religion sucketh

Overall church attendance in America is decreasing, yet the population in America is increasing.

Why?

Today is the thirty-seventh anniversary of Roe v. Wade. If you don’t know what that is, here’s a link to get you caught up, but in short, it’s when the Supreme Court ruled “that a woman may abort her pregnancy for any reason, up until the ‘point at which the fetus becomes viable.’ The Court defined viability as the potential ‘to live outside the mother’s womb, albeit with artificial aid,’ adding that viability ‘is usually placed at about seven months (28 weeks) but may occur earlier, even at 24 weeks.’” The court also added that, “after viability, abortion must be available when needed to protect a woman’s health, as defined in the companion case of Doe v. Bolton.”

I’ve already posted my thoughts on this subject back in May of last year (What’s More Important? – Religion Sucketh), so I don’t want to rehash them when you can just click the link are read them. But I read a post today from Jared Wilson and couldn’t resist sharing a couple points and the link to his full post – in my opinion, he nails it.

As Jared said of himself, if the government put overturning Roe v. Wade to popular vote, I’d be in line as soon as the polls opened. However, like Jared, I don’t believe legislation is the answer. Jared has a lot of great ideas, but I don’t want to just copy and paste them here because you wouldn’t have a reason to read his post. But one idea that really sticks out to me is throwing more support into crisis pregnancy centers. One popular belief as to why abortion statistics are dropping is the increase and advancement of technology. Thirty-seven years ago ultrasound wasn’t available until months into a pregnancy – now it’s available just a few weeks after conception. Women and couples are now able to see their child earlier than ever before, which makes them realize that’s not some “pre-human thing” on the screen – it’s a human child. So if technology is helping decrease abortions, why aren’t pro-life organizations and churches throwing money at crisis pregnancy centers to help them get this technology (since it isn’t cheap)?

I know when I lived in Atlanta I didn’t see one crisis pregnancy center. I know there was at least one because I had a co-worker who was doing a fundraiser for it, but the fact that I didn’t even know what part of Atlanta it was in, yet I can tell you where several Planned Parenthood offices are located is sad.

Even sadder – a friend of mine manages a crisis pregnancy center and has told me the hardest part of her job is getting support from churches. Yet I see churches all the time who donate large sums of money to political groups who claim to be the “pro-life voice in Washington”.

I’m not saying it should be either/or, but I’ve actually heard lay-people argue that legislation is the only option – that abortion reduction is an “admission of defeat”. Ten years ago, George W. Bush ran on a platform which included ending abortion (unless the mother’s health is in danger). Ten years later NOTHING has changed in legislation.

Anyways, this is getting a bit long, so here’s the links for Jared Wilson’s post, my original post and a post by ChurchRelevance.com.

A Missional Way For the Pro-Life Passion – Jared Wilson

What’s More Important? – Religion Sucketh

Abortion Statistics Are Changing – Church Relevance

A few years ago Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite (Deadly Viper Character Assassins, Junky Car Club) birthed an idea that revolved around radical grace. That idea was People of the Second Chance (POTSC for short). What started as a sidenote to their other ministries has developed into a movement of it’s own. As Mike and Jud wrote on the front page of POTSC,

People of the Second Chance is no longer just a nice concept with some stickers and tee shirts, but the very story we are living out right now.

So take a few minutes to visit the new website and blog.

Become a fan at Facebook.

Follow POTSC on Twitter.

Follow Mike and Jud on Twitter.

The Search for God and Guinness by Stephen Mansfield officially releases October 13, 2009, but you can get it now at Amazon. I’ve got my copy for review on the way from Thomas Nelson. From the trailer it looks to be a good read. Wonder if it’ll be in Lifeway or Family =)

For those that don’t remember learning this as a child, when you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME.

Get it?

ASS+U+ME = ASSUME

In all seriousness though, ever since President Obama took office I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen or heard people play the race card on someone who publicly disagrees with Obama. From Facebook to Twitter to blogs to MySpace to face-to-face, it seems that if you are white and don’t agree with Obama, you’re a racist.

At the same time, I’m so tired of hearing people on the other extreme decry Obama as wanting to be a socialist dictator. Or that he’s going to usher in the return of Christ. I heard the same thing about President Clinton, but guess what – WE’RE STILL HERE!

This brings me to two things that have happened in the past few weeks. First, Obama’s speech to students last week. I was ashamed when I saw so many Christians claiming Obama was going to indoctrinate their children with a socialist agenda, and that they were going to keep their kids home that day. Sad, especially considering the fact his speech (word for word) was made available online days before the event. Then last night, former President Jimmy Carter claims that “an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward President Barack Obama is based on the fact that he is a black man”.

Now before someone accuses me of being blind, naive or utopian, yes, I believe racism is still an issue in the United States of America. And as long as people have free will, it will continue to be an issue. But to assume an “overwhelming portion” of the opposition Obama has faced is due to racism is just as naive as thinking racism is not an issue in this country.

I’ll say it right here: I did not vote for President Obama.

Nor did I vote for John McCain.

I did not vote in the 2008 presidential election at all because I did not see any candidate that I could stand behind 100%.

There are some issues where I do agree with him. That does not mean I want to bring a socialist dictatorship to America.

There are some issues where I do not agree with Obama. That does not mean I am racist.

I support and pray for President Obama because he is my president, and I encourage you to do the same, regardless of who you voted for.

So please people, when someone says they disagree with President Obama’s policies or his politics or his health care plan, don’t immediately label them as being racist. And if you are one of those who disagrees with Obama, do some fact checking before you start making claims; otherwise, you do come off looking bad.