What’s the “Right Side”?

As you may have noticed, the blog is redesigned (Thank you Blogger for creating some better templates to use!). With the redesign is a new header. Gone is my “autograph” and in its place a wood plank with my name and the phrase “Ramblings, Rumblings and Rants from the Right Side.”

Of course.

I’m a preacher. EVERYTHING needs a little alliteration, right?

But why did I say “The Right Side.”?

Simple. If you know me, I am a political junkie. And my political DNA is decidedly Right-Wing. I am a Republican. I am a Conservative. I am a Baptist. And I personally don’t know how you can be the last without being the first two as well. If you don’t fit into my mold, hey, no harm. no foul. But this is who I am and I make no apologies for my worldview, my political leanings, or my convictions regarding morality.

So “Right Side” immediately conjures thoughts of Red State ideology (though I live in the deepest blue state south of Massachusetts), and those thoughts would be correct. I “campaigned” for Gerald Ford when I was 9 years old, telling adult relatives and teachers of the evils of Jimmy Carter. I voted for Reagan, just wish I could have voted for him twice. I’ve had Bush/Quayle, Dole/Kemp, Bush/Cheney and McCain/Palin bumper stickers. I was contacted by Mike Huckabee’s staff and asked to be one of his delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention (couldn’t go, too expensive on a preacher’s salary!) I’m hoping Huck runs again, but am ready to throw my weight behind Haley Barbour if he doesn’t.

But “Right Side” also speaks to my non-political worldview.

I am a firm believer in an unpopular concept called Absolute Truth. I cannot look at the creation around me and not be convinced that there are Laws that govern everything in the universe. It is absolutely true that 2+2=4. No matter how hard you try to convince yourself its not true, 2+2=4. It is absolutely true that when water’s temperature dips below 32^o Fahrenheit it begins to turn solid. No matter how hard you argue, that fact is inviolable. Truth is not, despite current popular opinion, relative. If my truth and your truth disagree, one or both of us is WRONG. There is an absolute truth to EVERYTHING in the Universe. I have found that the truth contained in the Bible IS Absolute. There is nothing wrong in the Bible, there are no mistakes. In 14 years of preaching ministry, I have never had someone claim to me that the Bible was full of contradictions or mistakes,who was not also found to have never read the Bible. The WHOLE thing.

Its amazing to me how “relative truth” ALWAYS goes hand in hand with a person who has never made a serious attempt to read the Bible. I don’t go around giving my opinion or making sweeping claims about astrophysics, I don’t argue String versus M Theory (but I know what they are) and I don’t try to tell women I know how they feel. In other words, I should have some basic understanding of a topic before I spout off my opinion of it.

This is where I become befuddled at my fellow man. The Atheist (the Bible call him a fool – Psalm 14:1) who has never seriously studied the Bible makes pronouncements about its fallibility. Joe Average whose personal education program only extends to watching television refuses to listen to reason and sticks his head back in the sand, ignoring his need and going to hell. Excuses to ignore the truth abound in modern America.

So I’m a right-winger… and these are my views.

I hope that if I don’t offend you, I at least make you think. And if I do offend you, I hope you stick around long enough to be challenged to “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12)

Here I Go Again….

Once more… with feeling!

I have tried several times over several years to develop the habit of posting to this blog. Never with much success. The daily pressures of my job and the incredible responsibilities and pleasures of being a husband and father always win the war for my time.

But I know this, writing is good for me. And it gives you an opportunity to not only know me better (so you can pray for me better) but – if I do this right – it can be a great teaching and information tool.

I’ve redesigned the blog, and intend to redesign a bit more, until I’m temporarily happy with the look.

One thing I want to do with this is mix in all of my interests, including comics, art, and tech, along with the Theology and Bible Study. I hope those that read for one, will stay for the others.

So here I go again. I do have plans to preview my graphic novel (which can be more completely previewed at www.redeemedcomics.blogspot.com), Comment on social trends, offer some quick glimpses into the life of a pastor, and much more.

Hope you bookmark this site and stay on for the ride.

pastordave

catching up…

Haven’t posted in, well, a long time. Its tough keeping up with one more activity, especially one that is personal, as writing is. All the other activities of life, those that especially involve being with other people, crowd out the importance of this activity.

Wow. That sentence sucked. But I hope you got the idea.

Part of my problem in staying regular on this blog is that its electronic. Meaning there are no hard copies. At least the original is not a hard copy. Soooo, in my mind, its not nearly as important as other areas of my life.

I have a real sense of rebellion going on in my heart/mind/soul regarding computers, the internet, etc. I keep remembering what life was like before all the technology, and, old man that I am, I wax nostalgic. I remember as a kid watching Star Trek, entering the Communications program in college and working at the local radio and television stations just as the new “digital” technology of Compact Disks came out, and even getting a beeper when my wife was pregnant with our first child. I dreamed about tech and desired more at every stage of my life. Now, at 43 years old, dealing with high blood pressure, a dangerous waistline, the impending threat of being an empty nester (both of my boys will be in college by the time I am 48) and the demands of full time ministry in the information age…. I long for the ability to be truly alone.

I’ve had a phone call and three texts just while typing the previous paragraphs!

And I know that a failure to post regularly totally destroys any “following” this blog may one day have. So pray for me that I do better. Writing is cathartic, and I need a more open heart.

I have another post that I am mulling around, will hopefully post it later today or tomorrow. It’s about anger, whining, and laziness. Its the feel-good post of the year!

Hope someone read this. If you did, please comment (even anonymously), even if your comment is just “I read this.”

THAT (having someone I know is reading) would be a great spark to getting me in front of the typewri… computer keyboard more often.

davemason

Marriage Question…. finally answered.

Been a long time since I posted. Have several written, but have yet to hit the publish button on Live Writer.

So to start, I thought my first post should be a response to the ONE question I received from my last post, asking for any questions regarding marriage.  The question was posted Anonymously on March 14…. so I’m a bit late answering it!

Here is the Question:

“What do you suggest to couples who share similar ideals and morals, and over all have a good relationship but lack many similarities when it comes to recreational activities?”

Well, The quick, short answer is the hardest one to take:

Work at it.

The fact is, EVERY marriage has this problem to an extent. You see, Men and Women are very, very different. Even when we enjoy the same things, we usually enjoy them for different reasons.

So each person in the marriage has to make concerted efforts to become interested in the others interests.

In my marriage this has proven to be tough, but possible. And its even resulted in some pleasant surprises. Though my wife Patty has never acquired an appreciation for comic books, action movies or sci-fi/fantasy stories, she has bravely tried, and on occasion found some of the stories I love to be to her liking.

In the first year of our marriage she came to me and said she would like to read one of the books I had read. At the time I was reading approximately 10-15 detective novels per month. Dashiel Hammett, Raymond Chandler, Ross MacDonald, and the modern master, Robert B. Parker. I gave her my copy of Parker’s “The Godwulf Manuscript” his first published novel, and the beginning of the Spenser series (I ended up reading the first 25 novels in the series). She read it in a week and actually liked it. We  had something to talk about and had a period of time where we watched detective shows and movies together.

On other occasions I have “learned” to like the movies Patty likes and try to regularly go to the movies with her to see “chick flicks”.

And guys, I make no apologies for learning to like my wife’s movies, even the musicals. Does wonders for the “you don’t understand me” issues in a marriage.

Just two examples from my personal life…. hope they help illustrate the principle. You have to try to find common ground. It might mean giving up something you enjoy to have the time to do something you both enjoy. Its not easy, but Marriage is never easy… but it is worth it.