Mental Musings

Could this be the end of democracy, When the court rules in support of tyranny? Approving the onset of social reform Our loss of freedom is becoming the norm The court was ordained to protect our rights To keep us safe with legal foresights To uphold the constitution they must Make sure that laws are legal and just First they took prayer out of each school Then murder of unborn is safe by their rule Then they mandate insurance ownage Next up on dock is same sex marriage They now can tell you what you must buy Taking your slice of the American pie First your insurance, then your soft drink What will be next? What do you think? People have fought for the freedoms we had Now we are told that freedom is bad We must all accept control by the feds Who make all decisions concerning our meds Taxing each person who doesn’t comply No freedom is given to what we may buy Our rights have been lost, the balance is broken The courts are now just a socialist token

As I was preparing for worship planning today, I was perusing some tweets and facebook posts of my music ministry friends. The insight, wisdom, and experience shared in these outpourings by my colleagues can often teach me more than I could learn from any other source. And more often than not, their experiences are very similar to my own throughout the past 30 years of ministry. One tweet in particular caught my attention. Dean Lusk tweeted a link to Rich Kirkpatrick's blog pos t for today: Death By Comment Card: Decibel levels, worship style, and helpful suggestions. I couldn't help but commiserate with him as I am sure all worship pastors do. I encourage you to read his entire post. I must admit that in the past I have made it a policy to ignore all unsigned, unclaimed, or otherwise unattributed comments, suggestions, and complaints throughout my ministry. I appreciate the advice of individuals who come to me personally, but I do not need the constant destructive...

When I have learned to love God more than my earthly dearest, I shall love my earthly dearest better than I do now.” C.S. Lewis In a Nutshell Paul encourages Christians to be imitators of God and to walk in love. Don’t fall into a life of sin, but rather stand against sin and try to expose it. Use your time wisely as you follow God’s will. Let the Holy Spirit direct and influence your behaviors. As you do this, husbands should love their wives as Christ loved the church and wives should respect and submit to their husbands. The Power of Example In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin tells of the time he wanted to convince the citizens of Philadelphia to light the streets at night as a protection against crime and as a convenience for evening activities. Failing to convince them by his words, he decided to show his neighbors how compelling a single light could be. He bought an attractive lantern, polished the glass, and placed in on a long bracket that extended from the f...

I have two fathers. That may not seem unusual in todays time when there are so many blended families and broken families, but I do not come from either of these. You see, I am adopted. I started life, as most do, with one father, but when I was twelve I was adopted into a new family...without ever leaving my original family. Confused yet? Let me start by sharing this tribute that I wrote for my biological father on Memorial Day: read here Lt. Williams James Poole, USN, retired, is my true, biological father. He has been my father from the beginning and remains my father today. I lived under his house until I was eighteen when I left to travel with a band, then college, then seminary, then marriage and beyond. He is the man that taught me how to be a man. At times he may have been a little tough, but if I ever received any unfair punishment it probably only made up for the many things that I never got caught doing. He is not a perfect father, but he has been and...

In our increasingly hostile politically correct society, Conservative Christians have become doormats. They have been trampled on by people from every corner of society. Any time a Conservative Christian takes a stand based on their faith and morals, they are attacked and labeled as kooks, bigots, homophobes, or hate mongers. According to the current social order, the only people allowed to have opinions are the PC police: comprised mostly of the mainstream press, Hollywood, and the liberals. The strange thing is that those who claim to be the most open and welcoming to differences cannot stand it that there are people who are actually different than them. Christians are a threat to them. Conservatives are a threat to them. These groups are enigmas that must be put in their rightful place. However, I am happy to announce that Conservatives and Christians are no longer sitting by idly as they get walked all over. People are starting to stand up for those who sta...

We are beginning to see the effects of the hard times that the media is trying their best to ignore. Our country is financial in ruins, our leaders refuse to look to God for their help, and our celebrities are morally bankrupt.  We are killing those without a voice of their own, we are celebrating those who live lifestyles that are contrary to God's will, and we cheer when people create chaos and confusion. All of this is leading to an increase in the hopelessness that people feel all around them. A recent article on Fox News confirms that the suicide rate is increasing among teens and young adults who see a world that is increasingly destructive in nature, people that are increasingly hateful toward each other in spite of our forced politically correct society, and they cannot see any hope for their future. I can understand their doubt, their despair, and their desperation. I am a musician, which means that I am full of emotions that ebb and flow. Just this morning I w...

Have you ever been to Walmart after 9:00 PM? If so, then you have undoubtedly witnessed a family with small children screaming their heads off. I always think that these children need to be home in bed. The children are most likely screaming because they have spent all day in school followed by several hours of after-school care, and the parents are most likely screaming because they have each spent eight hours at work plus drive time. But the family trip to Walmart may be their way to accomplish shopping at the only hour they have available while spending some time with their children. It breaks my heart that so many people live in such chaos. I am thankful that God has blessed us with the ability to spend much more time together than the average family. How have we been able to do that? By making sacrifices. Before our boys were school age, we made the decision for my wife to remain home and teach our boys. It hasn't been easy. There have been many times whe...