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The Election Blues

8/26/2020

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Well, the presidential election is just around the corner and the Republican and Democrat candidates agree on only two things:
  1. Each proclaims this the most important election in the history of the universe.
  2. Each thinks you should vote for him.

So, I offer the same basic advice as in every Presidential election.
  1. Never place your ultimate hopes in the government. It is my personal conviction that all the governments of earth become the Beast in the end. But even in their finest moments, I join Thomas Paine in regarding National governments as, at best, a necessary evil that, though evil, serves to protect us from the greater evils of absolute chaos and lawlessness. And when, as per Paine, a national government becomes worse than the evils it was implemented to protect us against, we have the additional unhappiness of knowing that we provided the means of our own scourging. Never forget that any administration is composed of fallen, fallible, self-interested human beings. This will not change no matter who is elected in November nor how much noise we make about it until then (or after).
  2. Working on the theory that government is still better than chaos and lawlessness (though it is getting harder all the time to tell the difference!) we must make a choice. Remember that your choice is not just about the person of Donald Trump or Joe Biden. Whichever occupies the White House next will be surrounded by operatives and functionaries all guided by a particular political philosophy. While, it is never really this simple, from the beginning, our national system envisioned an eagle with right and left wings and proceeded according to the metaphor that an eagle with only wing does not fly half as well as an eagle with two wings – the one winged eagle cannot fly at all. Our ‘two wing’ model calls the ‘right wing’ conservative and the ‘left wing’ progressive (originally – problem solving). The original basis for conservatism was to conserve the values and practices that made us who and what we are – lest we become something else. But – of course, new problems would arise and if we were to make progress, new tools would have to be added to the box. The right wing, in this sense, conserves the most essential elements of our past. The left wing is to help us innovate as we move into the future. This philosophical metaphor is probably more important than you think. For the moment, let’s stick with this – it’s counter-productive (and almost always wrong) to assume that people with different political instincts than yours are either evil, stupid, or both. I ignore all the social media posts insisting that no one who calls themselves a Christian could possibly vote for – take your choice. Ditto the various assignments of brain-dead status to anything who thinks… There are lines in the sand – but they are crossed by both parties.  See point one above.
  3. According to Acts 17:24-28, God is the author of nations and He has a plan for them – the nations are to help us find Him. Though nations attempt to depart from the divine plan at the drop of every hat, they will yet serve His purposes. Even as governments drift into absolute beast-hood (see point one above) they will, despite themselves, accomplish His will. Remember, when Paul made this point he was thinking primarily of the very Roman government which, under Nero, would have him imprisoned and beheaded – and yet – this has served God’s purposes. I’m not saying it will be pretty. I just want to let you know in advance who will win the election in November 2020. God will.
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The church garden

8/11/2020

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     Of all the ministries at Indian Run Christian Church, I think the Community Harvest Garden is best known out in the community. We raise potatoes, cabbage, peppers, corn, squash, watermelon, tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers etc. – and even sunflowers – almost a local landmark now. From soil prep to closing out the garden, the ministry runs from May to November and produces, on average, 30,000 pounds of food per year. We add to that produce we are able to glean from commercial growers and the average tally goes up to over 40,000 pounds per year over the decade or so we have been at it. Like many ministries, it started much smaller – a few hundred pounds of potatoes raised by the youth group over the summer and grew from there. A small portion of the food is distributed to local individuals. Some more of it goes out as a welcome addition to the processed items in our grocery giveaways. Most of it goes to Stark County organizations that specialize in feeding the hungry. We figure there’s no need to reinvent the wheel and these organizations like Stark County Hunger Task Force, The Salvation Army, Hope Outreach Ministries, etc. already work at the point of greatest need.

      The garden produces many blessings within the congregation. Recently, we dug 4,500 pounds of potatoes in one evening. One of our deacons pulled an antique potato digger behind his tractor and the crew fell in behind with buckets. The buckets were carried to a couple of men who bagged the potatoes and a few more transported the bagged spuds to the barn for weighing and eventual delivery. We had so many volunteers (including a number of youngsters) the potato digger couldn’t keep ahead. Perhaps you had to be there and see all those kids, attended by parents and grandparents swarming a row of freshly turned up taters – but it was a big blessing!

     There are also moments of disappointment – a crop that doesn’t turn out, long dry spells, and nobody likes the annual fight with the potato beetles and corn borers. But blessing arises from these as well. You should go to our Facebook page and see the video of the water cannon our deacons made from the fire departments old grass fire pump. It’s a lot more fun than bucketing water! While you’re there you can see a video of the potato digger in action as well. And everyone discovers the old truth, there’s just something satisfying about getting your hands in the dirt and growing food. I think it has to do with the terms of our original creation – after all – our first job was to tend the garden.

     But none of that is the reason the ministry is well known outside the congregation. The reason for that is our doing it outside the building – right along route 44. The Sunflowers call attention of course, but people honk when they go by – not at the sunflowers – at the volunteers of the moment out there chopping weeds, picking peppers, or, recently, working the water cannon.

     One of the great weaknesses of the way we often ‘do’ church is that most of the blessings are kind of trapped in the building. It’s kind of like locking the salt in the shaker or keeping the lamp under the bushel basket. Yes – I think worship services are wonderful – and crucial for the life of the congregation. But the work of the church needs to get out in the sunlight more. 

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    Pastor and Author Terry Bailey, Senior Pastor of Indian Run Christian Church

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