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Don’t think that I am throwing stones. I live in a glass house. I am not so much enraged as I am warned. Far better persons than myself have succumbed to the broken desires that lurk inside us all. Leonard Pitts, Jr. of The Miami Herald pointed out the astonishingly long list of high public officials and self-appointed moralists who have preached one set of values while living another (Bill Clinton, Jesse Jackson, Larry Craig, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, former Spokane Mayor James West, Rev. Ted Haggard, Newt Gingrich, numerous Catholic priests, Strom Thurmond, Mark Foley, Rudy Giuliani, New Jersey Governor James McGreevey, Gary Condit, Dan Burton, Bob Packwood, Henry Hyde, Jim Baker, Wilbur Mills, Gary Hart, Jimmy Swaggart, John Kennedy and Thomas Jefferson to name just a few). To feel superiority or indignation when I know that I have the same capabilities for self-destruction is neither helpful nor appropriate. More...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Mar 17, 2008 09:10AM
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I see that we have touched on some hot topics lately that demonstrate people who are committed to Jesus have some pretty diverse views on such issues as gay rights and a variety of other important issues. Our Christian commitment compels us to be working actively in the political arena to ensure justice and equity for all people. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8). Christians should be politically engaged, prophetically active, without succumbing to the divisiveness of partisan politics. God never embraces all the values of any one party’s platform. But, what happens when committed followers of Christ disagree on some pretty significant issues like homosexuality or the war in Iraq? We all point to the Bible as our source of authority, yet isn’t it amazing how we see different meanings in the same text? We have created a multitude of different denominations and independent groups because we can’t agree to disagree in love. Jesus said that the world would experience the validity of his truth demonstrated through the quality of our love for each other. He did not make the accuracy of our biblical theology the litmus test of true faith. We are known by our fruits—not our biblical test scores! Jesus pointed to himself (the living Word) as the ultimate authority above the written word. More...
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Mar 10, 2008 09:10AM
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A blog is a place where people can come together in honest dialogue and discovery. I really appreciate your growing participation. This week I received a great question that is one I wrestle with as a follower of Jesus who believes in the inspiration of scripture: “After reading your blog, I wonder… who will you vote for? I am confused about this quote: ‘But, he (Jesus) would also embrace a politic for the common good. For gay, straight, Christian, Muslim, Jew, agnostic, Jesus would seek the wellbeing of all.’ For gay? Do you feel Jesus would be about the rights of gay people? While I feel a lot of the democrats’ beliefs are sound, I can never vote their way. How can anyone believing in God’s word vote with a party that agrees with pro choice and gay rights? Gay rights i.e., same sex marriage, adoption and complete acceptance I don’t feel Jesus would be about. What are your thoughts here?” signed, T.
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Mar 03, 2008 10:00AM
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CNN released the results of a survey this week that revealed more than a quarter of adult Americans have left their childhood faith for another religion or no religion. One in four adults in the 18-29 year old range claim no religious affiliation. The United Methodist Church, of which I am a part, continues to lose members at a rate of 80,000 per year. Only 4.7% of UMC clergy are age 35 or younger. Why are a growing number of younger Americans finding the Christian faith to be irrelevant? Could it be that many who claim the way of Jesus are literally scaring the heaven out of people? So many who claim to be the prophets of Jesus come close to scaring the heaven out of me, like the self-righteous prophets who equate the Prince of Peace with a vindictive terrorist god who creates hurricanes of destruction as judgment against homosexuals or abortion advocates. Both Reverends Robertson and Falwell saw the terrorist attacks of 911 on the U.S. as divine punishment for homosexuality and abortion. It amazes me that they agreed with the radical Islamic terrorist on this “judgment from god.” My God is not a terrorist! The “god” that some advocate is the one I call “devil.”
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Feb 26, 2008 10:00AM
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This election year is proving to be quite interesting. It is about time that a woman and an African American are serious candidates. I have also been long impressed with John McCain’s demonstration of sacrificial leadership under the harshest conditions in a Viet Cong prison camp for five years. Not many people would refuse release after a year to stay with their men for an additional four years. Barak Obama’s pastor and I were students together in a doctoral program. I have great respect for his church and the much-needed message of hope that he is bringing to inspire a new generation of Americans. I was in a meeting of United Methodists in Denver in 1996 when Senator Clinton shared her faith and affirmed her belief in basic Christian doctrines such as the divinity of Christ and the resurrection. She has been a long-standing practitioner of Methodist theology in combining personal faith with social activism. As a pastor and former bass player in a rock band myself, I applaud Mike Huckabee’s run.
Posted By: Pastor Mike Slaughter on Feb 20, 2008 10:00AM
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How many times have you seen this picture during the past week? Former governor Eliot Spitzer has become the latest self-inflicted casualty for the blatant disregard of sacred trust that others placed in him. His brokenness has made him a spectacle for late night TV ridicule as well as global media humiliation. I was in New York City last Monday when Spitzer’s world came tumbling down. The outcry on the street was, “The crusader of ethical politics who campaigned on the promise to end public corruption has betrayed our trust!”
