Focus on the Family’s Welcome Center

During our recent road trip, we passed through Colorado Springs and saw a sign for the Focus on the Family Welcome Center. Frankly, we had never heard of it, and decided to be spontaneous. We exited the highway and followed the signs. As we got out of the car and walked in, my husband half-jokingly asked me if we were going to get arrested for protesting. I rolled my eyes in mock annoyance. Focus on the Family is an organization that has caused me great consternation over the years. But I always try to have an open mind, and try to find common ground with people and organizations, with which I don’t typically agree. Moreover, I had just been very encouraged to read about the success of Focus on the Family’s “Wait No More” program.

When we went inside the Welcome Center, a cheerful young woman greeted us and asked us to sign the visitors’ registration book. As we complied, she gave us a quick summary of what the Welcome Center had to offer—a number of exhibits on Focus on the Family ministries, free coffee in a cafe, an art gallery and a book store. Then looking at our young children, she added that we would definitely want to go downstairs to the kids’ area.

Before we went downstairs, my husband found a small kids’ theater upstairs showing Veggie Tales movies. He sat down with our kids in the theater while I tried to look at the exhibits briefly. Frankly, our little ones were antsy and I didn’t get to explore for long. The exhibits I saw described efforts to encourage Christians to impact their communities for Christ. There was nothing overtly political about the exhibits I saw. There were exhibits on helping the poor, finding homes for foster children, and ministering to expectant mothers to encourage them to not have an abortion. I’m down with all those things.

Then we went downstairs and were blown away by the kids’ area. Among other things, there was an old-fashioned plane where kids could play, an indoor playground, a puppet theater, a stage with kid-sized costumes, a collection of books with a comfy place to read them, more Veggie Tales screenings (including one in a mock Grand Canyon), as well as a huge indoor, winding slide that towered several stories high. Our kids had a blast! It was like a small children’s museum. Our kids didn’t want to leave. I was very impressed with Focus on the Family’s ministry to children in their Welcome Center. It was an amazing facility, and it was generous of them to open it to the public. No one asked for a statement of faith or any money.

Before we left, our family spent a little time in the bookstore, and my husband and I got a free cup of coffee at the cafe. The folks who worked at the Welcome Center were all so cheerful. They seemed genuinely glad we had stopped by, and were pleased to answer questions or just point us to the restrooms. When we initially exited the highway, we had thought we would just pop in briefly to the Welcome Center and stretch our legs. We ended up staying several hours! Particularly for those with children, I highly recommend stopping by the Welcome Center if you are in Colorado Springs. It was a lovely, serendipitous stop on our voyage. We were very appreciative of their hospitality.

http://www.focusonthefamily.com/about_us/welcome-center.aspx

3 John 1:5-8 (The Message)

Model the Good

Dear friend, when you extend hospitality to Christian brothers and sisters, even when they are strangers, you make the faith visible. They've made a full report back to the church here, a message about your love. It's good work you're doing, helping these travelers on their way, hospitality worthy of God himself! They set out under the banner of the Name, and get no help from unbelievers. So they deserve any support we can give them. In providing meals and a bed, we become their companions in spreading the Truth.

Wait No More

While on our family’s recent road trip, I had occasion to read the Denver Post and was really encouraged by one article in particular. The link to the article is below.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_14516591

The article described the phenomenal success of a program to encourage the adoption of children in foster care. The program, “Wait No More,” was initiated by Focus on the Family, which is based in Colorado Springs. When “Wait No More” was launched in Colorado in late 2008, there were almost 800 foster kids eligible for adoption. But just over a year later, there were only 365 such foster kids left. That is an amazing placement record.

Focus on the Family began the “Wait No More” program because of the biblical command to care for orphans. The group works with state agencies in several states to raise public awareness of the need for adoptive families and to recruit prospective adoptive parents. A link to the program’s homepage is below.

http://www.icareaboutorphans.org/Default.aspx

I was really encouraged to read of “Wait No More” for several reasons. First, the plight of children without forever families is a particular concern of mine. Our immediate and extended family has been blessed by adoption multiple times. My heart always breaks at the staggering numbers of children in this country and in others that don’t have a permanent home with at least one parent. Children without the protection, guidance and care of adults are among the most vulnerable members of any society.

I was also encouraged to read of “Wait No More” because it seemed like a hopeful example of common ground. There are many who disagree vehemently with the politics of Focus on the Family. (In many respects, I’m probably in that camp.) But whether or not you agree with Focus on the Family’s political bent, who amongst us doesn’t care about orphans? Christians of all perspectives understand the biblical command to care for children—particularly orphans. Regardless of whom we supported in the last presidential election, it seems to me that we can all get behind the work done by “Wait No More.” It transcends what might otherwise divide us, and it is incredibly important work. In our current politically-fractured, dysfunctional climate, that seems like a very good thing indeed.

Isaiah 1:17 (New American Standard Bible)

Learn to do good; Seek justice, Reprove the ruthless, Defend the orphan, Plead for the widow.

James 1:27 (Amplified Bible)

External religious worship [religion as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: to visit and help and care for the orphans and widows in their affliction and need, and to keep oneself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world.

Law & Rural Livelihoods

The last post touched upon the often bleak economic conditions in small towns. As a follow-up, I would like to spotlight the scholarship of Professor Lisa R. Pruitt of UC-Davis. I met her serendipitously a few years ago at a conference, and have been really intrigued by her work. Her primary focus is the intersection of Law and Rural Livelihoods. It is an important area of social justice, but it is one that seems to not get a lot of attention in mainstream media. I'm glad she brings attention to this area.

Professor Pruitt's articles are available at the following link:

http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=85999

In addition, Professor Pruitt also contributes to a blog on Legal Ruralism.

http://legalruralism.blogspot.com/

The blog and Professor Pruitt's articles may be of interest to those interested in learning more about social justice issues involving people in rural communities.




Mark 4:2-8, 14-20 (New Century Version)

Jesus taught them many things, using stories. He said, "Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep. But when the sun rose, the plants dried up because they did not have deep roots. Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not produce a crop. Some other seed fell on good ground and began to grow. It got taller and produced a crop. Some plants made thirty times more, some made sixty times more, and some made a hundred times more."

The farmer is like a person who plants God's message in people. Sometimes the teaching falls on the road. This is like the people who hear the teaching of God, but Satan quickly comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. Others are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly accept it with joy. But since they don't allow the teaching to go deep into their lives, they keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching they accepted, they quickly give up. Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the teaching, but the worries of this life, the temptation of wealth, and many other evil desires keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives. Others are like the seed planted in the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and produce fruit—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more."

Sacrifice and Support in Rural America

Recently, our family took another road trip to visit relatives out of state. We had occasion to see some really beautiful parts of this amazing country. Traveling in Arizona, Utah and Colorado, we gazed at countless breath-taking geologic wonders. We also passed through a number of small towns to reach our final destination. Our family has relatives who live in similar small towns in other parts of the country. At holidays and on vacations, we spend a fair amount of time in such towns. Being a person who has always lived in large urban centers, several things always strike me about small towns.

First, in rural communities, economic opportunities are not abundant and educational resources are often scarce. To get an education, one typically must move far from home. Once one has a degree, there are usually not many suitable jobs in rural communities beyond teaching grade school. My husband is from a small town. Most of the kids from his high school who go to college don’t return; they end up going to large urban centers where they have better prospects. The kids who do stay in town after high school generally do not have a lot of economic options, and the ones they have are not terribly promising. There aren’t many employers in my husband’s hometown. Additionally, there is just not a lot of local money; starting one’s own business is tough due to the small potential client base. Whenever I spend time in small towns, I feel awe and respect for the challenging lives that many folks have in rural communities. And despite the fact that I enjoy the pace and friendliness of small town life, I always feel grateful that I grew up in an urban community because I have had many more options with respect to earning a living.

The other thing that always strikes me when I visit small towns is the much more visible expression of pride in our nation’s military. I’ve seen such expressions numerous times even in small towns where there is no military base anywhere in the region. On our family’s recent trip through Arizona, Utah and Colorado, we saw numerous banners, homemade posters and other displays to express publicly love and support for our nation’s troops. In urban areas, such expressions are somewhat apparent, but never to the level that I see when I am in more sparsely populated communities.

This pattern used to puzzle me greatly, especially since Christian faith also tends to be a core value (at least in the small towns I’ve visited). It was difficult for me to reconcile those two sets of values. I used to wonder whether rural folks were just more patriotic or more hawkish than those in urban centers. But the more I spent in my husband’s hometown and came to understand the local culture, I became aware that so many young people in small town communities join the military—typically more so than in suburban or wealthier urban areas. I only knew of one person from my high school class who joined the military; my husband couldn’t begin to count how many of his classmates did. Young people from rural areas clearly join the military out of pride and love for their country. But frankly they often also do it because there aren’t a lot of other options.

Ultimately, I don’t think people in rural communities are any more patriotic or hawkish than in other parts of the United States. Instead, I think that their support of the military is often just more personal. When they put a “Support the Troops” bumper sticker on their car, it is not an abstract statement. It has a very real significance because they are often supporting their loved ones and their neighbors’ loved ones.

Matthew 5:1-4 (Holman Christian Standard Bible)

When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. Then He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
because the kingdom of heaven is theirs.
Blessed are those who mourn,
because they will be comforted.

El Paso Museum of Art’s American War “Propaganda”

During the Christmas holidays several months ago, my family was in El Paso, Texas and had occasion to visit the El Paso Art Museum of Art. It has an architecturally impressive home in downtown El Paso. Among other things, there is a lovely collection of European religious art from the Middle Ages and Renaissance. And during our visit there was an exhibit of art depicting the Virgin of Guadalupe. However, for purposes of this blog, I actually wanted to focus on another part of the museum.

Tucked away just outside of the gift shop, the museum displays a collection of what it termed American “propaganda” from the World War II period. It was a fascinating series of posters encouraging the American public to do various things in support of the country’s war effort. I was born well after World War II, and have only learned about that time from history books and documentaries. The posters were encouraging a wide variety of sacrifices of ordinary citizens—from participation in air raid drills to using less meat to recycling an array of industrial materials (well before the first Earth Day). Citizens were being asked to use less of just about everything and to do without certain items, many of which were considered staples of every day life.

And despite the great sacrifices being demanded, it seemed to me that Americans did all this—in other words, the war propaganda was successful-- because the average American ardently wanted to support the troops on the front lines. One could argue that support arose simply because our country had been attacked and our future seemed in jeopardy. And one could argue the same situation has been present in our country since 9/11. But its seems to me that the level of support was different, more personal during World War II in part because of the widespread mobilization of the nation’s young men. The war directly touched every community many times over, and touched most families personally. People were sacrificing not just for abstract ideals and to support folks they had never met. During World War II, Americans were literally sacrificing to support their sons, husbands and brothers.

Since our invasion of Iraq in 2003, some have called for a return to a mandatory draft. I’ve had mixed feelings about that proposal. I tend to have a great skepticism about wars generally, and that skepticism has intensified in recent years for fairly obvious reasons. However, it does seem a persuasive argument to me that nations with a more widespread conscription of their young people would be more reflective and cautious in following their leaders’ call for war, particularly in cases when the war is preemptive or elective in nature. (Indeed, many countries in Western Europe have compulsory military service for their young.) It seems strange to me that our own country has been at war for about 7 years now, but that fact seems to not disrupt the lives of most of our citizenry. For most of us, life goes on with only occasional remembrance that our troops are abroad fighting two wars.

http://www.elpasoartmuseum.org/

Matthew 5:9 (New International Reader’s Version)

Blessed are those who make peace. They will be called sons of God.

John Oliver: Topical Comedy, With A Crisp Accent

I listen to NPR a lot, but very infrequently during weekdays. A while back, I did happen to catch “Fresh Air” when Terry Gross interviewed John Oliver, a correspondent for the Daily Show. I rarely watch the television program, but when I do, it makes me laugh. John Oliver is not someone I remember from the show, but his interview with Terry Gross was interesting.

Oliver is British and in his role on the Daily Show he has occasion to do faux press coverage of American political events. In the “Fresh Air” interview, he talked about attending the recent Tea Party rallies and how he was struck by the intensity of the conviction of the attendees. He laughingly rejected the attendees’ characterization of the Obama administration as “tyrannical.” He comically warned that that really diminished what his country had done to its colonies and what other truly tyrannical governments had inflicted on their people. Oliver also shared that in speaking to Tea Party attendees, it was apparent that many were ardently convinced that President Obama was a Muslim. Oliver expressed concern not only that so many embraced this falsehood, but that those who embraced it were extremely fearful because they believed the president’s Muslim faith was evidence that he would allow our country to be overrun and taken over by nefarious forces. Some reading this post might think that Oliver was exaggerating what was said at the Tea Parties or simply making things up. I’ve never attended a Tea Party, but I have heard a number of other people in other contexts make similar statements in complete earnestness. Such statements leave me incredulous. I’m not sure how to even respond.

Terry Gross also asked Oliver about his reaction to American politics as a Englishman who has only come to this country in the last few years. He said he was most struck by the influence of religion; that was something very different from Europe. He noted that Tony Blair was a very devout Catholic, but was careful to not talk about his faith or be photographed going to church. Oliver indicated that in Britain the public would react with immediate suspicion if he had flaunted his religion. I thought that was a fascinating statement. President George W. Bush spoke in religious terms frequently during his administration. Such references always made me suspicious. It always seemed calculated, a ploy. Perhaps this is just the reaction of someone who was raised in D.C., but I always wondered why more of my fellow citizens weren’t similarly suspicious.

Terry Gross’s interview with Terry Gross is available below.

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13

Matthew 5:33-37 (The Message)

"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong."

Jane Fonda

Following up the prior post about Reds and the inclination of many on the left to be receptive to the Gospel message, I wanted to blog on the topic of Jane Fonda’s conversion to Christianity. This conversion may be a surprise to many because it did not get a lot of attention in the mainstream media as far as I am aware. It was something I first heard about on Christian radio many years ago, but it is certainly not something many of us—secular or religious—were anticipating. After all, Ms. Fonda is the woman who epitomized for many years the image of a secular, far left Hollywood elite. She is famous (or infamous) for her embrace of the Vietcong, feminism and spandex leotards. She was married for many years to Tom Hayden (a member of the “Chicago Seven”) and bankrolled his political career with the success of her exercise empire.

But apparently early in the twenty-first century, Ms. Fonda embraced Jesus Christ as Lord. Despite many efforts, I have had great difficulty finding much information about the circumstances of her conversion, but have heard on Christian radio that she apparently was greatly influenced by her chauffeur in Atlanta (during her marriage to Ted Turner). I understand he was an older African American man, for whom Ms. Fonda had already had a great deal of respect. Apparently at one point in their relationship he shared his testimony with her and asked why she had not accepted Christ. As I understand, this led to some soul-searching and her eventual embrace of Christianity. Ms. Fonda has indicated that her conversion had a role in the break-up of her marriage to Ted Turner, but not much else has been reported on the subject.

Ms. Fonda’s conversion did not prompt an embrace of right wing politics. She is still politically active, and her sympathies extend to an array of feminist and anti-war issues.

Luke 9:49-50

John answered and said, "Master, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name; and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow along with us."
But Jesus said to him, "Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you."