Wherein I reflect on gay marriage and just a wee little bit upon marriage itself. Please note, I really have no business writing this stuff. But I just don't have the sense…

Okay, so during my one-hour drive home from work a couple days ago, I was listening to public radio and heard a story about a woman who was undergoing a divorce from her spouse — another woman. (Turns out it's as hard to get a legal gay divorce as it is to get a gay marriage in some states. That's why the story…)

Partway through her narrative, this lady described how, after the wedding, she and her lover stopped at a homey little restaurant for dinner, mentioning that they had just gotten married. A few minutes later the server delighted them when he arrived with compliments from the chef and

A few days ago, a friend from an Assemblies of God-oriented discussion group raised an interesting topic. Since I haven't posted much here for a while, I thought I'd share my thoughts and joyfully invite your comments.

The Good Pagan

Carissa wrote:

Amen, Carissa!

It's a sad myth among us Christians that people can only act "good" by knowing Jesus when, in fact, Christianity is proof of the fact that good behavior is possible while not helpful at gaining eternal salvation. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus, he was not condemned by Jesus for bad behavior. The young man, in fact, kept all the commands since childhood. He said as much and Jesus, knowing

I recently wrote about the relatively unremarked issue of gender dysphoria and believers opting for gender reassignment. I wrote that I had communicated with Assemblies of God leadership about this issue some years ago, and that I believed a position paper is in order — now, not at some later date when it becomes a "real" issue.

And it has begun. I'd say the issue is now real.

While it hasn't surfaced within the Assemblies of God yet, I suspect it will within the next few years. Meanwhile, The Church Report Online released a special report in its May 2007 issue, titled: "Identity Crisis: A Transgender Minister Reappointed to Lead

Yesterday, I wrote about values, and what I think they are — especially how our values are revealed by behavior, along with some suggestions on how to assess your own core values.

So, I was asked some pointed values-questions by email from an online friend who knows my position. I thought I'd post my replies here so you, my Gentle Readers, can get to know me a little better. This was a useful exercise for me, perhaps it would be for you, too?

I've always been suspicious of the word "values" when used as anything other than a verb. As in:

I'm suspicious because it feels like a noble word that has been debased by liberal educators in order to pander "values-based" curriculum. (Remember the dreaded "values clarification" exercises?  — see my thoughts on this at: "The Basis for Christian Ethics.")

Unfortunately, for those who don't recognize absolutes in morality and ethics, then one man's "values" are as good and worthwhile as the next with the only distinction being, "How's that working for you?"

These are a few of the things I've recently found interesting, but don't have the time to properly blog on. I don't necessarily like or agree with the links here, I just think they're interesting. And just in case you do, too, enjoy.

(You can view past Del.icio.us links here or subscribe to my Del.icio.us feed here. )

I’ve been watching NBC’s Trumpfest, The Apprentice, since it began four seasons ago. At first I watched because it was a Burnett production, and my wife and I were enjoying Survivor. So, we figured since Mark Burnett was the wunderkind of unReality TV, it would be worth a watch. Now in its fifth season, my wife has stopped watching, but I still catch it on Tivo.

I’m not a particular fan of Donald Trump, conspicuous consumption, materialism, the almighty dollar, cut-throat business dealings, white-collar back-stabbing, greed, jealousy, petty rivalries, or getting fired. Its not entirely schadenfreude—the joy of watching others experience pain—it’s more like the fascination of seeing justice served when incompetent workers get axed mixed with cheers for the scrappy underdog I want to win. Whatever the source of my fascination, I’m surprised my date with Donald has lasted into the fifth season. But it’s not about Donald. Not for me. I couldn’t care less how financially successful he is: his opulent lifestyle alternately bores and sickens me. And I just don’t “get” the awe these Trump-ites hold for him. No, it’s not Trump. I watch each episode with horror thinking, How can the head of any corporation possibly think these knuckle-draggers have what it takes to run a food pantry, much less a major enterprise? Each week is another slow, sweaty train-wreck, and I can't look away.

I think, of all the seasons so far, the only one where I really cared about the finale and who won, was last year, when the scary-smart, charming, Southern Baptist, Randal Pinkett, was chosen to be the apprentice. I had been pulling for him the entire season, seeing in him a young man with great emotional intelligence matched with good practical intelligence as well. That he was charming, handsome, affable, and a natural leader with clear integrity were all pluses. I thought he might be a believer, and when it was confirmed I was intrigued. What would motivate a brilliant young Christian to follow after a materialistic, ego-driven, business superstar? I rooted for him, but I also admired his finale competitor Rebecca Jarvis. In the end, Trump hired Randal—and when Randal was given the unique opportunity to bring Rebecca on-board as well, he balked. “This isn’t The Apprenti.” Apparently, there can be only one, in Randal’s book—despite his three predecessors. My respect for him took a temporary nosedive, and I was confused (but see Randal’s blog entry). So were others.

Values are a tricky thing and it’s hard to judge, from a distance, through the lens of selectively edited video, anything that was going on there. But, strangely, it's no easier figuring out what's going on in my own office. Working with normal, everyday people is fraught with misunderstandings, presumptions, biased conclusions, and misperceptions.

Throughout the five seasons I have watched each episode, taking mental notes. Note to self: don’t bad-mouth coworkers; I never know when they’re going to turn out to be an ally, a friend, or a motivated enemy, and it’s just plain mean. Or, Note to self: life doesn’t always come in binary yes-and-no, “hired” or “fired” dichotomies. Sometimes everybody wins. Sometimes everybody loses. Sometimes it’s hard to tell the two apart. In each season I saw a microcosm of the workaday world, with rivalries, jealousies, pettiness, and ego writ large. For me, The Apprentice is a little more than a reality game-show … it’s also a weekly lesson on what makes good leadership.

To that end, I offer ten lessons I’ve learned, in no particular order. These are not the only observations I’ve had, but I gotta draw the line somewhere. So these are the ten you get.

You may remember how New York Times reporter Kurt Eichenwald discovered the seedy world of teenage webcam porn, and how his investigation became personal when he encouraged the subject he was interviewing—Justin Berry—to give up his sordid life, turn State’s evidence, and kick drugs. Eichenwald has since been in the hot seat for violating traditional journalistic ethics in that he became part of the story. Some claim he lost his objectivity and tarnished his legitimacy as a reporter not a story-maker by becoming personally involved and influencing the story. Eichenwald’s response is straightforward and direct: journalism doesn’t mean “we are required to check our humanity at the door.”

So, being in the eye of the ethical storm he can, presumably, objectively report on the conditions there. He recently gave an ethics lecture at Marquette University, titled, “A Delicate Balance: Objective Journalist, Engaged Citizen.”

Apparently, at

My longtime email friend and fine Bayou pastor, Rev. Louis Bartet (The Grace Place), recently posed this thought-provoking question, which I have attempted to answer from my perspective.

Lou, doesn’t believe in simple questions with short answers!

Okay. I'll give the short answer first—just to save you time: the character and nature of God should serve as the primary basis of Christian ethics. God created us, and formed us in his image, therefore our ethics should reflect his character and nature. Like Jesus, we should do what we see our Father doing (John 5:19-20).

Unfortunately, the Fall in the Garden marred and damaged God's image within us. As a result, we can no longer consistently act within an ethical framework reflecting God's character. All have acted unethically: "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

Therefore, any ethical system which does not ultimately move us closer to the Divine ideal reveals a fatal flaw. Indeed, even our attempts to interpret the revealed ethical framework of Scripture inherits this flaw because God did not give us a systematic ethical calculus to cover every circumstance. Our ability to "tease out" the ethical underpinnings of God's character, nature, fall short. The flaw reveals itself in our tendency to legalize the framework and ignore the spirit of the laws he did provide.

Now, to unpack that a bit.

What is ethics?