Rick Nier...Woo!

The leadership had discussed, deliberated and decided. There had certainly been debate. People felt strongly on both sides.  ‘If we allow this to happen, everything we stand for will mean nothing.’ Honestly, both sides were saying it and both felt it was a matter of salvation. ‘Agree with me or I don’t know how you could possibly be a Christian.’ After all, all the facts support my view. If you choose to believe otherwise, it is only because of  your preconceived or ill-conceived view of matters. I cannot possibly be judged for considering you to be less intelligent, less caring, or less than Christ-like if you oppose my view.  That’s what everyone, on both sides of the argument, was saying. The issue at hand was, of course, circumcision. I’m sorry, did you assume I was talking about something else?   The Council in Jerusalem had just met. It’s recorded in Acts 15 if you’d like to review it. Everyone who was anyone was there and they made certain their voice was hear...

Here is how some conversations with myself go.  Me: I should post a new article on my blog a couple of times each week. Also me: You haven’t posted an article in over a month! Me: This time could be different. I could be more focused. Sarcastic me: Yep, because that’s how life works.  Really Sarcastic Me: Please hurry because dozens of people are waiting on pins and needles to hear your thoughts.  The really sarcastic me can often be quite mean. And, to be honest, some conversations with myself are way worse than this one.  The truth is, I have no promises to myself, nor guarantees to you, on how often I am going to post. An honest review of my posts reveals too many that start with “Wow, it’s been a while since I posted...remember when I said I wanted to write?”  Here is what I am telling myself, while pushing the mean and sarcastic voices down. I have something to say. I have something to offer. Encouragement, hope, insight. S...

We often criticize the Israelites for being unfaithful while wandering in the desert, always with sinful attitudes, even while daily receiving miraculous food from Heaven. How could they be so blind? How could they be so stupid? Didn’t they realize they were receiving daily blessings from God? Didn’t they understand that, every single day, God was proving to them that He thought of them, remembered them, and was providing for them? Every. Single. Day. Of course, we could never be so blind. That is, unless we put ourselves in their shoes. Then we might not be so quick to judge. We are told they needed to go out and get the amount of food they needed for that day.  Then the Lord said to Moses, “Look, I’m going to rain down food from heaven for you. Each day the people can go out and pick up as much food as they need for that day. I will test them in this to see whether or not they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they will gather food, and when they prepare it, there...

I prayed for my kids today. I prayed that they would avoid or rise above the tools, the jerks, the mean kids that populate our schools. As I prayed I wondered where those kids come from. What is their home life? What makes them tick? Then I prayed that my own kids would not be the type of kids I was praying for their protection from.  You see, if we accept the fact that we're all sinners, then we have to accept that our own little angels might not always be angels. There is no one righteous. We all needed the sacrifice of Jesus for our salvation. That mean that each of us need strength to not be the reason another person has to endure. For awhile, way back when I first had a child of my own, I assumed these monsters grew under rocks and were the spawn of some wild dingoes that were allowed to integrate into regular society.  But then Jennifer and I had a second child. And we encouraged them to play together. That is, until we didn't. There were moments when we sud...

Here you and I are, just starting our day with a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, and people are out there making changes in the way we are governed. And there are other people out there studying the impact it makes on people.  So what changes and what impact are we talking about today? The impact made on high school students when states change the policies about same-sex marriages. You can read the article here for yourself , but here is a summary of their findings; This difference-in-differences analysis of representative data from 47 states found that same-sex marriage policies were associated with a 7% reduction in the proportion of all high school students reporting a suicide attempt within the past year. The effect was concentrated among adolescents who were sexual minorities. Translation: They asked adolescents who would identify as something other than heterosexual if they had attempted suicide before and after the legalization of same-sex marriages.  Please note, that w...

I'm a youth pastor. Oh I can gloss it up. I could tell you I'm an Associate Pastor. I could go on about how I have other responsibilities that make me more than what my calling would have you believe. But I'm a youth pastor. And most days I'm perfectly fine with that. After all, it is a calling and it's something I love. But one thing I no longer even try to deceive myself about is that people are listening to me. I give announcements at youth group about items which teens will ask about later, as if I've never spoken. I'll share ideas with big people (you call them adults) and their eyes will glaze over while they wonder what the senior pastor thinks. I preach and often wonder what, if anything, people hear. With all this ignoring going on, you might ask why I blog. Oh, another day, people, another day. Despite this, I continue to convey truth, even if nobody hears me. I'm a youth pastor. I'm a dad. For anyone that has been even a little...

Do you know why people ask what you think? So they can tell you what they think. There are times when people ask my opinion. That is just stupid, for so many reasons. But I have come to realize that what they really want is to give their opinion. That's why they ask. In my opinion, they should simply ask me if they can present me with their thoughts. They would get to talk and I would get to save my breath. Someone, anyone really, and I will have a conversation that goes like this. Someone: What did you think of this book? Me: I liked it for the following reasons. Someone: Well, I hated it. Or they may ask about a movie we both recently saw. Someone: What did you think of that movie? Me: I thought it was epic for the following reasons. Someone: Here's why it wasn't good at all. Oh, ok. Perhaps if I took the advice given in James 1:19. "Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry." If, when ...

Ridiculous and offensive? Sure, maybe I have been that. Conservative minded and openly opinionated using my blog space? Not normally. And the reasons I normally don't are many. Mainly, you can find that kind of stuff everywhere. I prefer to focus on issues of significance, desiring God above all else and, of course, youth ministry. I figure if people would get over themselves and love God, then most problems in the world would be solved.  However, today I have a problem. Specifically, I have a problem with the cowards at Disney and the writers of  Good Luck, Charlie .  Listen, I have 3 young children. Finding television shows to watch that 1) are entertaining for children and, 2) don't make me want to gouge out my eyes and ears, can be hard to find. This refers both to cartoons and live action. There's only so many wide-eyed, blinking cartoon characters I can take, having them ask me questions about where their map is or which Mouseketool they should pick. Bu...

I'm sure, as a tireless student of my blog, that you have noticed certain thing about my blog here. I don't normally shout out my personal church or denomination. I also tend to stray from the controversial topics that plague our society. One of the reasons is my desire to not be constantly part of the drama. But the bigger reason is my belief that, in most cases, a final answer has not yet been heard.  Jesus has declared Truth and I believe that is final. But in our world we see so many voices jump to conclusions on one day and then recant the following day. I want to be a level headed voice amidst the noise.  Having said all that, I'm going to link you to a page by the leaders of the denomination to which I belong. Oh, and they are responding to very current and very controversial issues, namely, the Defense of Marriage.  Here you go. Woo!

People might look at me and laugh. -That's the point. But I don't want them to laugh. - But they won't be laughing at you. They'll be laughing with you. No.  And that's where the conversation with my 6-year old ended that day. A stubborn refusal to stand out and an unwillingness to be laughed  at . Or  with , as I was trying to convince her.  This was Crazy Hair Day at their elementary school, meaning the choice had no long-lasting implications. I did encourage her to not worry about what other people think. In this way, it is interesting to note how different three children can be, even when they share the same mom and dad.  On a day when crazy hair was the goal, our oldest daughter still strove to stand out and be noticed. Our son, always a bit quieter in crowds, went halfway. A couple of faux-hawks adorned his melon, something crazy but replicated by several boys. But the 6-year old would not be coerced into being a stand-...

It seems to me that much of what we are fighting against are not lies. Let me rephrase that. We're not fighting against the original lies . We are fighting against the lies that have been created by other lies. Let's back up a step. Some Pharisees came to [Jesus] to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?” “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” “Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?” Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except...

Wait, isn't this old news? Well yes, but I would like to add two things. First, I am often late to discussions. I'm ok with this fact, because I like to give a lot of thought to a matter before I simply go public with my thoughts. (Insert comments about Rick being a slow thinker here.) Secondly, and more importantly, this issue of how Christians treat the world and how the world views Christians, is not going away anytime soon. The incident with Chik-Fil-A is just the biggest spotlight on an already viral issue. There were many things said on both sides of the argument, but the one I found to be very insightful can be found at Perry Noble's blog. Here you go - BEN & JERRY’S, CHICK-FIL-A & POLITICAL CORRECTNESS What do you have to add?

A couple of weeks ago I explained why I say Woo! when people say Rick Nier . But rather than keep all the woo for myself, I am sharing my space so you can check out what other people have to say. What can I say, I'm a giver. So here are a few posts that caught my eye this past week. This first one is from a pastor down in Nashville, Pete Wilson. I often like what he has to write about. Here he wonders What's Going On In That Mind?  This post isn't long, but it reminds me of the first time my son saw the Atlantic Ocean. He was only a year old, could barely talk, but just stared at the ocean as if overwhelmed. This next one is from Walt Muller, who rarely writes lightly. Walt is the president of the Center for Parent / Youth Understanding, a place I often venture for news and stats. Interestingly, he also wants to know what's going on in the minds of males...and females . Sobering stuff. I'll end on a lighter note as we all wonder what's going on in the mi...

Is it possible that at the same time God reveals truth about Himself, He is also revealing the truth about us? For example, I've always read the story of Samuel anointing David the same way. While God is busy rejecting David's older brothers, He tells Samuel that man looks at the outward appearance while God looks at the heart. The focus is on God. He's more focused on the inside and all that. I wrote that as if it's no big deal and everybody gets it. Understanding that we do not, let's move on to the point I want to make. Why are we so often surprised when people judge us by our outward appearances? Didn't God say that man looks at the outward appearance? He might not have said He was okay with this way of viewing people, but at least God warned us. It's like being surprised when someone tells you a certain type of food is hot. It doesn't seem to slow us down from popping it in our mouths and then turning red in the face and searching for wat...

I'm sure this has been said before. Certainly I'm not the first to rant about this. I'm positive I won't be the last. And in my usual manner of coming to a story late, I want to comment on Bobby Petrino, recently fired head coach of Arkansas. But this isn't really about Bobby, or I should say, not just  about Bobby. He is simply the latest in a series of stories where big-time athletes, coaches, or celebrities does something stupid and gets caught. But that's not the story, because, quite frankly, we all do dumb stuff. But when too many people get angry, defenders line up to separate the personal life from the professional life. I actually heard a woman quoted, in relation to the Arkansas story, saying that Bobby has won a lot of football games for them. Oh, so that makes it ok?  Arkansas  went 11-2 last season, so the head coach can be immoral? Is that how this is supposed to work? Why draw the line there? If splitting personal decisions from professiona...

I must apologize to Carly Simon. I'm sure she has life experience that I don't have. I am positive that she is trying to make a point. But in this one instance, she is just plain wrong. The song is about him! What song, you ask? You must be young. The song is called You're So Vain by the aforementioned Carly Simon. She sings about a guy that she would clearly rather forget. She was hurt. I feel for her, I do. But, like a teenage girl who pretends that she doesn't care what a stupid guy thinks, she tips her hand. Yes, my lady doth protest too much. She tells us this guys is so vain that he probably thinks this song is about him. Well, what is he supposed to think? She describes him in pretty clear detail in 3 verses. Or are there multiple guys leaving her, travelling to Saratoga, then jetting off to Nova Scotia? Maybe I just don't live in the world where every other guy wears hats and apricot scarves. Maybe that's just me. Or maybe the song is about him....

I think she was serious when she said it. And what's more, I think she believed it. Whatever you think of Ellen Degeneres, I believe her comments have to tell us a little something about where we are as a society. She was recently at the Teen Choice Awards, a wonderful use of two hours. Here's what she said; "I hope to not only be a comedian, but also to be a role model, because I feel that there are not too many women who are role models to teens, and I am talking about one woman ... Betty White. I would like to impart some wisdom on you: stay in school — I know, it’s hard, to listen to your parents and don’t pierce that." Ok, let me be honest. I find Ellen humorous. I think she made American Idol bearable. But...a role model? I suppose I should ask, what if she is a good role model? Understand that I know nothing about her except the obvious. She has chosen an alternative lifestyle, to use society's terminology. 'Sinful' is the word I would use. But...

My wife isn't one to hold grudges. It's a good thing, too, because otherwise I would not be in good standing in her eyes. But 14 years later, she loves me. This despite my many imperfections. But mention running in gym class and she remembers. She remembers the stupid boyfriend of her gal-pal who said the wrong thing to the wrong gym teacher. This gym teacher was not to be trifled with. But instead of merely correcting the offending party, the gym teacher made everyone run laps. You've no doubt seen this kind of correction take place. Punish everyone for one person's bad deeds. This way you turn a whole class into a miniature version of vigilantes ensuring justice is brought down. It just goes to show that gym teachers are reading the Bible for disciplinary techniques. What, you ask? Oh yeah, this is a technique Nebuchadnezzer perfected back in Daniel's day. Dan asks if he could have the vegan special instead of all that fatty food. I've thought about doing that...

Call me jaded or even desensitized. Tell me I've lost my passion. Try to label me as losing my moral compass. You'll be wrong, but go ahead. I'm just no longer surprised. I'm reading a lot of articles and blogs decrying the state of our nation, our role models and even the leaders in our communities. We are shocked and taken aback when people choose to do wrong. We wonder and moan aloud when sin takes a front seat, instead of being placed on the curb where it belongs. I'm not sure why. Don't get me wrong. I am thankful to those who watch and warn. If there is danger ahead, I would like to know where not to step. But I think it's time that we stop pretending that we can live in a bubble of magic and rainbows. Jesus came to this world to redeem it from sin. If that was necessary back then, we can't expect that evil would just give up and crawl back home. Just thinking about our over-sexualized culture (and the newest Disney darlings that join in) gets us a...