Today, in honor of President Ford, I went through our old audio archives here at the H. E. Butt Foundation to review some speeches he gave with us. The search started after my daily dose of Scot McKnight. I wanted to comment and throw in another cool President Ford quote–and I knew we had these speeches that few people have heard. For example, in the late 1970s at the Congress of the Laity, President Ford spoke about issues of faith and work.
Betty and I have discovered personally that the things of this world which we consider important are fleeting. A man can hold high office, command great powers, be hailed as the leader of the world. But when his time in office is over, he must be prepared—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—to relinquish that power and prestige and acclaim and focus on what lasts forever.
If you haven’t read George Barna’s research summary for the year, he has some interesting conclusions. And by interesting, I mean wacky.*
Take this one: New Research Explores Teenage Views and Behavior Regarding the Supernatural.Reminds me of my old days at the Church of Christ. In mid 1980s, I suffered through a series on defeating Satan. They told us we were surrounded by Satan. Papa Smurf? SATANIC. Alf? SATANIC. Heavy Metal Christian Music? SATANIC! We spent months learning the list of infected cultural icons. Continue reading →
So Christ has come. That’s what Christmas is all about, right? What happens after he comes, though? How are we supposed to respond?
The magi responded by going to find him. If you haven’t read T. S. Eliot’s “Journey of the Magi,” go read it. It’s short and highly accessible on a first read. (For those interested in poetry, this is a dramatic monologue. Robert Browning has many poems like this and they are great for studying voice. You can read more analysis here.)
Christians believe that seeking Christ is the journey of our lives. I’m a Christian, and I believe this. Like the Magi say, it is a hard journey. It is a journey of birth, but also a journey of death.
