All you need of love

John Lennon was and continues to be a controversial figure, and his message, :” All You Need Is Love,” is an echo of a message from another man who lived 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ.  There is no comparison of the two lives, but the concept of respecting diversity is just as strong.

This message is not reflected in the current events and issues concerning America.  We have a diversity education program at our church for our youth and for our adults, too. Those who believe in true diversity are optimistic about our future. According to a Creed for Optimists by Christian D. Larsen, one of the statements goes something like this: we should think only of the best, work for only the best and expect the best.
What is happening now is the worst. There are three decisive issues that are being fought in the courts and protested in the streets.

The first guess would be racism, but that is on the back burner.  Topping the list is the fight over gay marriage in California, a state which paves the way for the rest of America in many ways. Some judges are for it, and some are against it. Even the judges can’t agree.  The issue of immigration, especially along the southern border, even has legal Mexican–Americans paranoid in Arizona.  Does a local police department have the same authority as federal agents in controlling the flow of immigrants into this country, many of whom came here legally under a temporary Visa system but ended up staying.

A third issue is the proposed multi-cultural center  to be built on private property near the site of the Twin Towers Ground Zero in New York.  Our president has supported the group’s right to build the temple on freedom of religion expressed in the U.S. Constitution.  It can’t be any worse than the legal strip clubs in the area, based on moral issues.  Politicians from Washington, D.C. and elsewhere are challenging Obama’s position, which is part of his oath as President.  Some conservative opponents are comparing the building to the infiltration of the Nazis in this country, but who are the real Nazis in this controversy?  Who is against the religious tolerance and diversity? What examples of this attitude are being show our youth when these and the two aforementioned issues are hot topics burning the cable pundit news shows?

All we need is love. These three issues, and a few others, have lingering economic and social integrity consequences not fully explored, however another thing to consider is how are other countries viewing us with a hypocritical message of respecting diversity.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

No need for “official English language”

Language is the art of communication, especially in a societal sense.  This country has been created and grown on the diversity of thoughts, ideals, and language.  As a result the way the people talk in New Hampshire do not communicate the same way as people do in New Orleans, and there are a variety of other regional accents just as distinctive in other parts to this country.

Since the mid-1980’s, a conservative political effort has grown to legislate English as the official national language.  Those who believe this think that a collective use of foreign languages in the USA hurts rather than helping immigrants, and the cost of printing signs and documents in various languages is a waste of tax money. This “Official English” bill H.R. 997 would eliminate publishing official publications other in than a “standard” English. With more than 33 million foreign-born people in this country, communication is crucial for all segments of society.

It is important to note here, as a man with a formal education and as a writer, a command of the written and spoken English is imperative for success in a general sense, and on a regional or national scale.  English is a standard of business for the world, but realize English is a changing language influence heavily by foreign influences and cultures. Through a strong diversity emerges an even stronger unity of conversation and sharing of ideas.

Any effort to legislate an “official” language for this country would be denial of everything this country stands for, and such an “official” conservative movement could lead to an “official religion” here.  One language does not fit all, even if the waistband has enough elastic to expand from sea to shining sea.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Am I Worthy?

Am I worthy of being the recipient of God’s love through Jesus Christ?   This may seem a silly question a minister of all people should ask himself, but it truly an important question all of us have to answer.

I heard the line “Am I Worthy?” in a Western movie with Lee Marvin about a group of Americans who are hired by an American railroad mogul to retrieve his kidnapped wife from a Mexican renegade. In this scene, a Mexican farmer, who is helping the Americans in a foreign land, is approached by the Mexican renegade and his band of “bad guys.”  The Americans, with their weapons ready to fire from a train car, watch as the man directs the Mexican bandits away from the Americans.  For his efforts, he is beaten and trampled by horses of the bandits as they ride away.  With the “bad guys” out of the scene, the Mexican man struggles to stand with his arms straight out from his body like a cross facing the Americans and asks, “Am I worthy?”  With the magic of Hollywood, the man recovers quickly in a few scenes later and helps the Americans with their task at hand.

This was good stage directing.  Paul, in his writings to encourage the early Christians, wonders if he is worthy. Very knowledgeable about the Jewish traditions when employed by the Romans, he committed many sins against Christians to say the least. With his conversion, he became a new person, and worked to make God’s kingdom a reality for others.  As a minister, I have to be humble enough to ask the same questions Paul did of his life. The call to be a minister, and a minister for children, was a difficult decision to make in a way because, like Paul, I had to become a new person worthy of the post.
In His ministry, Jesus had parables that often put the Pharisees in a bad light, such as the one about the Pharisee and the tax collector. Even back then, tax collectors had a bad reputation, but Jesus said the worse of the two was the Pharisee, the one who knew God’s law and taught it to the Jews.

That man had status, power, and wealth, but it was an earthly rank. The fact that Jesus said he was the Son of God made the Pharisees even more angry or jealous, and clearing the Temple of sinful people didn’t help their view of Him. The kingdom Jesus proclaims is not here on earth.  It is in Heaven.

Modern religious leaders have fallen from grace for their sins because the power of God they felt initially in their work became a power they perceived as their own. They were not worthy, just as the Pharisee.  In my work, I sometimes struggle to meet the needs of my family, the church, and the youth I serve all at the same time. Wild horses can knock me down, and I want to be able to stand up, with my arms straight out, and ask the Lord, “Am I Worthy?”

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Rent-A Friend?

I can appreciate the ingenuity, creative imagination and the entrepreneurship of those reinventing the limits of the Internet and its programs; however, one of the hottest topics on Google is a Rent-A-Friend website for those with low-friend-count on their Facebook or other social network page.

It’s not a dating or escort service, and that’s good. However, people who don’t have enough “friends” connected to their account can enter any zip code in the USA or Canada and find those who will sell their relationship.  People who want the “friends,” have to become members, and that’s where they pay before connecting to the new group of acquaintances.

The Rent-A-Friend site reportedly has 100,000 hits a month, claims 200,000 members, and it has only been around for six months. Here come the knock-offs, and the trend is here to stay for a while.

Some of the youth I work with have tried this new-fangled thing, and results have been mixed. I have encouraged them to avoid this web site and others like them. It’s not that I’m an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud, but I believe friends are friends, and it’s not hard to make friends for most people.  If you have to rent them for what every reason, something’s not right. It’s also against what God has taught us, too.

I once gave a friend in my young life a quarter if he would not tell a certain girl in school that I liked her.  This was when 25 cents could by 25 pieces of bubble gum. He took the money and promptly told the certain female of my interests the next day.  How much would he have taken? I don’t know. How much would others charge to be a friend of a stranger? I don’t know.  I do know that Jesus taught us to be fishers of men, to spread the word of an everlasting life, and we should help strangers in need of help.

Does help include renting friends to be popular on a social website?   I don’t think so.  An article on the topic suggested some practical uses of the Rent-a-friend website, such as a person new to a city looking for someone to show them the town, but that could be a bad situation, too.  One-one one talking is the real answer to finding a friend, and that includes a prayer every now and then to Jesus.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Summer time is busy time

For teachers, summer is usually a time to get a break from the routines involved with their jobs. As the school teachers wound down the second semester, I was gearing up for this summer to prepare for educational and Christian programs for nearly 300 young people from ages 4 to 18 who are an important part of our church ministry. Now that August is here already, the school year will start soon as I am finishing the last weeks of a few projects. I’m also working with a few non-profits organizations and larger businesses to help with new programs to assist our youth in school.

The summer has gone fast, and I was personally involved in two of the programs my staff and I organized for this summer.  I was a counselor at a traditional summer church camp with activities and campfires so I could have some time with my teenage son.  Besides looking after him, I had others to look after and I had my share of bee stings and loose baby teeth. I also took part in a week-long “camp” of sorts which came about with a partnership with a local restaurant association and several prominent eateries.  It was a cooking course aimed at preparing more healthy meals for lower costs than eating out, and I had my daughter along with me for this experience.

Beyond the usual trips during all the summer camps to the zoo and the museums, we had different programs to help teenagers raise their own children as they learned to appreciate their role in caring for God’s children.  We also had computer camps so our youth can properly benefit from the many options developing from the Internet, especially the social media.

With the summer disappearing before my eyes, our staff is getting school supplies gathered to stuff into backpacks for more than 500 children, mostly from our church.  We seem to fight the recovering economy when it comes to getting donations from people and businesses; however, we always get what we need and sometimes more, thanks to our Lord. Also, our push to restock our food pantry for hungry children has taken an extra meaning on my part after the class I had this summer.

Serving Jesus never ends, and He gives us challenges we can handle with the help of those around us. We just have to open our eyes and see.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

When grandparents are parents again

As a father and a husband, one of the gifts I have for my children are times they spend with their grandparents.  During visits throughout the year, along with the traditional holidays, these parents have retired from being the day-to-day parents and have earned the rights in some ways treat the children in a special way different than I could ever do.

However, in the state of Washington and throughout the country, more grandparents are becoming parents again. In 2008, 40.7 percent of grandparents in this country were the primary caregivers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  The act of grandparents “keeping the family in the family” is as old as time, but what is alarming is the number of older people assuming this role.  The choice is better than alternative than when a child is living with the parent involved or drugs or crime, or when there is no mother or father and the only other choice is a series of foster homes for the child.

My kids love their “Grammy”, but I believe their opinion would quickly change if my parents had to take charge of their lives on a daily basis, especially as the children enter the teenage years.

Children living with their grandparents tend to lag behind their peers, news articles stress, but this may not accurately reflect the impact of the grandparents when compared to the lives of the children while they were with their real parents. I’m sure a dash of old-fashioned wisdom never hurts anyone.  In one article, a 14-year-old Chad, who has been with his grandparents since he was 6 months old, said, ”She (his grandmother) shown me love and kindness and has always been there for me.  She’s always pushing me and pressuring me to keep going.”

While safety and security are positives for the children, the new life for the grandparents can be a challenge to “do it all over again.”  There is change in comfortable lifestyle, and financial matters need to be considered. The incomes of the elderly are a problem and the thousands of dollars needed to raise a child in a lifetime pose problems.  Health issues of the elderly may also be a factor, but keeping up with the kids would keep anyone young at heart.

The saying that is takes a village to raise a child is appropriate here.  Local civic and non-profit organizations can fill in the gaps. The church has a responsibility to help both the children and the elderly to care for the needs of each group, especially when the two are in the same house.  Our church has a special ministry to meet this combined need working in conjunction with these local organizations. The growth of the church continues because the lessons of time are being taught to the youth, the lifeblood of any church.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Stepping Stones

Thousands of tassels have turned and many of the high school graduates of the class of 2010, including those involved in our own church activities, are faced with a new reality of life after high school.  No matter how recent, all those dances, classes, football games and other events are memories to be discussed at future reunions.Some graduates have made plans for marriage, the military, jobs, colleges or universities or just a summer vacation before their life begins another stage.

I’m, still waiting for that time when I could take a bike tour of Europe, but that dream was for when I was single. Parents, in an attempt to make their children more independent, have already planted seeds of responsibility from the first time the son or daughter took out the trash or mowed the lawn. Today the seeds have bloomed in the summer sun, and while individual family situations may differ, generally parents are encouraging a more physical distance between them and their children at some point in the near future. Some call this “leaving the nest.”

Even though our children may fly away to unknown parts of the earth, we are still parents who will love them and care for them regardless of their new situations.  God is our Father and he feels the same way. He loves us no matter what we do. The Lord has prepared for each of us to live and be an important part of the communities in which we serve.  When we fall, He will be there to bring us up to the light of life.

Our own children, who may think they know about the world based on their own experiences so far, will be in for a big experience economically and spiritually.  Those of us who have passed this stage still need to be aware of this change. As more adults re-enter in job market, the Class of 2010 have the job of finding a “good” job (or at least one to pay the rent- Dad’s new rules).  This will be a challenge, even as college plans loom in the distance. “How?” is the big question, followed by “who,””what,” “when,” and “where.”  “Why,” may seem redundant, but it still be asked.

The Lord is our security in all things in life, and while challenges are facing the youth of America after high school graduation, we need to encourage our children (and those in our ministry) to maintain this trust.  Jesus , who looks upon each of us as a shepherd cares for his flock, counts each of us so that none of us are lost to the world, no matter where we are.  Prayer is the key to this communication with God, and He will speak to each of us in a unique meaningful way.

Most of our first jobs  developed our sense or work ethic and character instead of making us rich ,and this probably for  the Class of 2010 unless someone sells his or her Internet website to the corporate world and becomes an instant millionaire.  The first jobs are merely stepping stones that will lead us to at least one career and probably several careers in a lifetime.  God has a plan for us.  We just have to listen.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

God will filter “Culture of Distraction”

Highway billboards have become hi-tech, changing digitally every 30 seconds or have revolving slats that created a 3-in-one feature. Drivers have all sorts of distractions and these kinds of billboards contribute to a culture of distraction.  Newspapers carry more and bigger ads to remain profitable. Text-savvy phone users, call it TMI, (Too Much Information) especially when a person goes too far for an unnecessary explanation.

The electronic barrage continues. Listen to the radio- more commercials …TV, (machines can cut out the commercials), and even video on the Internet have their own ads. Then there are those pesky pop-ups (but there is technology for that too).  Once a person gets past the ads, and to the information itself, the choices are everywhere. ..magazines, newspapers, e-mail, blogs, and millions of articles about everything on the Internet.  Information is good, but sometimes TMI.

An article(May I have my Attention , Please? July & August 2010) in AARP quoted Maggie Jackson, author of Distracted: The Erosion of Attention and the Coming of the Dark Age, as saying, “We’re really facing the limit of human ability to cope with stimuli in our environment. “  The article continued with researchers at the University of California-San Diego that on average, American s daily see, hear or read 35 gigabytes worth of information- or about 100,000 words from TV, the Internet, books, radio newspapers and other sources.  That figure has grown more than 5 percent annually since 1980.

Processing the information into what matters the most can be frustrating and lead to creating more stress. There can be much to remember and much to forget either on purpose or by accident.  Scientists say our brains, in some ways, can’t cope with multi-tasking and half-listening.  My wife accuses me of not listening to her at times.  We can control some of the problem ourselves by limiting out “inputs,” makes notes (and I make lots of lists), and realize we can’t remember all the names of people where you used to work. There is one more source. Our Lord.

He is the one who gave us the ability to create the world in which we live. We can talk with Him in prayer to help know what is important and what is not important in our lives, including all the information we encounter on a daily basis. There are opportunities for us to see and hear His messages  through the words and actions of other people that matter.

The Bible urges us to listen to the Lord, and live by the words in The Book.  This will simplify this “Culture of Distraction.”

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Support your local Minister

A headline for an AP story was “Clergy need more than faith in God to retire.”  This is not news to me.

I thank God for the calling He has brought to me, and I now am in a good financial position with a larger church congregation that has favorable compensation for an official retirement. I will never retire in my commitment, but there will come a time when my role as a youth minister will be given to someone else who can keep up the crowd of children who need to be taught God’s word their way.

The retirement of many ministers around the country is not as fortunate, almost like Father Mackenzie in the Beatle song, ”Eleanor Rigby.”  Shrinking church attendance in some areas and denominations is causing problems for the retirement of clergy…
Father McKenzie writing the words of a sermon
That no one will hear - no one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks in the night
When there’s nobody there - what does he care?
© 1966 EMI Records

According to that AP article, those clergy who are dedicated to help people live for today and the time when we are no longer on earth need to gain more control of their personal financial futures now.  I would agree. The clergy around the country often lack home equity and a full pension, and they tend to stay on the job longer than other professionals who benefit from traditional retirement benefits.  The financial meltdowns of the stock market in 2000 and 2008 hurt many people including ministers (and me), and recovery is still slow.

A senior minister at a small to medium-sized U.S. church gets on average $70,300 a year, according to a survey by the National Association of Church Business Administration. A  small percentage of the group, 13 percent , do not get retirement benefits, and other churches are making very small contributions to the retirement plans of others.

I realize people who go into social services, especially ministers, are not expected for get rich for their years of education and dedication.  Money issues, especially higher-than-normal salaries can be tempting, and these matters can become a problem for church administration. Major TV ministries, for example, have suffered from “Pass the loot” syndrome.

The article stressed that whatever a member of the clergy earns in a lifetime needs to be properly and professionally managed so when the time comes to step down from the pulpit, the minister won’t be going to others to ask for help after being a source for advice after all these years.

Peace be you with always,Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.

Celebrate religious freedom and diversity

As we ignite the barbeques in the backyards and enjoy the fruits of our labor- the hundreds of pounds of hamburger and hot dogs - on the Fourth of July, let us see why the bombs or fireworks burst in the air … the freedoms we enjoy and defend daily in this country.

One of the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted is freedom of religion.  There is no state religion and the state can’t control the way the people  worship in this country.  The original colonies grew from groups that came here to escape religious persecution, and because of this diversity, we became a unique experiment in human relations. Since 1776, the feeling still perseveres.

A case in point was when in late May, a Manhattan community board backed a proposal to build a Muslim community center near the World Trade Center.  According to a story in the New York Times by Javier C. Hernandez, many families of Sept. 11 victims fervently opposed the proposal, saying they were offended by the idea of building a prayer space so near the site, and that building a tribute to Islam so close to the World Trade Center would be insensitive.

More than 100 people, including children, testified in the four-hour hearing, which was punctuated with angry words and signs. The board’s vote was advisory — it did not have the power to scrap plans for a center — but it was seen as an important barometer of community sentiment. The proposed center, called the Cordoba House, would rise as many as 15 stories two blocks north of where the twin towers stood. It would include a prayer space, as well as a 500-seat performing arts center, a culinary school, a swimming pool, a restaurant and other amenities.

The group behind the project, the Cordoba Initiative, is seeking to make major structural changes to the five-story building at 45 Park Place, which was built in the late 1850s in the Italian Renaissance palazzo style. More approvals and funding issues still need to be resolved, but the basic issue of religious freedom and diversity was confirmed once again.

Ray Stevens, noted for his silly, but popular songs, also had a song, “Everybody’s Beautiful.”  A line that still rings true, “Everyone is precious in His sight, yellow, black or white.  Jesus loves the children of the world.”  While it is true that the people who committed the crimes of 911 and the Twin Towers were Muslim, not all Muslims are radical terrorists.  The pain of the events that day continues, and perhaps in the spirit of religious freedom and diversity as symbolized in the new Muslim community center, we as Americans, can become a stronger country tolerant of different religious view s and thoughts.  Time will tell.

Peace be you with always,

Rev. Paul Abernathy

“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” -2 Peter 1:2

Contact Paul Abernathy at paulabernathy@gmail.com.

Want to know more about the members of Lambda Sigma Chi? Click here to meet the members of the unofficial fraternity.