Here’s my take.

I am a conservative, this does not default to republican in my book, as the republican party has veered very, very far from it’s days of Reagan conservatives. Now, the republican party is happy to grow the government just as much as the democrats, and with just the same amount of bureaucratic inefficiency as their counterparts “across the aisle”.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not for a two-party uber alles system, where the parties spend all their time fighting one another from some ideological bulwarks without ever wanting to work together. But, when you represent a party that has a base that believes in fundamentally small, efficient, and effective governments, who focus solely on what the Constitution requires of them, then they need to represent that view in their daily work. This won’t always be the case, just as sometimes a parent has to overstep their own ideal bounds with their children to steer them away from potentially fatal situations, when they might often let them learn on their own. Sticking your finger in hot water teaches you about hot things and the danger/pain of abuse, sticking your finger in a light socket may prove fatal, thus destroying the entire point of teaching at all.

There will be times (great depression) when the government is forced to act in extreme ways to fend off complete national collapse, but it must relinquish those powers once the emergency is over, lest we see a oligarchical nation come into power before our very eyes.

Looking at heavy-handed communist or socialist countries gives me pause, because most of those nations were founded with the best of intentions. Making the working-class, middle-class people more powerful by putting the government on “their side” looks great on paper, but the more you trust those without accountability outside of themselves, the more personal responsibility you (perhaps inadvertently) hand over to them. You no longer need to worry about working for yourself, you work for the country. You earn what the country earns and live how the country lives. Communities are “installed” as needed by the motherland and all you have to do is what you are told to do.

This system can work, but you don’t need the government to drive it. You can loan money to people without interest, believe it or not. Thanks to our overly-bloated tax and banking laws, it is much harder to do that, but you could do it easily once upon a time. There are lots of things that we now need the government to do for us, that once upon a time, we could do without the help of the government.

There are some things that a government should always be doing. Protecting the nation from threats for foreign and domestic is a good one. Guaranteeing citizens protection from crime and fraud is another one. Also, currency control in order to govern inflation and economic growth to prevent huge swings that are potentially national threats.

Neither of the candidates seem to want to focus on these issues. They both seem content to throw money at problems that call for much deeper reform. The fear I have with Sen. Obama is a complete democratically controlled government. The GOP had that a while back and they hosed it up badly. Checks and balances are our friends, after all.

But, I tend to think that the only thing that will wake up the republican party is to see how many conservatives cannot bring themselves to vote for Sen. McCain. Give me a conservative candidate next time, and he/she will have my vote.

I cannot discount Sen. Obama’s ability to bring a nation together under a notion of change, but we need to change for the better. Believe it or not, this country has “changed” greatly from what the Constitution has laid out for the federal government and I think we need to “change” back into the original vision of the founding fathers.

In debates with folks at work, and following an email list that I run for family members, it seems that many of the Obama supporters would rather the government take over stuff that is working inefficiently. They are fine with giving the government the go-ahead, having them tax the rich more, and then wait for the government to handle it. The problem with that mentality is what do you do when the government lets you down? What happens when a promise about pre-existing conditions turn into a wait in long lines for a “specialist”. What happened in other countries are people paying out-of-pocket to see doctors when they want to.

If malpractice was reformed, health care would see a dramatic shift in pricing and availability. Instead, the candidates want to funnel *more* money into a flawed system. You can’t federalize health care insurance without federalizing health care. The government will soon dictate, like a giant HMO, which doctors can charge what prices under their care. Once that division takes place, it won’t be long until the other doctors are forced into their system to still have patients.

Why not take those monies that you want the government to have and funnel them into non-profits and charities designed to help offset health-care costs specifically for people with a pre-existing condition? There isn’t one? WHY NOT BE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE AND START ONE!?

I know plenty of people that could afford health care, but choose to buy flat-screen TVs and new cars. They take trips and vacations and have the latest technology, then turn around and say that health care is too expensive. Issues like that are about priorities. People with multiple kids have to adjust their spending as well as people that lose lawsuits. Life isn’t “fair” for everyone, but there are ways to make it work, if people are personally responsible enough to actually make it happen.

In my time in Church, I’ve seen that there are people that have a passion for just about anything you can think of. If you want to adopt, they can get you grants, huge sums of money donated by people who have a heart for the suffering of orphans. If you want to go on a mission trip to help build buildings in 3rd world countries, you can get donations to help you accomplish that.

Many children’s hospitals are funded by benefactors so that families can get the care they need without having to bear the entire burden. To think that there is no hope for adults that have a certain condition(s) is to discount the true nature of Americans. You can bet that there are people who have money to send and would happily fund an organization designed to help certain afflicted people get the care they need.

Many issues are just like this! We moved to California a couple years back and now we’re tired of it. The lifestyle is okay, but it’s not Indiana, and we don’t have any family here. In addition, this state is hemorrhaging money into a broken school system and countless junk programs. There are *plenty* of people out here who complain 24/7 about it. They talk about lobbying this and that and trying to change it in such and such a way. Good for them!! Get in there and make a change, but for us, we are going to move to a place that’s more affordable and closer to family. We will bear the responsilibily of moving ourselves and make it happen. I think Californians in general like the idea of a socialist agenda with a huge state government, so I am compelled to leave if I disagree. So be it. I don’t have a right to live in California with a government of my choosing.

The issue I face is that if America takes a turn toward a big-government behemoth, we will have to leave the country to escape that kind of government intervention. That’s a bit tougher for me to do because there have been many people who have fought and died for this country and I want it to flourish like it has the first 225 years of it’s life. We don’t need a bigger government, we need bigger citizens that will take to hear the infamous question: “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!”

So, who am I voting for? Honestly, I’m not sure. I guess I pray that there will be something that can convict me what is best for America in the long term, and not just for me in the short term. Here’s to hoping!! /clink

As a last thing, here is JFK’s tremendous “Ask Not” speech. If you’ve never read it, you really should. I pretty much agree with every assertion he makes in that speech…

www.famousquote…

-Chris

Also, so many of those testimonies are so very familiar to me! I guess that reinforces that we are rarely alone in the stuff we struggle with every day. It’s a powerful idea that God knows our plights and wants to take those burdens away, it’s really powerful when you see that idea play out in real life in a video like this.

-Chris

So, I HIGHLY recommend Go Fish for all you parents out there, and even for those of you who don’t have kids yet but like good Christian music. To find out more about these guys, or to order some of their CDs, here is their web site.

Emma absolutely loved the show. She danced her little heart out and clapped along with the songs. It was so cute. I tell you, she has the music in her. She loves to boogie. It’s the sweetest thing.

That’s all for now. More later.

Always remember: The rhythm IS going to get you … sooner or later.

My grandfather, Donald Lewis Heacock, went home to the Lord on May 20th, 2007. If you follow my blog, you’ll see that his wife of more than fifty years passed on less than three months prior.

It was this abrupt end to my grandpa’s life that left me unable to say anything worth saying on this blog. My grandmother was suffering from cancer and her passing was a welcome end to an outwardly visible suffering. My grandfather, on the other hand, was suffering quietly and internally. He had his share of maladies, he had suffered a stroke many years ago which affected his quality of life, and shortly before his passing had been to the doctor’s office trying to iron out some medication issues.

Even with those conditions, his passing was a complete surprise to everyone. In thinking about his life, especially after he lost his wife, it dawned on me that he was most likely overcome with a desire to be finished with this place. I can’t imagine what he was feeling, and as typical with Heacock men, he wouldn’t have shared those feelings anyway. I do know that as a veteran, a musician, and an avid woodworker, his stroke had changed his ability to enjoy life as much in those ways. I my opinion, he was living to take care of his wife, in whatever capacity he could, even if that meant just being there for her.

Once she had passed, I think his drive to keep on breathing was gone and it was only a matter of time until God stepped in and ended his mortal tour of duty. I think these two pictures sum it up perfectly.

The second picture was taken at my parent’s house after Grandma’s funeral. His expression looks to me like a man who is trying to figure out where he goes from here.

I’ll end this post with a reminder… Take time to talk with those people that are special to you. In my lifetime, I never got to know my grandpa very well. He was always working on something it seems, and I just don’t have a lot of memories of him from my childhood. In reading his obituary, I saw that he served in the Army (which I knew), but he served in a band and played the upright bass (which I never knew). I can honestly say that as I read that, I felt like I had let a piece of my own history pass off this earth without spending enough time to learn/appreciate it. I love music, and that love was installed by my parents, especially my father. I’m not sure (see my above note about Heacock men), but my dad’s love of music was probably influenced by his father. That, my friends, is almost a legacy of music. And I never knew.

Take the time to learn about your history, and if you can do that with a living legacy, do it asap. Don’t wait for another opportunity, it’s just not worth it.

Here’s an anonymous poem that reminds me of my grandpa…

THE FINAL INSPECTION

The soldier stood and faced his God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining
Just as brightly as his brass

“Step forward now you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek,
And to my church have you been true?”

The soldier squared his shoulders and said,
“No Lord, I guess I ain’t,
Because those of us who carry guns,
Can’t always be the saints

“I’ve had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough
And sometimes I’ve been violent
Because the streets were awfully rough”

But I never took a penny,
That wasn’t mine to keep
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills just got to steep,

And I never passed a cry for help
Although, at times I shook with fear
And sometimes, God forgive
I’ve wept unmanly tears

I know I don’t deserve a place
Among the people here
That never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears

If you have a place for me here O’ Lord
It needn’t be so grand
I’ve never expected, or had so much
But if you don’t I’ll understand”

There was a silence all around the throne
Where the Saints had often trod
As this soldier waited quietly
For the judgment from his God

“Step foward now you soldier,
You’ve borne your burdens well
Walk peacefully on Heaven’s streets,
You’ve done your time in Hell”

-Chris

After a nice chuckle, it dawned on me that I haven’t asked my USAF buddy about his role, or more accuratley, the USAF’s role in the current Iraq conflict. I was also curious about how the war was being perceived by the folks that aren’t necessarily doing the house-to-house combat. He gave me permission to blog him, so here’s his reply, sanitized to protect the innocent:

The AF is completely involved in Iraq, although not as much when it comes to full-up urban warfare in a place like Baghdad, where the Marines and Army have to go house to house and bombs are a little inappropriate.

We do have some pretty cool newer, smaller bombs — do a search for the “Small Diameter Bomb.” It uses the most precise GPS-aided package ever made, and unfortunately I can’t give you the exact precision numbers, but it’s pretty darn good. If you wanted to take out just your neighbor’s car across the street, while limiting damage to the house, this bomb can do it. If you want to kill somebody in the northwest corner of a building, and make sure you don’t kill the POW in the southwest corner, this bomb could do it. If there was a tank hiding under a bridge, this bomb could be setup to penetrate the bridge first, and then blow up the tank under it, without doing too much damage to the bridge itself (besides the hole where it penetrated).

There’s other places where we can provide “close air support” to Marines and Army guys with bigger bombs and what not, like in some of the further-out areas where insurgents lurk. These also use GPS to hit whatever target the soldiers don’t want shooting at them anymore. The soldier pretty much just hits the target with a laser rangefinder to get the coordinates, relays them to the pilot (kinda like when they called in an air strike in old Vietnam movies), and then a plane (sometimes the big B-52s or B-1s even) just drops a single bomb right where the soldier wants it. After that, they go in and clean up the mess.

And, of course, there’s all the non-direct, supporting missions that the AF controls — GPS (yeah!), satellite communications, weather over the war zone (aka “theater”), basically all the space stuff outside of reconnaissance. I also have a buddy over there doing something a bit different — he’s in charge of setting up the Iraq Air Forces version of Officer Training School. It’s where all their pilots and other officers will go to “boot camp” prior to getting their commission as officers and moving on to pilot training or whatever else.

I’m sure there’s plenty of other miscellaneous tasks we’re doing over there, but I’m just not in the know.

As far as your second question of “how do we perceive the whole thing,” well, that’s a bit more of a quagmire (giggity). Some people believe very strongly on one side or the other, but most people are pretty moderate; many of the younger guys just know that “a war is going on” and that we’re providing support through accurate GPS. Although I should, I don’t think I have a strong opinion on the matter. I know what we did was great for the Iraqi people, and I hear stories about their thankfulness when guys come back. I know what we’re doing now is necessary for Iraq’s success as a democracy, otherwise they’ll end up potentially worse off than before. I know we can’t make a public “we’re going to pull troops out by xx date” statement, b/c that’s pretty much a ridiculous mistake that only tells the enemy how long they need to wait before they can attack and meet their objectives without opposition. But that’s about all I know or have thought about.

Did that answer your questions? There’s actually good info/stories on the www.af.mil page from overseas about what some guys are doing, and (I don’t know the link) there’s more in-depth stories in “Airman Magazine” somewhere within the af.mil domain.

I told him that we feel about the same way. The Iraq war is a nightmare on many levels, but we have to complete the mission or we will have made an even bigger mess than we already have. Timetabling the way to a specific date will definitely end the insurgency, because why waste anymore munitions? We’re leaving, so just wait. That can only be perceived by the enemy as a victory on their part. They finally beat us into submission, and we’re pulling out disgracefully.

The other thing I did was go research a bit on the stuff that was mentioned. These “Small Diameter Bombs” are very cool. Their accuracy over the distance they can be fired is amazing, and the description of hitting a car while minimizing damage to the house seems to be awfully accurate. The GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb is some serious technology that is very versatile in what it can accomplish. If you don’t believe the claim about blowing up a tank under a bridge without heavy bridge damage, check this out. Here’s the aftermath. Sure enough, minimal damage, even through steel reinforced concrete, 3 feet of which is within operational specs of this particular munition.

Now, as to my title question. How does any of this justify the expense required to build/maintain/deploy it? For me, this is easy…

This is a graph of a concept known as Circular Error Probable (CEP). This graph is very important for many reasons, but let’s start with some basics. A simple definition of CEP is “The distance from a target in which 50% of munitions will hit.” Now, if you’re any kind of statistician, you already balk at the “50%” statistic. Obviously, if 50% hit within a certain distance, then 50% hit outside that distance, so it’s a bogus stat and might be easily written off. But, the graph clarifies this further, because CEP is the first distance “n” given all distances using a normal distribution of ordnance distances from targets. That means there is a “bell curve” that peaks at the target position and trails off very rapidly by 3 times the CEP.

Moreover, the CEP for precision guided ordnance doesn’t follow a normal distribution due to the very precise nature of the weaponry. That means that the CEP will more than likely contain a higher than 50% ratio of hits and nearly 100% of all munitions land within 2xCEP of target.

In the case of the SDB, the CEP is 5-8m. That’s 15-25 feet. Since the bomb is precision guided, that means that almost all ordnance will hit within 50ft of the target, even on the worst possible targeting effort. This also means that a majority of the ordnance will land within 20 feet of the target. If the weapon is fired from a closer range the accuracy increases still, and the more telemetry that can be leveraged, the more accurate still.

Basically, everything my USAF buddy claimed is correct. This bomb gives you the ability to hit very isolated targets and save lives. Now, I don’t know about you, but I can’t put a price on human life, not even an Iraqi citizen halfway around the world that I’ve never met. If spending more money on defense provides one piece of technology that can accomplish the mission with less collateral damage, then spend the money.

If we stopped all this high technology and went back to churning out high-explosive and incendiary bombs and revert to the carpet bombing days of WWII. Heck, we could even try to top the Soviet Tsar Bomba with a >50 Megaton nuclear bomb and just level Baghdad altogether. I’m sure that our defense costs would drop dramatically in the R&D areas and we would have a nice budgetary surplus thanks not only to the decrease in defense spending, but the lack of foreign aid as most all of the middle east would soon perish in the nuclear winter and fallout.

I realize that we need to spend money here for things like roads, schools, and life-enrichment, but I think Mother Teresa was onto something when she said, “It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.” If my daughter having a better education comes at the cost of lost lives in other parts of the world, then I’m home schooling her. The Bible (as usual) sums it up even better, “Anyone who sets himself up as ‘religious’ by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world. (Jam 1:27 MSG)”

We have a responsibility to protect all the people in the world from corruption, and a strong defense insures the old adage “Peace Through Strength”. Sun Tzu recognized that adage as an important part of maintaining peace in a world of war, and Ronald Reagan saw it as the same. If the USA can keep the peace by showing unwavering strength, we will be respected. If we can do that while simultaneously demonstrating a desire to preserve and enrich all human life, then we will be admired.

-Chris

I know that I should have blogged by now. I think of tons of great things to jabber about, but I never have the drive to put them into words that aren’t just monotonous fact-stating word-a-thons. That being said, there have been some interesting things happening and I think I’ll wax a bit.

We watched the NCAA final the other night and saw Florida win back-to-back championships. We were happy for them. Great job Florida.

Too bad that I can’t hardly stand to watch basketball these days due to all the thuggish garbage that happens. The NBA is a gathering storm of all-out brawling like hockey used to be. The bigger issue here is that the college players see what the pro lifestyle entails and begin to parrot the behavior sonner rather than later. Now, I’m not saying that every basketball player is a thug. I’m saying that there are more thugs than there used to be.

I also realize that the NFL isn’t a bunch of angels all waiting to help their fellow man. It is interesting to note though, that with the Colts winning and the pictures of the team kneeling in prayer after the game, America got to see a side of professional sports that was not readily apparent. I recall hearing the commentators debating whether or not the gun-toting bear, who’s name escapes me, should be allowed to play due to having to get special permission from the courts to travel to the Super Bowl.

The commentators were split down moral lines, which is to be expected. The “sport is king” purists would say that his personal life has no impact on his job, in this case playing football. While the “moral highgrounders” would say that someone who broke the law shouldn’t be glorified with special treatment, thus sending the message that entertainment power trumps legality. I think I stand in the middle. I love the idea of players humbling themselves enough to realize that it is God’s grace that allowed them to be there in the first place, but I think forcing morality down people’s throat will always backfire.

Coming from Indiana, we had the two polarities of sports conduct. The Pacers, who shot people at strip clubs, and the Colts, who didn’t get yelled at by their coach in order to control the practices better. The Pacers management was continually pleading with the public to come to the games, the Colts didn’t have enough seats to sell to buyers.

I think back to the 80s with Bob Knight at the helm of the Hoosiers. I can tell you, with a high degree of certainty, that if one of Knights players decided to get in a fight with other people, he would’ve been choked. I don’t think choking solves all problems, but it was a deterrent that made those guys get in line and stay there. Love him or hate him, he had the medicine to make young men keep cool under pressure. His being such a hothead (throwing chairs, etc) let his team know that if outrage was commanded, he would take care of that. There was no need for his players to ever act against good sportsmanlike conduct.

Remember when Abdul-Jabaar got charged with rape? Or when Magic Johnson shot that guy for saying the Lakers suck? Or how about that time Michael Jordan got arrested for slapping a stripper?

You don’t? Of course not. It’s ridiculous to think about. I realize they all had their indiscretions, but they did a great job of keeping their image intact. Like it or not, successful people are role models. You can’t say, “I’m no role model”. That won’t cut it. In the eyes of many youths who want to be exactly where you are, they will mimic you from the get-go. I think it’s high time that professional sports thugs got their bells rung.

These high-school, college, and even little league thugs-in-training need to be shown that sports institutions will not tolerate personal indiscretions beyond a certain point. If a player is willing to slap a stripper, why would you think that he won’t slap a receptionist? If he will shoot at a fan in a nightclub, why not a fan after a game? Why not an opposing player? If he will verbally assault his own wife, why won’t he tell a coach off?

The pastor at our chuch talked about this very thing this last week, and he was dead on. Your personal behavior indicates all other behavior given enough time. Same goes for me, same goes for everyone else. The real issue is that we have let the high bar of excellence in behavior slip slowly downward to where we allow anyone to do anything, as long as they’re not “on the job”.

I hate to think about the status of sports when my daughter starts to get interested. Between the scantily-clad cheerleaders and the glorification of illicit behavior, we’ll probably have to get Cinemax to watch the All-Star game.

-Chris

I can’t tell you the relief that comes from knowing where my grandma is. She’s not “just gone”, nor is she only alive “in our hearts”. She’s alive! She’s praying for all of us right now, just like Jesus has been doing since before we were born. She knew Christ, and she knew Him as her savior. That means that she will be right there when the rest of us believers shuffle of this mortal coil. As my mother told me this morning, “Save us a seat at the table, we’ll be right behind you…”

She was an amazing woman with an amazing history, and I am proud to have known her. She had seven kids, all of which were there when she went home to Jesus. I can only hope that when my time comes, I can handle it with 10% of the grace and dignity that she had.

We were lucky enough to get to spend some final moments with grandma during our last trip a couple weeks back. She was still able to talk just fine, and was fully aware of who we were and why we were there. It was so nice to get to share one last visit with grandma, and it’s something that I’ll always treasure. I thank the Lord that she was able to see just about everyone in her family before she headed out. While she was here, she was a great/grand/mother, better yet a matriarch for the Heacock clan, and she wanted to be sure that everyone and everything was settled in place before she breathed her last.

It is almost as if she was fully aware that death was near, but she was not afraid in the least. She acted as if she was taking a trip to Europe or something. How could someone facing death nose to nose be so at peace? Simple! She knew that death holds no power over her. Sure, death took her body, but that’s it. That’s all death is allowed to take, and she knew it full well. She had all of her post-passing business arranged to a T, just like you’d expect her to have. She waited until her last child was there before she passed away.

That’s right. It wasn’t luck for my uncle Rob. It was grandma holding on to see that he was taken care of. She would not have him feel guilty for having a delayed flight. She would not have him upset over missing his mother’s last breaths. She waited, and fought, so he could see her. Once he was there, she opened her eyes and smiled, using the very last bit of lucidity left in her I’m sure.

Then she was ready to be done with this old earth. She had lived a spectacular life, raised spectacular kids, and now had finally gotten the very last thing squared away. Just 6 hours later, she was with God, and left death behind forever.

Before I close this, here are the lyrics to a gospel song called Gloryland, made famous by Ralph Stanley. If you can’t find the comfort that I have through faith, perhaps these lyrics will inspire you to get yourself close to God. Hope lies within…

If you have friends in Gloryland,
Who left because of pain
Thank God up there, they’ll die no more
They’ll suffer not again.

Then weep not friends, I’m goin’ home
Up there we’ll die no more
No coffins will be made up there
No graves on that bright shore

The lame will walk in Gloryland
The blind up there will see
The deaf in Gloryland will hear
The dumb will talk to me

The doctor will not have to call
The undertaker, no
There’ll be no pain up there to bear
Just walk the streets of gold

We’ll need no sun in Gloryland
The moon and stars won’t shine
For Christ Himself is light up there
Pure rays of love divine

Then weep not friends, I’m goin’ home
Up there we’ll die no more
No coffins will be made up there
No graves on that bright shore

I love you grandma, and I can’t wait to see you again! Until then…

-Grandson of Emily Jeanne Heacock

Jaime’s mom and dad came up today and took Jaime and Emma out to Steak N’ Shake for lunch. She did great and they had a wonderful time. Jaime also got to run Emma by the newspaper she works at and they all got to see the princess.

Work went pretty well. Being gone so long gave me a bunch to get caught up on, but I’m getting there. I sure don’t miss driving in the ridiculous traffic between Noblesville and Carmel, but it’s nice to have another piece of the normal life back in place.

Jaime took a cute picture of Emma with her phone when they were at Steak N’ Shake. Check it out in the photoalbum.

So, pretty uneventful day for me, but a busy day for mom and baby. If I haven’t said it, I am so proud of my wife. She was born to be a mom and she is just awesome!!

In closing, I wanted to post a letter from a Church in Louisville, KY. In one of our small groups, we got into the age-old discussion about Salvation, with regards to life in Christ. The debate is always whether or not you can lose your salvation. After a couple weeks of discussion, we all decided to agree to disagree. This letter does a great job of summarizing my view on Salvation, and I thought I’d post it here. It’s from Southeast Christian Church; all I did was link all the verses for quick lookup. Let me know what you think…

How much confidence can a person have in his eternal destination? Once you say you believe in Jesus Christ, is your salvation secure no matter how you behave? What if you change your mind and say you no longer believe? Our position at Southeast Christian Church is that this is an important issue, but not an essential doctrine foundational to the church. When discussing this issue and other similar issues, we would be wise to remember a popular Christian slogan: ???In doctrine unity, in opinion liberty, in all things love.??? We believe Christians have the freedom to disagree about this issue. Therefore, Southeast Christian Church does not take an official church stance on the issue of eternal security.

We believe that a person is saved by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Eph. 2:8). A person who does not have faith in Christ, or is living in rebellion against him, should not expect to be saved, regardless of his past (Heb. 3:8,12; 10:26; 2 Pet. 2:20-22). Some will say that such a person ???was never saved in the first place,??? because God knew in his Sovereignty that the person would reject Christ in the end. Whether the person was saved then lost, or never saved in the first place, is not clearly addressed in Scripture, and both sides of the debate can point to Scriptures to defend their position. The Bible says God is Sovereign and knows the future. But the Scripture also warns the saved person against falling away (2 Tim. 2:12-13; Heb 2:1; 3:8-12; 2 Pet. 2:20-22; 3:17). The argument may simply be semantic because the end result is the same on both sides: a person who once believed but has become apostate is not saved. Nearly all Christians agree on this point. Some believe that once you are saved you may live an unrighteous life or even reject Christ without losing your salvation; but they are ignoring a vast amount of biblical evidence to the contrary, and such teaching has dangerous consequences.

Because of the Scriptures mentioned above and others warning the saved person against falling away, the primary teaching of the leadership at Southeast has been that it is possible for a person to lose his or her salvation through rebellion. Salvation is the free gift of God, available to all, and God desires that all be saved (1 Tim. 2:4). Every individual has the choice to accept or reject God???s offer of forgiveness. Once a person is saved, that salvation cannot be lost through one sin, or even a series of sins. But, as Hebrews 10:26 says, ???If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth,??? we may get to a point where our hearts are so hard that we reject Christ and want no part of his salvation any more, at which point, ???no sacrifice for sins is left.??? Jesus said in John 3:16, ???Whoever believes in [God???s Son] shall not perish but have eternal life.??? The word ???believes??? in the original Greek is in the present tense, denoting continual action. Whoever ???continues to believe??? will have eternal life. Someone who believed as a youngster but rejects that belief in later life should not expect to be granted the promise of eternal life. God is not going to force anyone into heaven against his or her will.

The traditional teaching at Southeast in this area has been one of conditional salvation: you are saved as long as you continue to believe and unless you become an unbeliever or ???apostate??? (one who rejects his religion). But a person is not required to agree with the leadership???s position on this doctrine in order to become a member or even to be eligible for a leadership role. However, we do ask those who hold to eternal security to be respectful of the leadership???s position and to seek to honestly present both sides of the issue when teaching on this subject.

We also believe that it is important to remind every Christian that if you have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, your salvation is secure. If you are a sincere believer, then questioning your salvation is wrong. It is not a sign of humility or showing your awareness of your sins; to question your salvation shows a lack of faith in the promise of God to save you. It is often a sign that you question whether God is big enough or gracious enough to forgive your sin. If you trust in the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross, then you should have assurance of your salvation (1 Jn. 5:13). If you have wandered from the Lord, then you should repent and return to Christ lest you harden your heart, reject him and lose your salvation. Peter warned us to be on guard lest we be carried away by evil men and fall from our ???secure position??? (2 Pet. 3:17). Rest assured, your salvation is secure, as long as you remain in faith. Your God is big enough to forgive your sins.

Some ??? even in our own church body ??? may disagree strongly with our traditional teaching on this issue. We hope that shows our tolerance toward those who disagree, and we hope that those who disagree will show the same tolerance to us. Let us humbly admit that there are mysteries in Scripture which will not be fully understood until the return of Christ, and let???s renew our commitment to practice love and tolerance toward fellow believers who do not agree with us on secondary doctrines. Jesus prayed, ???May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me??? (John 17:23).

I thank God for His sovereignty and when I realize that I can throw it away because I’m too lazy, I have to stop and pray that I can stay the course. This old world can beat you up pretty bad, but God never leaves. Thank…God!! :-)

-mrw

First, Halloween is nearing. I had a ton of fun when I was kid, but things have gotten much “darker” over the years. It is a lot more about tricking rather than treating and generally a lot less family friendly. Our church is having a “Harvest Party”, which is a place for families to come, play games, get candy, have fun, watch a juggler, and still dress up. On top of that, the Gospel is communicated in a non-threatening environment and in a way that is entertaining not preachy. Anyway, if your feel the way that I do, look into something like this around your stompin’ grounds.

To that end, my wife and I carved a fearsome pumpkin this year. It was a huge mess, but it looks pretty neat. Check it out: photoalbum.theh…

Second, many moons ago I played a game called “Half-Life”, which was amazing, then came a game called “Counterstrike”. That game soon became inundated with cheaters and idiots and that’s when I called it quits. Fast-forward to this week. I used a key I got with a video card to get the new version of CounterStrike, called CounterStrike: Source. It’s a polished version of the last game, built on the upcoming Half-Life 2 engine. It is very immersive and very fun and flashbacks galore of the good old days of my online gaming adventures. Check it out, it’s a pretty cool deal: www.steampowere…

Finally, have a great week. :-)

-Chris