Ten Reasons

The Men's Advance is finally about to begin!  My fellow intern, Cody Winton, and I have worked hard to help bring this event about.  One of our projects this year was to really push and promote marketing and publicity for the conference.  In order to achieve this goal, Cody and I used several different social media sites to get news about the Men's Advance out to as many people as we could.

Another method Cody and I experimented with was creating a list of 10 reasons why fathers and sons should attend the 2013 Men's Advance.  These ten reasons list some of the unique aspects about this year's conference.  So, without further ado, here are the 10 reasons to come to the 2013 Men's Advance:

Reason #10 - Be inspired by Award Winning Musician, Nathan Clark George

"It is Nathan’s desire to encourage a thoughtful and meaningful approach to worship and the Scriptures in song. He understands the delicate balance of being fun and meaningful – of being powerful but not ear-splittingly loud – of being rooted in history but immediately understandable." Check out his site to learn more about his musical work and receive free sheet music and audio tracks! 

Reason #9 - Outstanding Book table

Over 100 authors works will be put forward for your considerations, enlightenment, and encouragement - don't miss this great opportunity!

Reason #8 - Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs

At this year's Men's Advance, you will have several opportunities to join with other fathers and sons in singing the great hymns and psalms of the faith.

Reason #7 - A Family Event

As always, we encourage the men and sons to attend the Advance - but don't stop there. Bring the whole family! Saturday afternoon, January 23, ladies will have the opportunity to be encouraged by Stacy McDonald, as she shares on purposefully impacting your children for Christ. Also don't miss the family dinner on Saturday night, followed by Nathan Clark George, in concert!

Reason #6 - Father and Son Panel Discussion

At the 2013 Men's Advance, there will be a unique opportunity to interact with a speaker panel. Dr. Serven will have 12 questions to be answered at a special speaker panel session of fathers and sons at the end of the Men's Advance.

Reason #5 - Strategic Friendship

Now is the time to initiate relationships that could last a life time. The opportunity is set before you in a weekend of manly fellowship - use this time to grow closer as father and son, but also meet brothers in Christ who are on the same road as you are.

Reason #4 - Hear Rev. Kevin Swanson

Don't miss this great opportunity to hear Rev. Kevin Swanson teach about intentional discipleship.  This is a subject which Rev. Swanson has studied for many years and sought to implement in his own church and family.  As a pastor, he will be able to encourage and instruct fellow pastors and church leaders on practical ways to disciple the next generation of church leaders.  As a father of five children, he will be able to speak from personal experience about how a godly father disciples and mentors his children.  Don't miss this opportunity to hear Rev. Kevin Swanson in a small conference setting!

Reason #3 - Hear Dr. Marcus Serven

Dr. Marcus Serven has been serving as a Presbyterian Minister since 1980 and is the father of 9 children, four of whom are now married. He has spoken at every Men's Advance since it's beginning in 2007 and he is passionate about the subject of discipleship. Come here both of his talks: "Jesus and His Men" and Dicsipleship at Home". You won't want to miss this!

Reason #2 - Q&A Time

Another great reason to be excited about this year's Men's Advance is the Question & Answer time! At the end of the conference, fathers and sons will be able to ask questions of both Rev. Swanson and Dr. Serven. Don't miss this opportunity to dig deeper into the vitally important question of how we are to be intentional in our discipleship of our families!

Reason #1 - The Glory of God

It is our desire that the Men's Advance bring glory to our great God and that it would be used by Him to equip men to advance His kingdom.

 

 

I'm looking forward to attending this great conference!  Please join me in praying that God would use this special event to encourage and instruct fathers and sons.  What a privilege it would be if God were to use this conference to help fulfill Malachi 4:6 to,

"...restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse." 

Men's Advance 2013; Intentional Discipleship 

Family Outing

Last Saturday my family went on a outing to look at houses and enjoy the sunshine. As we were driving around we visited the Castlewood Canyon State park. There was a old homestead still standing from 1898 when it was built by a family that had immigrated from Ireland. The Lucas family had eight children and owned 160 acres, they were some of the area's first settlers. The house is now no more than a few concrete walls and a doorway, yet is a neat opportunity to understand more about the lives of those who lived before us.
As usual we brought a camera and took a few pictures, here are the best.

Exploring the Ruins!

Unexpected Tragedy

Losing a pet can be the most tragic event in a child's life.  In fact, for many children, it is their first acquaintance to the harsh reality of death.  Sometimes, it is the first instance where they begin to experience deep heartache and full-fledged grief; an introduction to the world of adulthood.

When a child loses their beloved pet, they bid farewell to a close friend, a friend they were not prepared to part ways with.  So it is natural that the experience can be an incredibly difficult one for them to handle.  Inevitably, with tearful eyes, the little child asks the question, "Why did God take my pet?"  And it is up to the parents to take this sorrowful moment and turn it into a time of consolation and gentle instruction.

Just three days ago, the family that I'm living with during my pastoral internship, experienced the tragic loss of their little dog, Ritter.  This half Chihuahua-half terrier resident of the house had been a part of the family for over 11 years.  His habits and routines were well-established by the time I arrived in September 2012, and while I can't say he and I struck up an instant friendship, by the time 2013 rolled in, Ritter and I
were good friends. 

One endearing fact about this little dog is that he was always begging to receive tummy rubs.  No matter what I was doing, be it studying, washing laundry, typing on my laptop, or reading, Ritter would always come by and roll over at my feet, his eyes imploring me to bring him a few precious moments of pleasure.

Despite his diminutive size, Ritter acted like a true guard dog.  Whenever a car would pull up into the driveway, Ritter was the first to announce the visitor's arrival by his peculiar bark.  As soon as the door was opened, he would dash out, making sure the intruder meant no harm.  When all was confirmed to be beyond suspicion, he would calmly trot back into the house, confident that his borders were secure.

These are just a few of the habits which endeared little Ritter to me.  And so, when my host family tearfully informed me of his sudden death, I was very grieved.  And it was shortly after this event, as I was searching for words to comfort the girls in the family, that I began to ask the question, "What can I learn about death and tragedy from this experience?"  So here are some of the answers I came up with:

1) How God brings us joy throughout our lives in small ways.  I didn't realize how much I liked having Ritter around until he was gone.  God used this little creature to bring my host family and I many small joys each day.  And when we lost those joys, it was a reminder to thank God for the blessings He had given us, if only for a short season.

2) How easily our world is shattered by reminders of our mortality.  In the average happy homeschooling Christian family, its easy to forget how fragile and temporary our life is on Earth.  Losing Ritter reminded all of us in the house that death is still very real and unavoidable.  "It is appointed for men to die once, and after this judgment." (Heb. 9:27).  I realized that we must be reminded from time to time that we, as believers, are sojourners on this Earth.  We are "seeking a better country, that is, a heavenly one." (Heb. 11:16a).  While we rejoice in the joys and pleasures which God gives us in this life, we must not forget that sin and death are still very real consequences in this world.

3)  How incomparable Christ's constant grace and love is in a world full of change and fading glory.  No matter how often our little world is rocked by unexpected sorrow and tragedy, we can take great comfort that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever." (Heb. 13:8)  Greater is He who is in us, than he who is in the world.  Our Lord has conquered death, and so we need not be alarmed or overly distressed by the reminder that even the Christian must someday return to the dust.  Death no longer is the stronger, and we await eagerly the day when we will be raised up to forever inhabit a world where righteousness dwells, and death is banished, never to return.

4)  A chance to practice godly sorrow and grieving now so that when an even greater tragedy strikes, we will be better prepared to handle it.  In the big scheme of things, losing a pet is not a big tragedy.  At the very least, it is not as severe as losing a parent, sibling, or child.  Someday, though I hate to think about it, I will have to bid farewell to those whom I dearly love.  But God gives us small tragedies to develop a godly response to the greater tragedies in life.  Hopefully, I will learn now practices and a mindset which will be much needed when I lose a loved one.

Lastly, I think that God takes away our little pets in order that we may learn to enjoy the joys He gives us to the fullest, while we still have them.  Ecclesiastes 5:18 says,

"Here is what I have seen to be good and fitting: to eat, to drink and enjoy oneself in all one’s labor in which he toils under the sun during the few years of his life which God has given him; for this is his reward."

   Throughout our lives, we receive good gifts from our loving heavenly Father (Matt. 7:11).  Unexpected tragedies force us to learn to appreciate and thank Him daily for the gifts He gives us.  These same tragedies also cause us to strive for greater dependence on God, finding all our comfort and solace in Him.  At the end of the day, we should try to use the opportunities presented by unexpected tragedy to imitate Job, who lost everything and still could say with all his heart:
  

"The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away.  

Blessed be the name of the Lord." 

Someday, when I have my own family of little boys and girls (Lord willing), and they lose a dear pet friend, I hope to use the unique opportunity to pick them up, hold them in my arms, and tell them that, hard as it may be to say goodbye, this is what God knows is best and that someday, just as their daddy is wiping away the tears from their eyes, their Heavenly Father will wipe away every tear from their eyes and welcome them into His Kingdom, "where there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." (Rev. 21:4).  

Perhaps, this teaching moment will transform the unexpected tragedy into a blessing in disguise.

Soli Deo Gloria

Good & Evil in the LOTR

Here is an article which was written by Dr. Keith Mathison, one of the professors at Reformation Bible College and Associate Editor of Tabletalk Magazine.

I really enjoyed it, and I hope you all will as well.  This article brings out some of the best aspects of the Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's writings about Middle-Earth.  In fact, he mentions most of the positive elements found in the LOTR that I really like!  I really enjoy reading the books and watching the films which very powerfully illustrate the battle between good and evil.  And the best part of all, is that at the end, evil is utterly vanquished and good triumphs!  That is a fact which gives me hope for our own battles against evil. 

So, without further ado, here is Dr. Keith Mathison... 

Good and Evil in The Lord of the Rings

By Dr. Keith Mathison

 There is a scene near the end of The Lord of the Rings that has brought tears to the eyes of many readers. The hobbit’s Sam and Frodo have been rescued from certain death after completing their quest. When Sam awakes, he sees someone he never expected to see again and exclaims: “Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue?”
 

Sam is not a poet, but the words he uses to describe his surprise at finding his friend alive capture very movingly the longing all of us feel to see death and evil overcome. The conflict between good and evil is at the heart of all great stories, and the best ones offer thoughtful insights into this conflict. Is it possible that we might be able to learn something about good and evil from a fantasy story such as The Lord of the Rings? It is quite possible indeed.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings over a twelve-year period between 1937 and 1949, which means he wrote it while witnessing the evil unleashed on mankind by the Second World War. The “Lord” in the title refers to Sauron, a fallen spiritual being (much like an archangel) who seeks to conquer Middle-earth (Tolkien’s term for the world inhabited by men). Sauron had created a ring that he used as a weapon to dominate the wills of free creatures. The ring was lost for many thousands of years, but several decades before the beginning of our story, it was found by the hobbit Bilbo Baggins. If Sauron regains it, nothing will be able to stop him, and Sauron will stop at nothing to find it. The Lord of the Rings tells the story of Bilbo’s nephew, Frodo Baggins, who, along with eight companions, embarks on a long and dangerous quest to destroy the ring and, along with it, Sauron himself.

One of the most amazing aspects of Tolkien’s story is the depth of context he provides. The bulk of the story told in The Lord of the Rings occurs over a period of one year. But that single year is preceded by thousands upon thousands of years of history, which Tolkien fleshed out, often in painstaking detail. Many of the events that occurred in these earlier ages are recounted in Tolkien’s Silmarillion and his Unfinished Tales. Over the course of many decades, Tolkien created entire languages, genealogies, and cultural histories of the peoples and races that inhabit his subcreation. Knowing the background is not absolutely essential for enjoying The Lord of the Rings, but it does help us to grasp some of the deeper nuances of his story.
Tolkien’s Roman Catholic faith informed his understanding of the nature of evil. He rejects two opposite extremes in his story. He rejects the idea that evil is an illusion, as well as the Manichaean idea that evil is equally as ultimate as good. Evil, in Tolkien’s story, is the absence of good. He regularly expresses his understanding of evil by using the concept of “shadow” to describe it. Scott Davison explains the significance: “Evil is like the darkness of a shadow: light is necessary for shadows to exist, but shadows are not necessary for light to exist.” The parasitic nature of evil means that it is ultimately self-destructive because when it destroys the good it hates, it destroys the very thing it requires for existence.

Evil is also not eternal. As the elf Elrond says in the story: “Nothing is evil in the beginning. Even Sauron was not so.” Evil came about as the result of a series of “falls” in Tolkien’s legends: the Lucifer-like fall of Melkor (one of the Ainur — the most powerful angelic beings in Tolkien’s legends), the fall of the elves, and the fall of men.

But if evil is not eternal, how does it come to exist at all? In Tolkien’s legends, evil existed only potentially until a desire for power originated in the heart of Melkor, whose fall is analogous to Satan’s. Melkor’s “lieutenant,” Sauron, is similarly obsessed with power. As Tolkien explains in one of his letters: “Sauron desired to be a God-King, and was held to be this by his servants; if he had been victorious he would have demanded divine honour from all rational creatures and absolute temporal power over the whole world.” The character of Sauron may have been informed by Paul’s description of the “man of lawlessness” who exalts himself and desires to be worshiped as God (2 Thess. 2:3).

The symbol of power in Tolkien’s story is the One Ring. Sauron created the ring, and into it he poured much of his being, power, and will. The ring enables the wearer to enslave the minds of others, but when anyone other than Sauron uses the ring, it gradually enslaves and destroys that person. It is clear that Tolkien saw the lust for power as a dangerous temptation. He writes in one letter: “The most improper job of any man, even saints (who at any rate were at least unwilling to take it on), is bossing other men. Not one in a million is fit for it, and least of all those who seek the opportunity.”

How, then, is evil to be fought? If there is any principle that is clear in the writings of Tolkien, it is that we cannot fight evil with evil. We cannot use the ring as a weapon. Tolkien said, “You can’t fight the Enemy with his own Ring without turning into an Enemy.” Even peering into the ways of the enemy is dangerous. Elrond explains, “It is perilous to study too deeply the arts of the Enemy, for good or for ill.” The fall of the wizard Saruman illustrates this danger. He studied the arts of Sauron for many years and gradually developed his own evil lust for power, a lust that led to his fall.

Although evil cannot be completely eradicated in the present age, we can and must combat it whenever and wherever we are. As Gandalf tells Frodo: “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” In Tolkien’s story, the primary means of overcoming evil is through love. This love manifests itself in many ways, but in The Lord of the Rings, the most important ways in which it manifests itself are through the trust and self-sacrifice involved in friendship and through acts of kindness, mercy, and pity. The friendship between Sam and Frodo is at the heart of the story. But the friendship that develops between all of the nine companions in the fellowship is equally important. Ralph Wood is surely correct when he says, “Their friendship is the one thing that unites them at the beginning, sustains them throughout their long ordeal, and enables the success of their Quest at the end.”

The love of each person in the fellowship for the others is demonstrated in the sacrifices the members of the fellowship make for one another. Gandalf sacrifices himself for the others in Moria. Boromir is killed in an effort to save the hobbits Merry and Pippin. Aragorn and his army intend to sacrifice themselves at the black gate of Mordor to help Sam and Frodo achieve their goal. Ultimately, Frodo sacrifices himself for the fellowship and for all of Middle-earth. As he explains to Sam: “I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them.” As Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

The fellowship also receives acts of love and friendship, receiving unexpected help from others at every step of their quest. From Farmer Maggot and Mr. Butterbur to Treebeard and Ghan-buri-Ghan, the biblical principle of hospitality, kind treatment of strangers, and love for sojourners is repeatedly demonstrated (Lev. 19:34; Deut. 10:19). In the end, the combination of many small and seemingly inconsequential choices for good proves to have enormous consequences. An act of love and pity shown to the creature Gollum by Bilbo ends up determining the fate of Middle-earth.

At one point in the Lord of the Rings, Sam talks to Frodo about their trials. He tells Frodo that he used to think the people in the old stories went out looking for adventure, “but that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered.” In the tales that mattered, people had the chance to turn back, but they pressed on even when they weren’t sure how the story would end. Then Sam says, “I wonder what sort of tale we’ve fallen into?”

As Christians, we know what sort of tale we are in, and it is the tale that really matters because it is true. It is the story of redemption by the ultimate act of love and self-sacrifice, the death of Jesus Christ for His people. Our tale is not a fantasy. Our tale is found in the Bible. It, too, involves an ancient battle between good and evil, but there is no doubt about the outcome of our story. Satan will be destroyed. Good will triumph. The King will return, and, in a manner of speaking, everything sad will come untrue.

A Dangerous Sham

Here is a fantastic article written by Joel McDurmon, which I highly recommend to you all.  I think you will find his clear, logical, and simple explanation of what is really going on to be very insightful and helpful!

~The Dangerous Farce of Gun Buyback Programs~

By Joel McDurmon

Despite local police departments hailing themselves with “success” and touting the acquisition of allegedly dangerous weapons, the various “gun buyback” programs of which you hear (and will likely hear of more) are a total joke. Worse yet, they’re actually dangerous for the public. Here’s why.

Most average citizens are not stupid. Neither are most criminals. In comparison, considering the level of street wisdom and savvy required to remain a successful criminal, it may very well be the case that the average successful criminal is a bit cleverer than the average decent citizen.

The problem with most criminals, at any rate, is not stupidity but immorality. Criminals prefer to use their wit and experience to prey upon the weaknesses and ignorance of decent people. But it isn’t just criminals who do this. It is the heart of all immorality: the advance of selfish ambition to the hurt or damage of other persons and property.

The immediate motive in most thefts and robberies is economic gain. A thief or robber is willing to risk potential punishment in exchange for potential material gain. There are many factors in such a calculation, of course, and not all criminals consider all the factors, but this is the basic outline. This is self-interest without basic morals.

Now, the inherent self-interested economic savvy of the average person is the main reason gun buyback programs are a total joke. Most of these programs present an economic loss to the gun owner. The highest offer I’ve seen yet was $250 for certain guns in Trenton, NJ. The recent program in Seattle (hilariously hijacked by private gun dealers a block down the road) offered up to $100 for handguns and rifles, and $200 for “assault rifles”—and this was only in the form of gift cards, not cash. Now what person who has any economic sense whatsoever would hand over a $600 Glock for a $100 gift card? Who would trade a $1200 Bushmaster for $200?

And if an average citizen wouldn’t do this, what criminal do you think would trade in his Glock or Uzi for such a pittance, especially with the added risk of being identified and arrested on the spot?

There are only a handful of explanations, then, for why someone would make such an exchange:

1)      Ignorance of the value of their gun

2)      Desperation for some quick cash, or

3)      Ideological motivation trumping economic sense

In cases 1) and 2), the police are merely preying upon the weaknesses or ignorance of the seller (and you thought only criminals did that!). Case 3) is extremely unlikely because people who are so ideologically driven that they would take a significant economic loss to advance the gun cause probably don’t own firearms to begin with. If there are any such people exchanging at these events, they have to be very few.

The number of instances of 1) and 2) are also very likely few. Most people who own decent and pricey firearms are aware of what they have. They are unlikely to be ripped off in selling a piece, and if they were desperate enough for cash to sell one, they would know to go to a pawn shop or gun shop (where they probably bought the thing to begin with) and get the best price they could.

This means, however, that the vast majority of the transactions taking place at these events are probably very close to rational exchanges if not purely so. Average, law abiding citizens are selling legally-owned guns to cops for $100 or $200 and not taking an economic loss in the process.

This leaves us asking, then, what types of guns are most likely being sold in these buyback events. Well, what types of guns are worth less than a $100 to most average gun owners? As you can probably imagine, these guns are junk, trash, defunct, worn out, or cheap, old, hand-me-downs. With few exceptions, you can bet the allegedly dangerous weapons being taken off the street are actually dusty junk being removed from people’s closets.

I’d take $100 for that, and probably make my wife happy in the process.

Indeed, one report bears out the truth of this analysis. Seattle KOMO channel 4 reported, “Most of the weapons appear to be older rifles and handguns.”

And consider this: how many of the people who decluttered their closets of junk guns actually sold the cops every single gun they own?

Consider “David,” who played the part of the sacrificial citizen, gladly handing over his dangerous weapons to increase public safety. He told the Seattle media of his guns, “I don’t want them to ever end up in a bad place.”

And yet in the same breath the guy confessed, “I’ve got a lot of guns.” Think he turned them all in that day? Ha! The report made clear he traded in only “two old rifles” among “two dozen firearms” that he still owns.
So both economic sense and the empirical data tell us that 1) most of the guns collected were cheap junk, 2) most of the guns were not “on the streets” (and probably never would be) but in people’s closets, 3) at least some people traded in only some of their weapons (the cheap, junky ones) but still remain armed as we speak.

Considering further that in some cases, IDs were being checked, and yet there was not a single mention of any arrest being made at these events, we can safely assume that no violent criminals disarmed themselves at these events.

What can we learn from these facts?

Gun buyback programs can be better understood as junk purchasing programs. They’re an economic loss for the municipality, but with statist-friendly local press outlets, they’re somewhat of a net profit in terms of publicity for the state. The city is exchanging money (tax money?) for positive publicity with the message that it’s advancing public safety. Of course, it could have achieved much the same by purchasing air time for a well-produced commercial, but the event adds the benefit of camera shots of community involvement and one-sided interviews, and the media provides a free commercial anyway.

The exchange, however, presents absolutely no gain in terms of actual public safety. In fact, considering that some functioning weapons may be taken in from well-intentioned but deceived law-abiding gun owners, it may represent a net loss in public safety, for some formerly armed citizens are now less well-armed or even totally disarmed. The citizen should consider that even a dusty old gun could save your life in a pinch.

The exchange does, however, provide a boost for the police department in terms of perceived public safety. But this, also, can be a net loss in actual public safety. Criminals prefer unarmed victims. Criminals especially prefer unarmed and mentally complacent victims. Unprepared on your part is good for them. Unprepared and unsuspecting is even better. In the absence of any actual advance of public safety, the perception of heightened safety is all the worse. People are then unprepared, unsuspecting, and overconfident.

But what about those dangerous "rocket launchers" and "missile launchers" we hear about being confiscated? Aren’t those dangerous weapons being taken off the street? Most people by now have seen this hot air debunked: the weapons were the empty shells of one-time-use-only weapons already used up by the military. In short, more trash, more junk. No danger was taken off the streets at all, these plastic “weapons” are no more dangerous than a wiffle ball bat.

In the end, therefore, gun buyback programs amount to nothing but an economic farce foisted upon the public at public expense. No criminals are caught or even hindered, hardly any serious guns or “assault weapons” are taken off the streets. Average citizens trade in their junk for petty cash, but keep as many of their good guns as they like (thank God). In short, it’s an expensive closet cleaning for a handful of people.
The police and the media take the opportunity to tout their trash haul as a success for public safety. It is nothing of the sort. If anything, it makes the general public less safe. But as long as the right people believe otherwise, police can pretend, and their smiling marketers in the local media will like it, too.

So will criminals.

And for this, your local police may very well be happy to pay big bucks. Which means, to some extent at least, you’ll be paying for it, too.