Bethany Birches Bobcat Snow Camp 2011

Congressional Reform?

A friend of mine just emailed me this thought and proposal.  It was one of those emails that you are instructed to send on to x number of people and then the world will change.  I'm not a huge fan of those emails so I didn't forward it. However, I think it's a good idea, what was contained in that email.

In short, the concept involves moving our civil service positions away from profession and toward service.  It often isn't the right answer to  just go back to a prior way of doing things.  So I'm not sure we should simply revert to the early ways we did governance.  It's also not usually the right answer to leave things the way they are (unless they became that way naturally... sometimes that is a good answer).  Some of the ideas below are good ones, I think.  One other thing I think is that the Church would probably achieve it's mission more fully if we weren't only using a professional model for our pastors.

Brandon

Congressional Reform Act of 2011

1. Term Limits. 12 years only, one of the possible options below.

  A. Two Six-year Senate terms

  B. Six Two-year House terms

  C. One Six-year Senate term and three Two-Year House terms

2.  No Tenure / No Pension.  A Congressman collects a salary while in office and receives no pay when they are out of office.  

3.  Congress (past, present & future) participates in Social Security. All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security system immediately.  All future funds flow into the Social Security system, and Congress participates with the American people. 

4. Congress can purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

5. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise.  Congressional pay will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

6. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the same health care system as the American people.

7. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American people. 

8. All contracts with past and present Congressmen are void effective 1/1/11.  

The American people did not make the current contract with members of Congress.  Congressmen made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor, not a career.  The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators, so ours should serve their term(s), then go home and back to work. 

TOS: Happy Birthday to Jesus

The Ongoing Story (From a monthly contact sent to Bethany Birches Camp supporters)

Earlier this year I wrote about format.  Specifically, I noted that format was central to what we're allowed to do.  For example, if you live in a house instead of a gym, you can't play volleyball very well at home.  But, you probably can decorate more easily.  Or, a more realistic illustration; If you're married with kids, you aren't going to go on as many ski trips with the buddies (or beach vacations with the girls).  Your family (the format of community you live in) determines that you will most likely go skiing or to the beach with them.

While format dictates, for the most part, what we are able to do in a broad sense, it doesn't tell us what to do within it.  I've been thinking a lot about that lately.  What got me thinking about this was our recent Teen Connect which is part of ourwinter camp program.  Amber was reviewing the schedule for me and it sounded a lot like all of our other teen programs.  Fear struck me (don't you love when fear strikes?).  What if this a boring weekend?  What if no one comes?  What if the kids come like they always do and get tired of it because it's always the same thing?

As we talked, I realized that the people she'd lined up were excellent.  The beds were nearly full, our speaker, Scott Hackman, would surely connect with them and what could be better than friends who love to be together, getting together?!  It was fine.  Good even.  The weekend went so well that I kept feeling a bit ashamed of my earlier fears and doubts.

So clearly, our format (that hasn't changed in a number of years) was fine.  So what went right?  Why did no one think the same format was boring?  Content!  We all enjoyed the weekend because of the content - what was done within the given format (which brings me to an important lesson I learned when I was dancing down an isle in a play in 5th grade and fell down then got back up - life is almost always what we make it. We can stay down or we can get back up).  There were two key components to the content of our weekend:

1. Effort (that we put in)
2. Spirit (of God that moved)

This seems consistent with what I know of Jesus and his call for us to follow him.  We must put forth effort - think Jesus staying up all night to pray.  Think Jesus inviting us to give up everything to follow him.  Think disciples making ongoing errors in thinking and behavior and flat-out disobedience yet their willingness to keep following a man who appeared to most to be crazy.  All these things took effort.

Now, think miracles.  Think belief inspiring events.  Think teacher, who though he is part of a different realm, agrees to work within the format of this realm (human body, normal methods of teaching which included having a handful of students that followed him around and learned from him and whom he mentored).  Think the unbelievable (for most people) story of the Christ.  All this is Spirit of God stuff.

And that's how the weekend was.  There was effort.  There was spirit of God.  What a great combo.  And to think that Creator of Heaven and Earth would allow us the opportunity to put forth effort to shape our future (this would be a boring place if what we couldn't impact happenings).  And how equally great that this creator would give us authority to invite Spirit  and sometimes send Spirit even when we don't extend the invite, simply because we need it or because Creator wanted to (how boring a place this would be if the creator of it didn't make anything happen... just left us alone).

What's the point?  I'm not completely sure.  I know we have choices about our format (though we can't easily create a different place than earth to live on, we can choose  to live in a house, shed, boat or street).  And, within the formats we choose, we can choose a whole bunch more things.  We can choose to put forth effort and invite God's spirit to join us.  We can choose to love our family or hate them. We can choose to seek our hearts desires or someone else's desire for us.  We can choose to be brave or cowardly.  While there are prices to be paid for all of our choices, we have the choice!  I suppose for me, the point, or question I keep asking is, how will I make the best choices?  

The answer I've come to is around this person and living spirit of Jesus.  I believe that he will show me a way forward, through the formats and content of my life.  I believe that though I may pay a high cost to join him, it's a price worth paying.  I believe he will lead me to the peace I want.  To the love I seek.  To the acceptance I long for.  

Join me in taking the opportunity of Christmas to offer thanks and gratitude for Jesus' leadership in life and in the Kingdom.  Join me in looking for a way to create content on the 25th or the 26th or any time really, that is the content of Good News.  Like God, we are creators.

I pray you will glimpse this awkward man, Jesus and especially the continuation of his Spirit. Merry Christmas and happy creating!

Brandon

If you want to walk on water...

Just because Peter failed, doesn't mean humans will fail always...

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Seriously?



Update on 10/11/10:
Too good to be true, apparently: