(From the Flora Christian, November 2, 2007 issue)
Rob’s Ramblings. . . .
One day recently, after I had been chastised and rebuked by someone, I told a friend, “Hey, I’m like Popeye: I am what I am, and that’s all that I am.” I didn’t like being corrected, and I was pretty sure there was no merit in the criticism I had received. But after thinking about it for a while, I realized a couple of things. First of all, there was probably some value to the criticism. I don’t think it was as big of a problem as this individual did, but as I think back on it, I have learned from the experience. Also, the “Popeye” statement might be funny in a cartoon, but it’s not really true in real life—at least I hope it isn’t.
The first part is true: I am what I am. But I would like to change the second part—I would like to become MORE that what I am. I think that’s what life in Christ is all about: becoming more like Jesus every day. Just like everyone else, I have good days and better days (and even a few that are down-right lousy!). But I want to be able to look back at my days, weeks, and years and see that I am not the same person I used to be.
This month marks the beginning of my family’s twelfth year in ministry at FCC. The Cliftons have grown spiritually (and numerically!) during those years. Thank you so much to those of you who have been such an encouragement and support to us. This is not the only congregation with which I have served, but forever my experiences in ministry will be compared to what I have known and done here in Flora. I am eternally grateful to this congregation for the way you have helped me develop and grow in service to the Lord.
See you Sunday! Rob
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Monday, October 22, 2007
The Ant and the Grasshopper
Look, I know this is a cheezy, over-used, "one-too-many-times-around-the-internet" circular email. But it makes me laugh every time, this is my blog, and I wanted to post it. So, here's your Aesop's Fable (of truth) for today.
The Ant and the Grasshopper
TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi, Barack Omama, and Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008!!!!!
The Ant and the Grasshopper
TRADITIONAL VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself!
MODERN VERSION:
The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away. Come winter, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be warm and well fed while others are cold and starving.
CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food. America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper, and everybody cries when they sing, "It's Not Easy Being Green." Jesse Jackson stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, "We shall overcome." Jesse then has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.
Nancy Pelosi, Barack Omama, and Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.
Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity and Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer! The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the government. Hillary gets her old law firm to represent the grasshopper in a defamation suit against the ant, and the case is tried before a panel of federal judges that Bill Clinton appointed from a list of single-parent welfare recipients. The ant loses the case.
The story ends as we see the grasshopper finishing up the last bits of the ant's food while the government house he is in, which just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around him because he doesn't maintain it. The ant has disappeared in the snow.
The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the once peaceful neighborhood.
MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2008!!!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Warning: THIS IS A RANT!
Running for president of the United States is a joke! Or apparently that's what Stephen Colbert thinks. While I appreciate his satirical humor (although I don't agree with his position), and I believe in his right to free speech, I am disappointed. The true political satirist should probe for the difficult laugh, not the easy one.
What made people laugh at Mark Russell (the self-proclaimed "Master of Political Satire") was his ability to find the obscure laugh in the headline that made us all uncomfortable. For example, in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World, revisionist historians were trying to paint Columbus as a villian for destroying the cultures which existed in North America prior to it's discovery by Europeans. One of Russell's jokes was, "You would think we could come up with a better excuse for a holiday than Columbus Day. I mean, hasn't Christopher Columbus been pretty much outed as the guy who introduced genocide to the New World?"
Now, while I disagree with the position behind the joke, THAT'S funny! But Colbert, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and the modern day political "satirists" only poke fun at one side: the conservatives. They claim the intellectual high ground, even though they couldn't hold Ann Coulter's bra (or jock strap, or whatever she wears).
I have a list of suggestions for satirists to make fun of: Barack Obama's voice (he could do voice-overs for Lurch on the Addams' Family!), Hillary Clinton's SCARY face (speaking of jock straps vs. bra straps!), John Edwards as a leprechaun, Bill Maher as Hugh Hefner's illigitimate son (seriously, Google their images and compare them!), or Fred Thompson as the heir to Ronald Reagan's throne (oh, wait--that's not funny because it could be true!).
Don't get me wrong: I'm not denying the liberals their chance to poke fun at conservatives. I'm just suggesting that there should be a little "parity" in the proceedings!
After all, a democrat in charge of the U.S. military--now THAT would be a joke!
What made people laugh at Mark Russell (the self-proclaimed "Master of Political Satire") was his ability to find the obscure laugh in the headline that made us all uncomfortable. For example, in 1992 on the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World, revisionist historians were trying to paint Columbus as a villian for destroying the cultures which existed in North America prior to it's discovery by Europeans. One of Russell's jokes was, "You would think we could come up with a better excuse for a holiday than Columbus Day. I mean, hasn't Christopher Columbus been pretty much outed as the guy who introduced genocide to the New World?"
Now, while I disagree with the position behind the joke, THAT'S funny! But Colbert, Jon Stewart, Bill Maher, and the modern day political "satirists" only poke fun at one side: the conservatives. They claim the intellectual high ground, even though they couldn't hold Ann Coulter's bra (or jock strap, or whatever she wears).
I have a list of suggestions for satirists to make fun of: Barack Obama's voice (he could do voice-overs for Lurch on the Addams' Family!), Hillary Clinton's SCARY face (speaking of jock straps vs. bra straps!), John Edwards as a leprechaun, Bill Maher as Hugh Hefner's illigitimate son (seriously, Google their images and compare them!), or Fred Thompson as the heir to Ronald Reagan's throne (oh, wait--that's not funny because it could be true!).
Don't get me wrong: I'm not denying the liberals their chance to poke fun at conservatives. I'm just suggesting that there should be a little "parity" in the proceedings!
After all, a democrat in charge of the U.S. military--now THAT would be a joke!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Is it just me?
Or does the prospect of Hillary as President REALLY scare you? I mean, she almost gave us to China when her husband was President! Plus, I am embarrassed at the thought of Bill as First Lady. Just wondering how it will all work out. . . .
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Hot or Cold?
Rob’s Ramblings. . . .
Did you hear the one about the company that prints blank bumper stickers? They’re for people who don’t want to get involved. I see a lot of bumper stickers, some of which I disagree with, and others that just plain offend me personally. But even if the person is taking a stand for something that I believe is wrong, at least they’re taking a stand. In the book of Revelation (3:15-16), Jesus told the church in Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” That verse seems to tell us that we are more respectable to God if we’re wrong than if we’re just not involved. The truth is: there’s no such thing as uninvolved. If you’re not involved serving God and advancing the Kingdom, then you’re in the way and helping the enemy.
I hope you have gotten some spiritual encouragement from the messages that Ben and I have shared the last two weeks. I appreciate the opportunity that Bill gave us the share with you from the pulpit. I don’t know if you are aware of it or not, but you have three ministers who love and care about you more than you know. I want you to know that we pray for you and appreciate the opportunity to serve the Lord by serving you. I’ve made my share of mistakes, but they were mistakes made with the best of intentions. The last eleven years of ministry have been the most enjoyable, most challenging, and most spiritually exciting of my life. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve with you here at FCC.
See You Sunday! Rob
Did you hear the one about the company that prints blank bumper stickers? They’re for people who don’t want to get involved. I see a lot of bumper stickers, some of which I disagree with, and others that just plain offend me personally. But even if the person is taking a stand for something that I believe is wrong, at least they’re taking a stand. In the book of Revelation (3:15-16), Jesus told the church in Laodicea, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” That verse seems to tell us that we are more respectable to God if we’re wrong than if we’re just not involved. The truth is: there’s no such thing as uninvolved. If you’re not involved serving God and advancing the Kingdom, then you’re in the way and helping the enemy.
I hope you have gotten some spiritual encouragement from the messages that Ben and I have shared the last two weeks. I appreciate the opportunity that Bill gave us the share with you from the pulpit. I don’t know if you are aware of it or not, but you have three ministers who love and care about you more than you know. I want you to know that we pray for you and appreciate the opportunity to serve the Lord by serving you. I’ve made my share of mistakes, but they were mistakes made with the best of intentions. The last eleven years of ministry have been the most enjoyable, most challenging, and most spiritually exciting of my life. Thank you for the continued opportunity to serve with you here at FCC.
See You Sunday! Rob
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
What's going on here, anyway?
This is my personal blog. Everyone has to have one, right? I mean, it's nearly 2008, and if you're not bloggin', you're just not tryin', to steal a common catch phrase.
My purpose in creating this blog is two-fold. First of all, I have gotten a few requests for my past columns (from our church newsletter, The Flora Christian) and I don't have a good filing system to reproduce those. (Translation: I don't know where most of them are unless you have a back copy of the newsletter.) Secondly, I often have ideas or opinions for which I have no outlet. Especially when those opinions are of a political nature. It would be highly unprofessional to vent my political opinions in my official capacity as minister at First Christian Church in Flora, IL. Not to mention job suicide in many occasions.
Hence, this blog. It's a personal blog, not supported or financed in any way by the church. The opinions expressed here are my own, no one else's. If you disagree with something I write here, fine-that is your right. If you respond to one of my postings with a posting of your own, fine-that is also your right. If I don't like your response and decide to delete it-that is MY right! I just want to say this: you have every right to disagree with me. You have the right to be wrong if you choose.
I will post all of my columns from the church newsletter here. The newsletter is printed every other week, so the articles will be posted at the same frequency. I will also occasionally post other things which I write for church, such as messages, lessons, announcements, news releases, etc. I will also occasionally post political observations (read: RANTINGS) which will be of a very conservative nature. There, that's FAIR WARNING!!!!!
If you have any ideas or suggestions, email me at rcfcc@aol.com.
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