One Pastor's Perspective

I don’t know if you have heard all of the mess surrounding comments made by Dana Jacobson, an ESPN personality, at a recent roast. To make a long, filthy story a little cleaner, she dropped three f-bombs referring to Notre Dame (University), Touchdown Jesus (a well-known statue of Jesus holding up both arms on the Notre Dame campus), and finally one referring to Jesus. The question now is how far will ESPN and ABC go to make this right??

Yesterday on SportsCenter they read the weakest of weak apologies from Jacobson herself. I was extremely disappointed. I am not a fan of Jacobson’s and now will never be, but I am disappointed in ESPN and in ABC (parent company of ESPN). This summer, ABC FIRED an actor named Isaiah Washington for using an anti-gay term referring to a gay costar of his . . .

But, when it comes to God and Christianity, fair is NOT fair . . . Christianity, once again, is an open target to anyone who wishes to take a shot. I know that any kind of celebrity roast nowdays is going to use filthy language and be unwatchable . . . Roasts are not like they were when Dean Martin seemed to broadcast one each week in the 70s. Those could be watched by families. I made the mistake of trying to watch one on Comedy Central a couple of years ago: That ended in about 47 seconds.

The bottom line is this: Neither ABC, ESPN, nor the rest of them are going to show any respect or reverence to the name of our Savior. We need to take THAT into account as we patronize these folks . . . That is the great thing about a free market system: WE decide who is successful and who is NOT.

After all, fair IS fair!

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Dave’s thought for the day:
What you say ABOUT people, and HOW you talk TO people, tells the story of YOUR CHARACTER.

On Tuesday night I had the privilege of speaking at the Francis Marion (and Flo/Dar Tech) Baptist Collegiate Ministry out at the FMU campus. As I stood and faced a room full of young adults, I was humbled . . . What an awesome God to give a lunk like me a chance to share with such a room full of hope and future!

If you’ve never been out to BCM, talk to Justin or Christina and make arrangements to GO. You won’t regret it. For me, as a pastor, that kind of thing is what it is all about . . . Those guys and girls WANTED to be there, and WANTED to open the Word of God together. I LOVED IT! And I am thankful for the privilege . . .

Drew’s alarm is going off right now . . . He must have hit the snooze instead of turning it off ten minutes ago, because he just got into the shower. And this alarm is obnoxious, kind of like the old Civil Defense horns of years ago. We will be getting a call from the Florence Airport any minute now asking us to turn it down because it is interfering with their RF stuff.

And on SportsCenter, a revealing clip about the fact that Tom Brady is really the FOURTH Brady brother from the Brady Bunch. One of the things that drives me nuts about this time of the year is the lack of real sports news . . . But the Final Four will be here before we know it, so we persevere.

Well, gotta go . . . Phone is ringing and it appears to be the FAA.

What I REALLY wonder is who cares?? But, I must blog . . . I guess I will cheer for Eli Manning. A fine New Orleans boy . . . He seems a bit humbler than Payton, yet was just as deadly on Sunday. In reality, I wonder if the Gmen have a chance, but we can all dream, right??

On the other hand, the presidential races are heating up and at times are better than professional wrestling. It is just like a drama series on TV . . . Kind of like the Sopranos, but a little more violent. WHO NEEDS CABLE WHEN YOU HAVE CNN AND FOXNEWS???

And the COOL part is, all of the main characters CALL MY HOUSE EVERYDAY!! God bless America!

Yeah, the Tarheels are no longer number one, no longer undefeated. Honestly, I saw the handwriting on the wall a couple of games ago . . . You just cannot continue to count on the ability make runs at the end of a game and win. Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it does not . . .Saturday, it did not.

AND, Brett Favre’s season is now over . . . I hope he plays again next year, because he had a great year. Not bad for an old man. Now the biggest issue for me is which team to cheer for in the Super Bowl. It will be a tough choice . . .I guess I can do it. I did finally decide which presidential hopeful to vote for. I can do this, too.

As for my Heels, if they consider this a wake-up call, they might just be alright.

As Iron Sharpens Iron

That is what a article on scnow.com says . . . We have seen all of the snow we will see for this winter. WOW . . . That is a bummer. Growing up in Easley, we had snow almost every year, and with some accumulation. And every three or four years we would have a big one that would shut things down . . . (Put that into perspective: Where it takes a FOOT to shut things down in Detriot, it only takes about 5 inches in Greenville and 2 – 3 inches in Florence).

The kid in me loves snow . . . The parent of a teenage drive DOES NOT. However, all things considered, I hope that article is wrong.

That is what UNC was last night . . . Very lucky. Georgia Tech played great game, and I don’t see how in the world they could be 7-9 now. They played UNC point for point last night and it all came down to GT having a chance to win. And, UNC was lucky. I guess luck IS involved in a run like they are having.

On the campaign trail, this: Mike Huckabee brings in the big artillery. Gov. David Beasley is a great advocate to have in South Carolina, and especially in the Pee Dee. AND, to bring the great Chuck Norris today, that is impressive. But, to bring the Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair??? Somebody is specifically working hard to get MY VOTE!!! I would probably verbally commit IF he also brought Rowdy Roddy Piper or Wahoo McDaniel . . . Hear THAT, Huckabee campaign???

America is AWESOME!! I watch the news and see all of these guys running for president, bouncing to and fro within our nation, and it is really cool. And then , I get home and have messages from people like McCain, Huckabee, Thompson, Romney, etc. EVERY DAY!! These guys are so busy campaigning and yet they have time to call me . . . EVERY DAY! WOW!

Okay, seriously guys, STOP CALLING and sending me mail EVERYDAY. I get the message . . . YOU are the only one that can do the job. Please don’t make me disconnect my phone . . . My church members would NOT like that. Enough is enough!

(Seriously, America IS AWESOME!!!)

From last night, the choice for mindless entertainment was TV, specifically George Lopez on Nick at Nite. Good stuff.

And now I will tell you who to vote for . . . Why not, pastors do this all of the time, right??? I’m gonna tell you, and if you do not do it, you are a bonehead. Yep, I said it . . . If you don’t listen to me on this one, you are an idiot. (Wow, that was a little stronger than bonehead)

Okay, for WHOM does the bell toll?? Who do YOU have to vote for?? I am telling you to vote your conscience . . . Vote for the candidates that best represent how you believe and feel. (Whew, I said it . . . I was afraid I was really going off the deep end with this one.)

All kidding aside, the right to vote is one of the most valuable privileges we have in a democracy. One vote, one voice. We can each express our opinions and ideas by VOTING, and we each have an equal voice. That is a wonderful thing, and something of which I believe God wants us to be good stewards.

(now, I am whispering, and I will tell you about who I am voting for in the Presidential race . . . I have no idea. I really don’t. I wouldn’t tell you if I did, but I can honestly say, right now, I have no idea. As a pastor to Democrats, Republicans, AND Independants, I would probably not say if I knew, and I really do not know right now. But you had better believe I WILL vote. And, YOU SHOULD TOO.)