Scott Freeman

One story is indelibly ingrained in my memory. It was one first heard when I was 12 years old but today it holds added resonance for me.
The story took place in George Washington University Hospital as then President Ronald Reagan was being rushed into surgery following an assassination attempt.
Looking up at his doctor, Reagan whispered, “I hope you are a Republican.”
The doctor, in a now famous remark, said, “Today, Mr. President, we’re all Republicans.”

This story packs extra significance for me this day as I contemplate the events of the last few days.
It is no under-statement to say that we live in a deeply divided land: pro-war/anti-war; Democrat/Republican; Blue State/Red State.

We have lived this in a tangible way this past week as the Cindy Sheehan affair was waged just a few miles from our home.
Sides were taken.
Words were said.
And the tenuous peace of a nation divided was put to the test as it has so many times in our history.

But today, as we reel in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina those divides have narrowed.
As we have watched with palpable horror the all too real nightmare our fellow countrymen are living through, our political party seems to matter a little less.

We are all Louisianans tonight.
We are all Mississippians tonight.
We are all Alabamans tonight.

We don’t agree on the war in Iraq? So what.
I think we all can agree that a war must be fought on our own homeland.
A war against hunger, homelessness, and disease.
We feel hatred toward those who disagree with us on whether or not protest is viable?
It is time to lay aside those pointless divides for we are needed to be together.
To be a source of hope, encouragement and prayer.
We shake our heads at the mounting costs of war and the rising cost of gasoline?
Now is the time to pool our resources and use our money to heal our land.

We are together. We are humans caught in the throes of a fallen world.
Our friends, our neighbors, our brothers and sisters are displaced and dispossessed.
It is time to lay aside the rancor and unite.
It is time to cast off the political labels and be Americans.
It is time to silence the political rhetoric and increase the humanitarian spirit that we have into a deafening roar.

President Bush has said that the is the greatest national disaster to ever strike our land.
The only acceptable response is to counter with the greatest outpouring of love this land has ever seen.

I’m on vacation this week. But I am so behind in my study that I am spending the week in reading. For what it’s worth, here is my reading list:

Beyond Foundationalism: Shaping Theology in a Postmodern Context by Stanley Grenz and John Franke
Resident Aliens: Life in the Christian Colony by Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon
A New Kind of Christian: A Tale of Two Friends on a Spiritual Journey by Brian McLaren
A Primer on Postmodernism by Stanley Grenz
Out of the Question…Into the Mystery : Getting Lost in the GodLife Relationship by Leonard Sweet
Performing the Faith: Bonhoeffer and the Practice of Nonviolence by Stanley Hauerwas
A Christian Manifesto by Francis Schaeffer
Cradle & Crucible : History and Faith in the Middle East

And due to my interest in the controversy within the Episcopal church (but fully realizing that I will probably disagree with everything in these two books), I will also be tackling:
The Anglican Quilt : Resolving the Anglican Crisis Over Homosexuality by Robert Van De Weyer
A New Christianity for a New World : Why Traditional Faith is Dying & How a New Faith is Being Born by John Shelby Spong

I’m afraid I’ll never get through all of these this week but it will be fun trying. I’m purposefully reading some stuff that will stretch me and challenge me. Stuff that will run diametrical to my own belief system. I’m sure I’m going to be talking about some of this stuff in the near future.

There is nothing more polarizing in my community right now than the presence of a group of protesters in Crawford.
After much thought and discussion we decided not to go to Crawford this weekend because of safety concerns for our children. But in the midst of this political divide I find myself firmly in the camp of Cindy Sheehan.
My position is not a political one. I write as neither a Republican or a Democrat.
My politics do not determine my theology.
Instead, my theology determines the way I believe politics should be.
I am against the war. However, I know that there are godly, devout people who sincerely disagree with me.
I do not support the protest because I believe that without alternatives there is no point. I also don’t support the protests of protesters.
However there are some things, to me, that are more important than political expediency: being Christ in the hearts and lives of people.

George W. Bush once said that his favorite philosopher is Jesus. He has been consistent in his message that his faith informs his decisions as leader of the free world.
I do not for a moment question the sincerity of his faith. I believe him to be a deeply devout man. That does not mean that I agree with all of his policy decisions. Nor do I believe that he is without fail.
One reason that I cannot be a Democrat is their seemingly unswerving commitment to marginalize religious thinking. As evidenced in the last election, when Democrats do turn to religious speak it seems forced and nothing more than an pandering for votes.
Likewise, I disagree with an Imperialistic Eschatology that many Republicans espouse.
So, I am a man without a party. But I am a man with a Kingdom. And the way I live my life must be more eternally-focused than merely here and now. I am not an American Christian but a Christian who happens to be American.

As a Christian, I believe it is the moral imperative for George Bush to meet with Cindy Sheehan. Scripture is clear, that if someone has a problem with you, you go to them and try to resolve the matter. I don’t see an exemption based upon position or title.
As a minister, if someone is offended by something that I say or do, then I have a responsibility to go to them and allow them the opportunity to be heard. It may not change anything. It may not alleviate their concerns or win them over to my point of view but it will be a sign of faithful sincerity to community and Christian love.
Most Christians I know believe that to be true. Yet for some reason we are quick to dismiss this principle in this situation. This to me is an example of a political theology rather than theological politics. The tale wagging the dog, so to speak.
Some people don’t want the President to meet with Cindy because it would begin a “slippery slope” that would cause other people to line up and demand the same. “Slippery Slope” arguments are argumental fallacies, an attempt to avoid solutions by painting worst-case scenarios. Even if more people did want to meet with him isn’t that one of the advantages of being a part of a representative democracy? That the people have access to their representatives?
Some are against the meeting because they have fallen prey to one of the greatest divides that our country faces: hatred of those with divergent viewpoints. But that is folly. There are good people in support of this war. And equally good people who cannot justify it. There are good Democrats and good Republicans. Let’s stop the either/or non-sense and talk with one another.
The Christian thing to do is to meet with her. It is not the politically expedient thing to do, but there is a higher, nobler purpose. We cannot be just if we will not be true.
To me, our positions on the war are irrelevant here. There is the duties of a Christian first, president second commingled with the purpose and intent of a representative democracy.
I mean, come on, if a woman decides to camp-out throughout the month of August in Central Texas where the average high is about 348 degrees, it seems that great opportunities abound to act in good faith toward one another. To do, as GW said in December of 2000 to reach across party lines and be a healer.
Do the Christian thing, Mr. President. Meet with Cindy.

A friend this week described me this week on another blog as “an evangelical Christian preacher in Waco, Texas (and yet, not a wacko!)”
I view that as a great compliment.
I have had several people ask me recently why I tend to be self-deprecating in my writings. Why I tend to belittle myself for the sake of a point.
Allow me an opportunity to discuss this point.
First and foremost, we must have an understanding of what it means to be self-deprecating. Typically, it means that one undervalues their talents and abilities.
I believe an even greater understanding of self-deprecating is the idea that people undervalue their talents and abilities in an effort to produce just the opposite–the building up of an ego through the propensity of people to affirm those who are down on themselves.
In other words, if one individual puts himself down, he can count on others to build him up, capitalizing on a perverse, ironic need for affirmation.

I hope I don’t do that. I hope that my need for accolades and compliments are not so fleshly that I would stoop to such obvious tactics for a few passing compliments.
I hope that I wouldn’t go to such ironic lengths for a little ego-stroking.
But, I probably do just that.
I (sinfully) covet affirmation.
I tend to relish the “good jobs” and “way to go’s” that others will throw my way.

But, and here is the important point, I am not striving to be self-deprecating.
My sincere attempt it to be honest:
I am a sinner.
I am a sinner saved by the grace of God.
I am a sinner saved by the grace of God, not by what I am or strive to be.
And I must continually acknowledge that or I will be consumed by the pagan desire for self-recognition, self-adulation and self-aggrandizement.
If that is what I become then God is no longer glorified and honored in my life. And my friend would have to change her opinion of me.

You see, I must be honest and sincere. I know what I am made of.
I know that I am still undone.
God is not finished with me. And I am stubborn enough that He will not be finished with me this side of Heaven.
I know that any abilities I have come from Him.
If I can preach, it is His gift to me, not due to my own proclivity for oration. That’s why I get sick to my stomach every Sunday morning.
If I can teach it is because He blesses me with insight and understanding. For I know that I’m not that particularly smart or insightful.
If I can offer sound counsel it is because He has blessed me with the ultimate Counselor in working through my own struggles and temptations.

I am who I am only because of I Am.
I believe that the reason many non-Christians fail to receive the good news of Jesus Christ is that we often communicate an unappealing message, an unwelcoming spirit, and an uncompassionate superiority.
Too often we have positioned ourselves as having all the answers instead of being in direct relationship with the Answer.
We have communicated our holiness rather than His Holiness.
We have displayed our sanctimony rather than His Sacrifice.
Our superiority rather that His Sovereignty.

And as a result, many curious seekers, despite knowing that who we believe in is Real and True, turn away because we have failed to be real and true.

Let’s be honest with each other.
Let’s be open with our struggles.
Let’s be transparent with a searching world.
And in so doing may they see, not us, but the Christ in us.

May they see that we don’t have it all together but we know the One who can hold us together. That His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul had it right there. If we brag, let’s brag of our weaknesses so God’s power can be seen in us.

You see, I hope my friend can say that I am not a wacko because she sees Jesus in me.
Not some feigned moral superiority but the blood of Jesus.
That I seek to love others because Jesus loves me.
That I strive to be compassionate with others because Jesus is compassionate with me.
That I am patient when others see things differently because He is so patient with me.

If we show people all that we are then, eventually, they will be disappointed. And they may lose faith in our message.
But, if through our weaknesses, we embody the person of Christ, then, maybe, they will see Him more clearly.
And isn’t that what we are called to do: display Him to the world?
My life’s goal, my truest desire is that when people see me, they see Jesus. If I lift up myself they will never see Him.

If we, as Christians, ever wonder why some people don’t like us, look at us rather skeptically and have a hard time taking us seriously we need look no further than right here for one of the main reasons: Link

Pat Robertson calls for the assassination of Hugo Chavez. That’s just great. Super way to go and make disciples don’t you think?
Someone gives the republic grief? Let’s go take them out.
I think I remember reading that somewhere in scripture.
Yeah. Right after loving your enemies and praying for those that persecute you.

If you are a non-Christian and are somehow reading this blog, please understand this: unfortunately, Pat Robertson may be speaking for some Christians who endorse and condone acts of violence and coercion as evangelism but he does NOT speak for Jesus.

Jesus would suggest we pray for Hugo Chavez.
That we would love him despite any differences of opinion or policy that we might suggest.
The idea that Jesus would support the violent toppling of a rival governmental leader is both nauseating and a gross dismissal of Romans 13.
Jesus, himself, did not actively engage the Roman empire of His day, despite how wicked and corrupt it was. No, His ire was typically reserved for the uber-religious who espoused the Messiah destroying Rome by force and establishing an earthly kingdom of His own.
Jesus didn’t resort to such drastic measures then and I doubt He would choose to do so today.

If we, as Christians, become enemies of the message of Jesus then how can we disseminate His truth in a lost and dying world? How can we be His hope if we wish the damnation of others? How can we be harbingers of salvation if we neglect to pray for the souls of the lost? How can we convey grace if we condone destruction?

I’m saddened.
But thankful, that the Way of Jesus is more than human rhetoric.

1. As I am finding my voice after 8 months of blogging I believe that it is imperative that I stipulate now that any views I have expressed or might express in the near future are mine and mine alone. This blog is not necessarily representative of the views of my family, my church or my friends. I am posting this, not because I have received any requests to clarify, but to prepare you for any potential direction my writings take.
2. The books that I am currently reading that I display on the sidebar are not necessarily books that I recommend. I am currently trying to understand what is going on in the postmodern/emergent “conversation” and am presently unable to provide a salient diagnosis of my feelings toward this nascent movement in the church. I’m sure you will hear my thoughts on this as well in the near future.
3. For the person who searched earlier today, you cannot find out if the Doodlebops are coming to your town from this blog. And finally,
4. Come on, whether you are a republican or a democrat, that is just plain funny.

I helped Baylor freshmen move into their dorms this morning. I had a couple of items in my hand and was walking up toward the check-in at this one particular dormitory when one of the professors at BU came up to me. The conversation went as follows:

“Here, I’ll carry that stuff for you so you can move your car,” he says.

“I don’t need to move my car, I’m just helping the students move in.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Scott. I didn’t realize it was you.”

To which I respond, “Do I look like an in-coming freshman?”

And he responds, in all seriousness, “No, you look like a parent.”

I guess maybe I am old enough to have a child entering college but I sure don’t feel like it.

Or do you find this just plain wrong like I do?

It seems this site is selling car magnets with “Bush” inside the Christian icthus, a symbol dating back to the early days of the church that represented to those persecuted followers of Christ a message of hope and salvation, not American policy or leadership.
The letters, icthus, stood for JESUS CHRIST, SON OF GOD, SAVIOR. Not G.W.
That means a lot to me. I have to deal with pagans co-opting the fish for their sacrilegious pleasure and Christians slapping it on their car with little regard for how often they fail to drive with the spirit of Christ but this really galls me.
Don’t get me wrong, I love this country. I am as patriotic as the next guy. But the United States of America is not my Kingdom. I await another world.
I don’t even dislike GW. I mean, I’ve even voted for him in the past. But he is a president, not a Savior. And I don’t agree that all of his policies reflect the intent and desire of Christ.
To intimate that the US and the Kingdom of God have the identical purposes and intent is to grossly overestimate the nobility of earthly kingdoms. And it diminishes the Sovereignty and Power of God.
I could rail on but I will get off my soapbox now.

Tracy,
You know that I am not a man that is typically given to nostalgia and reminisces. But I did something yesterday that I thought you should know about.
I ran 8 miles. That you already knew. It is the farthest I have ever gone. But that should not be surprising to you either. For you are the one who has pushed me to go farther, to be a better man than anyone I have ever known.
If I strive harder maybe, just maybe, I will someday be the man that you deserve.
No, all that you know already.
What you did not know was that each mile was for us. Starting with my first step I dedicated each mile for each year that we have been married.
Today begins the eighth year that we have been wed and for that I am blessed beyond words.
So I ran: the first mile for our first year, second mile for our second year and so on.

Year One–Getting married, learning to live together, realizing that this was more work than we ever could have imagined, buying a house together, getting a dog, etc.
Year Two–Moving to Texas, selling a house (and losing money), having the big fight and realizing that we need help to figure this out, taking a vacation to New England with you feeling a little queasy each day, etc.
Year Three–Becoming a family of three, buying (another) house, working together, living through my increasing discomfort with youth ministry and desire to preach, etc.
Year Four–Moving to Michigan, selling another house and losing still more money, transitioning from the South to the North and youth ministry to preaching, learning what cold really is, etc.
Year Five–Becoming a family of four, refusing to buy another house, living through depression, blackout 2003, etc.
Year Six–Staying home for Christmas as our own family for the first time, deciding to go visit family but stopping in Indianapolis, changing lives and losing weight, etc.
Year Seven–Moving to Texas (again), becoming a family of five (we’re stopping here, right?), buying a house (yet again), etc.
Year Eight–The last mile I ran (the hardest one) was for all the years that wait ahead of us: learning to love deeper and more fully, raising our girls to love Jesus, watching them grow, preparing for the day it is just the two of us again, buying and selling more houses, etc.

I’ve learned a lot about myself since I took up running. But what was crystal clear to me yesterday is what I have been taught over 7 beautiful years of being married to you:

• That I never would have been complete if God had not brought you to me;
• That I need you to heal and be the person I have been called to be again;
• That nobody can fill you with joy quicker than I can;
• That nobody can rob of that joy faster than I can;
• That you have tremendous reservoirs of patience with me as I can be flippant, distant, unconnected, argumentative, stubborn, arrogant, cold, callous, mean, insensitive, insincere, uncaring, selfish, lazy, rude, crass, and hygienically impaired.
• That you are the best mother my girls could ever possibly have;
• That you are the best wife that I could possibly dream of;
• That there is something about the combination of our genes that has produced the most beautiful girls this world has ever seen;
• That I can’t teach you to be on time because time is a concept that you find bourgeois
• That, at times, our marriage has been difficult but that I would not trade those difficulties for anything.
• That I am more excited about the years that lie ahead than I fully realized.
• That your heart for Jesus, that your love of prayer, that your desire to be a greater reflection of Him, that your quiet discipleship, your love for people, your steady witness of His grace to those you encounter is my daily sermon. YOU are MY preacher.
• That I love you more with each passing day.

Thank you, Tracy, for being my wife. Thank you for not running any of those times I pushed you away.
Thank you for loving me more than I deserve.
Thank you for knowing that there was more to me than others could see.
Thank you for teaching me about Jesus.
Thank you for my girls.
Thank you for you.

I will continue to run, to strive, to reach ahead, to be all that you need me to be.
One day, I will be good enough for you.

I love you.

Happy Anniversary,
Scott

A couple of years ago an interesting story appeared in the news. It seems that scientists have discovered that a pill used in tuberculosis patients may help people overcome theirphobias. Take a pill for TB and overcome your need to wash your hands 50 times a day.  What a deal.Apparently the pill aids in transmitting aprotein that is necessary to face fear head-on.Now, of course, I'm skeptical. In our panacea-crazedculture we are continually looking for the nexttablet-sized savior that will fix all of our ills.But, apparently some reports have been trickling out in the last few months that this drug, D-cycloserine, has helped people deal with a wide range of fears from heights, spiders, OCD and Social Anxiety.Obviously, the effects of this drug still hold many question marks to its long-term benefits or short-comings.

However, this news got me wondering if it could help us with some of the crippling phobias that besiege us in the church.

Could it really help us to combat suchscourges as: (quick disclaimer: this is all in goodfun.) - Lafiestaphobia: the fear that the preacher will goway over and the Presbyterians will beat you to thelocal restaurant. - Coreybatesaphobia: the fear that Corey will hit you up to pray or wait on the Lord's Supper on Sundaymorning. - Emblemaphobia: the fear that you will drop thecommunion tray as it is passed to you or the piece ofcracker that you break off is just not big enough. - Incorrectaphobia: the fear that if you speak up inclass everyone will think that you gave the wronganswer. - Punctualiphobia: the fear that if you are early youwill be expected to sit up front. - Dirtylaundraphobia: the fear that your childrenwill repeat something you said about another member ortell a deep dark family secret. - Potluckaphobia: the fear that you will be at theend of the potluck line and all the good stuff will begone and you have to eat the reheated leftovers thatyou brought. - Visitaphobia: the fear that you will greet the newvisitors only to find out they have been attending forthe past 5 years. - Conflictaphobia: the fear that a marriage seminarwill be scheduled on the first weekend of deer huntingor Super Bowl Sunday. - Zipaphobia: the fear that you will get up to say aprayer or read a scripture with your pants unzipped.

Again, this is all in fun. You may be able to think ofyour own phobias that you have seen in the church fromtime to time or maybe even some that you strugglewith. Share them with me. I'd love to hear.

Can this new pill cure fear? I doubt it. It will probably do what most pills of this type do:alleviate the symptoms and leave the root causecompletely untouched.The root cause of fear is simple: a lack of trust.Everytime I experience fear on an airplane I am nottrusting God to deliver me safely.Everytime I fear illness I am not trusting the GentleHealer.Everytime I fear death I am not trusting in thepromise of salvation.Everytime I fear failure I am not trusting in thevictory of the cross.Fear is not a disease. It is a sin. A sin that places a wavering reliance on an imperfect world rather than unwavering confidence in the world yet to come.

Listen to this passage:"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summonedyou by name; you are mine. When you pass through thewaters, I will be with you; and when you pass throughthe rivers, they will not sweep over you. When youwalk through the fire, you will not be burned; theflames will not set you ablaze." (Isaiah 43:1-2)

More potent than a pill, isn't it? Are you unsure of the future? Trust in Him.Are you crippled by anxiety? Lean on Him.Are you consumed with doubt and uncertainty thatmanifests itself in an ocean of fear? Know this: Hewill come. He will come and save you. (Is. 35:4)Don't be afraid any longer. You are His.