Charlie Wear’s Notes

It has been an amazing three weeks and tomorrow I get on the plan at 6 a.m. and fly home to my family in Tampa, Florida. Just three weeks ago we were hanging in there at the end of our financial rope. With the help of friends and loved ones, we tied a knot in the end of the rope and took some action.

Now my first period of temporary duty is over and I get to spend 8 days at home before my next stretch in California. If I told you some of my adventures in the last three weeks you wouldn’t believe it, I am sure, but I can say I feel a peace about the decisions I have made. If you had occasion to think of me and say a prayer, I thank you. May God return your prayers to you and your family with rich blessings.

If you are one of my loyal readers (I am pretty sure there are a few of you), you know that for the last year or so I have been up to my neck overseeing the web communication activities of my friend, Steve Sjogren. Steve is starting a church in the Tampa area of Florida next year and that’s one of the reasons Loretta, Ben and I moved down there last year.

One of the things I neglected to do was make arrangements for earning a living in Florida! I am a licensed lawyer in California and have done that kind of work for several years to finance my extracurricular activities. When I resigned my job and moved to Florida full-time last October I still had not been able to make application to take the Bar examination and practice law in Florida.

One thing has lead to another and I have had to curtail my Sjogren activities and take a temporary job doing legal work in California. Luckily I was able to bum an airline ticket off my brother, and borrow some money from friends to tide us over until I can get my first healthy paycheck in my new job. The upside is that I have a flexible job that will pay me regular money. The downside, I have to be away from Loretta and Ben for weeks at a time.

This is a bad analogy, but I think I have a glimpse of how those men and women who are in the military on temporary duty around the world must feel when they are separated from their family. Trust me, it is not very good. Luckily I have a great guy to hand off a lot of my previous activities to, his name is Scott Bane and keep an eye on him he is an up and comer.

Dustin Bagby interviews Dick Staub, author of the Culturally Savvy Christian.

 

 Dick Staub Interview: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I confess. I am one of the few television viewers who has enjoyed the NBC show, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, this season. Part of it is because I love the smart-alecky way Aaron Sorkin writes. Part of it is because I love the multi-layered inside showbiz-political-corporate intrigue kind of story. I also like the way that a Christian voice is portrayed in a pretty authentic way.

Most of us Christ-followers would wish that we could be like the Harriet Hayes character. She stands up for her faith, by golly, even while making fun of herself and the rest of us as we hypocritically wend our ways through life. She also is in love with the non-believing Jewish head writer-executive producer of the show.

Okay, enough exposition, let me get to the point. The show is finishing out its run with the shows that were in the can before it was canceled earlier this year. Harriet and Matt have been breaking up and getting back together all through this season and apparently for the "eight" years that they have known each other and argued about Harriet’s faith.

However, when one of their co-workers’ brother’s life is threatened by captivity in Afghanistan, Harriet’s response is to drop to her knees and start praying. Wow! there was something awfully courageous, dignified and brave about that moment. It was moving. Maybe it’s because it has been a while since I have been in enough trouble that I dropped to my knees and cried out to God. But seeing her praying on prime-time TV just sort of undid me.

The characters dialog of faith, concluding with the non-believing Matt throwing up his prayer, with eyes pointed up, "Okay, show me something here," was just too good to miss. I was inspired.

Alright, I’ve decided. I’m going to take a page from Aaron Sorkin’s book. I’m going to tie another knot at the end of my rope and hang on a little while longer.

Via Jordon Cooper, this is just outstanding:
[youtube RHGyHCm4jhA]

"You want forgiveness, get religion?" — Peter Parker, Spiderman 3

"Who needs a doctor: the healthy or the sick? Go figure out what this Scripture means: ‘I’m after mercy, not religion.’ I’m here to invite outsiders, not coddle insiders." Jesus, Matt. 8:12, The Message

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly." Jesus, Matt. 11:28, The Message

I saw Spiderman 3 yesterday. I was struck by Peter Parker’s struggle with forgiveness in the movie. I mean Spiderman does some bad things, he thinks he kills someone, he purposefully injures his "best friend," he picks fights and hits his girlfriend. What kind of a super-hero is this? One who struggles with the angst of existence, no doubt.

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it." Paul, Romans 7:15-20 NIV

Eventually Spiderman gets forgiveness from his best friend and girl friend, and it turns out he didn’t actually personally kill anyone.

Here’s my question, and the point of this whole exercise: "If religion is not the answer for those who need forgiveness, why do we Christ-followers behave as though it is?"