tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-133884982024-03-19T05:12:22.529-06:00AntleHopeRudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.comBlogger147125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-1157945996277115562023-09-22T15:40:00.001-06:002023-09-22T15:53:14.227-06:00Jesus and Salvation Series (Part 20)<em>Welcome to the Summer 2006 study for the Koinonia Class of Calvary Baptist Church, Denver, Colorado. We’re looking at the issue of Jesus and Salvation, using the book </em><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0802809812/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product/103-9554593-3784633?%5Fencoding=UTF8"><em>“Is Jesus The Only Savior”</em></a><em> [James R. Edwards, Is Jesus The Only Savior? (Grand Rapids/Cambridge: 2005)]. We encourage each person to buy a copy and follow along.<br /></em><br /><br /><strong>The Mystery of the Incarnation </strong><br /><br />In this, the last chapter of Edwards’ book, it is fitting that he discusses the ultimate revelation of God—the “incarnation of God in Jesus Christ. Since most Christians have heard Jesus called the Son of God, and probably have even heard the word “incarnation” a number of times, you might be surprised to read that “No other religion—ancient, or modern, local or universal—makes anything approximating the claim that God, without sacrificing his divine nature, has become a full and complete human being.”<br /><br />This, then, is the mystery—God became human, a specific man named Jesus of Nazareth. The word mystery means more than what we generally think. It includes the idea of mystery being something that is now revealed after having been hidden. In the incarnation of God in Jesus of Nazareth, God’s plan of salvation which had been hidden was now made plain. Over the centuries God gave various clues to His existence and His plan, but the overall plan remained a mystery because the final clue had not yet been given. In Jesus it was given, and God’s plan became plain to all who were open to the message God was sending in Jesus.<br /><br />Edwards speaks of the incarnation in terms of a code, a puzzle, and a parable. In deciphering a code one needs the key. Whether that code is a numerical code (such as is used in sending secure messages over the internet) or the kind of biological code that Doctors Watson and Crick discovered in 1953 as they began to unravel DNA, one can look at thousands, even millions, of clues without comprehending the message. Then once the key is found, everything else falls into place. Jesus is the key to understanding the “fingerprints” God scattered around His creation and the code that leads to understanding God’s plan for His creation.<br /><br />Jesus can also be compared to both the key piece and the box top of a jigsaw puzzle. The box top has a picture of what the puzzle should look like once all the pieces are put together. Imagine that you found a puzzle in an attic, and the pieces are in a paper bag. The original box is not available, and you are not sure all the pieces are there. It may even be possible that there are some extra pieces from another puzzle, but you won’t know that until you put them together.<br /><br />Later you start to work on the puzzle, starting with the border pieces. As more are added, it starts to look familiar. A long table, some men seated behind it, clothing like that in biblical scenes, but the scene doesn’t start to fall together until the central pieces are put in. Then you realize it is a puzzle of a picture of Michelangelo’s “<a href="http://www.abcgallery.com/L/leonardo/leonardo4.html">The Last Supper</a>”. Jesus is the central piece of the puzzle.<br /><br />How does this relate to how we think about other religions? We recognize that other religions may have some pieces of the puzzle. Some of them have pieces that don’t belong to this puzzle at all. We give credit were it is due, and honor the true pieces of the puzzle that we see in other religions: love, benevolence, knowing of self, humanity, a sense of justice, etc. Yet, we must be true to our own faith and continue to proclaim the uniqueness of Jesus. He is the piece of the puzzle that allows us to put the picture together.<br /><br />Finally, Edwards compares the incarnation, and our responsibility to tell others about it, to a parable of two brothers whose father had died several years previously. The older brother feels a need to tell his younger brother about their father, because the father died before the younger son was born. The older brother was not better because he could talk about his father. He simply was the one who knew his father.<br /><br />Likewise Christians have a responsibility to tell others what they know of God, not because we are better, but because we know God by knowing Jesus.<br /><br />Next Edwards describes what he calls “The scandal of particularity”. Because we say God came to us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, in a particular country, at a particular point in time, that seems for some people to argue against the universality of the Gospel. What about the people who lived before then, or even those who have lived since then, but have not had access to that one point in time and place? In Edwards’ hypothetical, “the particularity of the Christ event in time and space seems to hinder its universality”.<br /><br />However, as he goes on to point out, the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ reveals God better than any timeless, universal idea would. God is now more accessible: “God can now be known as never before. In the incarnation a religious longing becomes a historical fact.” This makes it better than just an idea about God. There are many ideas about God, all of which could claim to be true; and therefore none of which could claim exclusivity.<br /><br />Consider the importance of this sentence: “Historical particularity has an advantage over a universal idea.” Edwards then relates this to the longing for a cure for a dreaded disease. When I was young, polio was a serious threat. Everyone longed for a cure for this crippling killer. Then, after Jonas Salk developed a vaccine for polio in 1955, the news was joyfully spread worldwide. Polio was eventually eradicated. Although the vaccine was developed in a particular place (the University of Pittsburgh Medical School) in a particular year, its effect is universal. Protection from polio is no longer just a hope, it is a reality. Joyful news indeed!<br /><br />Christians can joyfully share the good news of the Gospel as well. It’s not a bothersome activity “like telephone solicitations or children selling candy for a school fund-raiser. True Christian witness is making known to non-Christian neighbors that they are also created by God, made in God’s very image, and that by faith in Christ they too may become God’s children”.<br /><br />Edwards’ final statement is worth repeating. “The God who sent the Son into the world to die for the sins of the world now sends believers in the Son into the world. They bear the good news that the God who is the world’s only creator is also its only redeemer in Jesus Christ.”<br /><br />In coming to know God through our Savior, Jesus Christ, we have been given the happy responsibility of sharing that knowledge with others. We have been saved: reconciled to God through no merit of our own—it is fully by grace. We agree with Paul that one died for all in order “that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them, and was raised again.” (II Cor. 5:14-15)<br /><br />We have examined the question, “Is Jesus the only Savior?” Not surprisingly, the answer Edwards gives is the same one the Bible gives—Yes!<br /><br />This is not an answer we can keep to ourselves for any reason: whether from fear of being rejected or of offending others, or from a desire to make Christianity seem more acceptable. Like children, we all want to fit in, to belong to the group. We also want Christianity to fit in with other religions—to not be seen as exclusivist, nor rejected by others. But we have the cure for that crippling killer called Sin. We must share the truth in love with all the world.<br /><br />I’ll close this series with the marvelous passage in II Cor. 5:17-21.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”<br /></span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-21808798771894521132018-06-06T16:08:00.002-06:002020-06-20T11:57:11.437-06:00Getting over the Inspection Hurdle to Closing<div class="WordSection1">
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">You’ve just accepted an offer on your home, and now you are under contract. If the Buyer of your home is paying all cash and had waived the inspection and appraisal, you have smooth sailing to a quick close.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">But what if the Buyer did not waive the inspection (which would generally be a foolish thing for a Buyer to do), what comes next.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Within the first week or so, the Buyers will schedule a time with their inspector when they can get together to inspect your home. That often creates some anxiety for the Seller, even if it’s a fairly new home and no major problems are expected. Everyone has heard some horror story of a deal crashing because the inspector’s report scared off the Buyer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">There is no need to get too anxious, however, if you know what to expect. Here is the normal inspection process:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer, Buyer’s Agent, and inspector find a mutually agreeable time.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer’s Agent calls Seller’s Agent to make sure the time is agreeable with the Seller. Since the Seller and any pets should be gone for the inspection, it can get complicated to schedule a time that works for everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer, Buyer’s Agent, and inspector are present for the inspection, which usually takes 2 to 2 ½ hours or more, depending on the size of the property and whether it’s a condo, townhouse, or single-family home. It can take a lot longer if it’s a farm or other property with multiple buildings.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">After the inspection, the inspector gives the Buyer (and usually the Buyer’s Agent) a copy of the report.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer and Buyer’s Agent discuss the report and decide what issues, if any, the Buyer wants to ask the Seller to correct.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer’s Agent prepares an Inspection Objection form and sends it to Seller’s Agent after the Buyer signs it. This must get to the Seller on or before the Inspection Objection Deadline (Section 3, Item 25 in the Colorado purchase contract). <br /> This Inspection Objection generally includes only major problems that are either safety issues or would cost a lot of money to fix. Sometimes, though, the Buyer asks for a “laundry list” of repairs: everything the inspector identifies, regardless of how trivial it may seem.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Seller’s Agent reviews the Inspection Objection form with the Seller and they prepare an Inspection Resolution form together. The Seller has three options:<o:p></o:p></span> <ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="a">
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Agree to correct every issue on the Inspection Objection, or<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Agree to fix some but, not all, of the issues, or<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level2 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Decline to fix any of the issues.<br /> <br /> <o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<li class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 0in; mso-add-space: auto; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1;"> <span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Since all that is needed is an agreement between Buyer and Seller that there is a resolution of the objection issues, “a.” above will provide that resolution, while “b.” or “c.” above will require a choice by the Buyer to get to a resolution.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Buyer has three options in the case of “b.” or “c.”:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(1)<span style="font: 7pt "times new roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: -0.5in;">Negotiate for a different resolution, or</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(2)<span style="font: 7pt "times new roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Agree to buy the house regardless of the Seller’s willingness to fix all the issues.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">(3)<span style="font: 7pt "times new roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Terminate the contract, get their Earnest Money deposit back, and look for another house to buy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">If there is no resolution by the Objection Resolution Deadline (Section 3, Item 26 of the contract), the contract terminates automatically.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">The first two options provide a resolution, and the contract then continues to the closing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br />Seller now has until closing, or whatever time specified in the Inspection Resolution, to complete the repairs they agreed to do.</span></div>
<br style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" /><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Typically, the Buyer’s lender waits until there is an inspection resolution before ordering the appraisal, so the Buyer is not stuck with paying for an appraisal ($500 or more) for a house they don’t want to buy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 106%;">Still have questions? Feel free to contact me, and I’ll be happy to talk with you. Rudy Antle, Call or Text: 303-548-6353, <a href="mailto:rudyantle@msn.com">rudyantle@msn.com</a>. <br /> <br /> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-22328222117717047452016-10-15T08:12:00.000-06:002016-10-15T08:12:23.081-06:00On "Making Sense of God, An Invitation to the Skeptical"I just started reading Timothy Keller's new book, "<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Making-Sense-God-Invitation-Skeptical/dp/0525954155/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476535137&sr=8-1&keywords=making+sense+of+god+timothy+keller" target="_blank">Making Sense of God, <i>An Invitation to the Skeptical</i></a>", and it is so insightful and intriguing that I find myself taking notes and responding to it.<br />
This series, then, will consist both of quotes from Keller's book and my own responses to it. In this sense it is not a review, critique, or a study guide; rather, this series will be my attempt to synthesize and summarize what I have studied and experienced over my life-- that is, what I have learned and have come to believe.<br />
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So, I start with these two quotes: the first from the preface where Keller defines "secular" and the second is from Chapter One, "Isn't Religion Going Away?"<br />
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"A secular person is one who does not know if there is a God </div>
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or any supernatural realm beyond the natural world. </div>
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Everything, in this view, has a scientific explanation."</div>
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"Strict secularism holds that people are only physical entities without souls,</div>
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that when loved ones die they simply cease to exist,</div>
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that sensations of love and beauty are just neurological-chemical events,</div>
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that there is no right or wrong outside of what we </div>
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in our minds determine and choose."</div>
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The first quote is Keller's definition--the one he will use throughout his book--so I won't respond to it. It comes from his forty years of working in Manhatten and talking with the skeptics and seekers prevalent there, as well as with believers, both strong in their faith and those trying to maintain their faith in the materialistic culture of New York.<br />
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I, on the other hand, have only rarely had a personal conversation with someone who would admit to believing all that Keller describes in the second quote. I have, however, known some people who do hold to the second and fourth parts of that description.<br />
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One man in his eighties and recovering from surgery, responded to my query about his readiness to die with the statement that he was ready because it would essentially mean the end of his struggle. He went on to say that he believed that this life is all there is--that once he died that would be the end of him. I was surprised at this answer since he was a fellow church member, and I assumed that he had the Christian hope of eternal life with God.<br />
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And on the fourth part of Keller's quote--the part about right and wrong--I know many people who reject biblical standards in favor of having a cafeteria approach to morality. Right and wrong are what they determine them to be. In many ways they are "good" people--some by comparison are better than I am. But on certain moral issues the word "sin" for them does not apply.<br />
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I have to say that my own life is not fully consistent with biblical standards. I must admit that I am included in this verse in Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." This is why I am so grateful for the grace of God through Jesus Christ as seen in Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" and in Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes...".<br />
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I know I need grace and to be saved from my sinful nature. That, it appears, is what differentiates me from the "secular" person Keller describes: one who knows they need forgiveness from those they have harmed but not from a God they don't believe exists.<br />
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I do believe God exists and that Jesus Christ came not just to teach us how to live, but to make eternal life with God possible, reconciling us (and me in particular) to God by his sacrificial death, resurrection, and his presence in my life in the person of the Holy Spirit.<br />
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I'm eager to read more of Keller's book, for I hope it will help me give hope to others who are asking, "Is this all there is?"<br />
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Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-53711631768447359042016-09-05T21:39:00.000-06:002018-06-06T16:21:41.517-06:00How To Sell Your Current Home And Buy Another<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">"Can I find the new home I want and then sell my current home?" That is a question I get often, and my answer is always the same, "It depends."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Most of the time a client asks that question, what they really are asking is whether they can make an offer on a new home contingent on selling theirs. In most markets the answer is a definite, "No". Rarely will everything align to make it reasonable for a home Seller to accept an offer that has a home-to-sell contingency. That would just give total control of the sale of the Seller's home to the Buyer, with no guarantees and with no ability to accept another offer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Here are the most common ways a Seller can sell their home and buy another. Almost all of them have some good features and some not so good.</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Find the new home and write an offer to buy it with cash</b>. Then sell your current home. This is a non-contingent offer that requires you to have sufficient cash on hand to buy the new home. For those able to do it, this has many great advantages: you have a better chance of your offer being accepted; you can take your time moving out of your current home; and you don't have the problem of losing the house you really like because you don't have your home on the market yet.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Find the new home and write an offer to buy it with a loan.</b> Then sell your current home. This is a non-contingent offer that requires you to have sufficient down payment cash on hand and the income to get the loan. If you have a loan balance on your current home, you must have enough income to qualify for the new loan and continue making your current home's payment. This is almost as good as option #1 except that it often produces some anxiety about making two house payments. <br /><br /><u>If you are over 62, you might have an option of using a Reverse Mortgage to buy the new home.</u> This option has some special requirements, so we definitely need to talk about them.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Put your home on the market to sell, and then write an offer on the new home when yours is Under Contract.</b> In my experience, this is the option most move-up or move-down clients have to choose. They don't have the cash or the income to buy a home without having theirs sold first. It does allow you to write an acceptable offer though, even if your home is not closed yet. Most Sellers will accept an offer contingent on the closing of a property that is Under Contract and due to close at a reasonable date. Sometimes they require that your contract is beyond the inspection contingency date, however. <br />What I generally do in this situation is start looking at homes to buy as soon as we put your home on the market. This allows you to find the neighborhood where you want to live, and to identify one or more homes that you would like to buy. Then, once an offer on your home is accepted, we go back to those homes you have pre-selected and that are still available (along with other new listings in those areas).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "verdana";"><b>Buying a new builder's home is a different situation.</b> Unless the builder has an inventory home that you like, you have to plan to get your home sold before the new one will be available. This generally involves selling your home, living in a temporary home or apartment, and then moving into the new home when it is completed. <br />This is very common for new builder home buyers because the builders will require a non-contingent status in their contracts. At some point in the construction schedule, they will require you to either have your home sold and closed or to sign a waiver of contingency. That means you agree to proceed with the purchase of the new home and you can demonstrate that you have the resources to buy it even if your home doesn't sell first.</span></li>
</ol>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana";">Every situation is unique, so if you are thinking of moving that will likely involve selling your home and buying another one, call me. I can help you work through all the options open to you. For all my contact information, see <a href="http://www.antleproperties.net/">www.antlepropertie</a>s.net. </span></div>
<br />Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-57853339029953141032016-08-02T10:49:00.004-06:002016-08-02T10:49:39.648-06:00<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another friend from church</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, </span><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Evan Mazunik, </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">posted a comment on Facebook with a link to this article, <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by Samuel Whitefield</span> "
</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.25pt; line-height: 107%;"><a href="http://samuelwhitefield.com/1811/four-issues-to-consider-before-you-vote-trump-what-is-really-at-stake" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Four Issues to Consider Before You Vote Trump – What is Really at Stake</span></a></span><em><span style="line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and said this: "</span><!-- /react-text --><span data-ft="{"tn":"K"}"><span class="UFICommentBody"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found the following article convicting & illuminating: '...a Clinton presidency is not the biggest thing at stake in this election. The biggest thing at stake in this election is the church’s prophetic voice to the culture.'"</span> <!-- react-text: 111 --></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the article linked to, Samuel Whitefield shares his
concern that “the church”, and in particular “the evangelical church” is too
closely tied with politics; and again too closely tied in particular with the
Republican party.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He obviously took a long time to research and write his 20
page, 9,000-word article; and I don’t have the time to react to all of it. I
just have these three things to say in response:</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(1)</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is no “the evangelical church”. Yes, some religious
leaders or organizations have come out in public support of Trump, but
evangelicals are fragmented. There is no longer a “moral majority” with
political power. Even the Tea Party movement (which is not necessarily
evangelical) is not unified.<br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whitefield says “</span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now is the time for the church to
break free of every political machine in order to become a prophetic voice to
the nation.”; and closely below that says “As a church we have put too little
value on our call to be a prophetic witness to the nation. We have allowed the
siren call of political saviors to obscure our higher calling to function in
society as a voice with a single allegiance.”<br />
<br />
To have a prophetic voice with a single allegiance, requires a unified Body of
Christ. When Christians can’t even agree on what style of music leads to the
most sincere worship, agreement on a highly complex political issue or
candidate is a pipe dream.</span>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(2)</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">America (or “the evangelical church”) is not necessarily looking
for a savior. But a super majority says the country is headed in the wrong
direction. The “Church” has a prophetic role to play, but it is not to inveigh
against a particular candidate for president or advocate for another. Its
prophetic role is to lift up Jesus as the Savior and preach that we have hope
only in God leading Christians to trust in Jesus and non-Christians to see the
hopelessness of trusting in any person. </span>
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.25in;">
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(3)</span><span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yes, there are several evangelical pastors and leaders who have
endorsed Trump. They get the headlines and TV appearances. However, there is no
single leader of evangelical Christians, so who does Whitefield endorse to be
the “prophetic voice” that will effectively separate “the evangelical church”
from the Republican party or from Trump?</span></span></div>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "Helvetica",sans-serif; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In conclusion, Samuel Whitefield is a voice on the same
side of the argument as John Mark Reynolds. Wayne Grudem (and others not cited)
are on the opposite side. The argument is whether a Christian (or “the
evangelical church”) can, should, or should not support Donald Trump. Each has
an opinion, and each argument is pretty much one-sided. Each speaks for
himself; none speak for me.</span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I’ve enjoyed the discussion, friends. Now I think I better get back to
my main responsibilities.</span></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-89022095603605471682016-08-01T08:26:00.002-06:002016-08-01T08:26:30.180-06:00Philosophers Argue On Whether A Vote For Trump Is Moral. I'm still left with a dilemma.<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two well-known Christian philosophy professors disagree on whether voting for Trump is a positive moral choice or a "wicked deed" that will stain any person who does so.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After reading both of them (see links below), I am still left with a dilemma: is there a Christian reason, a moral reason, to vote for Trump, Clinton, or neither?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
like my friend Ken Roberts' take on the situation--"</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I personally believe we have two lousy
presidential candidates; but one of them will be our next president. At this
point we must shift our thinking and decide which of the two parties will best
represent my values." </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(See his complete comment at </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ken.roberts.5836/posts/1362735437089056"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">https://www.facebook.com/ken.roberts.5836/posts/1362735437089056</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> .)</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I too have concluded that I have to shift from trying to choose which of two
extremely undesirable </span><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">candidates</span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> would make the best president (or the least
worst president) to decide which </span><u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">party</span></u><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> would best represent my values. I even
like that he said "my values" because each voter has to decide that
for himself or herself.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The articles in question are: </span><span id="goog_926923562"></span></div>
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Heuristica Bold",serif;"><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/waynegrudem/2016/07/28/why-voting-for-donald-trump-is-a-morally-good-choice-n2199564" target="_blank">Why Voting for Donald Trump Is a Morally Good Choice</a></span><span id="goog_926923563"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, by Wayne Grudem, and </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/eidos/2016/07/a-good-man-justifies-a-wicked-deed-grudem-on-trump/#disqus_thread" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A Good Man Justifies a Wicked Deed: Grudem on Trump</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, by John Mark Reynolds.</span></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span title="2016-07-30T04:02:25+00:00"></span></div>
</span><div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I originally said that
I was also a long-time fan of John Mark Reynolds, but I saw that he wrote for Patheos.com and I confused him with another Patheos.com writer, Mark D. Roberts (whom I heartily recommend). I can hear and agree with the anguish in Reynold's post about
Grudem's article concerning the moral dilemma intrinsic in this year's election. I
want to agree with Grudem. And, I can't find any of Reynolds' complaints about
Trump that I disagree with. So I am left with without any candidate I can vote <b>for </b>without feeling disgusted.</span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet,
in the end, I </span><b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">must</span></b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> decide. The Supreme Court argument Grudem makes is a strong one, although
it leaves me with the feeling that I'm making an "end justifies the
means" choice. Or perhaps more to the point, I feel like I'm in one of
those bad moral choices offered in an ethics class which presents two options
that are both unthinkable--a true moral dilemma. And, unlike Captain Kirk's
Kobayashi Maru test, we can't just change the rules (or "cheat") to
come up with a third alternative.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Not
to decide is to decide, but the lazy way to do it. Not to vote is to vote, and
is also the lazy way to do it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After my original comment on Facebook, I needed to add this. </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Georgia",serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having re-read the articles by
both Grudem and Reynolds, I have one complaint about the one by Reynolds. He
excoriates Trump for his character (rightly in my view) and says he is “manifestly
unworthy of the office of President of the United States.” He categorically
states that “if we follow Professor Grudem’s advice we will lose this
election </span><em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and</span></em><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
lose all moral authority to say character counts in the White House.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana;"><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">But Reynolds does not, in
this article, give the reader a similar critique of Hillary Clinton (or even a
link to another article with a similar critique of her character). Is the
reader to infer that if we vote for Clinton, or don’t vote at all, we will
retain the moral authority to say that character counts in the White house?<br /></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Grudem is not balanced
either—he does cite some of Trump’s “flaws”, but devotes most of his article to
giving reasons to vote for him anyway, many of them tied to the current and future
vacancies in the Supreme Court. Reynolds does not acknowledge even one possible
reason for voting for Trump (or against Clinton); and in spite of having the
Supreme Court seal accompanying his article, he does not address Grudem’s
argument on this point at all. In fact, he doesn’t even mention the Court. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Reynolds, like Grudem, is
a well-known author and professor. After reading his response to Grudem, I
checked out his biography and some additional Patheos posts; and I’m very
impressed. Had he mentioned or linked to his Patheos post from July 29, 2016, “Maybe
Cyrus is Cyrus: Pray God sends Help” his one-sided critique on July 30, 2016
would be easier to accept. However, even in that blog post there is not a good
answer. For this election, it does not appear that God is sending a Cyrus to
save the day.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"></span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Again, I don’t find
anything Reynolds wrote about Trump’s character that I can deny. </span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">I am still
left with the dilemma that Ken Roberts stated so clearly: one of them will be
president. How should I vote? I will pray and I will vote.</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana",sans-serif;">Likely, though, I’ll
not be voting for the <u>candidate</u> but for the <u>party</u> that I think will give better
the country what is needed for the next four years.</span><br />
</span><div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-89241740057292510382013-11-19T09:24:00.001-07:002013-11-19T09:24:20.117-07:00FW: How To Make Content Marketing Work For You<div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Hi Stefanie,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Thank you so much for all your insight you shared yesterday, and for your time and interest in helping me with my business. More on that later.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>You'll see in another email that I sent to Metrolist and copied you that I'm seeking an answer to your question. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>In case you didn't see this in the Denver Business Journal this morning, I thought you would be interested in this article. It sounds like what you described as what you do for businesses. What do you think of his article?<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Thanks again,<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'>Rudy<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></div></div><div style='margin-left:7.5pt;margin-right:7.5pt;outline: 0px;min-height: 15px'><div style='margin-bottom:3.75pt;outline: 0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Nov 19, 2013, 6:00am MST <span class=updated><b><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in;font-weight:bold'>UPDATED: </span></b><span style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0in'>Nov 19, 2013, 6:43am MST</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><h1 style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><b><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-weight:normal'>Strategies: How to make content marketing work for you</span></font></b><span style='font-weight:normal'><o:p></o:p></span></h1></div><div><div><div><div style='border-top:dotted #CCCCCC 1.0pt;border-left:none;border-bottom:dotted #CCCCCC 1.0pt;border-right:none;padding:0in 0in 0in 0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;outline: 0px;float:left'><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jeff Kear<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>When it comes to misunderstood and misused "new" marketing tactics, content marketing is probably a close second to social media.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In and of itself, the rationale behind content marketing is solid: create compelling, informative content for your target market that establishes you as a thought leader and provides more opportunities for your prospects to encounter your brand.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>But just browse through the thousands of online article sites and you will encounter millions of poorly written, banal articles stuffed with keywords and anchor-text-optimized links (which search engines are now pretty much ignoring).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Why do so many people get it so wrong? Because content marketing, when done well, isn't easy. It takes time to research and coherently write an article that is unique. The returns aren't immediate, in that you may need to create compelling content for months in order to get the momentum rolling. And there's also all the online noise you have to break through.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>That said, content marketing has become a vital part of many companies' marketing and advertising efforts, mainly because it:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Positions them as a problem solver that has deep industry knowledge and answers to pressing questions.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Makes them look approachable and easy to work with.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Improves recall and recognition, which increases the chances a prospect will remember them when a need for their product/service arises.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>What may surprise you is that it doesn't necessarily take lots of time and resources to run your own content marketing program. Here are a few tips to get you started.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;vertical-align:baseline'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>1.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></font></span></span></font><![endif]>Implement a realistic strategy<font color=black><span style='color:black'><br><br></span></font>Start simple and set achievable goals. For instance, try to produce one original, insightful article every month, and create an editorial calendar for topics you want to cover each month. If you don't have the time to devote to it, find a co-worker who has the time and the passion for this responsibility. If writing isn't a strength of yours, rough out a first draft and then farm it out to a freelance writer for polishing.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>2.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></font></span></span></font><![endif]>Learn what's relevant to your audience<font color=black><span style='color:black'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><br></span></font>Creating content is very similar to developing a product: find out what your audience wants and supply that demand. The best way to do this is to talk with your customers and prospects to learn what issues and challenges they are facing; what industry topics interest them the most; and where they see the industry heading.<o:p></o:p></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>In addition, you can read industry trade publications and browse relevant websites to brush up on current hot-button topics and even create Google Alerts so you are notified when specific topic keywords pop up online.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>3.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></font></span></span></font><![endif]>Focus on quality, not quantity<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Many people think they have to blog every day and post on social media constantly in order to run a successful content marketing campaign. In fact, it's often more effective to limit your number of articles and use your time to create something original and valuable instead of hammering your audience daily with rehashed news or ideas.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Here are just a few angles you can take in creating unique content:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Collect and report on your own data or survey results (or write an article where you research and summarize data generated by others in your industry).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Give your expert opinion of industry developments and news.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Provide a comprehensive look at a pressing issue.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Write a thorough "how-to" article.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Offer tricks-of-the-trade and strategic insights into creating efficiencies.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Interview an expert on a subject matter or an industry luminary.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Break down a complicated idea into easy-to-understand chunks.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Pen a "problem solved" article that details how you or another company overcame a challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Provide FAQs for recurring questions that trip up people in your industry.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>• Cover common mistakes or blunders people in your industry make and how they can be avoided.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.25in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Note: Besides writing articles, you can also create video content using these guidelines, as many people prefer watching a video to reading an article.<font color=black><span style='color:black'><br><br></span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo3;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><![if !supportLists]><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>4.<font size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></font></span></span></font><![endif]>Develop your delivery channels<o:p></o:p></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Once you create your content, you need readers, and the best method of distributing your content is through your own in-house customer and marketing lists. These are people who already have a relationship with you, have opted-in and are more receptive to your message. You should also place signup forms on your website for visitors who want to receive your content-related emails and e-newsletters; this is a great tactic for growing your list.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Publishing content on your blog and then posting it to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter as well as on LinkedIn Groups is also a reasonably effective way to distribute your message. And you should also compile a list of industry influencers and media sources and send them any content that is newsworthy.<font color=black><span style='color:black'><br><br></span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;vertical-align:baseline;outline: 0px'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Finally, it's important that you are consistent in creating and distributing your content, because it does take time to develop a following and build your delivery channels.<font color=black><span style='color:black'><br><br></span></font><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><blockquote style='border:none windowtext 1.0pt;border-left:solid #E5E5E5 4.5pt;padding:5.0pt 15.0pt 7.0pt 11.0pt;margin-left:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:11.25pt;outline: 0px'><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Jeff Kear, owner and lead strategist at Kear Stevens, a Denver-based branding and marketing firm, can be reached at <a href="tel:303-321-3451"><span style='text-decoration:none'>303-321-3451</span></a> or <a href="mailto:jeffk@kearstevens.com">jeffk@kearstevens.com</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2013/11/strategies-how-to-make-content.html?ana=e_den_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2013-11-19">http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/broadway_17th/2013/11/strategies-how-to-make-content.html?ana=e_den_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2013-11-19</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><p class=MsoNormal style='vertical-align:baseline'><font size=2 color=black face=Verdana><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";color:black'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p></blockquote></div></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><br><span class=apple-style-span>Rudy Antle, CRS, SRES Broker/Owner</span><o:p></o:p></span></font></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Antle Properties / Metro Brokers<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Direct: 303-284-3609<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Cell: 303-548-6353<o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Email: <a href="mailto:rudyantle@msn.com">rudyantle@msn.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Website: <a href="http://www.antleproperties.net">www.antleproperties.net</a><o:p></o:p></span></font></p></div></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-25824906181915174632013-03-10T19:48:00.003-06:002013-03-10T19:53:21.907-06:00The Case for the Moral Superiority of Freedom Over DependencyAmericans are beginning to wake up to the failure of decades of a morally declining culture--a culture that not only has become enslaved to drugs, alcohol, sex, and violence, but is becoming enslaved to ever-growing government handouts.<br />
<br />
<br />
In Powerlineblog.com John Hinderaker wrote this, introducing Jeff Sessions' speech from Saturday.<br />
<span class="meta-prep meta-prep-author">Posted on</span> <span class="entry-date">March 10, 2013</span> <span class="meta-sep">by</span> <span class="author vcard"><a class="url fn n" href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/author/john" title="">John Hinderaker</a></span> in <a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/category/barack-obama">Barack Obama</a>, <a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/category/education">Education</a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Making the Case for the Moral Superiority of Freedom</span><br />
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<em>Jeff Sessions, the Senate’s indispensable man,
delivered the Republicans’ radio address yesterday. In it, he focused on one of
his favorite themes: it is conservative policies, not liberal ones, that are
compassionate toward the poor, the disadvantaged, the downtrodden. Sessions
argues that conservatives need to push back harder against the smug assurance
of liberals that their policies are good for people, even as they keep people
dependent, deprive them of opportunities for employment and wage growth, and
steal away, on every front, the independence that lends dignity to every human
life, no matter how seemingly ordinary. Here is Sessions’ radio address in its
entirety:</em></div>
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<strong>Read the entire article and Jeff Sessons' speech here:</strong></div>
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<span style="color: #3399ff; font-family: Calibri;"><a href="http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/03/making-the-case-for-the-moral-superiority-of-freedom.php">http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2013/03/making-the-case-for-the-moral-superiority-of-freedom.php</a></span></div>
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Sessions starts with: <em>"Hello. I’m Jeff Sessions from Alabama, Ranking Republican on the Senate Budget Committee. It’s my privilege to speak with you today before the Senate considers a budget plan next week. Congress has an obligation to adopt a budget that does the most good for the most people."</em></div>
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After describing the failure of the policies that have brought us to our current dependent state and then listing some steps that can be taken, Sessions says, <em>"These steps will empower Americans—not the government. They will promote family—not bureaucracy. And they will help create a future in which the central bonds in our lives are not government rules but the love and loyalty we have for one another."</em></div>
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<em><br /></em>Do you agree with Jeff Sessions? Write something here or on your own page. Do you disagree? Still you should write and state your own opinion. This is a debate that we must engage if our country is to endure as we have known it.</div>
<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"></span><br />Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-8776112092115750872012-08-12T22:34:00.001-06:002012-08-12T22:51:34.186-06:00A Christian Living Out His Faith<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Some people get so wrapped up in the phrase “separation of
church and state” that they think it means Christians have to leave their faith
at home if they are elected to public office. This is especially true of those
who mistakenly think the phrase is in the Constitution instead of in a letter
from Thomas Jefferson to Baptists in Danbury, Connecticut.</span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Others think all politicians get caught up in going along to
get along so they can’t ever exhibit moral integrity. It’s instructive then
to see that Paul Ryan, the newly introduced running mate for Mitt Romney, spoke
at Georgetown University (a Catholic school) about how his Catholic faith
informs his policy formation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It’s worth reading the whole speech at <span style="color: #1f497d;"><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2012/04/26/full-text-of-paul-ryans-remarks-at-georgetown-university/?print=1"><span style="color: blue;">this
site.</span></a> </span>When I read it, I saw a great summary of this very complicated
topic. These four subjects in that speech are worth exploring to see how faith
can be implemented: (the quotes are from Paul Ryan’s speech)</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Social Doctrine</b>—“The
work I do as a Catholic holding office conforms to the social doctrine as best
I can make of it. What I have to say about the social doctrine of the Church is
from the viewpoint of a Catholic in politics applying my understanding to the
problems of the day.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Solidarity</b>—“Serious
problems like those we face today require charitable conversation. Civil pubic
dialogue goes to the heart of solidarity, the virtue that does not divide
society into classes and groups but builds up the common good of all.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Subsidiarity</b>—This
is the concept that those entities closest to the problem know it best and are
best able to address it. So, families, friends, neighbors, cities, counties,
and states should take care of issues first before relying on the national
government to get involved. “Government is one word for things we do together.
But it is not the only word. We are a nation that prides itself on looking out
for one another—and government has an important role to play in that. But relying
on distant government bureaucracies to lead this effort just hasn’t worked.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Preferential option
for the poor</b>—It is a moral choice to prioritize resources so that the poor
can have a necessary safety net. However, “…I do not believe that the
preferential option for the poor means a preferential option for big government.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Ryan goes on to talk about poverty, taxes, Medicare, and affordable
health care. These are all subjects that demand civil dialogue and respect for
differing opinions. That civil dialogue will lead to solidarity in working to effect true
social justice.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I’m with Ryan. I believe it is not only possible, but the most
moral choice for Christians to put their faith into practice in the public
square.</span></div>
Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-67787950619709985762012-07-29T18:49:00.002-06:002012-07-29T18:49:59.848-06:00The "Chick-Fil-A Controversy"<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I just posted this on Facebook, and wanted to share it here also:</span></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It should be axiomatic
that you shouldn't believe everything you see on the internet. And, one
shouldn't pass along on FB or elsewhere that which is controversial unless they
have researched the matter to make sure it is true.<br />
<br />
I've read so many things here about the "Chick-Fil-A controversy".
Almost none of them refer to the original article about the interview in which
its President, Dan Cathy, affirmed his support for traditional marriage. <br />
<br />
He never said anything negative. The phrase "gay-marriage" was not
spoken. If those who criticize him and support a boycott of his company don't
want to look like fools in the future, they may want to read the actual
comments in this, the original article: </span><a href="http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271" target="_blank"><span style="color: #3b5998; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=38271</span></span></a><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-outline-level: 6;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">They could also read this
article by Terry Mattingly: </span><a href="http://www.getreligion.org/2012/07/wheres-the-beef-what-the-chick-fil-a-boss-really-said/"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.getreligion.org/2012/07/wheres-the-beef-what-the-chick-fil-a-boss-really-said/<o:p></o:p></span></span></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">
</span><br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Mattingly critiques the
shoddy journalism of CNN and others who jumped to conclusions and, perhaps
intentionally, distorted Mr. Cathy's remarks.</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">"It would have been so easy
for the mainstream press to have reported Cathy’s remarks accurately and, then,
to have accurately reported the comments of those who were more than happy to
criticize the Chick-fil-A leader’s conservative views on marriage. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.25in; mso-outline-level: 6;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">
<span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">That equation is par for
the journalistic course. But is it fair game to actually state, as fact, that
the man said things that he didn’t say?"</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span lang="EN" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Tahoma","sans-serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">I support traditional marriage. That doesn't mean I hate anyone. It does mean I believe God's ideal, and the purpose for which He created us and put man and woman together as "husband and wife" in the first place, should still be the ideal for the family today. </span></span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-91206681967099608952012-07-08T20:28:00.000-06:002012-07-08T20:28:45.862-06:00Comments on "Bad Religion", part 2<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The prologue of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Religion-Became-Nation-Heretics/dp/1439178305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341760730&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+religion" target="_blank">"Bad Religion, How We Became A Nation Of Heretics"</a> introduces the topic of "A nation of heretics". Not only have we seen a growing political and economic mess in America, it has become apparent that our culture has declined. Ross Douthat doesn't take sides politically. He clearly and comprehensively uncovers various religious theories about what has brought on the decline; and why religious institutions have lost so much influence over the culture.<br />
<br />
Whether it is a voice from the right that says America started as a Christian nation and, having moved away from its Christian principles, has lost God's favor, or a voice from the left that says America is in decline because it is too religious, both are inadequate explanations. Douthat says "America's problem isn't too much religion, or to little of it. It's <em>bad</em> religion: the slow-motion collapse of traditional Christianity and the rise of a variety of destructive pseudo-Christianities in its place."<br />
<br />
These distortions of traditional Christianity don't have the full stream to draw from--only self-indulgent truncated copies that in the end don't have the power of the real thing. Interestingly, Douthat says that the various "experiments" or "heresies" in American Christianity's history have not been all that bad. They have been good for traditional Christianity because the push and pull of innovation versus orthodoxy have served to strengthen the orthodox stream and make the faith broader and able to serve more people.<br />
<br />
Freedom of religion in America has in the past made the orthodox stream stronger. "In America, because orthodoxy couldn't be taken for granted, orthodoxy came alive."<br />
<br />
The problem today, though, is that the stream itself is weaker. The so-called "mainstream denominations" have declined in membership and influence. Many, having moved themselves out of the stream of orthodoxy, are now simply ignored as irrelevant by the cultural elites who set the memes of the news cycle.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, although the explosion of the tributaries shows that Americans are not less religious, the don't have the unity or collective power to affect the culture in a positive direction. Instead, we're a collection of individuals who each has his or her own "choose your own Jesus" that meets the requirement of providing some personal benefits without a sense of corporate responsibility.<br />
<br />
Douthat wrote his book with the hope that things can be turned around. "Both doubters and believers stand to lose if religion in the age of heresy turns out to be complicit in our fragmented communities, our collapsing families, our political polarizations, and our weakened social ties." He will argue for a renewal of faith in and a return to the 2,000 year old stream. And, in spite of the pessimism of much of the book, he has hope that renewal can come.<br />
<br />
I will write my comments with that same hope. Perhaps some readers will pick up the book themselves and read along. Perhaps others will simply rethink their own relationship to the religion that forms the roots of our culture and seek some answers in those churches where the gospel message is still being taught and lived. After all, even heretics are not beyond the reach of God's grace.</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-63888218143164728752012-07-08T09:24:00.002-06:002012-07-08T09:24:38.702-06:00Comments On "Bad Religion", part 1<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've started reading <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Religion-Became-Nation-Heretics/dp/1439178305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341760730&sr=1-1&keywords=bad+religion" target="_blank">"Bad Religion, How We Became A Nation Of Heretics",</a> by Ross Douthat. It is so intriguing that I've decided to write a post on each chapter to share it with my friends.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Douthat traces the decline in influence of religion on American culture since the optimistic years following WW II. He sees the problem not as too little religion nor too much religion, but as what he calls "bad religion".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the preface comes this illustration. "A chart of the American religious past would look like a vast delta with tributaries, streams, and channels winding in and out, diverging and reconverging--but all of them fed, ultimately, by a central stream, an original current, a place where all the waters start. This river is Christian orthodoxy."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There has always been a struggle between the stewards of orthodox Christian belief and practice and those who seek to adapt to new circumstances by experimenting with, adding to, or deleting from that orthodoxy. America, with its lack of central authority, its melting pot of cultures, and its enshrined freedom of religion has been a fertile ground for these experiments.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">These "experimenters" typically have taken one aspect of the multi-faceted (and sometimes seemingly contradictory) Christian stream and emphasized it, resulting in a tributary that at first is connected, but eventually departs dramatically from its origin. The result has been a collection of "choose your own Jesus" movements. So, we have become "a nation of heretics"--still religious, but with declining influence in the American culture.</span><br />Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-7258753245620721092012-03-18T20:59:00.000-06:002012-03-18T20:59:59.873-06:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 15—Journey’s End<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since December 4, 2011 we have been on our Journey Into The
Unknown. This week as I was talking with an old friend and mentor, he said “It
sounds like your journey has led you to a new home.” Indeed.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we joined Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church, our new
church home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the “Connect Luncheon” after the late service, I was
talking with those at our table and shared a remarkable fact: I had expected
that our journey would take us to several different churches from which we
could eventually select the one that was most compatible; but CCPC was the only
church we even visited. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We went there first because a friend whom I had known since
college days in Boulder convinced me that I ought to try his church. Both of us
came from Baptist backgrounds. We reconnected at University Hills Baptist
Church almost 30 years after we last saw each other. When he left that church,
he went to CCPC. I had left previously and joined Calvary Baptist Church in
Denver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just as the Lord was leading us to leave Calvary Baptist on
our journey, I had lunch with my friend Tom. One of the primary things the Lord
used to lead us to CCPC was Tom’s enthusiasm for his church. Tom was excited,
even evangelistic about inviting me to his church. It’s been a long time since
I’ve seen that in any church where I’ve been a member. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We discovered why Tom was excited about CCPC. The music,
warm atmosphere, and the excitement the members seemed to have about Jesus kept
bringing us back. The fact that several people we already knew from our Baptist
past were members there made it easier to consider making the move.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our enjoyable hour and a half visit with the Pastor, the
5-week class for new members, and the multiple signs of a conservative, evangelical
theology were some of the other factors the Lord wove together to let us know
the journey was over. We had indeed found our new home.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, this is the last post of this series. Our Journey into
the Unknown is over. Our destination is known—at least for this part of the
journey. No Christian journey of faith is over until we cross that final river
into our ultimate destination. That’s when faith will become sight and we shall
see Him face to face. Our life of faith continues—in our new church home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank you Lord for your leadership and your presence along
the journey to this point. We’re excited about what lies ahead. You know it, of
course; and by now we know that you will let us know when the time is right.
Lead on!<o:p></o:p></span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-55134793842825951982012-03-14T17:24:00.000-06:002012-03-14T17:24:09.211-06:00My Journey Into The Unknown, part 14<br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I mentioned that in order to join Cherry Creek
Presbyterian Church we had to answer 5 questions in the affirmative. Those 5
questions are:</span><br />
<ol start="1" style="margin-top: 0in;" type="1">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.9pt; margin: 14.25pt 0.55in 0pt 0in; mso-line-break-override: restrictions; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; tab-stops: list .5in; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">Do
you acknowledge yourself to be a sinner in the sight of God and without
hope for your salvation except in His sovereign mercy?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.75pt; margin: 14.85pt 0.05in 0pt 0in; mso-line-break-override: restrictions; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">Do
you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God and the savior of
sinners, and do you receive and depend upon Him alone for your salvation
as He is offered in the Gospel?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.75pt; margin: 14.85pt 0.2in 0pt 0in; mso-line-break-override: restrictions; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt; letter-spacing: 0.05pt;">Do you now promise and resolve, in humble reliance
upon the grace of the Holy Spirit, that you will endeavor to live as
becomes the followers of Christ?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.85pt; margin: 14.5pt 0.1in 0pt 0in; mso-line-break-override: restrictions; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">Do
you promise to serve Christ in His Church by supporting and participating
with this congregation in its service of God and its ministry to others to
the best of your ability?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 14.7pt; margin: 14.6pt 0.45in 0pt 0in; mso-line-break-override: restrictions; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; punctuation-wrap: simple; tab-stops: list .5in; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.5pt;">Do
you submit yourself to the government and discipline of the Evangelical
Presbyterian Church and to the spiritual oversight of this Church Session,
and do you promise to promote the unity, purity and peace of this church?<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ol>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The first three of these questions are a different way
of presenting the gospel we read in the “Steps to Peace With God” booklet, as a
part of the class. There are many ways to help someone know how to become a
Christian, and many ways for the gospel to be presented. This booklet is only
one. We are very pleased to be part of a church that takes special care to
ensure that every member has at one time heard the gospel and responded to it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Perhaps that’s one of the reasons the members seem more
willing (and even eager) to share their love for Jesus with others. Note that
the five questions didn’t ask whether we agree 100% with every doctrine the
church promotes. Like any church, members fit within a range of acceptance of doctrinal
beliefs. The main thing is not absolute conformity but one’s relationship with
Jesus Christ.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The church’s emphasis on “The Essentials” (mentioned
earlier) and its latitude concerning “non-essentials” is fine with me. I can
agree with their Essentials and I can answer the five questions affirmatively.
Beyond that, I’m willing to dialogue. </span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-48908651037095943952012-03-13T13:44:00.000-06:002012-03-13T13:44:34.516-06:00My Journey into the Unknown, part 13<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">It appears
that the Lord has His reasons for leading us to our new church. I still don’t
know what all those may entail, but I’ve found one—and it is more than
sufficient: the Lord is drawing me closer to Himself by placing me in
surroundings that nourish and refresh my soul.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">One example
of this is the way members talk about their love of Jesus and are thankful for
His grace. In relative terms, it’s as if I’ve been led through the wilderness
and now am made to lie down in green pastures and led beside the still waters.
I’m encouraged to wait on the Lord and let Him restore my soul.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">It’s
probably just a “coincidence”, but Sunday as we went to get a cup of coffee
before our last new member’s class, I picked up a book on an end rack of the
church’s library shelves that spoke directly to me. It is “<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Prodigal-God-Timothy-Keller/dp/1594484023/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1331667666&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Prodigal God</a>”, by
Timothy Keller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">It’s a short
(133 pages) treatise on what we generally call the parable of “the Prodigal Son”
from Luke 15. In the chapter on “Redefining Lostness” the Lord spoke to me in
Keller’s descriptions of the two brothers, showing me how I need to focus on
the Father’s lavish and extravagant grace instead of myself. I may write more
about that later.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In all, it
is encouraging to hear men and women sharing their own stories of how Jesus has
lavished His grace on them. And, as part of becoming a member, we each had to
personally share our testimony of accepting Jesus as Savior in a one-on-one
session with an Elder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New members can
come to CCPC from any denomination and with whatever past experience of baptism
they have had, but they aren’t automatically members just by asking to be one.
They must have made a personal commitment to Jesus as Savior and Lord, and
share that story with someone in authority in the church. I like that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">We made the
commitment to join Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church last Sunday; and this
coming Sunday we will be presented to the church as new members. In order to
join, we had to both share our testimony and answer five questions in the
affirmative. More about this in the next post.<o:p></o:p></span><br />Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-67558996687073233602012-02-19T16:35:00.002-07:002012-02-19T16:35:43.637-07:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 12<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">How
is it that I came to the position that I might join a church that has a different
view of baptism than what I have held all my life? There are two answers.
First, I agree with the EPC concerning their distinction between essential and
non-essential doctrines. Baptism is not essential for salvation, so even if we
hold different perspectives, we can still worship and work together. Second,
I’ve been studying and dealing with the issue of baptism for quite a long time.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I grew up and matured in Baptist churches and held a fairly
strict Baptist view of baptism—that it should be “believer’s baptism” and that
biblically it should be administered by immersion.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p> </o:p></span><br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In the Navy, in
college, and later as an adult I came to know other strong believers from
various denominations who had experienced different modes of baptism either as
an infant or an adult. They were Christians just as I was. In some ways, I had
the experience Peter had in Joppa (see Acts 10) where the Lord had to show him
that others from different backgrounds were also part of the Kingdom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I pastored a church,
baptizing new believers (by immersion) and dedicating the new babies of my
church members (asking the parents and the church to help bring up the child in
the knowledge of the Lord).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I witnessed babies
being “baptized” in a Methodist church, and being “dedicated” in an American
Baptist church in almost the same exact manner, but without the water.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">To explain the
membership requirements for our former church, I wrote a brief </span><a href="http://www.antleproperties.net/xSites/Agents/antleproperties/Content/UploadedFiles/Baptists%20and%20Baptism.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">article about baptism</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> and the church’s
previously adopted policy that it would only practice believer’s baptism by
immersion but would accept as valid a new member’s prior baptism from any other
Christian denomination. It was similar to the position I had reached a few
years earlier in a piece I called “</span><a href="http://www.antleproperties.net/xSites/Agents/antleproperties/Content/UploadedFiles/Baptism%20from%20a%20Pastoral%20Perspective--Rudy%20Antle.pdf"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Baptism From A Pastoral
Perspective</span></a><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">”. [for more on this subject I encourage you to see</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> G.R. Beasley-Murray's book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baptism-New-Testament-G-Beasley-Murray/dp/1597528595/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329692757&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">"Baptism In The New Testament".]</span></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Both of those pieces
were written from the standpoint of welcoming a Christian from a different
background into a Baptist church where I, as a pastor or leader had some
responsibility for helping others see baptism from a Baptist perspective.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Now I am faced with
the opposite situation—I am considering membership in a church where I would be
the Christian coming from another denomination into a church where “believer’s
baptism” by immersion is available but is not the norm. Now “the shoe is on the
other foot”, and I am the one who is asked to accept <u>their</u> policy. Importantly, even if that policy involves a "non-essential", that does not make it insignificant to those who believe that entry into the covenantal fellowship via infant baptism is desirable.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Interestingly, in the "Creek Explored" class for potential new members today, the leader asked us to review the pamphlet "<a href="http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/beliefs/essentials-of-our-faith/" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Essentials</span></a>" for next week. Then she said that most of the problems people have who decide not to become a member are among the "non-essentials", not the "essentials". I'm thinking that baptism is one of those stumbling blocks for many. Indeed, that's why I have done so much thinking, praying, and writing on the issue. Is it something about which I can say affirmatively, "I can live with that difference."</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I am only considering
<em>membership</em> though. I’m not thinking of becoming a pastor who would be expected
to administer infant baptisms myself. As a member, I can understand their
policy on baptism, and since it is a “non-essential” (in their policy and in mine as well), I am at liberty to agree
or disagree with it with charity. I may disagree, but I can say, "I can live with that. It's not something I would do, but I'm not going to make a big deal of it." </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">If I were a pastor though, my personal beliefs about
baptism would be involved, and I wouldn't be able to just say that I disagree.
I would be making a non-essential into an essential for me. And that decision would affect others who would also be faithful members of the church. Thankfully, I don’t have to consider that question right now.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Thanks be to God that
Jesus in Matthew 28:19,20 said,</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><sup><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></sup><span style="color: #222222;">"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given
to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,</span><sup><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></sup><span style="color: #222222;">and teaching them
to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to
the very end of the age." </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Jesus has the
authority. He gave the commands. He will be with us to the end. He said baptism
is to be “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. I
will leave it to Jesus and the local churches He has established to determine
what the policies should be about how and when that baptism is to be
administered.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">My decision is whether
I can agree with a church’s policy. If the matter is significant enough and I
can’t agree, then I shouldn’t be a member of that church. I've been through that before on a different policy.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">If there are some
disagreements, but they are not significant (or “essential” in the case of
Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church as an EPC member), then I could be a member as
I have been in every church in the past—in agreement on almost everything but
still having the right to disagree on non-essential matters.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Happily in this
situation, I am not coming without prior experience or study. My study (linked
above) has prepared me to fit in well with the EPC’s position:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In essentials…Unity</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 12pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In non-essentials…Liberty</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-background-themecolor: background1;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>In All things…Charity</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-21495235455245311002012-02-18T19:45:00.000-07:002012-02-18T20:14:07.139-07:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 11<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In my last post I said that Cherry Creek Presbyterian
Church (CCPC) satisfies the five criteria listed in part 6 for what we are
searching for in a new church home. In almost every significant area there is
very little difference between Baptists and Presbyterians.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The one major difference is with baptism. I’ll explain
the Baptist position later as I outline my own journey (of another kind)
regarding baptism. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Presbyterians, like a number of other denominations,
baptize infants. This rite is seen as welcoming the child into the covenant
relationship of the church. It is compared to circumcision as the covenantal
rite of inclusion in the Old Testament.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Since this baptism is not seen as a means of salvation,
the focus is on the faith and commitment of the parents and the church to raise
the child in the knowledge of the Lord. Then later as the child grows, he or
she will hopefully profess a personal faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">At CCPC I understand that sometimes by parental choice the
infant is not “baptized” but the rite is instead referred to as a “dedication”
and is performed without water. In these cases also, the focus is on the faith
of the parents and their desire to raise the child in the church so eventually
he or she will make an individual profession of faith in Christ. This
“dedication” is no different from what is done in many Baptist churches.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This is where the churches affiliated with the </span><a href="http://www.epc.org/"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC)</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">
helpfully clarify matters for Christians coming from other denominations. The beliefs
shared by churches in the EPC focus on what they call </span><a href="http://www.epc.org/about-the-epc/beliefs/essentials-of-our-faith/"><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue;">“The
Essentials”</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">. Built on the foundational belief that the
Bible is the Word of God, the seven Essentials are those core Christian beliefs
that the Church has taught for 2,000 years—the ones that are critical if one is
to meet the traditional criteria for acceptance into the Christian Church.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Knowing that the various denominations within the
worldwide Church differ on some matters, the EPC distinguishes the Essentials
from “non-essentials”. One of those “non-essentials” is baptism—how it is
administered (i.e. by immersion, pouring, or sprinkling) and when it is
administered (in infancy or later when the believer makes a personal profession
of faith). The point there is that since baptism is not necessary for
salvation, good Christian people can differ about the particulars of baptism
and still serve together as brothers and sisters in Christ.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I will outline my own personal journey of understanding
about baptism in the next post. For now, I can join a church like CCPC that is
definitely not a Baptist church with respect to its practice of baptism
(although a youth or adult who accepts Christ will be baptized and may request
baptism by immersion) and be confident that I am not sacrificing an “essential”
doctrine.</span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-2582483539244037942012-02-06T18:14:00.000-07:002012-02-06T18:14:46.674-07:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 10<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This journey has
been “into the unknown” because when we felt it necessary to leave our former
church home, we didn’t know where the Lord would lead us. Not being an active
church member is not an option. So, we have sought the Lord’s leadership in finding
a place where we could be at home and become involved.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Sunday’s
experience was a confirmation that the place we’ve been considering is where we
will join.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In part 6 of this
Journey blog, I outlined the 5 things I was looking for in a church. This one
meets all those criteria—it just doesn’t have the name Baptist attached to it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The music was
superb, and sitting close to the choir and singing the hymns in a sanctuary that
has great acoustics for music literally gave me goose bumps. It is definitely
the</span><span style="color: #1f497d; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"> “<a href="http://antleproperties.agentxsites.com/xSites/Agents/antleproperties/Content/UploadedFiles/The%20Language%20of%20Music.pdf"><span style="color: blue;">The
Language of Music</span></a>” </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that speaks to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Through the
sermon, the Lord spoke to me about what He expects of me. I took notes, and
notice that someone in front of me was taking notes as well. I like exegetical
sermons. They provide a superb opportunity to dig into the scripture and
understand what God said to His people then and to us now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Then, in the
Sunday School hour, we attended the first of five in a series of their new
member classes. Looking over the material that will be covered, I am excited to
become a member of a church where both the church’s doctrines and its openness
about salvation by grace through faith are openly taught.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If someone who
doesn’t believe the core doctrines of Christianity and who has never had a time
when they personally accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord goes through these
classes, they will either have a conversion experience or they will decide this
church is not for them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">One resource that
is used in the class is “Steps To Peace With God” from the Billy Graham
Evangelistic Association. The four steps outlined in this booklet are similar
to “The 4 Spiritual Laws” that Campus Crusade for Christ uses. The first “law”
or “step” is “God loves you and wants you to experience peace and life—abundant
and eternal.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is a critical place
to start sharing the Gospel, but it’s only one of four steps.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What frustrated
me in another church was that they wanted to stop there—just tell people that
God loves them—leaving out everything about the need for grace (because we are
sinners) and God’s provision of grace (the sacrificial death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ), and the need to appropriate that grace (by personally
accepting the gift God offers in Jesus).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Grace is free,
but costly (just ask Bonhoeffer—oh sorry, you can’t ask him. He was martyred
for his faith.) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To tell people
that all that is needed is love and that to be a Christian is just to “follow
Jesus” does people a disservice. They need to hear the truth of the gospel,
including the parts where repentance, accepting Christ as Savior, and
committing one’s life to Christ are required.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="layout-grid-mode: char; line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-layout-grid-align: none;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cherry Creek
Presbyterian Church meets the 5 requirements I posted in part 6 of this series.
We’ll gladly worship and serve with them in the Lord’s Kingdom.</span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-19530098798010757782012-01-22T22:11:00.000-07:002012-02-06T16:43:52.350-07:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 9<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
The “Unknown” is becoming known—at least it appears that way
unless the Lord intervenes and leads elsewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The service at Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church (CCPC) this morning was a confirmation
that we seem to be on the right path. You notice the tentative nature of that
statement. This is, so far, not one of those instances in which the Lord
plainly reveals His will for us. We'll start the church's series of new member classes on February 5th, and after that make the final decision.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Having had a very good conversation with the Senior Pastor,
and getting our questions satisfactorily answered, the major impediment to our
joining the church is that of denominational identity. I never imagined that I
would be a member of anything but a Baptist church. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Maybe I’ll end up something like what one of my former
students said about herself. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She grew up
a Methodist. She was marrying a Baptist, and she joined his church and was baptized
according to the Baptist tradition. Afterwards she was firm in saying to me, “I
just want you to know that I’m not a Baptist, I’m just a wet Methodist”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I may become a member of a Presbyterian
church, but will I ever be anything but a Baptist at heart? That part of the
journey is yet to be revealed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still, I do appreciate what the Pastor said about the
difference between their “essential” and “non-essential” doctrines. I heartily
concur with all of their “essentials”. I can live with some difference of
opinion on their “non-essentials”. In
part 6 of this Journey, I mentioned five things I’m looking for in our next
church home. One of them was “a place where everyone knows your name”, that is,
a Christian family. And in part 8, I said this is a place where we already have
some friends. That makes a big difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It’s hard to make new “old friends”, so to go to a church
where we already have some makes losing the weekly contact with the friends we
made at our previous church a little easier. We still want to keep the bonds of
friendship strong with our friends at our previous church; but we are also not naïve.
We know we will have to be intentional about keeping them alive. Thankfully,
some of those friends are also reaching out to us to keep our relationships
strong.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the end, though, <em>all</em> of the factors in post #6 will influence our decision on joining a church, not just friendships. If friendships were the only factor, we would not have started on this journey.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Interestingly, at least to me, as I look back at the factors listed in post #6, none of them were specific to a certain denomination. Much like many others I've come to know over the years, denominational labels are becoming less important to me. I've known genuine Christians from every Christian denomination over the years. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The <u>core</u> Christian doctrines are critical for me: what they call the "essentials" at CCPC. I've come to see that the place where some churches get off the track generally centers on what they teach about Jesus Christ. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">If a church affirms the traditional doctrines about Jesus (as in the classic creeds of the church), other doctrines will usually fall in line. If a church denies certain core teachings about Jesus (such as His divinity or His bodily resurrection), other core doctrines fall apart as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Does that sound strange--that a "Christian" church will get off track concerning their teachings about Jesus? It sounded strange to me too when I experienced just that phenomenon. When talking about Jesus only as a teacher, a model for life, and as one we should "follow" and never talking about Him as "Savior" is the norm, one wonders what it is about <em>that</em> Jesus that one would worship. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It is clear from the Scriptures (see especially I Corinthians 15) that without a conviction that Jesus did indeed rise from the dead, one's faith is in vain. As both Lindsey and I have often said, "If Jesus didn't rise from the dead, we might as well just be a member of some club like Rotary that does good deeds but doesn't require much else of you. Or, why not just get a tee time on Sunday morning instead of wasting it in a meaningless church service.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">But if Jesus' resurrection was real...well, that makes giving Him my life the most meaningful thing I can do. That is exactly what I have done. I've given my life to Jesus Christ, and He has become my Savior and my Lord. That is what has given my life purpose, whether as a sailor, a student, a pastor, a Campus Minister, or even as a Realtor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">So, one thing is sure--the church which we will join will have very clear, traditional, Christian teachings about the core doctrines, and especially those about Jesus Christ. More to come about this after we've taken the classes.</span></div>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-82006613487065026382012-01-16T09:25:00.001-07:002012-01-16T09:25:51.783-07:00Journey Into The Unknown, part 8<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One never knows where a journey might take him, especially when the Lord is setting the itinerary. I still don't know whether the place we visited today will be an overnight stay, a short vacation, or a longer stop on the road to that unknown country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It's now been four weeks since we started on this journey. Last week Lindsey and I met with the pastor of the church we likely will join--that longer stop mentioned above. It appears to meet the criteria I listed in post #6.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">One of the positives of this church is that we already have friends there, and they have enthusiastically encouraged us to come and join them. That's one of the clues that a business, an organization, or a church is doing something right--do its customers or members talk about it in such a way that others start to think it might be the right place for them?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Before accepting someone as a member, this church requires attendance at a new members' class, agreement with the church's <em>essential</em> doctrines (while giving some latitude on "non-essential" doctrines: those that are important but not essential for salvation), and giving one's personal testimony to one of the elders of the church. Once we've been through the class and have made a decision, I'll post the name of the church.</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-84453211148624296072011-12-24T14:51:00.001-07:002012-02-06T16:31:53.742-07:00Journey Into The Unknown part 7<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my last post I wrote about what I'm looking for in a church. A pastor friend who saw it commented that my list would help anyone looking for a church. I hope so. That's why I write.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another friend commented on his own journey--he and his family are also looking for a new church. Something I wrote him is also appropriate here: "...once having made the hardest part of the journey (deciding to leave a church) the rest of the journey is easy by comparison." It's still hard to find a church that fits. There are so many variables that to have them all fit together simultaneously is improbable. That's why it is important to not expect the "perfect church".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The hardest part, though, really is making the decision to leave. Others can't completely understand why their friend is leaving. Some relationships are broken. Some are strained. And some tend to just wither away without the regular weekly face-to-face contact. You know, "absence makes the heart grow fonder--of somebody else". Happily, though, some relationships endure. Typically they endure because the relationship is so important to both parties that they work at keeping it going.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Today we went to a new church. My experience there today was very encouraging. One thing I heard reminded me of something a member of the class I used to teach said when asking if I would be interested in teaching that class: "I want a teacher who knows more about the Bible than I do." (That was always a challenge because he is very <span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.5pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">knowledgeable</span> about the Bible.) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the pastor's sermon this morning, I heard something that I didn't know. He was talking about the passage in Matthew 22: 1-14 where the king invited guests to a wedding banquet for his son. One of the invited guests was rebuked and cast out because he didn't have on "wedding clothes". The new thing I learned (and that opened up a whole new meaning for the passage) is that in that culture, it would be the host's responsibility to supply "wedding clothes" for guests who didn't have them. [The pastor displayed a garment provided to him for a wedding in Africa that he had been invited to.]</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reason a guest would not have on the appropriate wedding clothes was because he <u>chose</u> not to wear what had been provided by the host. Everyone was invited ("both good and bad'). Whether because of pride or just the desire to come on his own terms, exclusion from the banquet was because he refused what was provided, not because of the host's ungraciousness.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The point: we are to invite everyone to participate in the kingdom, and welcome everyone to the church. If they refuse to change and meet the Lord's standards (and thus be voluntarily excluded), that's their choice. We will have done our part to be obedient, and the Lord will have done His part in making the way possible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Its relevance for our journey? This appears to be a church that reaches out to everyone and welcomes all who come, but recognizes that some people won't come to Christ or His church because <u>they</u> don't want to change. And, to come to the Lord's wedding banquet, righteous wedding clothes are required.</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-92221105498478445992011-12-24T10:25:00.000-07:002012-02-06T16:28:24.107-07:00Journey Into The Unknown part 6<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's Christmas Eve. An early gift book that I started reading last night helps bring this whole journey thing into perspective. It is <span style="color: blue;">"</span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Triumph-Christianity-Movement-Largest-Religion/dp/0062007688/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324746893&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue;">The Triumph of Christianity, How the Jesus Movement Became the World's Largest Religion"</span></a>, by Rodney Stark.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just having read a couple of chapters, I can't give a good review of the book yet. I can say, though, that the church that grew from Jesus' small band of disciples into a movement led by those who saw him alive after his crucifixion and resurrection (see I Corinthians 15: 3-8) has been a great force for good in the world, in spite of some black marks. (I can also see in the book that a lot of myths about some of those black marks need exposure to the light of truth).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In any event, the Church, while contributing much to the world, has not been perfect. Somehow, I think Jesus knew that a gathering of disciples that included a traitor, a tax collector, squabbling brothers, and a hot-headed fisherman as its leader would not be perfect.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now that we are looking for a new local church home, we acknowledge that there is also no such thing as a perfect local church. If there were one, that perfection would cease as soon as I joined it. Still, when looking for a church home, people tend to look for a congregation and a ministry that is as close to perfect <u>for them</u> as possible. We look for something where we are a good fit, something which as much as possible is an ideal church for us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What I'm looking for on this journey is:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A church whose focus is on a combination of the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. We are to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:29-31), and that love should also be great enough to help our neighbors become disciples of our resurrected Lord and Savior (Matthew 28: 18-20). In other words, whatever ministries a church has to help others should include the goal of leading them to find their own Savior and Lord in Jesus Christ.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A place where Lindsey and I can both exercise our spiritual gifts. (See I Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 for partial lists of how the Lord equips everyone with spiritual gifts for the benefit of the whole Body.) Both of us want to be full members of the church we belong to, and that involves more than just attending, listening, and giving.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A place where theologically we are in sync with the rest of the church. Swimming against the stream may make one stronger; but after a while it also makes one weary.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A place where we speak the same "language of music". For those our age, it's not that easy to find a place with music that "speaks to us"--that is, music that blends traditional hymns and more contemporary songs that will help us worship the Lord as we desire. For more about this concept of </span><a href="http://antleproperties.agentxsites.com/xSites/Agents/antleproperties/Content/UploadedFiles/The%20Language%20of%20Music.pdf" target="_blank"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"The Language of Music",</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> click on the link to see what I wrote about it more than 10 years ago. The short version is, we need to hear sermons in a spoken language we understand, and we also need to hear and sing music in a musical language that speaks to us personally.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As much as possible, a place "where everybody knows your name", to borrow a phrase from a song. And as the song implies and the TV show "Cheers" that had the song as its theme showed, "knowing everybody's name" means that it's a place where people care about each other. So, we're back to the first item on this list of what I'm looking for on this journey: love, true friendship, a Christian family.</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tomorrow we take our first step on this part of the journey--finding a new church. As always, the Lord who gave us the Great Commission said "I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Thanks be to God!</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-16910630269054674332011-12-22T11:48:00.000-07:002011-12-22T11:48:06.435-07:00Journey Into The Unknown part 5<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In my second post of this series (on December 6, 2011) I mentioned the journey I began after the funding for my job was gone. That journey involved a change in careers, not just a change to a new job of the same kind. It was a difficult transition, as you might imagine, because much of one’s identity is bound up in answer to the question, “What do you do?” </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We seek to get to know someone by asking about their family, but more often by asking about their work. For 19 years my answer to that question was “I am a minister”. Sometimes I was more specific, “Pastor, Campus Minister, etc. Suddenly I was thrust into a position where I was no longer in “full-time ministry”. That is, I wasn’t being paid to work for a church or denomination. Over time I would answer, “I am a Realtor”, but I still retained the expectation that at some future date the Lord would call me back into “the ministry”.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After several years, when I admitted that the Lord had put me in the work I was currently doing, and that He was probably not going to lead me back to work for a church, I borrowed a phrase from Caesar’s Gallic Wars which I remembered from high school Latin: “alea jacta est” (the die—singular for dice--is cast). When Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon River from Gaul (France) into Italy to return to Rome in defiance of orders to stay away, he knew there was no going back.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That’s how it was for me when I finally used that phrase to settle the fact that my future was in real estate (with voluntary or bi-vocational ministry to fulfill my calling) and not in full-time Christian ministerial positions. The dice had been cast. The decision had been made. Look to the future, not to the past.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard it years ago on TV, and I guess it’s a fairly common truism, “There’s no future in looking back”. That’s what I ultimately meant my adopting the phrase from Julius Caesar as my own motto. It helped me settle in and do the work I needed to do to be successful in real estate for the next 20 plus years.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is applicable now, too. As we begin the search for a new church home, Lindsey and I are looking toward the future, not looking back. We still want to keep friendships strong, and in some ways the past always puts its stamp on future decisions; but our focus is on what we want our next church to be like.</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That will come in the next post.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-50863926261231963622011-12-15T22:35:00.000-07:002011-12-19T15:52:24.615-07:00Journey Into The Unknown part 4<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As more people hear that I am leaving my current church, some of them have sent messsages encouraging me--most just encouraging me on my journey, a few encouraging me to reconsider my decision to leave. The latter would like to see me and other conservatives stay and try to change things from the inside.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A friend I had lunch with today shared some germane advice his father gave him years ago about staying in a place to make a change from the inside: "To make a change in the <em>status quo</em>, there has to already be a climate of change or you have to create one." The <em>status quo</em> in the church was just changed to something I don't agree with; and since the vote was so lopsided, there is not a climate to change it back to the <em>status quo ante</em>. And, it's not my place to try to create one.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I do appreciate those who have encouraged me to stay. I value their friendship and I respect their decision to stay and work from the inside. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also appreciate those who have encouraged me as I go, wishing me well and understanding that each person's decision is personal. I know some of the reasons that others have who are staying even though they agree with me on the issues. There aren't any simple choices here. Each person's decision is personal.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yesterday was my last time to meet with the adult Sunday School class I've been teaching. It was not easy to leave them. I pray they will find just the right teacher for that class. Whoever it is, I know the class will be supportive and will help the teacher to grow--they've done that for me, and I thank God for them all.</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13388498.post-23624210249775365262011-12-11T22:49:00.001-07:002011-12-13T08:12:26.137-07:00Journey into the Unknown, part 3<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This morning was my next-to-last time with the adult Sunday School class I’ve taught since September, 2010. They are a great class—inquisitive, affirming, and they like to participate in the discussion. I told the class this morning that next Sunday would be my last day with them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was serendipitous that the lesson for today was from Genesis 12 and 15 (God telling Abram to set out on a journey to “the land I will show you” and that he and Sarai, both beyond normal child-bearing age, would have a son). This lesson also followed a summer forum on faith in Hebrews 11 that I co-taught last August. I was able to connect the passages and say that when we step out in faith under God’s guidance, we can know that He will be with us on that journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Interestingly, Abram was a human being like you and me. He messed up badly by taking things into his own hands after God had promised to bless him. The fact that he obeyed God initially and set out on the journey, and that he “believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness” regarding the birth of a son, doesn’t negate his sin of not trusting that God would be with him along the journey.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His faith, like mine sometimes, was not always rock solid. Still, God blessed him when he obeyed, and granted him grace when he strayed. In saying that I am, like Abram, starting a journey into the unknown, I’m not claiming any special status or insight. I’m just doing what I believe the Lord is leading me to do at this time. May the Lord be gracious when I also blow it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had to tell my class why I was leaving. They knew that the vote to pass the “inclusion statement” last Sunday was connected; but I didn’t want them to think that I was leaving just because I was “unreasonably afraid of homosexuals” (the literal mean of “homophobic”—the pejorative term made up to demean those who disagree with the pro-gay agenda). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Again, the statement adopted by my church is <em>“Calvary welcomes and affirms all people as children of God from every cultural and religious background, sexual orientation, family composition, physical and mental ability, economic means, race, age and gender."</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I have told several people, if the two words, “and affirms” were removed from the original statement (which also didn’t have the words “as children of God”), I could have voted yes and stayed. I believe we are to welcome and extend God's love to everyone. That doesn't mean to have to affirm them if that means we have to agree that their behavior is OK with us and we cannot say anything about that behavior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Contrary to what has been taught at the church lately, I do believe the Bible classifies homosexual behavior as sin. At the very least, there is no place in the Bible where homosexual activity is praised, spoken of positively, or “affirmed”. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, if I am accused of being intolerant or unloving because I believe the traditional interpretation of the Bible is God’s word on the matter, then I’ll admit my mea culpa. I do wonder though, why those who would thus judge me as unloving and judgmental don’t see that their own judgment of me is unloving and judgmental.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I stated that I told my class why I was leaving the church. Here are the primary reasons:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(1) I cannot “affirm” behavior the Bible classifies as sin. My remaining there after the church voted to affirm that behavior would be a tacit endorsement of the statement.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(2) I cannot endorse or accept what I see as revisionist interpretations of Scripture—interpretations based more on P.C. reactions to cultural changes than on solid hermeneutics.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(3) Since I started as their teacher, my goal has been three-fold: to teach the Bible; to teach how to study and interpret the Bible (hermeneutics); and to seek to apply the Bible’s teachings to life today. That’s why I can’t stand by silently when faced with interpretations that “pull us from the future” and in the process throw overboard “the faith that was once for all entrusted to…(us)”.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(4) I have been swimming against the stream too long. I am conservative and traditional (small "o” orthodox) in my theology. The direction of the church’s flow is not one I want to struggle against anymore, and I can’t just go with the flow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(5) And, there are some other reasons that I’ll have to get to later. For now, it was important for the class to know that although the homosexual agenda issue is there, much more than that is involved.</span>Rudy Antlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11187598530653869743noreply@blogger.com1