Why I will be seeing the “Son of God” movie and not the “Noah” disaster! 

   There are two kinds of Bible-themed movies in Hollywood. The kind that sticks fairly close to the Biblical narrative and serves overall to promote the lessons and reality of the Bible, and the kind that uses the Bible to lure in an audience excited to see a Biblically based film only to serve them a fiction that serves to undermine the story of the Bible and to interject liberal/Hollywood agenda. Son of God movie is the first kind and the Noah movie is the second.

   Noah is a movie that makes God look evil. It is littered with lies that slowly cloud the whole message of the story. According to Ken Ham’s review of the movie  Ken Ham's Review
   Noah claims God does not want man to repopulate the earth. He believes this so strongly he vows to personally murder the baby of his pregnant daughter-in-law if the baby turns out to be a girl. The reason is because they are supposed to be the last generation of mankind and that God was going to replant Eden with all the “innocent” animals.
    This is one of many things wrong with the movie but lets just explore the implications of this one thing.

God does not want man to repopulate the earth:

1. The first and most obvious problem with this is that it changes the story of God’s wrath towards evil and His mercy towards mankind by bringing salvation through the ark and the line of Noah into a story of God’s wrath and complete annihilation of mankind after Noah and sons die.

 2. It undermines the Gospel of Jesus because it promotes the idea that God’s intent was to completely destroy mankind by killing everyone except Noah and His sons and allowing them to die of old age.

3. In this movie God did not intend to allow the human race to survive at all. He was just allowing Noah and his sons to take care of the animals on the ark and then live out their natural lives, but He does not want them to fill the earth which is in direct contrast to what Scripture says. (Gen. 9:1)

    I know not watching a movie seems trivial but I hope enough Christians avoid it to send a financial message to Hollywood that simply says, making a movie based off a Biblical Character but that undermines the Scriptures and the Character of God at every turn is not going to be supported by your “intended” audience. Better to make a purely secular one than a blasphemous one!
    This movie is an insult to the Bible believing audience it hopes to attract. They assume that the changes are subtle enough that people will say: “well who knows, maybe it could have happened that way” without even realizing what this movie says about God and His Character. Taking a character from the Bible to draw an audience so you can insult the God of that audience is what this film will clearly do. I do not want any part of it and I hope you don’t either!

Here is a interview with Russell Crowe that might shed some light on the Attitude of the actor who played a character the bible calls a "preacher of righteousness" and who Russell calls "not even nice"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkTJm32bODs

My Pledge/best poem ever

My Pledge

Pondering life brings emotions untapped
Looking for freedom, but feeling so trapped
Twinges of Godly desires permeate my thoughts
But inaction captures them and all yearning rots.
Mediocre life lived out in pretense
Exhausted from the battle of sitting on the fence
Longing to be pure in faith with action to match
But unable to surpass this rough rocky patch.
Fatigued by stress encapsulating my mind
Comforting peace so difficult to find
Still I press on towards Truth unfailing
Regardless of discouragement always prevailing.
A flicker of Hope burns deep inside
Despite the unlimited tears that I’ve relentlessly cried
Victory is mine though yet unknown
For I’m certain my heart is tied to His own.
Imprisoning my soul, unable to escape
Chiseling down the walls He longs to reshape
This vessel He purchased through sacrifices made
With a pursuing love I cannot dissuade.
Patient and loving beyond compare
My Savior’s untangling the enemy’s snare
Urging me to awake from my apathetic sleep
And experience the wonders of finally going deep.
With reckless abandonment I will inevitably serve
For that is the least my God deserves
The journey has been long but worth each step taken
In spite of the failures that have left me shaken.
Quivering with unfounded fear of just letting go
By relinquishing control allowing surrender to grow
I pledge to continuously seek His will above my own
Until He replaces me on my heart’s throne. - Rhonda Burns

Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens

It is not easy to write a paper on a book that you have not finished formulating your opinion on. Neil Cole has painted a picture of church that is in stark contrast to the kind of churches I got saved in, grew up in, got trained in, and served in. There is much in the book that I agree with but most of what I think of as the best parts have nothing to do with the organic churches being so small and reproducible but rather points that would apply to any kind of church.


I think he does a good job of clearly showing some of the biggest failings in the institutional church. He says things like “In many of the churches in the West, ministry is done for Jesus, but not by Jesus…” or “Unfortunately, in most churches in the Western world the presence of the pastor is more noticeable than the presence of Jesus.” He mentions that in a lot of churches when the people know the pastor will be out the attendance drops. Another quote I like is: “our current systems are perfectly designed to produce the results we are now seeing.” He has a lot to say throughout the book noting the areas where the Western church is not right and I think he has great insight into many of those things.


I like his definition of the church. Neil quickly sets out to define church as such: The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet. This is simple and yet, incomplete but if you assume the rest of the Biblical requirements, I like it. He also talks about the DNA of the church and the three things all churches must have. DNA is Divine truth, Nurturing relationships, and Apostolic mission.


My favorite part was about the different kinds of soil in the parable where Jesus tells about the sower. In this section he makes many good points about ministry. He talks about the mistake we have made in accommodating bad soil in our churches and how it leads to an audience of consumers shopping for the best “services” which requires them to make little or no effort. Too often attendance equals good standing in our churches… even people who are totally uncommitted to the Kingdom that are distracted by the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things can still be a member of our church. He encourages us instead of investing in bad soil to invest everything into the few that will bear fruit. “Life is too short….to babysit fruitless people.” One of my favorite lines in the book is when he says that "bad people (drug addicts, prostitutes, ect.) make good soil because there is a lot of fertilizer in their lives." He goes on to say that good soil can be found in bad people (sinners), poor people, young people, seekers, uneducated and powerless people. I agree with this statement and want to make my life about ministering to these kinds of people.


I love the emphasis on evangelism, community, confession, and reading large amounts of scripture and I hope to have these elements in any church that I plant. But In his model of the organic church I was left wondering about elders and authority, tithing, laying on of hands too hastily in new converts. This book is full of good one liners and views on ministry and church planting…but the best materiel does not seem exclusive to home churches…and I think that was supposed to be the point.

Here is a song from Mat Kearney with a great message...

"Girl America"

My girl America is just a youth in this world
Her smile is more precious than the sparkle of pearls
And though her age reads she's just a young girl
The age behind her eyes show the pain that she's swirled
Through the hand that's been dealt though it's quiet as kept
The weight that she felt last night when she slept
And as she crept into the dreams of the things of her past
Seems to have grown so fast, way beyond her own class
Though they're right there with her, her brothers and her sisters
A natural born leader even when her peers dis her
My girl, she's at a crossroads, people praying for her
Some are preying on her magazine ads, sex, drama
Smoking marijuana, longer for a father to call her, 'daughter'
She's part of a generation longing for reconciliation
And this future that they're facing and this poison that they're tasting
My girl, I know this love you're chasing

[chorus]
My girl America's crying when she's lying on her bed at night
I can see that she's screaming when she's dreaming for her freedom
My girl America's dying while she's trying just to stop this fight
Don't stop believing, my girl America

Boys with hungry eyes have been beating her door
Telling her that's what she's for, trying to rob at her core
Then leave calling her a whore, but still she knows there's more
I know she knows there's more because there is a voice she can't ignore
'Cause it was founded in the foundations, from the day of her creation
In God we trust engraved on the treasures of her nation
And the void that the boys can't fill
With the tipping of the bottle or the popping of the pill
But still most of her friends don't care as they glare
Ready to drown down the funnel as they frown down the tunnel
They stumble and they tumble breaking down into rubble
My girl America, stop can't you see
It's not the circumstances that determine who you're gonna be
But how you deal with these problems and pains that come your way
It's for you that I pray with hope for a brighter day
And so I say, your deliverance is coming

[chorus]

Faith like a child from your first birth
You left it in the dirt on your worst hurt
And I see each tear and every scar
The hands that have held you where you are
And I can see we've strayed so far
A king born under that morning star
As a crown of thorns was placed to earase
Each tear that's touched your face
And his palms and sides were pierced with spears
He hung in love just to draw you near
My girl, out of this whole world
Can't you see this is where we started?

While you were sleeping. (a letter to the church)

Dear Church,

While we were busy making Christianity into a religious country club, fighting with ourselves and making people feel judged...the world changed.

Our lack of a stong response to the evolution question, our lack of love for each other and the rest of the world, and our lack of living what we say we believe has lead to an overwhelming rise in atheism.

The number of people who believe religion and especially Christianity is utterly stupid is and has been growing. And it is our fault. It is time to wake up and smell the hatred. The world views our belief in a "Creator God" as ridiculous as an adult believing in Santa Clause.

My wife and I saw the movie "The invention of lying" it was really funny...at first. Then the movie took a quick and calculated turn. The moral of the movie...God is a lie people made up to make each other feel better. Ricky Gervais (very very funny) wrote and stared in the film. He is a serious atheist who does a good job of making Theism look foolish. He seems to hold the view that evolution is a proven fact and that after you die there is nothingness. That may be depressing but because he is convinced of evolution he is convinced this must be true.

Evolution is not going away. It is time for the church to really address it. Get informed and get the debate going. This country is changing fast and we are too selfish and ignorant to do anything about it. It is time to change!It is time to get involved!

Hoping we are not too late,

your brother

I am not racist!!

Former President Jimmy Carter said in an interview with NBC that "an overwhelming portion" of those who demonstrate against Obama are doing so because the president is a black man.

What!?! "An overwhelming portion."

Unfortunately the race card has been played throughout the Heatlhcare debate and I find it really frustrating.

I tend to think that the "overwhelming majority of people", have a problem with universal healthcare for the same reasons I do.

1. It would be bad for our country! With our debt so high and our economy so low we can not afford it.
2. We are not a socialist country. Capitalism is not evil.(Micheal Moore stop being a hypocrite, give your millions of dollars to the poor and go live in China!)Government run anything does not work well. (Medicaid, Social Security, ect.)
3. The quality of care would plummet. Just look at any country with universal healthcare.
4. It would mean more taxation
5. It is really a disguise for the liberal left to redistribute wealth.

These are quick reasons why it is such a bad idea! The opposition is not racially motivated but patriotically motivated. Some people love this country and understand what it is that has made this country great.

One online definition of racist is this:

The belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.

I am offended that the liberal news media would suggest that anyone who disagrees with policies and agendas that will "fundamentally change this country" (for the worse) is motivated by racist feelings.

The ideas and goals put forth by President Obama are wrong! They are simply terrible for our country! That is a fact! How dare people try and make it about race. I think that is a slap in the face to all people in our country who have had real encounters of racism.

I believe that America has yet to rid itself of all the evils of racism and is something that should be taken very seriously. So when people make things about race that are not about race...I find it really disturbing.

I killed ratatouille!

Just a few minutes ago I killed a rat in my house. Liz and I returned from our honeymoon with news that we had a "mouse". A slight underestimation. My mom and my baby sister cleaned our house for us so we would have a nice home to come back to. They discovered that a creature had chewed through the bag and eaten a good share of our bread.

So one of my first husbandly duties was to buy a mouse trap for our "mouse".

I went to our neighborhood grocery store (not H.E.B.) and looked for traps. I purchased the only thing they had, a small plastic trap. I brought it home and set it out. Our little "mouse" did not like peanut butter so I replaced it with bread....We knew he liked bread....sorry Dr. Atkin your diet is not practised among "mice".

While making the change I discovered these little plastic traps did not hurt. In fact they put out less pressure than your average clothes pin. I do not know why I even put them out. These things would not even hurt the world's smallest mouse. I set the trap off on my little finger several times to demonstrate this. Also I realized that it took more pressure to trigger the trap than the trap actually possessed in clamping down. I was able to reach in and roughly take the bread without setting it off. After proving to myself and my wiffey (wife) that these traps were completely useless and would do no good in catching our "mouse" I baited them and set them in "strategic locations". I guess I at least wanted to piss the "mouse" off with these things... after all I did spend ten bucks for these pieces of crap.

5:30 this morning my wiffey wakes me up. "I think a trap just went off." She says. I go to investigate. I turn on as many lights as possible not wishing to give any pissed off rodents with the notion of bull rushing me and biting my bare feet any advantage.

The first trap is still set. I bend and look in the cabinet... the second trap has gone off but is empty. I am not surprised....stupid waste of ten bucks. I notice a hole in the zip lock bag we put around our tortillas to give it extra protection. Did not work...that sucka ate half the tortillas. Well with no sign of the mouse I decide to relieve my bladder and return to my comfortable bed.

I approach the toilet in our bathroom and I detect movement behind the comode. I back away hoping to go to the kitchen to get a box and somehow...idk how trap this little mouse.

As I am one step away from the door a rat the size of my first cat starts making a break for the door...or maybe he was going to bite me....he did look evil. And I think that crap trap may have scared him while he was enjoying a delicious meal of tortillas. His one pound tail may have set off the trap. Pissed and ready for revenge he is charging me ready willing and able to infect me with his ratsy diseases. (rabies if you want to get all technical) I move with my ninja like speed step fully out of the bathroom and grab the door handle in one graceful fluid motion.

Man that sucker is fast for such a big guy I thought to myself. The race was on. With my hand on the door nob I was pulling it shut as ratatouille was getting closer. He was to the door and trying to round the corner and get in front of it when I went into super ninja speed and pulled the door faster and with a tighter grip. He was caught in between the door and the door jam. Holding the door tightly was keeping him pinned. He was huge. I was trying to crush him by shutting the door completely but he was way too fat. Half his body was sticking out the front of the door. He began to beg for his life knowing that I was in control now. Squealing as loud as some pigs before the slaughter he looked up at me with his big black eyes as if to say....please sir, I will be a good r.o.u.s. (rodent of unusual sizes) if you let me go I promise to leave and never come back.

I did not fall for his little trick. I know a lying rat when i see one. He my friends was a liar. I will not go into the details beyond this point because my baby sister reads this blog.

I will only say that after Liz brought me my hammer there was quite a mess to clean up. I will be taking those crap traps back to Randall's in exchange for some more tortillas and going to a real store for some real traps. I do not want to have to do what I did today on a regular basis.

It had to be done. Sorry animal lovers....Rats are evil.