Out of the mouths of babes! I was helping with our 5^th and 6^th grade celebration tonight when one of the kids asked the question, “What does it mean to be saved?” I know she was serious and I think the rest of kids wanted to hear the answer. They can be so inquisitive. Our leaders tried to answer the question quickly but I think it requires and deserves a much longer answer. At the time we were running late for our final activity of the evening. I must admit that I thought briefly about doing a brain dump of everything I know about Christianity. Instead I let the leaders do the talking and let the conversation end naturally. Tomorrow I will talk with the leaders and coach where necessary. She will get her answer and hopefully much more.

This came in my email. I had to share it.

The most important preparation, in a desert war…

Pfc. David Kurns is baptized by Task Force Chaplain Capt. Ron Cooper, left, and 1st Lt. Brian Case, right, in the desert north of Kuwait City, Wednesday, March 12. Eight members of the 3rd Infantry Division were baptized in the desert last Wednesday.

I recently got an e-mail from a relative that enclosed a sermon that discussed the differing viewpoints about war within the church. Since I have debated with myself whether this “proposed war” was necessary I was very interested. Misery likes company. In the sermon by Mike Robert, he said “that what Jesus expects from individual Christians is often different from what He expects from our national leaders.” He explained the differences and that helped me. He said it is normal for Christians to not feel good about a war even though they may believe the war is necessary. He went on to discuss the underlying guidelines for a “just” war can be traced back to the 4^th century theologian, St. Augustine. Since I wanted to know more about St. Augustine and the “just” war, I did an Internet search. The best source for an explanation of the “just” war theory is at this BBC site.

My son has been bugging me about playing games with him on his PS2. I have been bugging him about doing a little reading. Looks like we are going to do a little trading. I guess it could be worse. Now if I can get off the beach in Medal of Honor and Henry can find his Bible.

I have had difficult time rationalizing the United States going to war with Iraq. As a Christian and a student of history I have low expectations for the benefits of this proposed war. It is difficult to get a clear picture of the threat that Saddam poses to people in the United States. I am not afraid of the weapons of mass destruction that Saddam possesses because I live far, far away. I am bothered with the brutality Saddam has used on his own people so that he can maintain control. I may not like it but the rest of the world thinks Saddam's brutality to his people is okay. I don't believe that Saddam is a credible terrorist threat. I do believe that Osama dislikes Saddam almost as much as Osama dislikes the United States.

I am bothered by Saddam's attitude. I work with children and young horses and I have found that it is important to set boundaries and to "capture teachable moments". Teachable moments are those short periods of time when corrections have the greatest positive effect. When you set up suitable boundaries and enforce them, everyone is happy. By quickly penalizing bad behavior at the time of the infraction, you get the greatest positive change in behavior. Boundaries have been set up by the UN in the past to control Iraq's behavior. Like a little kid, Iraq has ignored these boundaries. Like the derelict parent, the UN has failed to enforce them. The best "teachable moments" have come and gone. Like the derelict parent who now realizes their mistake, the UN is in denial. They are scrambling to show the world that they have some control of the wayward child. Iraq is emboldened by his past successes at circumventing the boundaries. Like a child well trained in manipulating their parents, Iraq replays the old scripts that worked in the past. Saddam and Iraq are confident that they do not have to change anything. Regime change is the only tool left that can change their behavior. Whether we like it or not, the United States is the world's policeman. This policeman no longer believes that the UN can continue to be the "good parent" without a major change in this wayward child, a regime change in Iraq. Without a regime change I believe Saddam will gradually dismantle all existing boundaries. Saddam will eventually export the terror he practices on his own people to the rest of the world as the UN continues to look the other way. The other children, North Korea and Iran, have been watching closely. I believe there is still hope for them.

So I will pray for a short war. I will pray for a war with minimal casualties. I pray that the whole world will join in efforts to rebuild Iraq. I pray that the Iraqis will form a government that will not repeat Saddam's mistakes against his people and his neighbors. I pray that Iraq will one day forgive us.

Finally made it to church today. I enjoy worshipping so I don’t miss many Sundays. They had a cute video of one of the services last weekend. It showed our worship leader thanking the twenty or so people who braved the weather and encouraged them to spread out and get comfortable. Since the auditorium can hold almost 2,000 they had a lot of seats to work with. Most of the area was under a Level 3 snow alert. The police were giving tickets to those foolish enough to challenge mother nature.

Last night I told my son that I was having a problem deciding what I should do next year. He told me to stay with the Area56 folks if that's what I enjoy. Then he said he might want to be a leader. Hmm.

On Saturday I help with the 5th and 6th grade ministry at our church. I am officially called a “coach” since the actual leaders are high school students. It's really a cool arangement, kids telling other kids about Christ. I have really gotten a lot out the leaders, the other “coaches”, the pastors, and of course, the kids. It is kind of hard to describe what I do for them.  I see my job as supporting the ministry develop their leaders. Most of the time it just involves listening and encouraging them to be themselves. God can always find a way to work through them when they are true to themselves. My job is so easy and fun I feel I am getting the better part of the deal.  Lately I have been trying figure what I am going to do next year. My son is in the sixth grade. The seventh and eighth graders have a different celebration time, Sunday morning at 10. I have enjoyed working with all of the people associated with the 5th and 6th grade celebration but there are family pressures. My wife does not share my passion for the students and would prefer I move on next year.  I will pray and hope that God will see fit to clear up the fog.

Space exploration captures our imagination and admiration. The shuttle trips into space inspire the average person because it makes space travel seem within reach. The loss of the shuttle yesterday is a great tragedy to many throughout the world. The loss is especially hard on the families, friends, and co-workers and my prayers go out to them. I pray they will grieve, remember these people vividly in their minds and conversation, and ultimately be at peace with themselves. The pain will go away.

Voltaire. “If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.” [Quotes of the Day]

I am not sure what I think about this quote. Everytime I try to ponder this quote, my mind runs off in a different direction. Is it a serious statement or just a glib comment? I can't tell. My first assumption was that this is a serious statement about man's innate need for God. At the end of the day we find our selves humbled by what we do not know. Clearly it is much easier for the average person to acknowlege that God is in control then to believe that the world we live in is the result of a massive evolutional lottery. I have several problems with evolution. One of the more amusing problems has to do with relative disparity of intelligense between the species. Why is it that humans are so smart compared to the other species? What kept all of our closest evolutionary relatives(e.g. chimps) back? Evolution explains some things neatly but not enough things to make me comfortable with the lottery. I don't like to venture into the evolutionary swamp too much so my mind runs off to the God seed issue. It is a fact that almost all societies have worshipped some God. It seems to be built into our genes.  I call it the God seed. When this seed sprouts and starts to grow, it changes people from within. When they make the personal connection between their growing spirituality and God, they want to see if other people feel the same way. As more people share and explore their beliefs, they bond and make the existance of God indisputable within their group.