Father shoots teen having sex with daughter

When Wade Edwards arrived home from work early and found his 16-year-old stepdaughter having sex with her 18-year-old boyfriend, he did what some parents only threaten to do, reports WFTV.com

He shot the guy. Four times in fact with his .45. He got him in the leg and hip as the guy tried to put his clothes back on. The boyfriend, whose name is Julian Harp, ran out of the house but collapsed in the yard.

Harp tried to save his hide before the father shot. He put his hands up and said "Please don't shoot, please don't shoot," said Edward Crittenden, Apopka Police Department.

Cops told Eyewitness News that Edwards is upset about the situation, but not remorseful for what happened.

"I love my hot wife" syndrome is legitimized

Here is a recent post from MMI regarding the "I love my hot wife" syndrome that many pastors are afflicted with.

Glad I'm not the only one who noticed this trend.

Notre Dame Congregational Study

Was perusing through The Resurgence and ran across these posts about the Notre Dame Congregational Study - a study of modern American churches.

Here are some interesting tidbits.

• The average church has 150 "affiliated members", but only 77 weekly attenders.

• The average lead pastor is at a church for only 5 years and is 52 years old.

• In a typical church, 50% of the attendees stay after the worship service to socialize for a half hour.

• 65% of churches have a mid-week prayer service, and only 50% have small groups that meet during the week.

The Rape of Solomon's Song

I've long been a fan of John Macarthur's exegesis, but never his personality. The older he's grown, or the older I've grown, depending on how you look at it - I've found this gap to have grown wider and wider.

Of course, it doesn't help that Macarthur has made it his personal mission to constantly attack Mark Driscoll of late. Even calling on "older mentors" of Driscoll to admonish him for his unbecoming behavior and language.

According to the 70 year old Macarthur, "certain body parts are unmentionable". Says who? Macarthur quotes 1 Corinthians 12:23 as his basis, which is weak.

Macarthur says much more than that, but I find myself writing much of it off as a grumbling unhappy old man who is flustered by his younger counterparts and their "foolish" ways.

Macarthur may have been offended by what Driscoll said, but I wasn't. And it isn't because I'm worldly, crude, or evil. Its because I like to be taught in direct terms without added fluff.

I'll leave it with these words from Macarthur, "I should explain that I don't use the Internet directly; I don't even own a computer or have an Internet connection in my home. I'm totally dependent on staff and pastoral interns who print material that I need to read and make sure I get it."

Postscript: Here is Driscoll's response to the attacks by Macarthur.

Nice

Maybe in my next life......

Maybe in my next life, I can get it right. I think my ideal situation would be as follows:

I am a high school Geography/English/Composition teacher. Maybe I also run the school paper or coach cross country.

And I'm able to start and lead a small house church on the weekends.

Oh well.

Maybe next time.

Right after I convert to an Eastern Religion which believes in reincarnation.

Mars Hill Church, Seattle - Annual Report

Its weird. I don't go to Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Never been there, in fact. I occasionally check in on their podcasts, occasionally listen to their in-house worship music, and occasionally read their blogs.

But I don't belong to their fellowship, don't invest in their fellowship, and really don't have any plans to do either.

But for some strange reason, I feel a connection and a tie to their endeavors.

Obviously, I like Mark Driscoll as a preacher and an author.

But there is something about the transparency and purposefulness of their church that I find compelling.

Each year, I print out and read through the Mars Hill Church Annual Report. I love it. It gives so much information and inspiration. I don't know why exactly - I think maybe its because it makes me feel like a part of the mission - even when I'm not and have no intention of becoming a part of it.

I've read stories about people moving across the country in order to go to Mars Hill and be a part of its ministry. I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired this way.

I've also read stories about groups of people starting "unofficial" Mars Hill campuses in their own homes in far away parts of the country and the world - once again, I appreciate these stories, but I am not wired that way either.

No. I am happy to sit down with a cup of coffee and read through the Annual Report.

The cover page of the report says, "It's all about Jesus." The report is about 20 pages long. They give some stories of Changed Lives - stories that they run regularly on their website each week about people whose lives have been changed by Jesus.

The report talks about their regional growth, their local growth, and their global growth - missionary training, church planting, campus launches, etc. There are three whole pages on their financial endeavors, both incoming and outgoing. It is really quite detailed.

They talk about their micro missions projects. They also discuss their ministries which reach thousands - websites, technology, etc. They also focus on their discipleship ministries - home groups, bible studies, etc. They have 353 community groups with 3933 participants. They have 39 elders and pastors with 17 more in training. They are very purposeful in both discipleship of leaders as well as the church body as a whole.

They go into great detail about their church planting network. It is with chagrin that I note that they still do not have a church plant south of Orlando - I'd just like to check one out - is that too much to ask. They have planted 173 churches so far - 53 in the past year.

As I said - the report is inspiring. I like that, at this point in the game, Driscoll doesn't have his name plastered all over the report. If you didn't know any better, you'd forget that he was involved at all while reading through the report.

But this one disturbs me most......

In Gary Lamb's recent post about his downfall/recovery, there was only one sentence that I found disturbing and upsetting:

I believe with everything that is in me that God is not through with me in a full-time ministry role but I do believe He has me on the sidelines right now to get some things right in my life.

I just don't get it.

There are plenty of men out there who are faithful to their wives. Let's say that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Let's also hypothesize that 20% of those 50% that stay married cheat on their wives, but still stay married. That would leave us with 30% of men who are able to stay married and faithful. Let's further hypothesize that that 30% is just too generous of a number - let's say, that realistically, only 20% of men could be trusted to remain faithful to their wives.

Now. Shouldn't that 20% be expected to be our leadership? Why are we relying on the other 80% at all?

Of course, naysayers will throw out central themes of the Bible like Fall and Redemption as an excuse for reinstating someone like Gary. But the Bible also has plenty of stories about God calling out those few who show true signs of inward character, rather than those outward signs of exuberance or talent.

I just don't get it.

Is there no such thing as disqualification? Does character matter? Are we that desperate for someone who has talent?

I sometimes wonder how many "true leaders" / aka shepards are being hidden in some of our churches. Or if they are even in church at all?

How often are we trading image and talent for character and obedience?

I've got nothing against Gary for what he's done. I still think he is quite an entertaining character. I agree with Perry Noble, who stated that each of us are only a few missteps from a similar fate.

But I believe that Gary needs to get a real jobby job, like the rest of us. And forget about being a shepard.

He needs to go to church and just enjoy it, like the rest of us.

Response to Gary Lamb's downfall

Here are a couple quick excerpts from Gary Lamb's site concerning his downfall:

• I’ve received over 3,000 emails and I haven’t responded to any of them due to the fact that I need to process some things and take some time to get my head clear. As many e-mails as I have gotten, there seems to be basically the same questions asked over and over.

• I have received over 30 emails from pastors (all anonymous) confessing to be involved currently in sexual affairs.

Well. That is encouraging.

It builds character.....

I like it when my A/C technician tells us that our 13 yr old central air system is on its last leg in the middle of a record breaking heat wave and that it needs to be replaced.... it builds character.

I like it when I have a non-decorative waterfall in the living room due to a roof leak.... it builds character.

I like it when my home is financially underwater..... it builds character.

I like it when business is so bad that all of my bosses leave and I get all new ones.... it builds character.

I like it when the home equity line is frozen because of the economic climate, despite our personal history..... it builds character.

I like it when the credit card company drops the limit to the balance and/or arbitrarily raises the interest rate with no cause..... it builds character.

I like it when the new credit application is denied because of the actions of the other creditors rather than my own.... it builds character.

I like it when the city tells me that I need to replace the crooked sidewalk in front of my house.... it builds character.

I like it when I have to apply for a permit requesting permission (despite the fact that they ordered me to do it)..... it builds character.

I like it when the city also asks me to remove a 40' tree that caused the crooked sidewalk..... it builds character. (don't forget about the permit for that one too)

I like it when the health insurance company tells me to wait until after my son is born to discuss his coverage, then deny said coverage because I went to a non-participating hospital..... it builds character.

I've built a lot of character since January of 2008, hope it does me some good in the future.