necessary for me to go ahead and share this with you. I would much rather tell my story than have it told for me. As I say often, if you are going to read my mind, please allow me to write the script. I shared the story with the church on Wednesday night, and I will do so again on Sunday. In hearing our story I hope you will agree with me that for us to stay in leadership at Ridgecrest would be blatant disobedience to what God is calling us to do in going to Liberty. Knowing then, that this is the call of God for us, please realize, it is also God’s call for you. We should not see this merely as an end, but as a dawning of expectation. What does God have for us next? In our prayers about this, Shannon and I sought to know clearly from God that if we left, Ridgecrest would have a great future ahead. God has shown us that indeed this is true, our call away is no mistake, and it is necessary for us to move on so that Ridgecrest may grab hold of what is next. Yet change is never easy and we are tempted to listen to the voice of fear rather than faith. You may wonder, what if things do not go well? We have wondered the same. What if the people of Liberty do not accept our leadership there, what if we fail, what if it all goes wrong? This is not the voice of faith, this is the voice of the enemy using fear to quench vision.

To encourage our faith it is important for us to place markers in our past, altars of blessing that remind us of God’s faithfulness in difficult times. When I left Lantana Road and came to you, it was a difficult decision. God called a godly man to be their next pastor and the church has continued to grow. The church is now a leading church in Cumberland County, TN and they have built a great facility on the acreage we purchased just before I left. I left there knowing I would not be the man that built the next building because God was calling me to you. Even in that certainty I experienced fear. What if things go wrong in Birmingham? Ridgecrest was a hurting church with an almost non-existent vision when I came. The Ridgecrest that we are leaving is not the same church we came to. God has done a great work here. There is a great vision now that you and the next pastor can continue to build upon together. I trust that you will. I am following a godly pastor at Liberty. It is a great church with a wonderful vision - we will work to continue what God is doing there. It is not about what is ending, it is about what is next. For all of us, Ridgecrest, Liberty, and the Branams we must not allow fear to be the dominant voice, but rather the voice of faith and vision; for such is the Kingdom of God.

Please feel free to call us. If you have questions I will gladly answer them for you. May God be glorified, His Son lifted up, and the church be edified in the days ahead.

Gal. 2:20

Panorama from Pilgrim's Rest

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 12:27:29 PST

I went out again this morning to help those impacted by the storm. From the information we have gathered, there are 13 families at Ridgecrest who have suffered minor damage to total loss. This morning I spent some time at the Hickman home, pictured here in a panorama I took with photosynth.

http://photosynth.net/view.aspx?cid=cecdf859-fc64-4ba7-8f64-7d17af07880f

Storm

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:53:58 PST

We have had reports of several families in our church whose homes have been destroyed or damaged. At this time we know of only 1 family with injuries. Mr. Wheat (Jane Hikman's father), Hope Hickman, and Hope's nurse were hurt in the storm. Mr. Wheat suffered the most serious injuries (broken ribs) and will be recovering at UAB. Hope will be at Children's Hospital as her medical equipment and medicine were a total loss. At this time the area is blocked from Deerfoot to Chalkville Mountain Road. As always we will be partnering with the Birmingham Baptist Association for cleanup and relief. For updates, see our wall posts on the Ridgecrest Baptist page on Facebook. Please pray for our families and we will share information as it becomes available.

BB
Gal. 2:20

Random Thoughts on Friday 1/20

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:54:14 PST

Since this weekend is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday I have only one random thought, that is actually more purposeful than random. Pastor John Piper at DesiringGod.org is offering a free e-book Exposing the Dark World of Abortion. Dr. Piper and the folks at Desiring God are very generous in making several great books available for free download. After you download Piper's book on Abortion, I would also recommend Grudem's Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood, also available as a free pdf download.

Work and Worship

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 06:52:43 PST

When words are repeatedly misused or overused they quickly lose their meaning and in time come to describe something else all together. I give you gay, awesome, and sick. In times past a gay man could have an awesome day and the statement said nothing about his sexuality. It meant only that a happy man witnessed something in the day that was truly awe inspiring. Now awe inspiring things are sick. Awesome things are merely above average. “How was your cake?” “Awesome.” There was a time that no cake was worthy of awe and too much of it would make you sick.

“Worship” is another word that has been victimized by overuse and misuse. In modern church culture when one hears the word “worship” he or she is given to think in terms of who (as in who is leading), where (as in where will worship be held), and when (as in what time will worship begin and end). Ironically the same thing has happened to work. We think of it more as a place where we are employed rather than a task we are called to do. Biblically speaking worship includes these elements; who, when, and where). The “who” of worship has included Levites, choirmasters, and musicians. Worship was never meant to be chaotic or thoughtless. There is nothing spiritual about coming to the Lord without careful planning. This is why we have Leviticus. The “where” of worship has included the Tabernacle and the Temple but is now described in terms such as “in Christ” and “in the Spirit.” In the Book of Revelation there will be worship around the throne. Make no mistake, worship has its place. The “when” of worship has included a liturgical calendar, carefully planned by God, giving His people markers throughout the week and the year that would remind them to come back to Him. We are inescapably a people of the clock and worship requires time.

The mistake of the modern church is that it has come to think of worship only in terms of who, when, and where. This has led us to make a serious theological error. We have come to believe that what we do through the week is work. What we do on Sunday is worship. Creating this chasm between the who, when, and where of work and the who, when, and where of worship has led us to believe that work has nothing to do with worship. We would even give ourselves to believe that when we work we are merely laboring under the curse, burdened by the punishment of sin – Adam and Eve’s children on the chain gang. When we worship we are not to work but sing. In an era of poor theology work and worship have become bitter enemies. Such thinking has even affected our eschatology (the way we think about the end of time). We think that in the end we will worship God forever. The image drawn to mind then is that we will sing to God and have nothing else to do. We are afraid to say it for fear that we may go to Hell, but honestly, if eternity calls for us to do nothing but sing – it sounds rather boring.

To reconcile these concepts of worship and work we need only to follow the meta-narrative of Scripture. God is introduced to us in Genesis 1 as a working God. The more He works the better life becomes. Every act of work brings forth good. He rests on the seventh day (Gen. 2) not because he is tired, but because he is finished with the task at hand – creating a life giving, life sustaining world. It is important to understand that in finishing on the sixth day that God was finished forever. There was still work to be done. To join Him in the work God created man. As God’s image, man was to be God’s deputy and continue His work of bringing forth good. Man was important to the continuing work of God, for without man there was a lot of dirt in the world producing nothing (Gen. 2:5). Man was made to work. Like God, man would work for something good. God had worked to benefit man. In fact the word “rest” implies the enjoyment of what God has done for us. As God’s image, man would work, making a contribution to creation that would bring benefit to others – something good. It is here, in imitating God at work that work and worship merge.

When you are “at work” today think not of it as cursed toil, but as an act of worship. This is not to say that your work is not burdensome or difficult – sin has impacted our work. It is not as easy as it used to be (Gen. 3:17), but that does not mean that work has lost all its good. Your attitude at work, the quality of your produce, what is accomplished at the end of a week ultimately reflects whether or not you think God is worthy to imitate – to bring forth something good for the benefit of others. This happens long before you ever “go” to worship and sing a song. In fact if you “go” to worship and sing a song to a God you have shamed in your work all week what are you saying to your employer, your fellow employees, and ultimately to God? A poor week of work is neither worshipful nor beneficial to anyone. Bad work is not good.

So before you waste a day trolling the internet, tending to personal business, or making personal calls – remember you are not just “at work”, you are “at worship.” You are called as God’s image to be a worshiper and work to bring forth good.

Bowling for Cancer

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:50:54 PST

In a struggling economy it has become increasingly difficult for local business owners to make a profit. Despite such challenging times a business in our area did something this past weekend that made an incalculable difference to two children in our church.

As you may know the daughter of our Children’s Pastor, Julia Cobb, is at MD Anderson in Houston, TX undergoing chemo therapy for Ewing’s Sarcoma. Julia was diagnosed the week before Christmas and since that moment life for the Cobbs has been truly turned upside down. Jonathan and Jenifer have four children. Jonathan is himself a cancer survivor so they are well acquainted with the road that lay ahead. Until Julia is healed the family will be living 700 miles apart. This will probably be the case for the Cobbs for most of 2012. Though the family is concerned primarily for Julia there are other moments in a kid’s life that require celebration. Cancer is no respecter of time or person and for the Cobbs it has already disrupted their children’s baptism, Christmas, and New Year celebrations. But no matter how difficult life may be, we just can’t forget a kid’s birthday – that’s just wrong.

Julia’s older siblings, Jonathan and Jenna celebrate January birthdays just a few days apart. When approached about the situation Lightning Strikes Bowling Alley here in Trussville, AL responded not by offering a discounted price (which is all we asked for), but by offering to host a full blown party for Jenna and Jonathan at no cost. That may not sound like a big deal, but please don’t forget that Jonathan is our Children’s Pastor. When the Children’s Pastor throws a party there will be kids – gobs of them. The final calculation was three lanes, about 35 kids, and gallons of soft drinks for 2 hours. I am not sure what that comes to in bowling bucks, but the bottom line for Lightning Strikes was that they gave this party to the Cobbs at a total loss. This is not easy to do in any economic climate, but to be so generous to a community family at such a time as this makes the gift of these business owners that much more remarkable.

If you are looking for something to do this week, go bowling at Lightning Strikes in Trussville, AL. Their generosity will not be soon forgotten in our church family. As a community citizen it is great to know that we have local business owners who are not here to simply make a profit from the community, but who want to make a contribution to the community. Thank you to the ownership, staff, and management of Lightning Strikes – you helped bring celebration back into the life of a family and a church that desperately needed some good news.

Let’s go bowling!!!

Stephen Greenblatt's The Swerve - A Book Response

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 04:18:44 PST

Stephen Greenblatt is a professor of humanities at Harvard University, a New York Times bestselling author, and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. While these are admirable accomplishments all but .0001% of us went to Harvard and even fewer of us will be invited to the Pulitzer gala. Yet most all of us who struggled through English 101 in college share a kinship to Greenblatt. If you remember the behemoth text The Norton Anthology of English Literature, Greenblatt is your man. Greenblatt helped you realize that they do print big books and that some of history’s greatest literary works are manuscripts without pictures.

Greenblatt’s latest work The Swerve tells the story of the recovery of an ancient poem that served to influence the great minds of the Renaissance. The poem was Lucretius’ first century De Rerum Natura, or On The Nature of Things. Lucretius used the cultural vehicle of the poem to propagate the idea that the world was not created by gods. Instead the world is simply comprised of atoms and the void between them. Life is not tied to divine determinism but is left governed only by the free will of man. Therefore man should not deceive himself by living for pleasure in the afterlife, but rather he should seek pleasure in this life for it is all he is and has. Lucretius’ poem represented the popularization of the atheistic ideal in a polytheistic culture. In short Lucretius did for Epicureanism what Ayan Rand did for Objectivism. He transformed philosophical thought into a media form for the common man; the book. It is at these moments, when thought becomes pop culture that everything changes. Greenblatt, taking note of Lucretius, calls this moment of culture shift, “the swerve.”

An obscure byline to the swerve that spawned the Renaissance began with a curious scribe, Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459), who after losing his position as secretary to an infidel Pope, pursued his curiosity for antiquities and became a book hunter. Discovering Lucretius’ poem in a monastery, Poggio begins to copy and distribute the work producing new manuscripts of a literary treasure that was nearly lost forever. As a great historical writer, Greenblatt is able to carry the book by sharing the story of Poggio, the events that shaped him, and the back stories of the cast of characters he encounters on his quest. While the story of Poggio is enough to keep the reader in the book, the historical and literary information Greenblatt weaves into the manuscript is highly resourceful. For the price of the book ones gets a great story about a hunter of antiquities as well as vivid lessons on the world of the Roman scribe, the precarious life of a manuscript, and the historical backdrop of the Renaissance.

Though Greenblatt’s work purposes to be a simple historical tracing of an obscure, influential by-line of the Renaissance, the reader’s mind will not be left in the 1400’s. Such is the nature of good historical writing; it challenges us to ask why we are as we are? Yet in making this connection the book could also be subtitled, The Swerve, The Seed of the Historical Argument for Evangelical Atheism, for Greenblatt’s historical account offers many of the same historical critiques of Christianity as the contemporary faces of the new atheism. The most notable of which being the question; if Christianity/religion is bad in history, is Christianity/religion bad for humanity?

Is Christianity/religion bad for humanity?

A subplot of Poggio’s quest to find the rare books of antiquity is the plight of the book to survive. In the ancient world texts were often scraped clean due to the high cost of papyrus and parchment. Natural decay and natural disasters such as fire and volcanoes were ever a threat. Then there were the bookworms who would den in the scrolls and literally eat the pages of some of antiquities greatest works. Yet the greatest threat of all was the theist. In the ancient polytheistic culture of the Greeks there was little tolerance for the thoughts of atheists such as Epicurus or Lucretius. Yet in the medieval times in which the Christian God ruled, there was even less tolerance for antithesis. One God created the world and He ruled it with an iron fist. God’s deputies, the church, were to not only burn the books, but the heretics who dared to write them.

Though Greenblatt does not overtly offer his opinion on the matter, his historical retelling would certainly support the charge of the new evangelical atheism represented by Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennet, and Christopher Hitchens. These men point to the church’s bloodiest episodes and surmise that religion, more particularly Christianity, is bad for society and humanity. It is the period that Greenblatt chronicles, medieval Christianity, which is often the era that is cited in support the argument offered by evangelical atheism.

It is true that church history contains some horrible episodes. At times the church, through its various denominations and groups, has tried to offer apology for the descendents of the victims. The Catholic Church pardoned Galileo for saying that the sun was the center of the universe in 1992. The pardon came 350 years too late. Galileo died in 1642. This is often the case whether it be the church’s blind eye to the holocaust, its support of slavery, fostering of prejudice, or support of segregation in the South. These apologies seem noble but sound trite and they often come two to three generations too late for anyone to care.

Yet there are some important facets to the new atheism’s historical charge that must be noted if the argument is to hold true intellectual weight.

a) If the horrible episodes are to be magnified, then the grand scale of church history should not be ignored.

Each evening we watch the news. In 30 minutes the broadcaster shares 20 stories that shape a city for a day. Of those 20 stories 18 of them will involve theft, murder, a tragic car accident, and political corruption. When these episodes that are repeatedly used to tell the story of the city night after night it is not long before one comes to believe that their town is nothing more than a cesspool of corrupt politicians, murderers, and bad drivers. Yet in reality there are an infinite number of stories that occur daily that are too mundane to ignore. It is these stories that go unnoticed that are the norms. Unfortunately the worst of us represent the rest of us.

So it is with evangelical atheism. Whether it be Bill Maher or Richard Dawkins, these men will run the same gambit of bad historical Christianity repeatedly: the crusades, the inquisition, the Klu Klux Klan. As often as these episodes are referred to, it would seem that these are all that we are, or at least all that we do – discriminate, retaliate, and torture. Yet for the more than 2000 years that Christianity has existed, any decently intelligent reader of the Bible would know that the horrible episodes and people of church history that burned books and heretics in Jesus’ name do not represent Christ nor the rest of us. In fact it can be argued, “these” are not “us” at all. Yet, remaining on point, these are relatively brief swatches of church history that unfortunately seem to be given the loudest voice while the rest is categorically ignored.

b) Jesus warned us about the charlatans would blow it for the rest of us.

In Matthew 7:15-20 Jesus said that there would be false prophets who would come in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they would be ravenous wolves. He then gave us the right to judge history for ourselves, “You will recognize them by their fruits.” Simply examine the ends and the means. There is nothing of medieval Catholic Christianity that in any way represents Christ. It was corrupt, unscrupulous, superstitious, and adulterous. Medievel Catholicism was little more than paganism in Jesus’ name. Greenblatt tells us good story, but we should not be inclined to believe that the church that sought to burn Paggio’s books is the church for which Christ died. Historians refer to these people as the church, for this is what they called themselves, but the church in the Biblical sense of the term they were not.

c) Comparatively speaking we must ask that if Christianity is bad for humanity, is atheism even worse?

If we were to concede the horrible episodes of church history (which we should not) and were to keep score (which we should not), we must ask what has atheism done for humanity? Epicurus’ atheistic ideal serves as the seed of thought for Greenblatt’s entire historical episode. Epicurus sought freedom from any thoughts of divine sovereign control or of an afterlife dominated by the judgment of a deity. Ridding oneself of such unwarranted speculation would then grant liberty for man to seek pleasure in the present life, for this is all he has. If we do good historical homework we will find that throughout history atheistic societies that try to rid the world of theistic thought end in persecution, oppression, crimes against humanity, and massive amounts of bloodshed. We usually call these tyrannical dictatorships. There is little pleasure in them. If atheism demands that the church account for medieval Catholicism we should demand an answer of atheists for Stalin, Pol Pot, Hitler, or Mao Zedong. Some may argue that Hitler indeed used the name of God and even Luther’s rants against the Jews (which were Luther’s greatest mistake) to justify the holocaust. Yet no true intellectual would attempt to support the argument that Hitler was a theist to any degree.

Greenblatt does offer some interesting commentary on societies that have attempted utopia built on the Epicurean/atheistic ideal. Ironically those who seek utopia most often end with a form tyrannical communism (230, 231). Oppressive control and intolerance become the ethic of utopia. If evangelical atheism would have us to believe that Christian societies make their citizens miserable, then they must be honest that Epicurean utopias accomplish a much greater degree of misery. If Christianity has been bad for humanity, historically atheism has been far worse.

For a fuller treatment of the historical charges against Christianity by evangelical atheism see Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? and Contending with Christianity’s Critics: Answering New Atheists and Other Objectors by Paul Copan and William Lane Craig.

Parting Thoughts

Christianity survived atomism and Epicureanism. I believe Christianity to be about 25 years away from surviving evolution, and in the end we will find that we will outlast atheism as well. In the meantime Greenblatt’s work and survey of history serves as a reminder to the church that we are not to check our brains at the threshold of faith. Faith is intelligent and following Christ accurately requires a serious Biblical hermeneutic. The gospel calls for us to build a Kingdom for Christ in this world, not out of this world. It is at the moments of history when people try to merge science, culture, and politics with the gospel so that each becomes unrecognizable that the church makes a serious mistake. This we call, as Greenblatt has aptly explained, the swerve. Some who read this book will read it from the perspective of a culture that courageously freed itself from the church, but for the discerning Christian reader the book serves to tell of the days just before some equally courageous souls freed the church from the grips of cultural charlatans in Jesus’ name. Pop-history calls the cultural escape from Christianity the Renaissance. Church history calls the church’s escape from culture the Reformation. It’s all a matter of perspective; and such is the case with historical retelling and reading.

The humanism that inspired both the Renaissance and the Reformation has brought us to interesting ends. In the beginning humanism revived the idea that man is important and that he is wonderful enough to learn. For the Renaissance this ignited an enlightenment mentality that validated the secular idea that man can do well without God. For the Reformation humanism inspired a return to the Biblical text. If man were to have faith he must learn once again to use his brain and investigate truth for himself. Ex-cathedra would no longer suffice a world that was once again filled with Greek manuscripts. People began to ask if the church was really saying what God has said.

Humanism, running its course in both culture and the church has brought us to an interesting place. I would explain it simply as, we are bored with ourselves. The ethic of the Enlightenment has taken all the wonder out of nature, censured moral absolutes, and brought us to the intellectual hypocrisy of political correctness - we must tolerate all thoughts but one – there is a God. We are to think like secularists. In 1400 the church was the voice that told us what to think. Now it is the government. As a result we are passive hearers desperate only for pleasure. We say much but think little. Our conversations are trite and because we are so consumed with images we take little time to actually discern what they mean. We have long left our most important conversation – why are we here? This is the question that inspired us to explore. If anything Epicureanism/Hedonism/atheism has done it has caused us to swerve away from being people who want to do more than survive. We are no longer a people who desire to create. My charge is manifest most notably in the cultural media we once measured and critiqued by the aesthetic ideals. Is this book, movie, or work of art truly beautiful? We are infatuated with smut. We no longer seek beauty but shock value. Our arguments are little more than emotionally charged rants void of logic rather than civil debates in which real intelligence wins. People like Bill Maher and Jerry Springer make money in cultures like ours. Our cultural elites are truly cultural idiots – even worse – we believe them.

In the church humanism may have initially inspired us to return to the texts, but half a millinea later it has taken us too far, for we have, like culture, abandoned God. We may preach that there is a Savior, but we do not live as if we need one. We have forgotten that the Book of Acts is the sequel to the Gospels. The church has exiled the Spirit. The Westernized church has once again become a powerful cultural machine, propped up by money, measured by crowds, and seeking desperately to merge with culture. We masquerade attractional power as Spiritual power. Biblically, these are not the same and we have lost the ability to discern which is which. In my estimation, we are long since the swerve and once again in desperate need of reformation. We learn more than ever, spend more than ever, and are more talented than ever – but we are desperately lacking what it is that makes us the church – the leadership of Christ manifest in us by the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. The contemporary, post-reformation “protestant” church has made the same mistake as the medieval Catholic one we protested – we believe we can speak for God without consulting Him at all.

We have suffered the swerve. It is time to return to course.

Welcome Home Marty

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 05:00:10 PST

We were invited to a welcome home party for a man in our church who serves in the Air Force. We could not attend so we had some family fun putting together this video to help welcome Marty home.

Random Thoughts on Friday 1/13

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:20:45 PST

A lady in our church, Virginia Davidson, turned 100 today. I always enjoy talking with Ms. Davidson and leave our conversations laughing about something she said. I went to visit her today but she wasn’t home. Walking to her apartment in the assisted living facility I wondered what it would be like to see a century. Ironically today, the AJC posted an article about notable people born 100 years ago http://projects.accessatlanta.com/gallery/view/living/born-100-years-ago/.

A person I have gotten to know over the last few months died suddenly this week. He was 41. These are the sorts of things that make you assess how you spend your time, speak to your family, show your love and appreciation for others. The death of a friend reminds us of how awful the curse of sin really is and how desperately we should long for the return of Christ and the final redemption in the new heaven and the new earth. Jesus will make all of the things that are very wrong with this world right again. Until then we must remain faithful even in disappointment.

Tomorrow I am going to shoot a shotgun with Gene. I have never pulled the trigger on anything more powerful than a Daisy air pump BB gun. Gene is taking me to shoot at skeet. He said that the skeet will be 30 yards away and traveling at 45 miles per hour. Gene thinks I am going to actually hit one. I love people who have great faith in their pastor.

Alabama won another national championship this week. The entire state got new T-shirts.

I started playing Words with Friends on my iPhone. I think I have friends who cheat.

I have found a new favorite coffee formula. 1 medium McDonald’s coffee with 3 coffee mate vanilla creamers.

I started reading Bonhoeffer’s biography again this week. The first 120 pages contain important background information but they are a tough read containing every tedious detail about Bonhoeffer’s formative years except the color of the shirts he wore on Tuesdays. The book gets interesting on page 121 as Bonhoeffer experiences a “conversion” of sorts. Though he was a Christian academic it seems that his experiences in America (both its hypocrisy and its preaching) helped him form a sense of true conviction about the teachings of Christ. I go into the weekend reading about the rise of Hitler in Germany and Bonhoeffer’s early response. I only have about 400 pages left and I will finish the book. Since 2012 is the end of the world according to the Mayan calendar Bonhoeffer’s bio may be the last book I read before the planet blows up.

Just Ask from Ed

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:00:12 PST

Question from Edvard in Montreal:

I have two questions:

1) What podcasts would you recommend and why?

2) If I only had to read 5 books, which ones would you recommend?

1) Podcasts and Why?

There are multitudes of great podcasts particularly in the Christian genre. My subscriptions are limited to preaching and theological teaching. I have yet to find a “conversational” or “show” type podcasts that keeps my interest. I love to preach and love to hear others preach well.

My other criteria would include variety and thought. I tire easily to listening to the same three or four guys over and over. I also enjoy great preachers and teachers who are great thinkers. A lot of bad preaching is covered by pithy sayings and passionate presentations, so I do appreciate those who pay attention to faithful interpretation. That said, here is my list:

I subscribe to three seminary podcasts (this gives me great variety):

Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast//id305918399

New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary: http://www.nobts.edu/chapel/podcast/default.html

Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/southeastern-baptist-theological/id132458157

Here are my “thinker” podcasts:

Wayne Grudem (an awesome series): http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/wayne-grudems-systematic-theology/id322844869

William Lane Craig: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/defenders-podcast/id252618196

Ravi Zacharias - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/let-my-people-think-on-oneplace.com/id371996429

Tim Keller: http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/timothy-keller-podcast/id352660924

2) 5 books you must read (in no particular order):

· Is God a Moral Monster, Making Sense of the Old Testament God – Paul Copan

· Knowing God – J.I. Packer

· Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire – Jim Cymbala

· The Pleasures of God – John Piper

· Any one or all of the following:

o Mere Christianity – C.S.Lewis

o Simply Christian – N.T. Wright

o The Case for Christ – Lee Strobel

Bonjour Ed! Great to hear from you bro.

?Just Ask?

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:32:05 PST

I wanted to add a new feature to the FeelMyFaith this year that I hope will enhance the blog. The new series is simply called, “Just Ask.” Just Ask will provide a way in which you can help drive the content on FeelMyFaith. If you have a question about the Bible, theology, Christianity, the church, current events, or my take on certain issues, you can enter your question in the side column form and I will receive it via email. Each week I will select a few questions and respond. You can follow Just Ask by clicking on the Just Ask label, also located in the side column. I hope to hear from you soon and look forward to the conversation.

BB, Gal. 2:20

Tebowing

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:22:23 PST

Before I discuss the current media infatuation over Tim Tebow (which made this week's TIME magazine) a confession is in order. I am a lifelong, biscuit eating, sweet tea loving, Georgia Bulldog fan. In case anyone would doubt my dedication to the red and black I have the signatures of Vince Dooley and Mark Richt on a football as validation. When Tim Tebow played QB for the Florida Gators I appreciated him as a brother in Christ, but only because I had to do so Biblically. I will confess that when UGA beat Florida and it made Tebow cry, I laughed. My confession may seem odd to some, but such is the nature of SEC football. If you do not live in the South you cannot possibly appreciate the culture. If you do, you know that it could be worse.

When it comes to NFL playoff football, if the Falcons are not a factor (and they rarely are), I enjoy watching the traditional teams go deep. This means that for the most part I would like to see the Bears or Packers and the Steelers or Jets in the Super Bowl every year. Yet on Sunday while watching the Steelers and the Broncos I was torn. I would have been glad to see the Steelers advance, but I also wanted to see Tebow win. Why?

As much as I enjoy playoff football, I find greater amusement in watching the secular and supposedly unbiased media become confused, stumble over their contradictions, and expose their hypocrisy. The beauty of Tebow is that if the conversation could be kept to simple QB mechanics the media fumbling is amusing enough. Tebow throws the football like it’s a hand grenade. The talking heads of the football pantheon hate it, but Tebow wins. Tim Tebow is the only QB in NFL history who can complete two passes for over 316 yards and win the game. Statistically he is a nightmare, yet in the end only one stat counts in the NFL, “w’s.” Just win baby.

The gravy on the situation is that with Tebow it is impossible to only talk football with him. Tebow has demonstrated that one can make life (which may involve football, medicine, politics, broadcasting, or being a mechanic) and faith a singular issue. In so doing Tebow has reminded the church that in the gospel our identity is in Christ. There is no way to separate a saved man from his Savior. For the secularized and professedly unbiased media, Tebow’s union with Christ has made the man even more difficult for them to talk about. For a man who throws the football like a hand grenade, with Bible verses under his eyes, who goes on mission trips in the off season, who prays on the side lines – for him to win is indeed supernatural. The unspoken doctrine of ESPN is that Christians can’t win – they are boring prudes. Mechanically Tebow shouldn’t win. He is all wrong. The mixture has forced them to ask an interesting question – are we witnessing a miracle? Is there something supernatural about Tim Tebow?

What is happening with the media is that their hypocrisy with Tebow is apparent. They want the guy to fail as a quarterback and as a man. They want Tebow to be a fake for two reasons. 1) The way he throws the ball shouldn’t work. 2) What Tebow says and the way he lives is unselfish, self sacrificing, and convicting. Tebow is salt and light. Jesus made it clear, someone who comes into an otherwise dark world and redemptively challenges its flavor will not be welcomed. Because Tebow is doing what every person who professes Christ should do whether they are a concert pianist, a beautician, or a dude on an 0 and 12 water polo team, he makes everyone around him think of Christ. His faith cannot be hidden (Matt. 5:16). If they criticize Tebow, they get Christ. If Tebow wins, Christ. If Tebow loses, Christ. If Tebow lives, Christ. If Tebow dies, Christ (Phil. 1:21). Every follower of Christ should be the same thing whatever the context. The difference with Tebow is that he has a huge stage because he plays football; and wins. His life is more public and so when the result of the cross of Christ in Tebow confuses the “wise” and becomes folly to the perishing – we get to see the gospel do what it does on a national broadcast (1 Cor. 1:18-25). Football has given Tim Tebow an incredible platform that has exposed scores of people to the gospel. Though the conversations may begin with football, in the end, football has little to nothing to do with who Tim Tebow is. He is not a miracle worker. He is a guy making a living and being what he is supposed to be – a man who cannot be separated from who he is in Christ. Because of this the media stumbles and fumbles to talk Tebow without talking Christ – but they can’t. This is why they can’t describe the obvious – the guy is not Tebowing any more than Paul was “Paul-ing” or Moses was “Mos-ing.” The dude is praying, glorifying God, living for Christ, and playing football.

Sadly the hypocrisy does not only exist with the media, but in the church. Because American Christianity practices such a nominal form of faith we sound like bumbling idiots when we try to talk sports and God. Why do we root for Tebow? Is it to prove that God helps us win? Before we create an argument we cannot sustain, let’s be careful to be logical and Biblical. The Bible does give us stories of people like Joseph who God prospers in whatever they set their hands to do (Gen. 39:5). A central story of the Old Testament is the crazy good slingshot skills of David vs. Goliath – which became in the end God vs. a devilish giant. The Biblical accounts of Joseph and David make it seem that had these men played QB they too would throw the pigskin like a hand grenade and win. Yet the Bible also says that godless, immoral people will prosper (Psalm 73). Some of the NFL’s greatest players have been humanity’s worst people. Great linebackers and coaches can be horrible husbands and fathers. They may tackle like trucks but they are not good men. So the logical, Biblical message for the nominal church is this, be careful to call Tebow a miracle. Be careful to attribute the perfect landing of his oddly thrown football to some sort of supernatural manifestation of God. Let’s remember, football is a team game. Tebow may be throwing the ball to a Muslim with great hands. He may have gotten the opportunity to score because a wife beating defensive lineman picked up a fumble on the previous series. The wide receivers who take Tebow’s passes to the end zone may be outrunning defensive backs who lead the opposing team’s Sunday morning devotion. Tebow may have other team mates who are great Christians who score touchdowns and pray who have been with Denver for several years. If you follow Denver then you should know, over the last few years it would seem that their prayers were ignored. If we pin all Tim does with the pigskin on God helping him win, the whole thing unwinds both biblically and logically. Let’s be careful.

Where the novice church has gone wrong is in thinking that the only purpose of the gospel is to help us win games, make money, be great. We believe faith means we do not need skill, we just need to win to prove our point. But this is not the message of the gospel at all. The message of the gospel is not in what we are promised to accomplish in Christ, but in who we are destined to become in Christ. What is happening with Tim Tebow is what should be happening with all of us who profess Christ.

We should not even be deceived into thinking that at the core of it all Tebow’s success proves that God cares about football. Tonight LSU will play BAMA for a national championship. Scores of nominal Christians will pray about the game as if God cares who wins. Crimson will not only play against purple and gold, but they will also pray against them. Yet, when Jerry Jones cuts a whole in the top of the dome in Dallas so “God can watch His team play” they will call him a blasphemer and an idolater. Let’s be careful dear hypocrite.

We have forgotten that we do not follow Christ or pray so that God can help us win games. We follow Christ because we want to be like Him. What Tebow is doing is not supernatural, in fact it is rather natural. Tebow is simply being what he is in Christ. The reason we are all talking about it is because the media nor the church has seen a man like this in quite some time, a man brings every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Tebow is not supernatural. In an increasingly secularized world and an apostate church, Tebow is simply abnormal. All he is a physically gifted male whose size, strength, character, never give up attitude, and ability to win games has given him a Heisman and a chance to play in the NFL. Horrible men have done the same thing. The difference with Tim Tebow is that he is not ashamed of who he is in Christ. He just happens to be a great football player. What is supernatural about Tebow is not how he wins games. What is supernatural is what he has become in Christ.

We all have the same opportunity.

Did God help Tebow throw an 80 yard pass to end Pittsburg’s chance to advance in one play in overtime? I don’t know, you’ll have to ask God. What I saw was a good play call for the offense and a bad calculation by the defense. They thought Tebow would run, but he threw a hand grenade. Another guy caught it, and because he has was as fast as lightening and lifted weights in the off season he was able to stiff arm a defender and take the ball to the end zone. It happens every Sunday, even for pagan people. And that’s the point. Life happens. Yet what the gospel calls us to do is to be Christ in life, on any stage, at every stage no matter how big or small. Whether it is nationally broadcasted, whether you win or lose, whether you cut hair or win the Heisman, every thought is to become captive to Christ. Tim is not “Tebowing” as if he is creating something different any more than Paul was “Pauling” or Moses was “Mosing.” Tim is simply being Christ where he is. We are called to do the same.

How to Read a Book (Part 4)

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 04:38:47 PST

Pace

How long has it been since you have read a book cover to cover? If you do not particularly enjoy reading you may find that it has been quite some time; perhaps even measured in decades. There may even be a small shelf of books in your home that you intended to read, started, but never finished. How can you make 2012 the year you finish a book? The key here is pace.

Because I have yet to publish a book I do not know the ins and outs of marketing them, but I have noticed that 90% of the non-fiction books on the shelves are 220-240 pages in length. I do not know what this means for authors and publishers, but I do know what it means for readers. If you average 30 – 40 pages a day, this equates to a book a week.

If you have not historically been a reader, 30-40 pages a day may seem like a daunting task. It is true that the more you read the better reader you will become. If 30-40 pages is too much for you right now, shoot for 20. At 20 pages a day you will read a book every two weeks. This is two books a month, which means in 2012 it may not be that you finish 1 book for the year, but 24 of them.

Things happen. It is at the point of things happening that most of our resolutions are flushed. We diet well until there is birthday cake. We put money into savings until an unforeseen repair frustrates our budget. We read our 20, 30, or 40 pages a day until another show as awesome as LOST enters our life, or little Johnny starts baseball, or for whatever reason things get busy. How do we keep pace when things happen?

I say to our church often, “You will do what you want to do.” There is an old proverb that illustrates the often flighty nature of Baptist commitment that says, “It takes a tub full of water to get a Baptist in, but a drop to get them out.” For a people so closely associated with water it is amazing how attendance will drop on a rainy Sunday morning. Yet the University of Alabama could be playing West Chickasaw in the middle of a category 5 hurricane and there will be 105,000 people in the stands determined not to miss a play. You will do what you want to do. This is why I enacted what I called “The Wal-Mart Policy” when I served as pastor in Crossville, TN. On a snowy Sunday morning my phone would begin ringing early, “Pastor, we need to cancel services, it’s just too dangerous for anyone to be out.” So I would. But later in the morning my wife and I, bored out of our minds, would travel to the amusement park of Crossville, TN, Wal-Mart. There we would find half the church, many of whom had called me that very morning telling me it was too dangerous for them to drive to church. You will do what you want to do.

Do you want to read books? The question then is not what are you going to do, but what are you NOT going to do? As a pastor I am amazed at how much we desire to add virtuous things to our lives without forsaking things that seem to make us stumble. We like to add. We do not like to take away. If you are going to add reading books in 2012 you must subtract something out of your daily schedule, the 30 – 40 minutes a day that it will take you to keep your pace. I will offer you this advice right out of the gate. People who read well watch less television. If you are going to read there is less you need to watch. If family activities are a hindrance, practice, homework, insanity, then try to identify those moments when you can fit in some reading. I promise you that if you think hard about your family schedule you can find those moments. Wake up 30 minutes earlier, before anyone else is out of the bed. I do my best reading and writing early in the morning. While your child is at practice, instead of staring aimlessly at the field, read. I have a book nearby almost everywhere I go. With the plethora of e-readers on the market as well as smart phone technology you can carry a library with you at all times. I will offer a response to a book entitled The Swerve next week. I read about 50 pages of it in the parking lot of the mall while Shannon was Christmas shopping. You will do what you want to do.

I hope this is the year that you want to read. Not to read only one book, but lots of them. I usually read fully 35 books a year. Keep a list. Watch it grow. At the end of the year share your top ten. Everyone else does. Make 2012 the year you read.

How to Read a Book (Part 3)

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 05:00:03 PST

As I mentioned in a previous post reading the notes may pave a trail to other good authors who write good books. This practice will also help you accomplish another key to reading that I find helpful; read in themes.

I find reading entertaining, but that is not the primary reason why I read. I read to learn. I read so that I can be a better communicator. I read to gain wisdom and discernment. I read as an act of worship. The Bible calls for me to love the Lord with my mind (Matthew 22:37). Our faith is not to be without the brain, so I read.

Because reading is about learning I like to read in themes. By reading in themes I mean that I like to read several books about a certain subject consecutively. This is not a strange concept, especially if you attended college. Your history professor required you to read in themes, as did your biology teacher. For a semester they had you search, research, and read books that were focused on a certain discipline. Reading in themes makes you a student in the field. With each book the information builds. A few books down the path you will begin to notice repeated arguments, research, people, places, and events. Every author offers his or her unique perspective, but because you have “done a little reading” on the topic you will find yourself not merely a passive reader, but a discerning one who is joining the conversation.

I also like to plan ahead. Because I have been in school for the past few years my professors have picked my themes. But from time to time when I had a month or two between classes I chose my own course. The year before last I had a WWII summer. The summer before that I read all the classics I was supposed to read in High School, but barely did. Have fun with your plan. Be creative. Here are a few suggested “thematic” reading lists:

1. New York Times Bestsellers from the year you graduated high school.

2. Great leaders.

3. Because I don’t know enough about _____________.

4. It’s all Greek to me – perhaps a summer of Greek history, poets, and mythology.

5. A few months of theology.

6. Biographies of dead presidents.

7. Three Bible commentaries on a certain book cover to cover.

8. The guy who invented _____________.

9. Versus. For example – read The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins and The Dawkins Delusion by Alister McGrath. There are several excellent 4 views books series published by various Christian publishing houses such as 4 Views on Hell, Divorce and Remarriage 4 Views, 4 Views on Eternal Security, etc. These books have never really changed my views on certain positions but they have helped me learn to appreciate those with whom I do not agree and to better understand them as people.

10. How to be a Biblical husband, father, man OR wife, mother, woman.

Perhaps planning ahead will help you not simply accomplish books (read them cover to cover), but to learn from them. For me the fun is in the planning. Once you determine what you want to learn, begin searching. Use your cell phone to take pictures. Make a wish list. Ask questions. If you want to spend some time in the classics, don’t be ashamed to send a note home with your kid’s English teacher and ask for a suggested list. The teacher will probably find it refreshing that a student’s parent hasn’t stopped learning themselves. Go to the library and tell the librarian what you want to learn. Those people are book worms and they will point you in the right direction. As I stated in a previous post – ask your pastor. If your pastor is a great preacher, I promise you he is also a reader. He will have some suggestions.

Every great book has a theme. So do great readers!

How to Read a Book (Part 2)

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 07:14:53 PST

Read the Boring Parts

A common resolution amongst the Christian community is to read the Bible cover to cover in a year. This goes well until one reaches the boring parts; a genealogy filled with ancient names that sound like you have marbles in your mouth when you pronounce them or a tedious list of details on how Israel is to build a tent. Inevitably this means that our resolve fails us either in late Genesis or mid Exodus; which in calendar time equals early February. Although many may consider the genealogies and tedious instruction passages of the Bible to be boring, this does not mean they are unimportant. In fact, they are some of the most critical pieces of material in the story. These passages are unexplored theological goldmines that convey to us some of the obvious themes of Scripture. This is why. This is how. This is who.

When it comes to books we often begin with chapter 1 and end punctually on the final period of the final chapter. We do this because we neglect to read the boring parts; the preface, the introduction, the notes, the bibliography. Yet these are the portions of the book that convey to us the most critical information of the author’s work. This is why. This is how. This is who.

In my previous post I discussed the importance of reading the notes. Books without notes are little more than 240 page blog posts. They are unsubstantiated, un-researched opinions. I am not saying books without notes have no merit, but I am saying that we should be discerning in our choice of them. While the notes help us find the path to other authors and other works, the preface and/or the introduction is the place where we find our path toward purpose. What is the thought that holds the book together? What is the outline? What is the author trying to prove, argue, or convey? Why did the author spend so much time writing a book? Why is it worth your time to read? And if I may add any bit of nerd advice here, it would be that when you are searching for a book, don’t read the endorsements on the back cover; take some time to read the intro. Force the author to convince you that his or her book is worth the money and the effort.

As you read the preface/intro you are searching for the theme of the book. As I said above, the theme is this thought the holds the book together. Mark it. Great books are not about 3 things or 10 things. Great books are about 1 thing. There may be 15 chapters, but each chapter should be a supporting argument for the 1 thematic idea the author is trying to convey or prove. Once you find the theme and mark it, refer to it often. Make sure you have it squarely in view throughout the entire book. As you read be constantly asking these questions: 1) How is the author supporting his/her argument? 2) Is the argument logical? You may need to modify these questions based on the genre of the text, but generally these principles hold true for most any non-fiction work.

Be sure to read the boring parts. The boring parts give us the most important information of the book. The intro/preface indentifies the theme. The notes tell us from where the information comes.

(to be continued)

How to Read a Book (Part 1)

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:05:44 PST

As we come into a new year the air is filled with chatter of what we are resolved to do. Perhaps your list includes the traditional diet, budget, and exercise. What about a book? How about several of them? Would you consider in 2012 recovering the lost art of reading books?

America has become an illiterate society. While it is true that most of us can phonetically pronounce combinations of letters and attach definitions to them, which strictly speaking is the act of reading, most of us do not devote time to reading meaningful content. If we are not illiterate in the strictest sense, I would argue that we are at least a tautological society (look it up!). Due to Twitter, texting, and Facebook words have become little more than smoke signals of the mundane, “Me thirsty”, “Me miss you”, “Me about to eat”, “Why you care?”

In literate cultures people are connoisseurs of well communicated thoughts, structured arguments, and compelling themes. A century ago we explored the world with words. We once discussed the meaning of things. Now we care only to discuss what Snooki said or what Gaga wore. We producing more words than ever, but saying nothing at all. Twitter handles 250 million “tweets” per day. That means we are writing the equivalent of a 10 million page book every 24 hours. We are chirping about everything but are we learning? Are we adding to knowledge? If Twitter is a reflection of what America is thinking, we have lost our minds.

As Americans we have always believed ourselves to be the great saviors. Over the last thirty years our concerns have become environmental. Save the whales. Save the ozone. Save the polar bear. Save the owl. I propose that in 2012 our theme be, “Save the brain, read a book.” Let us not just read one of them, but lots of them. Yet how do we do something we have not done for so long? How do we read a book?

Finding the Good Books

If it has been awhile you may find that good books have gone the way of the VHS tape. They are rare finds indeed. Yet they do exist. It is also important to note that good books are expensive. The problem is that bad books are also expensive. If we are not to break our resolution concerning the budget in 2012 we must be careful then that we do not waste our funds on bad books. If books were priced according to content it would make our quest much easier. If this were the case we would probably find that most of the books that meet us in the doorway of our favorite bookstores would then be the cheapest, probably worth no more than 10 cents. Because we are not discerning we have become the easy prey of marketing. Publishers are counting on the fact that you will immediately break the cardinal rule of reading. You will judge a book by its cover.

Because I have been burned by the cover more than once allow me to share my quick list of how I weed out the bad books. I do not read books by actors or athletes. Sorry Tim Tebow. I do not read a book by a politician unless he or she is OUT of office. I read very few autobiographies. We are not honest about ourselves. I do not read books with warriors, wizards, dragons, horses, flowers, people kissing, or people holding swords on the cover (that’s just me). I do not read books that I know good and well that the people on the back cover who have endorsed them have not read. One good way to weed this out is to go down the aisle of the bookstore and turn an entire row of books over. You will probably find the same people endorse them all. Pastor/authors are notorious for this. This is why I do not read very many books written by pastors. Yet, if I ever publish a book, please read it (appease the hypocrite in me)!

Read books about meaningful historical events. Read books about people who changed things. Read books about critical issues. Read books that offer various viewpoints. Read books written by people who are nothing like you. Read books that will make you angry. Read books that will make you think. Read books that are not only endorsed, but are critically peer reviewed. There are countless internet forums that would offer such reviews. By peer review I mean books that are purposefully subjected to the experts in the applicable field. If we are to read great books we must learn rule #1, Oprah was a talk show host. Jerry Springer is also a talk show host. Their purpose is first and foremost to entertain, not critically review books. Oprah discussed everything but was an expert in nothing. Her opinions chase the wind. If a historical book happened to make it on Oprah, but is not being kicked around by other historians this should be a warning sign. If it was not worth an expert’s time it is not worth yours.

If you want to find good books do the most obvious thing, ask the people who read them. Ask your pastor, your child’s English teacher, or the guy at work who is always reading on his lunch break. An odd habit of mine is going into university and seminary bookstores and seeing what books the professors are requiring for their classes. I once despised these shelves, but I have found that when I am not reading a book for a grade there is a lot less pressure and I enjoy it even more.

If we are to be good readers we will find that it is important to read the boring parts, the preface, the introduction, the footnotes/endnotes, and/or the bibliography. I will speak to the preface and the introduction later, but I have often found that the most important place to find good books is within good books. If you find yourself reading books without footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies realize that you are reading unsubstantiated, unsupported opinions. Good books will be full of notes. This means the author has spent a great deal of time researching his topic before he brought the information to you. Books without notes may be about interesting things and they may be written by someone you count to be an interesting person, but in the end a book without notes is nothing more than a field guide to finding Sasquatch. It is a misleading search for nothing. Books with notes will lead you to other critical topics and intelligent authors. If you read the notes you may find yourself going to places you have never been before – the deeper shelves near the back of the bookstore. You may also find yourself in a long lost city of Atlantis of American culture, the library.

(to be continued)

A Hot Cup of Culture - Reposted

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 05:00:05 PST

Starbucks is a cultural phenomenon, especially here in the South, the Mecca of culture. The southern man owes much to Starbucks. It is the power of a cup. Without ever attending an opera, or an art gallery, or actually reading a book the southern man can proudly raise his Starbucks cup, the one with the trendy temperature sleeve, and suddenly the good ole boy is cultured. That cup of coffee imported from Seattle, described only in Italian, is nothing but a hot cup of culture. The cup can make a man wearing a Dale Earnhardt jacket suddenly look executive. Early in the morning, on his way to the lake, the southern man no longer swings by Hardee’s for a 99 cent biscuit; he now goes to Starbucks for a three dollar cup of coffee. And there, on a secluded lake, he sits in his bass boat with a hot cup of culture.

In thirty-four years I had never tasted coffee, and so until recently I was still an opera credit away from being cultured. As cool as Starbucks people appeared, I could not break into the fraternity. I was a Starbucks outsider; until July. Standing on the sidewalk of a strip mall, waiting for ice cream a mom of five girls pulled out a Starbucks card and sent her three youngest girls for a frappuccino. I was totally repulsed by the thought of a decent mom feeding her five year old coffee. I expressed my dismay.

“A Vanilla Bean Frappuccino has no coffee”, she said defending her decent momness.

It was an epiphany. Suddenly I no longer needed an opera credit to be cultured, I needed vanilla bean frappuccino. Vanilla Bean Frappuccino – a very cool sounding Seattle/Italian drink, a freezing cold cup of uncoffee culture.

That cold cup of culture got me through the early fall. As long as the weather was hot my cold cup of culture told the world around me that it was too hot for coffee in Alabama. Little girls everywhere agreed. While the weather is hot, frappuccino is in. Thanks to vanilla beans, I was in.

For a couple of months I consistently ordered little girl drinks at Starbucks. But the weather cooled. It would not be long until I would be exposed. By November everyone would know I was a poser, a fake, a southern man hooked on little girl drinks. As the nights began to cool I could feel the pressure mounting, the vanilla bean would soon be out. If I were to retain culture it was either opera or a bean of another sort, the coffee bean.

Coffee smells good. It smells very deep, very robust, very cultural. But I had never actually tasted it. Smelled it, but never tasted it. Apparently we taste what we smell, or is it that we smell what we taste? People taste things and compare them to things they have smelled but have never actually tasted. I think there are several flavors of slushies that taste like suntan lotion – smells. Not that I have an intestinal SPF. I have never actually tasted suntan lotion, but I have had slushies that taste like suntan lotion – smells. Little girls love slushies. I have never tasted paint. But fish cooked weird can sometimes taste like paint – smells. Maybe it’s the lead.

Coffee smells cultural. Coffee smells manly. It was time for me to put down the little girl drinks at Starbucks, embrace winter, and become a cultured southern man. It was time for coffee. I enjoy the smell of coffee. Surely I would not be disappointed by its taste.

While driving through South Carolina I pulled off of I-85, found a Starbucks, and determined to purchase my first hot cup of culture. I poured over the menu, rehearsing the Italian words silently so as not to give myself away as a coffee newbie. I listened to others as they ordered and smiled along with them subtly signaling to them that I agreed, they had made a fine choice. I was with them. I was Starbucks. So it was my turn to become a man. The counter was mine. My subconscious subtly reminded me to act like I had been there before, exude confidence. I had been there before, for little girl drinks.

If you have never heard me talk you are missing a treat. God called me to preach, to talk for a living. And so to keep the Almighty entertained He raised me in North Georgia and gave me a brogue that makes “Gone with the Wind” look like it was filmed in South Detroit. Therefore, Italian is a challenge for me, so is English. And so to the very cool, very cultured college aged guy behind the counter, my ordering a Tall Caramel Macchiato with a shot of Espresso must have been an adventure in linguistic audio.

Proudly I walked through the store out to the sidewalk where several people, all cultural giants, sat looking very cool sipping Starbucks. And I smiled, because for the first time in my life I held a hot cup of culture with a Starbucks logo on the temperature sleeve. This was not a little girl drink, this was espresso.

I took a drink.

Not that I have ever actually tasted these things, but I have smelled almost all of them. So let me tell you how coffee tastes.

Coffee tastes like jet fuel.
Coffee tastes like sulfur.
Coffee tastes like lava.
Coffee tastes like burning leaves.
Coffee tastes way stronger than it smells.

I do not like coffee.

I tried for several miles to get there. I sipped, gulped, and drank for half an hour, but with no success. I looked so forward to legitimately entering the ranks of those who pay more for a cup of coffee than they do for a gallon of gas. I too wanted an addiction that required fluent Italian. I wanted to be perky in the morning. I wanted to ruin the interior of my car with Starbucks stains. I wanted robust breath. I wanted to be cultured without opera, but my body could not handle the taste of hot culture. My stomach sent a signal that if I took another drink I would indeed destroy the interior of my car.

So here I sit and write, reflecting on failure, sipping green tea. Green tea looks like an eight ounce cup of anti-freeze, but it tastes better. Not that I have actually tasted anti-freeze, but I have smelled it. Green tea is not a little girl drink. Green tea is a big girl drink. But I like it. If I ever lose my tongue in a freakish accident like a forest fire or a lightening strike I will try coffee again. But this winter I will Google opera tickets and long for the heat of summer, when I, along with many little girls, can again be cultural and legitimately order frappuccino at Starbucks.

Learning to Dance - Reposted

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:02 PST

This is the week of the year when people publish their "top tens", reviews, and resolutions. For the final week of the year I will offer some of my favorite posts - reposted. Feel My Faith.com has been online a few years now. It is time to bring some old material back to the top.

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2 Samuel 6:14 says that “David danced before the LORD with all his might.” If David were a Baptist the Bible would have said he made a casserole before the Lord. If David were Baptist he would not have danced.

I can’t dance. But that’s O.K. because I’m Baptist. Being Baptist takes some of the pressure off people who can’t dance. Baptists are not much for dancing. I have never read the official doctrinal position on dancing, but from everything I have heard said about dancing through the years, I’m pretty sure we’re against it. Honestly, it is not hard being against something you can’t do. Calling your lack of talent sin can actually work to your advantage.

I have always hated the people who put pressure on you to dance. In High School I enjoyed going to dances and standing, just standing. I was awesome at standing while everyone else danced. As long as I was standing “at” a dance I felt cool. But someone would always destroy my cool standing by putting pressure on me to dance. Some lame Junior High DJ who made me feel convicted because I wasn’t dancing. When they call for dancing it scares the cool standing people. Because you know as soon as you start dancing everyone will know you’re Baptist, and you don’t do much dancing. But if you stay off the dance floor and convince people it’s a doctrinal problem and not a total lack of muscular control, you’re good, people will leave you alone. You let those people who can dance, dance. You just stand there; you are Baptist, you have an out.

I hate not being able to dance because people who can dance are cool. John Travolta, I think he is a Scientologist, which is weird, but as for dancing, he is very cool. All those kids in High School musical, extremely cool, and probably not a Baptist in the bunch. Remember Michael Jackson in the ‘80’s? He was Jehovah’s Witness and a great dancer. My wife likes old musicals. There is a ton of dancing in old movies. There are probably a lot of Episcopalians in old musicals. Baptists are fine with riding horses. There were probably a lot of Baptists in westerns.

Doctrine aside, for me dancing is more of a physical issue than a doctrinal one. There is something wrong with my right foot. I played a lot of soccer growing up and actually still have a strong right foot. My right foot is good for jogging, walking; performing most normal right foot functions. But when it comes to dancing, my right foot won’t move. It gets real heavy. I am not sure if it is some sort of selective palsy, but when it comes to dancing my foot just gets heavy. When you can’t move your right foot it takes several dance moves out of the arsenal. Actually, it takes every dance move out of the arsenal.

My daughters love to dance; and with the shades drawn I join in. My youngest daughter, she’s three, has never said anything about it, but she knows I have a problem with my foot. Sometimes she stares at it. For our ten year anniversary my wife and I took a cruise. One night they offered Salsa dancing lessons. The instructor was a Latino guy named Elvis. He was a great dancer, very cool, and more than likely Catholic. His job was to teach me to dance. It didn’t work. Salsa is very hard to do with palsy in your foot. Elvis was smooth. I looked like I needed to go to the doctor. I think I embarrassed my wife. When I walked off the floor a lady smiled at me and said, “I saw you out there dancing.” I just smiled back and said, “I’m a Baptist preacher.”

If I took the time and learned the steps, when and where to place my heavy foot, I am confident I could learn to dance. I may be as smooth as Elvis . . . the Latino version. If I learned to dance, and this pastor thing does not work out, I could probably get a gig on a cruise ship.

In 2 Samuel 6 David danced, but a man also died. David had placed the ark of God on a cart pulled by oxen, and when the oxen stumbled a man put his hand to the ark to steady it. When he touched the ark God struck him and he died. The music stopped and David was afraid of the Lord. He wondered, “How can the ark of the Lord come to me?” He needed answers. Later, he realized his mistake, “the Lord broke out against us, because we did not consult Him about the proper order (1 Chronicles 15:13).” David had forgotten the steps. So he read the Word of God, found the order, and danced.

Learning to dance is about knowing when and how to move. Dancing is coordinating movements with rhythms, a body with music. Dancing is paradox. It is a constrictive way of learning to move freely.

Reading the Bible is like learning to dance. It is about learning the things the Lord despises, and equally as much about learning what the Lord loves.

We should not have sex outside of the covenant of marriage.
God wants us to learn to truly love.

We should not murder.
God wants us to learn the value of life.

We should not make the name of God meaningless.
God wants us to learn what it means to be completely His.

Reading the Bible is taking the time to learn what the Lord loves. It is consulting order, law, and doctrine. It is about learning the steps. It is about learning to coordinate soul and body with the rhythms of life. It is about learning how to respond to things in such a way that you can stand before the Lord and dance. When the things you believe move your feet, that’s cool. Because David consulted God’s Word, 2 Samuel 6 moves from a man dying to a man dancing. The Bible is paradox. It is a constrictive way of learning to move freely.

Reading the Bible is like learning to dance and I desperately need some lessons.

Black Friday - Reposted

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:00 PST

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The Friday after Thanksgiving is called “Black Friday.” What an ominous name. They say the name is due to the fact that on this day retailers move from profit loss (red) to profit gain (black). While this may be true, I believe the origins of the name are more gothic in nature, more evil and representative of something far more sinister. Black Friday is retail Hell, a day choreographed by demons. I am sure of it. On Black Friday, 11/28/2008 I entered the black soul of retail. My wife took me to Wal-Mart in Fort Oglethorpe, GA at 4:30 a.m.

Maybe it is called Black Friday because it is indeed very, very dark at 4:30 a.m. But we were there by invitation, summonsed like sheep to the slaughter by a 12 pound edition of the Chattanooga Times Free Press the day before. On most days the newspaper weighs about an ounce and a half, but on Thanksgiving Day, a holy, godly day, the devil sends out invitations to death. Glossy, full color, captivating sales booklets all of them nothing but publicity posters for a human cockfight that will begin at 5 a.m. the next morning. Every store plans its own human cockfight. From Walgreens to Best Buy, flannel shirts 5 for $5 to Blue Ray DVD players, the devil stages human cockfighting arenas all over town. It is a well crafted scheme. The invitations read “while supplies last” and the humans know this means that the manager at Goody’s has ordered only seven 21 inch LCD televisions which he will sell for almost nothing. There will be seven televisions, there will be 112 humans ready to fight. The devil knows you will be one of them, rising from the dead long before the chickens, emerging from the darkness to take your place in line along with a woman carrying a meat cleaver in her purse. She is fully prepared to make sure you pull back a nub if you dare to fondle her doorbuster.

We emerged from the darkness of the dimly lit Wal-Mart parking area and entered the door labeled “food” on the left end of the super-center. Though there were a quarter of a million people already there, it was quiet. Quiet to the point that the only sound was the shuffling feet of the walking dead and the buzz of massive fluorescent light fixtures illuminating the sprawl of human cock fighting arenas. Our human cock fighting arena was near the automotive section. We went there without question. At 4:30 a.m. a man is so drunk with the reality that he is actually at Wal-Mart in the middle of the night that he has no fear of women or meat cleavers. He has no problem being called “lefty” for the rest of his life if he can but for one day be a hero to his daughters as he presents to them a doorbuster won in a cock fight; a doorbuster for them to unwrap on Christmas morning.

We passed many arenas. Stations of wrapped doorbusters piled on pallets arranged across a pearly white floor that would soon be splattered with blood. It was so quiet, shuffling feet, the buzz of lights. The half-dead all gathered in clusters facing toward their chosen doorbuster much like religious zealots facing east at prayer time. Their eyes were sunken deep into their skull. Women with no makeup, hair in curlers, wearing pajama pants, desperately needing a smoke - poised to kill. Fathers, good men, reduced by the hour and by their wives into blobs of spineless submission. Each of them peering at their hands, romantically counting their fingers knowing there was a good chance that when the clock struck 5 he would never point in the same way again. I whispered as I slithered by as to encourage them, “Hey lefty, that doll on that pallet pees in its pants, your daughter will love it. The batteries you need are on the endcap at register 7.” And I held up my index finger as if to say, “This is a number one kind of experience isn’t it?” But what I really meant by the gesture is “Look at my finger, in ten minutes it will be on the floor.”

We clustered near our pallet/human cockfighting arena. Our arena was deep in the automotive section. So deep that we could not see the other clusters. Our view of the coming maylay was blocked by a row of nicely displayed 75R 15 Michelins. The Wal-Mart full of zombies continued to house the ominous quiet. How would the silence end? What would signal the brawl to begin? I am not sure what the signal was, but just seconds before 5 a.m. a subtle roar began to sweep over the store like a wave. The wave seemed to form near the frozen food section 1/4 mile away and grew more intimidating as it neared automotive. Within the wave was the sound of tearing paper, tearing limbs, meat cleavers, machetes, four letter words, women screaming, and ever so subtle as if to be its own undercurrent I swear I heard the hiss of the devil arise from retail Hell.

I gathered our item on a hand truck and bolted for the door. I felt a sense of fear and dread sweep over me. I had escaped the human cock fight with my finger, but I had inadvertently sprinted away so fast I had left my lovely wife for dead. Would she survive? Drunk on 4:30 it seemed logical that losing my wife but saving $150 was a fair trade. A man thinks differently in darkness. But she was there, just barely there. She kept pace with me, laughing in stride as she slowly slipped a meat cleaver back into her purse.

I survived retail Hell. Black Friday is a day orchestrated by Satan. Wal-Mart is Satan’s super-center. I am a survivor. Merry Christmas.

Cheerleaders and Nuns - Reposted

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 05:00:08 PST

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We once had a daughter who was not much more than a giggly blonde roll of baby. She had no ankles or wrists, just creases where connections with hands and feet should be. One morning as I was slow roasting a pop tart she descended the stairs – stairs she has descended often, as a princess, as Kimberly Locke, as a fashion diva, as a two year old who missed the first step and had a miserable experience with gravity – but at some point during the descents she changed. In five years cataclysmic metamorphosis had progressed so daily that it lulled me to sleep and rendered delusions that I was still the father of a baby girl. The giggly roll of blonde baby had moved away and a much taller, more slender, sandy blonde with a fashionable haircut now called me dad. She had wrists and ankles. One day she will descend the stairs a lady; at such point I will be a mess.

Little girls become something far different with age. Who will she be?

It was not many mornings later that I caught a Southwest jet to New Orleans. Their motto is, “You’ll like where you sit because you can sit where you like.” I’m not sure that is the Southwest Airlines marquee motto, but it is the last slogan you read on a well placed placard before boarding the plane. I think the idea works for the first 157 people on a 160 passenger plane. Being passenger 158 the slogan becomes, “Please be seated.” When you’re in the fifth grade and the last kid to be picked up by the bus in the morning the slogan becomes, “Sit by the kid that will torture you all the way to school”, for his is invariably, daily, routinely the only seat left. When you’re thirty something the slogan for the last kid on the plane is, “Please sit by the nun.”

I flew to New Orleans with a nun.

Whenever you hear a line containing a Baptist preaching and a nun you are looking for the other part of the comedic trinity – an Indian, a Polish guy, a Rabbi, or a blonde. The third part of this comedic trinity would be a flock of cheerleaders, about thirteen of them, and ironically all of them about the age of thirteen.

The nun (passenger # 6), and I (passenger #158), sat in the seats we liked – surrounded by cheerleaders (passengers # 53 – 66). For the sister and I, liking where we “sit” would become a spiritual journey.

Nuns and cheerleaders come from the same biological substance – little girl – but they are not the same.

Apparently cheerleaders have weak, tiny bladders, are somewhat hearing impaired to the point they only hear only very high, shrill, annoying frequency tones, are mildly bipolar, and are not proficient in science, biology, or physics. The sister and I tried to read – me the Book of Esther, and she some sort of Catholic prayer book. The sister tried to explain to me the nature of her prayer book, but as she spoke in a low and holy tone cheerleader number seven announced to her daddy (4 rows away), that she needed to go potty. We (in this instance “we” no longer designates the sister and I but the entire rear section of the plane) heard this announcement just before takeoff, at 10,000 feet, at 20,000 feet, at 20,010 feet, at 29,998 feet. With each announcement the urgency of the request grew. At 30,000 feet we were all rooting for daddy to let the child go.

While she was gone we enjoyed several other high pitched conversations from cheerleaders 1 – 6 and 8 – 13.

· When you flush the potty of a plane does it rain in Mississippi?

· What is it in gum that makes your ears pop?

· According to cheerleader number three, cheerleader number nine had a serious need to grow up.

· Cheerleader number seven provided us a spirited description of the airline bathroom.

· With every passing song on her iPod, cheerleader eleven went from expressions of euphoria to downright disgust. Cheerleaders twelve and thirteen for the most part agreed with her musical critiques, adding their own. Never has there been displayed such a pantheon of emotion. Observation 1: No one has ever told cheerleaders that headphones piping highly amplified music in your ears will encourage you to talk much louder than normal. Observation 2: No one has ever told cheerleaders that the purpose of headphones is to privatize your musical experience. Theoretically no one else can hear the music as you hear it, therefore no one is enjoying your singing.

You get the picture; the sister and I were surrounded by high pitched, emotional chaos. According to Southwest Airlines, we liked it.

In the midst of this the sister and I talked religion. She told me about her holy life, I told her about mine. I was in jeans, she wore a black habit. As we talked a male flight attendant approached and explained to the sister that he had gone to Catholic school back in New York some thirty years ago. As he continued to recount the experience I would learn that apparently nuns can be violent. He told us how many times he had his knuckles rapped with a ruler and that he still has sinus problems from the chalk dust that was dislodged as he was hit upside the head with an eraser – repeatedly over the span of several years. He did sound a bit nasal.

I grew nervous. I smiled because I was apparently in a seat I was destined to like.

After he walked away I tucked my hands into the folds of the seat cushion/ flotation device and the sister began to instruct me on how to be a good shepherd to my congregation. I listened with seminarian intensity. She was wise, very godly, very dedicated, and apparently proficient with rulers and erasers – neither of which, because of terrorists, is allowed on a plane.

Honestly, I really enjoyed our conversation. Honestly, the cheerleaders were comical and entertaining on an otherwise boring flight. FYI – my wife was a high school cheerleader back when iPods were called Walkmans and used tapes.

So what will my little girl become? Where will she fall on the scale of woman between cheerleader and nun? Biology and slow roasted pop tarts will shape her body, but God has made me, for now, the steward of her heart. With every inch she adds to stature, it seems that innocence slowly erodes. She is learning that people can be mean, not everything can be believed, and that some people deserve a well placed eraser upside the head – but it is illegal in the Alabama public school system. Public education needs nuns. My daughter loves Hannah Montana, but as heart steward the last few public appearances of Miley Cyrus have made me nervous. Her life is becoming a commentary to my daughter on the dangers of growing up in a beautiful world. It is my responsibility to interpret the images. In a media driven culture it is impossible for me to shield her eyes, but it is my duty to instruct her heart.

She is learning. I must take the time to teach.

If God wants dads to raise godly girls, why does He make them grow so fast? She is on a dash toward woman; my only hope is to make a hard charge toward God. As her heart is shaped, so must God hold mine. I must be diligent to read His Word so that I can rightly interpret and discern the messages and images of our culture. She is good with the label “wrong”, but she also wants a list of ingredients, “why is ___________ wrong daddy?” It is really hard for me to pull a parental cop out and tell her to ask the preacher. She knows him. She sees him. She reads him daily.

Dad, your child is growing ankles, changing, morphing, reading, learning, watching (you and Miley Cyrus). Don’t give your child’s heart to Disney. Be God’s man and shepherd the heart of your child.

*** Props to nuns and cheerleaders for being so inspirational to dads with daughters and blogs.

Tales of a First Grade Atheist - Reposted

bbranam@rbconline.net (Brian Branam) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:00:10 PST

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“If I can’t see God, how can I believe in Him?” I could tell we were progressing past the usual questions of curiosity that we had grown accustomed to for the last six years. You know, the questions designed to make parents squirm. When my wife was pregnant with our second child, I know God laughed. “Daddy, why is my sister in mommy’s belly?” And before I could clear my throat, “Daddy, was I in mommy’s belly?” “How did I get in mommy’s belly?”

“Well, um, honey. . .it just. . .you see. . .when a mommy and a daddy. . .” and now that God is laughing, by His grace, in the infinite expanse of time and design, by His predestined purpose, before the worlds were framed, He placed a Chic-Fil-A, with a playground, and ice cream in your path. There you make a hard left, “let’s play on the playground.” And the child screams with glee. The secrets of biology are safe, preferably until she’s thirty.

But this question scared me, not so much due to the question, but because she’s only seven, and she was serious. If the eyes are a window to the soul, I could see deep within her, and I could not see God. I could only see a soul that had been thinking consistently about this long before she asked me about the existence of God. And my soul, her daddy’s soul, panicked. And it panicked hard. Has my first grade beauty become an atheist? Is public education truly a tool of the anti-Christ? Is that lump in my throat more than nervousness, could it be the early stages of cancer? I can’t breathe, do I have asthma? Could it be true that my child was not only losing baby teeth, but also losing her faith?

I have read tons of Norman Geisler, Chuck Colson, Josh McDowell, and Francis Schaeffer. I was stunned, but I was armed – and so I fired. Picking up the nearest Junie B. Jones volume from her nightstand I said, “Have you ever met this lady who wrote this book, Barbara, have you ever met Barbara?”

She stared at me.

“Well don’t you believe Barbara is real even though you haven’t actually seen her?”

And I did that with a dollar, with a doll, with a Disney princess. I did that with almost every artifact which cluttered her floor. Every toy, book, and doll became a part of my apologetic arsenal. Tonight the tools of theology, tomorrow she must clean her room.

That’s theology, that’s great apologetics, that’s something that no seven year old in her right mind could refute; the fact that even though we cannot see these people, and have never met these people, the proof of their existence is clearly seen by the evidence of their creations. And so I proudly waited for the seven year old to surrender, for the intellectual dust to settle, for the daddy of theology to kiss her goodnight, say her prayers, turn out the light, having once again successfully explained the secrets of the universe to a seven year old. And this time without a Chic-Fil-A bail out.

The dust settled, and in her eyes, in her soul, only doubt.

This went on for several days. She played on the swing set, I taught her how to hit a softball, she pretended to be a princess, she took a bath, she went to bed, and she became an atheist. The eyes of her soul full of doubt, the question consistent, “If I cannot see God, how can I believe in Him?”

How can this child not see God? I am a pastor, we own a hundred Bibles, we go to church – even on vacation, we pray – a lot, how can this child not see God?

And as the nights progressed my soul began to break. And it was hard for me to see my child at seven begin to lose her faith. It was hard for me, in this, to see God.

Isn’t there a formula for raising born again kids? I know there are books about it. I took a family class in Bible College; I know we talked about it. I am sure I have heard or preached a sermon with a sure fire list of five, three, or eight ways to raise born again kids. There must be a formula – perform a list of steps, pray a certain prayer, memorize a chapter, claim a verse, have twenty minutes of quiet time a day, never let your daughter see you screw up (at least not very much), and even go to church on vacation – and you should be guaranteed that God will not plant a child in her mommy’s belly that will turn into an atheist – at seven.

But it wasn’t working.

There have been a number of things in my life that have brought me to the conclusion that there is not a formula for spiritual things. I can teach, model, preach, suggest, advise, regurgitate, talk about faith with my daughter, but only God can make faith come alive within her. And I needed God. So my prayers about this matter began to lose formula, and moved to soul cries of a dad who desperately desired to see faith bloom in the heart of his little girl.

But she continued to question me, and I continued to question God.

Why will God not flip the switch, plant the seed, make faith simple – seven year old simple, again? There are a lot of things in my life right now about which God is silent, and for some reason, He will not move. But this was, to me, the cruelest of all, for God to allow me to lose grip on my daughter’s faith. Why?

And I grew closer to joining her, wondering why do we believe in a God I could not only see, but I could not hear, that I could not feel, and now seemed would not answer? Do I believe? And the battle moved from her bed into mine. Deep into the night I prayed and I wondered about my own faith.

She dressed a doll, she played with her Gameboy, she ate a pop-sickle after supper. She took a bath, she went to bed, and there it was again, those contemplative, empty eyes – a doubting soul.

And so I reached down into my soul and grabbed it to see what was there. “Morgan, I believe in God. I have given my life to Him. I believe Jesus died for me on the cross, that He loves me and that he has saved my soul. I may not understand everything about God, and I may never be able to really answer your question, but I believe in Him. And Morgan, I pray for you every night, that God will give you faith and cause your heart to long for and believe in Him.”

She hid her face under the covers. All I could see was the bow I had forgotten to take out of her hair. And then I heard her cry. My heart broke.

I begged her to tell me what she was thinking. I could tell, whatever it was, it was coming from a place deep within her. Finally she sat up. Wiping her tears, clutching her pink patchwork quilt, broken and teary, she pressed it out of her mouth, “Daddy, I’m just so happy to know you pray for me.”

I grabbed her in my arms and held her tight. My eyes grew watery, the lump in my throat – growing. She shook in my arms and I could feel her tears now saturate my shirt. But I must confess, the unregenerate, sarcastic monster that lives within me wondered where she had been for the last seven years as her mother and I have religiously prayed for her? Seven year olds – a mystery.

I am a pastor, I go to church. . .even on vacation. I can turn Bible passages into formulas, put them on PowerPoint, and preach them systematically. I own a ton of Bibles. I overreact. She was nowhere near atheism, but her faith was challenged, and so was mine. If my little girl cannot look into my eyes and see that my soul is connected with God – why would she believe? At seven, she understands religion is my job. And there are times she looks into my eyes, and that’s all she sees, a job in religion. What she wants to know is that her daddy knows God and actually talks to Him about her. Not in formula, but in conversation. When my girls destroy my nap, pounce on my outstretched stomach, crushing my vital organs, and begin to “waller” me to death – can they sneak a peek into my eyes, my soul, and see God? I wonder how many times, praying over green beans, have they actually been listening to my voice, listening for it to connect with God? When I pick up the Bible, do they wonder if I have truly met the author – or is our relationship strictly apologetic?

I saw God in my daughter’s eyes again. Her faith and my faith, a little more elastic, stretched, and growing. I realize she and God have something in common. They are wondering if I believe in someone I cannot see.

Dear God, come alive in me.

Dear God, come alive in her.

God give us faith to see You.

Gal. 2:20