How to be helpful

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions." That phrase has stuck with me since I saw it on the cover of Forbes magazine many years ago. And there is much truth there.

I have been reading "The Church on the Other Side" by Brian McLaren and have found it to be a challenging read. Challenging in the sense that it dissects some thoughts that I held dear and makes me think about them.

On page 42 he offers 4 guidelines for evaluating programs in the church. They are not revolutionary, but they are extremely helpful.

1. Does this help uncommitted people (including uncommitted people disguised as nominal Christians) become followers of Jesus?

2. Does this help followers of Jesus become better followers of Jesus?

3. Does this enhance the development of authentic Christian Community?

4. Does this empower, equip, deploy the church for a missional identity for the good of the world?

The last two may cause some gastric reflux for many Christians. Too many of us are caught up in the "Jesus and Me" thing, where the only important thing is individual salvation. And the last one, working for the good of the world, will require some serious rumination to digest.

Think about these things, and let me know what your criteria are if they are different. I'd like to hear them.

For a good laugh

go to Larknews and chuckle. You will see why.

Adults say the dumbest things

Art Linkletter used to entertain America with his "kids say the darndest things" show. Little kids would say things that were funny because, well to be honest, they came from kids. But that doesn't work well with adults.

Here is this week's example of how not to make a public statement.

Ray Nagin, mayor of New Orleans, uttered one of the dumbest comments I have heard in years. Imagine if he were white and calling a city a "vanilla city" because that is the way God wants it to be. This is the same man who refused to use school buses to evacuate his residents as Hurricane Katrina innundated his city.

Someone should tell Mr. Nagin to think before he steps in front of a microphone. But then, he could be a senator.

It only took 6 days

God created the world in 6 days. Pat Robertson took six days into the new year to utter another profoundly ignorant remark. This time God is smiting Ariel Sharon for "dividing God's land" by seeking peace with the Palestinians. Pat never ceases to amaze me with the inanities that come out of his mouth. But judging a man in critical condition for seeking peace and trying to restor a homeland to the Palestinians seems a bit un-Christian to me.

Will someone take his microphone away? Please?