Democratic Convention Benediction: Joel Hunter

Joel Hunter is the Pastor of a very large church in central florida. I have never heard him speak before, but I am interested in his position on things. He's a pro life, card carrying republican. Which makes him praying at the end of the Democratic Convention very intriguing. It's my understanding that a few years back, he was enlisted to be the head of the new Christian Coalition, and he accepted, but then he said he wanted to stop focusing so much on abortion and gay marriage and then focus on poverty, aids, environment, social injustice, and the leaders at the CC said...uh...No Thanks. (at least this is how i remember this going down)

So I give him props for trying to get the old school conservatives to start thinking about more than the same old thing.

(No One transcribed it yet, and i am not that Hardcore. If someone does it, i'll revise this)

Donald Miller's Democratic Benediction

This is the Prayer that Donald Miller Prayed at the close of the Democratic Convention's Opening Night.

"Father God,

This week, as the world looks on, help the leaders in this room create a civil dialogue about our future.

We need you, God, as individuals and also as a nation.

We need you to protect us from our enemies, but also from ourselves, because we are easily tempted toward apathy.

Give us a passion to advance opportunities for the least of these, for widows and orphans, for single moms and children whose fathers have left.

Give us the eyes to see them, and the ears to hear them, and hands willing to serve them.

Help us serve people, not just causes. And stand up to specific injustices rather than vague notions.

Give those in this room who have power, along with those who will meet next week, the courage to work together to finally provide health care to those who don’t have any, and a living wage so families can thrive rather than struggle.

Hep us figure out how to pay teachers what they deserve and give children an equal opportunity to get a college education.

Help us figure out the balance between economic opportunity and corporate gluttony.

We have tried to solve these problems ourselves but they are still there. We need your help.

Father, will you restore our moral standing in the world.

A lot of people don’t like us but that’s because they don’t know the heart of the average American.

Will you give us favor and forgiveness, along with our allies around the world.

Help us be an example of humility and strength once again.

Lastly, father, unify us.

Even in our diversity help us see how much we have in common.

And unify us not just in our ideas and in our sentiments—but in our actions, as we look around and figure out something we can do to help create an America even greater than the one we have come to cherish.

God we know that you are good.

Thank you for blessing us in so many ways as Americans.

I make these requests in the name of your son, Jesus, who gave his own life against the forces of injustice.

Let Him be our example.

Amen."

re-learning to pray...

For months it seems i have been on this track of withdrawing. from friendships, from community, from engaging interaction with people i love, and withdrawing from my relationship with jesus. I am not in a low point in life, I am not struggling with marriage, I am not in some of the dire spots i have been in in my life. I just feel like i have been putting myself out there for a long period of time and the introvert buried deep in my soul is trying to come out. Not that, that makes any sense, because introverted i am not. So i find myself in this weird position of feeling that life is moving along just fine without much interaction from god, and without much interaction from the community of folks i have been building for the last 4-5 years.

But, i sit here, and i have this hollow feeling in my gut, and i feel like i am leaving god behind, and its ok because life seems to be good. I have this need to reconnect with jesus. I need to pray, i need to get him back into my daily thought process. I know at my core, how i function, and what motivates me has not changed, I still feel very rooted in a belief in god, and his desire for me to know him better. That is not changed, what i do feel has changed is this outward interaction with life that has me confused and kind of sad. (where the sad comes from i am not sure, that maybe the caffiene crash i am feeling)

So I think what I need right now is prayer. My own personal prayer, and the voices of others lifting up my heart and soul to jesus. I am a firm believer that prayer is not just me asking god for stuff, but me talking to god, and in the process me learning about my heart and the way i perceive life, faith, love, and the journey. I believe that god changes us through this, teaches us through this, and draws us closer to him. I am asking for my heart to to change, to be re-aligned with the god who desires for me to have a full life, and not just a hum-drum existence. I am desiring for jesus to come in and flip a switch, and turn the lights back on, because honestly i feel like i have been on a 6 month hiatus from earnestly engaging with him the way i feel like i need to.

Some of this may come from my need to feel good about stuff, and my need for comfort, but i think the thread that ties this all together is the fact that daily i know i need jesus. I know I can make it through the days without him, but do i really want to? I did this for a long time, and in the end found myself joyless and broken. Am i Afriad to go back there? Absolutely. Do I really think that I will end up there? I don't know. I know that choices in life lead to circumstances that you have to face. I don't want to face some of my past ever again, so this very well could be a driving factor. This could also be me just searching for excuses, or trying to justify why i feel the way i do.

Regardless, I think i need to re-learn how to pray. How to sit in the morning and talk to jesus before my day gets rolling, on the way to work, and throughout the day. I need this to change my heart and bring me back to the place where i believe he wants me.
Is this all a load of crap? It might be...but deep down inside me i know there is something that is driving me in the direction i am going. I don't want it to be the wrong direction, so I have stopped and taken notice.

If your the praying kind. I would solicit your voice to jesus for me and my family. I thank you for your willingness to intercede for us, and I pray that your path will lead you to the place where jesus wants you to be.

peace

Mike

Good News!

In my previous post i was lamenting the fact that there is no place good to go get a beer and a burger in my neighborhood. I Have great news. I have found an awesome little corner bar that has no coors, yuengling, bud light, or miller lite on tap. Nope not one single crappy beer on tap. They had Legacy, Boulder, Spatan, Ballast Point. The bad news is that it is not within walking distance of the house. I guess its a small price to pay for not having to drive into center city or over to mt airy to get a good beer. The Bartender was aptly inked, and his Bar maven was as well, and his beer nerdiness was very much appreciated. The fries good. the Quesadilla good. the Pizza, Not good, but the beer list was pretty spectacular. A burger passed byus as we sat there, and it look quite tasty, but we were there for the beer. So here's the deal. I can't tell you what its called or where it is. Because there were about 10 locals in there, and my friend and i were enjoying one side of the u shaped bar for about 45 minutes to ourselves. I feel like we have to keep this to ourselves, becuase my last favorite bar has become more popular and the last time i walked in there, i walked right back out. So..Apologies to anyone hoping to know what this little gem may be. If you want to come with...we might have to blind fold you.