Why Are Men So Dumb?

     God created Adam first, right? Adam gave names to all the animals in the garden. Have you ever pondered on that? The naming of the porcupine makes some sense, you know with all its quills and little spines, as you might get "porc-ed" by them. I can  even see the naming of the duck has some merit as the bird flew too close to Adam's head he had to "duck". But just think about some of the other names Adam gave the animals. Giraffe, elephant, even lion or tiger were names we have grown up with but what do they really mean and in what language did Adam first speak them? A better question would be who was Adam speaking to?

     Now God is omniscient which means  He  knows everything and He cant learn anything. He knew Adam was all alone in the garden and that he would become very lonely so God made woman. Now 50% of my readers are women so you can bet the bank I'll be treading very lightly here. It's no mystery why God made woman so beautiful, with all the right curves in all the right places, but why did God make man so dumb? A better question would be "Why did He leave man in charge"? How many Geo-Political debacles have we been dragged through because of bad decisions made by powerful men? How many women in history have shouted from the roof tops "Worship me, I am God!" Man's certainly not a creature whose first reaction is to nurture, no but rather to pick up a stick and beat his brother to death with it.

     My wife Pam is no doubt much more intelligent than I am and she is my peer. She has two bachelor degrees in the science field, works part time, is able to keep the house looking immaculate, does Crossword and Sudoku puzzles the latter of which I am still trying to understand how to add up all the numbers. But let me ask you this, if she is so smart why did she marry me? Someone who drops his clothes on the floor as he makes his way to the shower. A man who when he cooks ends up with more food on the floor then in his mouth. A person who has never; washed a load of clothes, made up the bed, cleaned up after a meal, changed a diaper, disciplined his children, planned a romantic moment, balanced a check book, paid any bills, washed the car, you know its a miracle I have survived at all in this world.

     So back to the beginning where God put Adam to sleep and removed one of his ribs. He then fashioned woman from this flesh. Remember, God made Adam from the dirt. God called this new creation "woman" because she was taken out of the man. Eve was always intended by God to be Adam's equal and to complete him which is exactly what women do.

     So what's all the fuss with the battling of the sexes, and all the miss understandings about? Men and women have different roles in God's plan. Men are the protectors and while racing  through life towards the finish line they are really preoccupied with that purpose. Men are always thinking about what might happen around the next corner and have multiple plans brewing in our minds at any one moment. But men, despite all their faults, have a few redeeming traits as they have painted some of the most beautiful paintings in the world, built some of the tallest buildings, penned some of the best literature, sailed the first ocean crossings, ran the fastest mile and yes, invented Sudoku puzzles. But if I were Adam, I would have named woman...."Priceless".

Pauline

    Death is many things. It is an absolute, definite ending to the participant but a lifelong scar for all friends and love ones left behind in this physical world. The question all of us should be asking,  is there more to a person than just a shell or as the Apostle Paul described our bodies as "our earthly tents"? Does a human being posses a spirit, soul that has conscientiousness and continues to exist  after life leaves our physical bodies? Is our spirit immortal or is only God the Great Immortal Spirit?
    On October 27th, 1993 I received a call from my dad that my mother, Pauline, had succumbed to lung cancer after three months of living in continuous, brutal pain. Even though I had time to make my peace with her and prepare myself for her ultimate passing the reality of it was like something was taken from me that I could never get back.
    Grieving is a process and it  never ends although time is somewhat of a sedative. Maybe that is why Jesus said that in heaven He would wipe away every tear. You see, there are tears in heaven or why would Jesus be wiping them away? So October for me truly brings with it the darker shades of Fall, tears for fears and heart felt memories of my mother. The reality is that she has long since disappeared into history and I wont see her again until I too get to the other side.
    The other night on late night talk radio the guest was describing other past lives he had lived. And describing places he never visited in this life. Now I cant explain why he saw what he saw but this type of extra life experience is getting more popular. There seems to be a snag though, most people talk about extra life experiences where they are famous people nobody ever says that they were a criminal or trash collector in another life? I believe it is appointed once for man to die then comes judgement.
    In John 3:16 God tell us how much He loves us "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that who so ever would believe in Him would not perish but have eternal life". Now in this scripture we have God telling us that if we don't put our trust into Jesus, His Son we will perish. Perish means to cease to exist so eternal life is a gift and a state that God imparts to who He wills. I want that gift!
    In the book of Revelation God tells us that if your name is not written in the book of life your soul and spirit will be cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second death. So here we have two words, perish and second death,  these don't make me believe our souls and spirits exist forever on our own merit? I'll take the free gift from God which is eternal life through His Son Jesus!

Halloween Debate

     Some things are meant to go together! Ham and beans, chocolate and peanut butter and of course human beings. When people get married it's like a three stranded cord that is not easily broken where the third strand is our relationship with God. So here's my question to all of you that sprang up over our Halloween debate; Should Pastor Greg and I be total clones of each other or can we compliment each other by bringing to the table a difference of opinions? Greg and I in some ways are like night and day where the darkness takes over after a beautiful sunset and even though the two are very different from each other in the end they make a whole unit of one complete day.
     So in that light...It amazes me how many Christians are not educated about the Fall festival of Halloween. Pastor Greg says it is one of his favorite holidays, but it's not mine. Now, I probably already lost about half of you because of your love for the Fall season, spiced cider, pumpkin pie, candle lighted gourdes, pumpkins and costume parties. What some of you are not aware of is a side of Halloween that is very real, very dark and gloomy. So before I loose the rest of you who have already ran out and purchased your Halloween costumes let me say this. I too love the Fall season as the weather starts to cool off knowing that Thanksgiving is right around the corner but all the mischief, lawlessness and crime that comes in tandem with the Halloween spirits is not welcomed.
     Halloween on a consumer level is just one of a handful of holiday's that is targeted by many manufacturers solely to capitalize on all of us. I walked into Wal-Mart the other morning and was kinda surprised to see artificial Christmas trees on display when Halloween was yet a week away? Do you think corporations are making any money off the holidays we choose to celebrate? I know what some of you are thinking... "If I want to buy costumes, candy and party props that's my business not yours!"  Many of you feel that people who are down on Halloween are "Legalistic Christians" and giant wet blankets but I would say in my defense "Be a Berean", Google "Halloween" to discover for yourselves the history and origins of the celebration that you so lovingly embrace. You are going to discover that there is no love in it.
    Pastor Greg, on the other hand, has a different perspective in that history has been written from  the victor's stand point and that Druid traditions have been distorted. Now remember Greg is a full blooded Irishman. So is this what the Apostle Paul was talking about when he said that he could be all things to all people and that eating meat offered to idols was no problem for him? What about the whole Not Of This World movement and God's idea about the bride of Christ being set apart and made ready for her bridegroom? Greg's bottom line is that all the holiday's we celebrate are a direct result of the Catholic Church's response to counteract the Pagan Nature Festivals of that time.
    My proposal: I personally believe that many of  the festivities associated with Halloween are really fun and should continue in a different light and not necessarily be associated with the Christian church's alternative of a Harvest Festival. Here is some food for thought, is celebrating Halloween like celebrating Satan's birthday? Or how about this...its been said that for a Christian to celebrate Halloween is like someone from the Jewish faith celebrating Adolf Hitler's birthday. So by all means celebrate death if it is that exciting for you but if I had to choose a fabricated holiday, I'll take Christmas any day. Our God is a God of life! (Zoe) He sent His one and only Son that you may have life and life more abundantly.
    So what do you say?

Epiphany

Epiphany \ fr Gk epiphaneia meaning an appearance or manifestation esp. of a divine being.
    As the warm water from the shower head began to wash  away the dirt after a day of spraying wall texture in the nursery at Calvary Chapel La Mesa,  I had  an epiphany or so I thought. In the Apostle Paul's  letter to the Ephesians  Chapter 5 verse 26 he talks about the word of God washing us clean through the washing of water by the word. A type of spiritual soap, if you can imagine,  that can reach or get at  those recesses and hidden places of our hearts and minds.
     So my shower time epiphany was something this Pastor had said to a friend of mine many years ago. "You will never teach from my pulpit!". Now my first feelings upon conjuring up this ugly remark was one of  anger but now as the water began to cleanse my outer body I could feel a spiritual cleansing begin to heal a much deeper wound that was hiding in my heart.
    Maybe you have experienced this or know this to be true but people can become too possessive of their positions, ministries and totally forget who gave them the opportunity to serve in the first place. Even in my own life I find myself saying something like "Oh, you must come to my church where I will be pastoring when it starts up early next year".  Pride is poison, a deadly poison the most dangerous disease a Christian can contract. Humility, on the other hand,  is the only antidote when properly applied in the right amount can reverse the adverse infection from pride.
    So there were really no divine beings with me in the shower last night. There were no visions of Mother Mary not even the face of Jesus in the moisture accumulating on the glass of the shower walls but only  a still, quiet, gentle voice begging me to listen and follow Him down the path to freedom. I love my shower time.

The Key

    So I collect junk. There was a time in my life where I would see something sticking part way out of a trash can and have to slam on my brakes, pull over and skillfully dig it out without soiling my office clothes. People throw away all kinds of cool things. You would be surprised at what you can find in someones garbage, just ask any FBI agent.
   Somewhere along my travels I found an old porcelain antique door knob with the original skeleton key in it. I grabbed it. I just knew I could use it! Now, I had that old door knob and key for I don't know maybe 25 years. It sat in an old tool box under my work bench collecting allot of dust. Until one day it made the most perfect gift imaginable.
   Pete Briscoe is probably one of the most talented, young pastors on the rise in America. He pastors the Bent Tree Bible Fellowship in Carrolton Tx. http://www.btbf.org  Pete is talented to be sure but what makes Pete so important is his ability to totally surrender to and be led by the Holy Spirit. You see when God wants to use someone He first looks at the heart. So often I want to tell God how were going to do it but He insists on a humble, surrendered vessel that He can fill. I don't know why but people are often frightened when God's Spirit is moving. I have seen it happen time and time again when God starts moving in a church, half of the people get it and half totally shut God down. It's a mystery to be sure.
   So what does Pete have to do with the doorknob story? OK, so I parted with my prize possession and removed it from under the protection of my work bench and the one quarter inch of dust that was shielding it. You see I needed a special gift for Pete. Not just any old trinket or kink knack  would do so for some unknown reason I thought about the doorknob that I had not previously thought about since the last time I cleaned up my shop. So I boxed up that old door knob, addressed the box and shipped it off into the wild blue yonder of the United States Postal Service. A day later it arrived back at my house. True story.
   Pete eventually received it and he assures me that the doorknob and key are sitting somewhere in his office at Bent Tree Bible Fellowship. Maybe a surprise visit might be in order. You know that old knob is a piece of history it could have been turned by Abraham Lincoln on the night he drafted the Gettysburg Address or could have been locked to hide  Anne Frank and her family from the Nazis. Is there anything to glean here or a  moral to this story? Well, "One man's trash is another man's treasure" I think that is how God looks at us! We are His treasure. We were once lost but now are found. By the way, for the record God has delivered me from dumpster diving.

Firewood

     Today I drove to the Houlihan's, where I cut and split firewood for our wood stove at home. Our central heating and air went out a few weeks back (during the heat wave of course) and because I'm out of work we cant fix it. But I praise God for our wood burning stove and Paul Houlihan who allowed me to split the wood in the first place!
      Some of you who already know me  have heard that I have been out of steady work for at least 7 months. Yes, its true and I'm getting down to my last container of flour and  a very small jar of olive oil. What happens when it runs out? I'm wondering if one day I will make my last piece of pita bread and then die.
      It's not that I'm a slacker, right?, although my wife's "Honey Do" list is getting longer than Santa's long white beard. The reality of it is I think God is testing me for the coming church plant with Greg. He wants to see if I can trust Him completely. I am so excited about our new church with all of its  new possibilities. People need a different way to fellowship and break bread together because there are way too many "Mega" churches with their cookie-cutter themes and where people end up getting  lost in the Mongol Hordes.
     For the record,  I  am pursuing this new church plant with a brilliant, young, Irishman named Greg. It must be the luck of the Irish or my luck in having two great friends in Paul and Greg. I must get back to the firewood story. So Mr. Houlihan knew I had been out of work for awhile and so he says to me "Dean, why don't you come over and split some fire wood for your wood stove?". There is something to be said about a man who works hard at the task God has given to him. I'm a worker at heart and don't like sitting around doing nothing. Mr. Houlihan gave me exactly what I needed which was a hard day of  work and of course I'm now basking in the warm, red glow that is coming from my wood stove. God, thank you for friends! Greg, do you think we could have a  wood stove in our church?

New Wine In Old Wine Skins

I love the fall. I wish I lived somewhere on the East Coast, like New Hampshire where the crisp fall weather brings the beautiful colored leaves to all the surrounding hills and mountains. unfortunately, I live in Southern California where maple trees give way to palm trees and crisp, chilly air yields to hot, dry Santa Ana winds. It's during these days in September and October that the grape harvest is right around the corner. Have you ever heard the saying "Nobody puts new wine into old wine skins"? So what is all the fuss about putting new wine into old wine skins? Well, first of all these words were spoken  by Jesus and written during the first century. Glass bottles were kinda hard to come by so the people of the time would use animal skins to hold liquids. Fresh, new skins had "stretch" built into them allowing the new wine to exspand as secondary fermentation continued.
Stay Tuned in For Part 2

The Covenant Project

      Pastor Greg and I are starting out on a huge, new adventure; Planting a new church somewhere in the East County of San Diego, California. We have already taken a couple of steps in our journey and left behind some footprints. But walking with the Holy Spirit can sometimes feel like taking a detour on the highway where you think you know where you are going, then comes the detour demanding that you now go down a completely different road. Now we are driving through an uncertain neighborhood full of new obstacles along the way. Life too is like that but I like the feel of a roller coaster ride anyway with all of  it's bumps, jerks and dark tunnels. So here we are hiking, somewhere down the path possibly mid way across the stream with water rushing past our ankles and wet feet when suddenly, Greg says to me "I hate church". Should I be worried?
      Read what Greg said about it!  Insanity      http://adhclatrd.blogspot.com/