Howie Luvzus

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AMEN! Finally a church that understands what I want from God! After all, if God lets me down, God doesn’t deserve my money! I wish my gutter guys were like that! Hey, maybe I’ll tithe for three months and if God doesn’t fix my gutters by then I can get the money back and go on a vacation!

My biggest fear is that God might be inclined to give me a three-month challenge. WHOA! Be good for three months and I’ll give you…a week in heaven. Man that would suck.

How about this deal…..God, I’m going to trust you to do the right thing. I’m not going to put you to a test and please don’t put me to a test. I’m cool with you right now and really can’t complain (even though I do).

I went to a Baptism ceremony last weekend. A friend of mine was having his children baptized. It was a private Catholic baptism. Needless to say, I felt a bit awkward but was so glad to be a part of the celebration for my friend. It meant a lot for him to invite me.

The occasion caused me to reflect on my own Baptism and that of my two sons. All three of us were baptized the “right” way—believer’s baptism by immersion.

For me, baptism by immersion demonstrates one’s choice to identify with the mission of Christ. One is baptized into a life of service and suffering. It’s a prophetic symbol whereby the participant rejects the former life and clings to the new life offered by Christ. It’s also an act that binds the participant with Christ and the community of faith. He or she now shares the story of those who have gone before.

This is just a quick reflection. Maybe I’ll add more later. Enjoy the video!

I have to admit that I’m amazed at the Saints 6-2 start. I’m hoping that they can finish the season 12-4. Here’s my prediction:
W–at Pittsburgh
W–Cincinnati
L–at Atlanta
W–San Francisco
W–at Dallas
W–Washington
L–at NY Giants
W–Carolina

I was talking to a new friend today and thought about this book.

It’s about a minister who seeks to overcome his legalistic form of Christianity. See the description below.

You can find Randall Arthur’s Wisdom Hunter at Amazon.com
It’s a really good read.

Book Description
This re-release of Randall Arthur’s bestselling novel presents the hypocrisy of Christian legalism and a man’s search for the only surviving member of his family. The story’s hero, Pastor Jason Faircloth, embarks on a journey that lasts eighteen years and takes him through four countries in a quest to find the granddaughter who is being hidden from him. In a process that mirrors our own spiritual journey, he discovers a rich relationship with God and the peace that finally comes with true faith.

Here’s a definition of haggard—
–adjective
1. having a gaunt, wasted, or exhausted appearance, as from prolonged suffering, exertion, or anxiety; worn: the haggard faces of the tired troops.
2. wild; wild-looking: haggard eyes.

I was thinking about Ted Haggard this morning as I was driving into work and listening to NPR. It’s really terrible. I understand why Haggard felt the need to lie about his homosexual affairs. Those things aren’t looked upon too favorably in the circles in which he leads and runs.

As I pulled up to go sign in at work this morning, I saw a haggard-looking dog. He was nasty. He was a tiny terrier-type dog that was sniffing around where I was trying to park (I work in a REALLY BAD neighborhood). I was shocked to see a little blue collar on the nasty beast. I looked up and saw a pretty haggard-looking woman making a smooching sound and saying, “Come on baby, we goin’ to the store.” She was talking to the dog, not me.

I tried to find something nice to say when I noticed he belonged to her so I awkwardly muttered, “Nice…collar.”

She matter-of-factly said, “Yeah, I thought he needed it ‘cause he’s one ugly m$th#r f@ck*r.”

“Ever give him a bath?”

“When it’s hot, I turn the hose on him, but I ain’t bringin’ that nasty son of a b!tch in my house… I love him though. God love him.”

“Bet he keeps the cats away.” I was trying to say SOMETHING nice about him.

“Naw. He don’t really do much. He don’t even chase rats. Lets them walk all in my back yard.” (Told you it was a bad neighborhood.) He’ll bark every now and then at them, but he won’t chase nothin’. Guess he’s had his a$$ whipped so many times he ain’t got no fight left in him.”

“I know the feeling.”

“God love him though…I love him. I just cover him up on my steps when it’s cold and he don’t move till mornin’. Come on baby, we goin’ to the store”

Haggard and beat down. God love him though.

An article in the New York Times today describes life at John McDonough High School in New Orleans. I drive by the school every morning because I work two blocks from there. There’s always a police car with its lights on somewhere around the building.

Here’s a description of the school:

John McDonogh High School has at least 25 security guards, at the entrance, up the stairs and outside classes. The school has a metal detector, four police officers and four police cruisers on the sidewalk.

In the last six weeks, students at McDonogh, the largest functioning high school here, have assaulted guards, a teacher and a police officer. A guard and a teacher were beaten so badly that they were hospitalized.

The surge hints at a far-reaching phenomenon after Hurricane Katrina, educators here say. Teenagers in the city are living alone or with older siblings or relatives, separated by hundreds of miles from their displaced parents. Dozens of McDonogh students fend largely for themselves, school officials say.

“They are here on their own,” Wanda Daliet, a science teacher, said. “They are raising themselves. And they are angry.”

The principal, Donald Jackson, estimated that up to a fifth of the 775 students live without parents.

When I teach folks about the “Good Samaritan” I often struggle to explain what an oxymoron that phrase is. This morning, I heard a story on NPR about John Rabe, a card-carrying Nazi, who stayed in Nanking while it was attacked by Japanese. Even though his superiors ordered him to return home, he stayed and established a “safety zone” in the city where he offered shelter to terrified Chinese.

Using his Nazi credentials, he and a small group of other foreigners kept the Japanese at bay, at considerable risk to themselves. Some sources say they saved an estimated 250,000 lives.

Rabe wrote a 1,200-page diary that documented the killings and rapes in the city, information that was later used as evidence of war crimes.

You can read more about the story here.

This might be a pretty good example of a person from a detestable group doing the right thing. After all, Nazis were bad weren’t they? I’d probably get into trouble describing Rabe as the Nazi version of Oscar Schindler wouldn’t I?

Even though Jesus didn’t call the man in the story a “good Samaritan” he certainly implied it didn’t he? Imagine, Jesus using a “sinner” as a good example! Luke used that device a lot. It gives hope to guys like me.

My favorite quarterback Drew Brees (not just because he’s a Saint–he was great on my fantasy team two years ago) has asked his mother to stop using his picture in TV commercials for her candidacy for a Texas appeals court position.

Read about it here.

I didn’t know about their riff. I really hope they can work it out. It’s not good to be separated from your family.

It’s terrible when money comes between family members. I hope Drew and his mom are able to reconcile. It doesn’t look good, but now that the problem is more public, maybe a close friend can help them.

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