randalevan's blog

¿whatever happened to the american dream?

I was shocked to read in yesterday's Mercury-News that there are over 13% of Americans who are living in poverty.  How can that be?  Whatever happened to the American Dream?  Sounds more like a nightmare to me!

The problem is so large and complex that there is certainly nothing I can do about it.  (*I used to think this way, but somehow, I don't feel like I have a "free pass" to ignore this awful truth about our country anymore.)

I wonder what the church I go to can do about it. If the Lord's Prayer were to be answered, especially the part that says, "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven", what that would look like?  I don't think there are going to be any people living in poverty when God's will is always done on the earth!  Lord, what would You have each one of us do?

  (*To read the article, please go to: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13307046?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com&nclick_check=1

former vineyard pastor and US director todd hunter becomes an anglican

Meg, a friend of mine and fellow Vineyard pastor, showed me the recent issue of Christianity Today (September 2009) which included an article about Todd Hunter, former Vineyard pastor, former National Director for the Vineyard USA.  Todd has become an Anglican priest, and will soon be promoted to bishop.  My first reaction was shock.  My second was, "ok, so the guy was a Vineyard pastor.  Then he was our national director.  Then he worked for some emerging church entity.  Then he was president of Alpha USA.  Now he's an Anglican priest...well...for a few months before they make him a bishop.  He's got problems."  The third thing I thought was, "What do I know, anyway?!"

local teacher is a hero

We have an incredible story of courage in neighboring San Mateo. (*I recently made a post praising the courage of Corey Aquino.  *See August 5th, 2009.)

A former student of Hillsdale High School, came to the campus yesterday morning with 10 pipe bombs strapped to his military-style vest.  He apparently blew-up two of the bombs.  (*No one was hurt.)  When people either hid in their classrooms or ran for cover, an unidentified teacher ran toward the explosions, tackled the former student, and kept him on the ground until others could come to his aid.  The student still had 8, live, ready to be detonated pipe bombs attached to his vest.

This teacher's bravery, coupled with the work of both the school's principal and local police, saved the lives of many students.  Wonderful!

(*Here's a link to the article in the local paper: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13193327?source=most_viewed)

why are palo alto kids killing themselves?

There have been three, local teens who have killed themselves by stepping in front of an oncoming train the past four months in Palo Alto.  (*For the latest suicide, check-out this article: http://www.mercurynews.com/topstories/ci_13195853?nclick_check=1

How can this be?  What could possibly motivate a 13 year old girl to end her life?  How did we all fail this young, "all of life before her" teenager?  It seems to me as a member of this community that we aren't helping our neighbors to discover and live a life that's worth holding onto, even when we are going through a hard time.

Whenever I hear an official spokesperson say something about the suicides, they say something about learning to watch for the early signs of depression.  OK, so why are teens depressed?  What are they putting their hopes in?  How are their parents helping them?  Their teachers?  Their friends?  If they go to church, their fellow churchgoers?  How do they spend their time?  What are the messages they are hearing about what is important in life and who is it that imparts these values to them?

If we don't do something about the way that we live, and the way we teach our kids to live, there will be more child suicides.

empowering the weak to become even weaker

Let's assume I want to lose 20 pounds.  (*Funny, I DO want to lose almost that much!) Let's further assume that I share this desire with my closest friends...people who really care about me and my health.  One day, these friends all get together and decide they want to help me out.  What do they do?  They put their money together and they buy me a Laz-y-Boy recliner, an 80-inch flat screen TV, and a "never-runs-out-of-money-always gets-replenished-automatically" gift card to Coldstone Creamery.  So, are these guys acting like my friends?

The Ten Year Century?

A friend posted this article on his Facebook and I thought it was interesting.  Here's an excerpt: (*If you find it interesting, I have posted a link below.)

"In computer jargon, when your hard drive becomes overwhelmed with too much information it is said to be fragmented—or “fragged.” Today, the rapid and unsettling pace of change has left us all more than a little, well, fragged.

We watch 60-second television commercials that have been sped up to fit into 30-second spots, even as we multitask our way through emails, text messages and tweets. We assume that these small time compressions are part of the price of modern living. But it is more profound than that.

Changes that used to take generations—economic cycles, cultural shifts, mass migrations, changes in the structures of families and institutions—now unfurl in a span of years. Since 2000, we have experienced three economic bubbles (dot-com, real estate, and credit), three market crashes, a devastating terrorist attack, two wars and a global influenza pandemic."

To read more, go to http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203946904574300382022042424.html

A Model of Courage

Last Saturday morning I took a quick look at the newspaper before continuing my preparation to teach at our church the next morning.  My topic:  courage.  There was an article that stood out to me about the former president of the Philippines, Cory Aquino.  I was unable to find it online, but found another article by Reuter's that wasn't bad: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSTRE56U6IB20090731?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

I may have more to say on courage later in the week.

Michael Jackson, American Tragedy

 

Michael Jackson died yesterday.  Some people cried.  Others were in shock...he was only 50 years' old and about to make one, final comeback.  (*Is it ever "final" for someone who has become addicted to fame? Think Brent Fabre, Lance Armstrong... I guess he had multiple millions of dollars of debt and needed to do something about it.) A lot of people laughed, considering him a freak.  I am sad.  I have looked at Michael Jackson's life from afar for the past 15 years or so, shocked by the child abuse accusations and the grotesque effects of dozens of unnecessary plastic surgeries. (*Who are the doctors, any way, who lack the personal and professional integrity to tell someone like Jackson "no"? Should we look at those physicians and say, "You are more freakish than Michael!")

 

I read an article that a friend posted on Facebook this morning.  I will quote it here.  (*Below the quote find a link for the entire article.)

Credit Crisis Video

On March 5th I posted an article on the credit crisis in Spanish.  I asked if anyone knew of any helpful, easy to understand resources in English.  A friend of mine, Stephan Jooste, just forwarded me a video in English that describes what is going on with the global economy and how it directly affects you and me.  Check it out:  http://crisisofcredit.com/.

La Crisis Económica

Sorry, if you don't understand the following article.  It is an excellent explanation of one of the primary causes for our current, global, economic crisis - what the author calls "Ninja" home loans: "No Income, No jobs, no Assets."  If anyone can recommend a clear, concise article on sub-prime loans and what they have done to the economy, please let me know and I will check it out.

¿Cómo se explica esta crisis a la que usted ha denominado 'Ninja'?
La 'crisis Ninja' empieza cuando en 2001, la Reserva Federal Americana baja mucho los tipos de interés y los bancos americanos pueden hacer poco negocio porque cobran menos. Por eso, deciden dar créditos a los 'Ninjas' (No Income, No jobs, no Assets), es decir, gente que no tiene ni ingresos fijos, ni trabajo fijo, ni propiedades. Dan muchos créditos con un interés ligeramente superior al normal porque son gente con más riesgo. (Se corrige) ¡Son gente con muchísimo riesgo!