Got gas?

I remember road trips with my family, they were fun. One memory is of my parents who would often get very excited to travel into SC to buy cheap gas: 80 cents/gallon. By the time I had my first car I was paying approximately 1.50/gal for gas. Of course, those older than me can remember gas even cheaper than that, but oh how we miss the good old days.

A news article today says gas prices may reach $4 this summer, "Retail gasoline prices pulled back slightly from record levels Tuesday and gave some consumers a small break, but a new government forecast said gas could reach as high as $4 a gallon during the summer driving season."

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported this month that, "monthly average pump prices will peak near $3.60 a gallon in June, but could rise as high as $4 a gallon at times." Most experts, including the government are predicting that the higher prices will have an impact on demand during the peak time of the summer...well duh!

Diesel fuel is also going up in price. Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. says "we'll set a new record this week" for diesel prices. This is alarming, because diesel fuel transports most of our food. So we ought to expect food prices to increase, yet again this year.

If these increases continue, eventually America (and other countries) are going to have to make more drastic changes in our oil consumption. Recently there's been many more hybrid cars developed and marketed in the US. The Toyota Prius is the #1 hybrid right now, but it still doesn't get that much better gas millage than my two door Saturn coupe. However, this is balanced out by our rarely driven gas hog, Stella (right).

Something is going to have to be done soon. If gas prices continue to climb, more and more lower income citizens won't be able to afford a car. This will effectively drive a larger stake between the upper and lower classes.

I look forward to a time when oil isn't our best and primary source of transportation energy. But for now, we must simply learn to be more efficient with what we have and make Al Gore proud.

"Walk a mile in their shoes"

For some this is easier said than done. Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare skin disease which causes rapid blistering of the skin at varying degrees of severity. More mild forms of the disease cause painful blisters if an area of skin receives too much friction. Other, more severe, forms may cause severing scarring, or even the skin to fall off an affected area. The more severe form of the disease is at times fatal to infants.

Aside from painful, if EB is anything it is heartbreaking. A mother must resist cuddling her child for fear of causing blistering. A toddler's feet are wrapped in bandages for walking too many steps at the zoo. A girl crawls--hands and knees--to the bathroom because walking hurts to much.

So far no cure for the debilitating disease has been found. However, it is encouraging to see awareness being raised by those in visible positions.

Courteney Cox and her husband David Arquette have pledged to raise 1 million dollars in just two weeks to support EB research. "EB is very personal to me so I'm happy to be part of this $1 million challenge," she said. Cox is reaching out to other fellow celebrities such as Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, Jennifer Aniston, and Kate Beckinsale to garner support. Because the disease is rare, awareness is low as is funding for research. The former Friends co-star also said, "now is such an important time to put a spotlight on EB and ensure that research can continue at a fast pace."

It is encouraging and reassuring to see this rare disease getting some time in the spotlight. Knowing five people living with EB, I have personally witnessed the heartbreak that it can cause. This is something that can't be researched too fast.

So the next time you hear someone complain using the adage, "try walking a mile in my shoes," think of those EB patients out there. To "walk a mile" in the shoes of one of them would mean to give up the ability to walk for the next several days or possibly worse.

Christ's many names

In my younger years I grew up in First Baptist Church, Asheville (see left). And along my life's journey I've run across many other first baptist churches. I've even seen some second baptist churches and the occasional Third Baptist Church such as this one in St. Louis. In high school I attended a Methodist church named Covenant Community United Methodist, which I always thought was a "neato" name considering its Old Testament roots. I've also attended West Asheville Baptist (can you guess where this one is located?), and I currently serve at University Baptist of Chapel Hill (right).

There's something about Baptists that make us want to give our churches names that tell where we're located. Now, of course, this isn't a universal fact as we shall see. We Baptists, and many other denominations have come up with some pretty interesting church names. Here are a few that I've run across, or recently found.

A friend of mine worked at BBQ Baptist Church in rural North Carolina. The church has no a website.

The Fire Baptized Holiness Church is actually a small denomination headed out of Greenville, SC. My favorite part is the "fire baptized"!

It puzzles me, but there are a number of churches that named themselves after the biblical city, Corinth: Corinth Freewill Baptist Church of Dunn, NC; Corinth Reformed United Church or Christ of Hickory, NC; Corinth Baptist Church of Seneca, SC; Corinth Reformed Church; Corinth Christian Church; and Corinth Church of Christ.

This puzzles me, because what I have learned about the 1st century church of Corinth is not really something I would want my church to emulate. From what we can tell from historical study and from reading into the problems addressed in First & Second Corinthians is that the church was very troubled. They were plagued with problems during worship and communion, pride within many members, Gnostic influences, immoral members here and there, rowdy women, and plenty of other problems. Many parts of Paul's letters to the Corinthians were disciplinary and frustrated.

Not that I think these churches' names are bad names, but I don't understand why they would name themselves after such a troubled church. Of course, on the other hand perhaps Corinth reflects our modern congregations a little to well at times...?

Here are some more interesting church names:

Yoe, Christ UMC of Yoe, PA
Coolville United Methodist Church of Coolville, OH
Grooverville United Methodist Church of Boston, GA
North Pole Church of God of Fairbanks, AK
Penguin Baptist of Penguin, Tas., Aust.
Arctic Circle Baptist Church of Fort Yukon, AK
Snow United Methodist Church of Lowell, MI
Frostproof United Methodist Church of Frostproof, FL
Thawville United Methodist Church of Thawville, IL
Caliente Community United Methodist Church of Caliente, NV
Ignited Word of Las Vegas, NV
Church on Fire of Amory, MS
Franklin Furnace United Methodist Church of Western Ohio
Cowboy Church on Fire or Iraan, TX
Pigeon Run United Methodist Church of Massillon, OH
Runs Baptist Church of Aiken, SC
Brown Swamp United Methodist Church of Conway, SC
Airport Freeway Church of Christ of Euless, TX
Devils Lake United Methodist Church of Devils Lake, ND
Assumption United Methodist Church of Assumption, IL
Looney's Creek United Methodist Church of Whitwell, TN
Horseheads United Methodist Church of Horseheads, NM
El Camino Christian Church of Sunnyvale, CA
North Chevy Chase Christian Church of Chevy Chase, MD

...and the list goes on and on and on.

Needless to say, we Christians can get pretty creative, boring, silly, and everything in between when it comes to naming our churches. But the good news is there is so much diversity within the Body of Christ that we are able to have so many different names. The body of Christ is and should be very diverse, because Christ came and died for all people; and people are different. That's just the way it is.

"For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ."
1 Corinthians 12:12

What's in a name?

In one sense there's not much interesting to be said about names, I mean everyone has one, or two or five. But in another sense names tell us about a person. For instance, my name is Nathan. 'Nathan' goes back to the Old Testament when the prophet Nathan delivers a message to king David. We know his message better as the Davidic Covenant. But 'Nathan' also has a meaning. The root word natan (נתן) means "to give." Thus my name essentially means, gift.

For me personally, or should I say my parents, this name has some irony, because as I understand it I was an unplanned pregnancy. Yet instead of complaining of the burden that another child might cause them, my parents decided to see my life as a gift. However, if they really thought I was a gift from God they would have added the Hebrew word El to my name calling me 'Nathaniel' (meaning "gift from God").

So in one way, knowing the meaning of my name tells others a small tidbit about me. Now it doesn't explain my personality, or profession, or my talents to anyone, but it does say something. There was a time when names served as a means to define someone or something. For instance the ancient Egyptian gods held names which defined their particular specialty. To know a god's name was to know that god's role in the realm of god-ness.

For example, Horus the Egyptian sun god stood each day high above the earth providing light and heat. The name Horus means "high above" or "the one who is high above." Many names back in Egypt had this kind of connection between role and meaning.

The only character in the Bible who had the gumption to ask God , straight up, "What is your name?" was Moses (Ex. 3:13). Most of our English translations render God's answer as something like, "I am who I am." The funny thing is that God didn't really answer Moses straight up...hmmm.

It may be that Moses didn't wish to return to Egypt and lead a revolt against the super power Egypt. He was scared. So he took a moment to ask this God for a name. And by asking for a name Moses was asking, "just who are you?" Moses wanted to know God's specialty, which would be revealed in God's name. The problem with trying to define God is...you can't. By defining God we would also be confining God. And we all know you can't put God in a box.

So God was saying to Moses, "I can't just give you one name, because one name doesn't cut it." God was unable to adequately describe himself using any of our primitive languages. So he did the next best (or perhaps better) thing. He said, "I am who I am."

Now the problem with just leaving it like that in English is "I am who I am" just doesn't say it either. And here is why. Biblical Hebrew does not have a verb for "to be." To say, "God is good" in Hebrew would read "God good." Hebrew does have a verb haya (hyh), which is similar to the verb "to be." However, haya conveys the state of being, or how things are, or the way things are set up. It would be used to say, "It came to pass that the nation of Israel was divided into two kingdoms." It is not used to say God is good. The KJV translates this verb, "and it came to pass."

This is the verb that most translations of the Bible render as "I am" when God answers Moses. It sounds to me that God is saying much more than, "I am," or simply "I exist." It sounds like God is saying, "I am how it is," or "I am the way things are," or for all the KJVers out there "I am the one who has come to pass." God used a powerful, large, all-encompassing verb to describe himself, thus telling Moses his specialty: everything. God is the one who can do it all, and the one who did it all. He can be anything and has every specialty needed for Godhood.

For some reason, this helps me to see God as bigger than I normally understand him. What does the state of the world look like? Answer, God. He is the being on which the rest of us base our existence.

That is what's in a name.

New Religion in the Old South

Don Matthews wrote a book titled, Religion in the Old South in which he describes the plight of African American Christians in the 19th century. Many whites were preaching sermons that endorsed the institution of slavery; however, the sermons were generally rejected. Evangelism was emphasized. The aspect of community building, as well as the opportunity for leadership in the church were appealing to African Americans. The book as a whole "offers a full, sympathetic treatment of evangelical Protestantism in the Old South," said one reviewer.

It is interesting to look at the ways in which religion has changed over the years. We might do well to look at how things are now when concerning Religion in the New South. Especially during the month of March, religion in the modern day south can be adequately described with four letters: N-C-A-A.

Being an alumni of the esteemed UNC-Chapel Hill, I fully understand the psychosis that it is to place basketball above all other priorities. When Matt Doherty was the coach of the Tar Heels it was common place to see t-shirts that read "Doherty's Disciples." Now under coach Roy Williams the shirts read, "In Roy we trust." I wouldn't be surprised to see a bumper sticker that reads, "Roy is my co-pilot."

It's enough that we treat our student athletes like demi-Gods providing them with note-takers, personal tutors, the occasional grade adjustment, fancy cars and every other material possession needed to survive the treacherous waters of college. But why must we the people become such raging fanatics (obviously where the term "fan" is derived) who would gladly pay awful amounts of money just to get next year's high-prospect recruit?

A Duke-Carolina basketball ticket will literally sell for over one thousand dollars on Ebay. This ticket will provide a person with a tiny, uncomfortable seat for two hours to watch two rival teams from the stuffy, hot, nose bleed section of the Dean Smith Center. People spend thousands just for a ticket to the Final Four for the chance to say one thing: "I was at that game." I, personally, have had the opportunity to attend three Duke-Carolina games. I traveled with the band to the Sweet-16/Elite-8 and to the Final Four in 2005 to watch the Tar Heels bring home the championship. I've been there, and I've done that.

Take it from someone who has been to it all...there is more to life! What if we began wearing t-shirts that actually read, "Jesus' Disciples"? What if we meant it when we recited, "In God we trust"? Imagine the impact it would make if Christians gave as much money to the poor and hungry as they did to the box office? What if we told others about our favorite savior instead of our favorite player or team? What if we devoted as much energy to reading and knowing the Bible as we do learning game stats and tidbits of basketball history?

Lord, forgive our "basketballatry."

Too many times have I been to a football or basketball game that actually felt like a worship service. We sing hymns with dull faces, but the school fight song after a big score is sung with utmost excitement.

Working at a church in Chapel Hill, in staff meeting, we actually have to plan our events, worship, Bible studies around the campus athletic schedule. This is not because the town will be a mess and over run with people (though it certainly will be). This is because we would have to compete for the attention of our own members. At least during the month of March, this truly is our Religion in the New South.

I'm not saying don't watch basketball, that would just be silly. If the Tar Heels make it to the Final Four I will surely be watching. I would say that as Christians we would do well to check our priorities. If we can determine what makes us such big fans of sports, perhaps we can unlock that part of our hearts that might make us equally or larger fans of the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm not saying we need to become over zealous super-Christians either, but might we simply decide to whom are we truly devoted?

Of course, to any sports fan I will sound like a crack-pot Bible thumper. The Christian sports fan would respond, "when it comes down to it, of course my faith is more important." But the truth is, it "comes down to it" every single day when our prayer life lulls, or our Bible collects more dust that in does finger prints. It comes down to it when Jesus is calling us to serve him, and we respectfully ask him to wait until half-time.

A needed message

Hannah Whitall Smith (1832-1911), a Philadelphian Quaker, wrote an intriguing little book called, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. Richard Foster says about the book, it "continues to inspire men and women to a more joyful life with Christ." I can think of a few other contemporary books that are written to inspire people to a joyful Christian life; however, there is something qualitatively different between Smith and other modern writers such as those writing from a certain mega-church in Texas.

Part of the focus of Smith's book, from the excerpts I have read, is to find the joy that is to be had through acts of service. And she makes several good points as to how that is done.

One Christian recounted the struggle that it is to continue daily service. At first it was a joy to serve, and zeal was abundant; but eventually the excitement faded, and service became work and burdensome. "Have you never gone to work as a slave to his daily task," Smith writes, "but rebounding like an Indian-rubber ball back into your real interests and pleaseures the moment your work was over?"

We tend to love the idea of Christian service, at least in the abstract. But I have found that when the rubber meets the road reality strikes, and all of the sudden service feels like work. Smith points out that when it comes to serving others we too quickly focus on the hardship we might be enduring, but when it comes to our own interests we have all the zeal needed to conquer any obstacle. What's wrong with that?

In the movie The Great Debaters, there is a phrase taught to a Christian boy by his father: "We do what we have to do so that we can do what we want to do." This is good advice when teaching a child to do his or her homework. However, for the Christian servant this can be detrimental. If Christian service is something that we must do in order to do what we want to do, then we've got it all wrong!

Service is not done out of obligation.

These are hard words, but I cannot put them any better than Hannah Whitall Smith put them herself. "I am ashamed to think that any Christian should ever put on a long face and shed tears over doing a thing for Christ which a worldly person would be only too glad to do for money. What we need in the Christian life is to get believers to want to do God's will as much as other people want to do their own will."

If acts of service can become consistently what we wish to do, then we will have discovered what it is so "serve one another in love." When we can say to God, as Jesus did, "not my will but thine," only then will we recover the joy of Christian service.

"Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--just as the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
-Matthew 20:26-28

Born in the wrong generation

It is impossible to know me without knowing my wife. Heather and I were married on a beautiful Saturday afternoon May, 20th 2006. Since then, we have lived in Chapel Hill while she attends pharmacy school at Carolina and I seminary at Campbell. Ironically, Heather did her undergrad at Campbell and I at Carolina.

Heather is a smart cookie. (Did somebody say cookies!!!) As far as I can tell she can do just about anything she puts her mind to. Anything, that is, that doesn't require a computer. In our technologically advanced generation with computers in every dorm room, college professors often integrate class requirements with the internet. The problem is, Heather doesn't play nice with computers. Whether assignments are sent via email or posted on Black Board, Heather does not like the over dependence on technology that our schools have developed. In short, she hates it.

I cannot talk about my wife without mentioning her car. She rides around in a 1966, tan, 8-cylinder with a 283 engine, Chevy, Malibu. We both love that car. Some say I married her so I could claim ownership of it. It's just not too often one sees a cute 22 year old girl cruis'n down the road in something like that.

I also can't talk about her without mentioning the Eagles. My generation has some limited knowledge of this aged, legnedary, country/rock band from the 70s, 80s and 90s. If the Malibu had a CD player, instead of its AM radio, the only thing it would ever play would be the Eagles: Heather's favorite band. She knows their lyrics better than half the people who grew up in the 70s. And that's fine by me.

I say all this to make one simple point. It occurred to me not too long ago that perhaps my wife was born in the wrong generation. My parents are "baby boomers," and Wikipedia says we are "generation Y." But something tells me that she should have been one of those "generation Xers" (born in 60s & 70s). It makes sense: she doesn't do well with computers, she drives a '66 Malibu, and loves the Eagles.

Eerie as it may be, I am grateful to God that he has allowed her to be a part of my life for over seven years, even if she wasn't born on time.