Some of you may have heard/read/stumbled upon/gotten wind of/involuntarily acquired the news that the U.S. government has released figures of current joblessness in our country now hitting above 500,000. And these figures do not include people whose benefits have run out but are still jobless, the homeless, or the people who never filed a jobless claim.

News of a “double dip” recession floods our ears and eyes. Personally, I disagree that the first one was ever over. But I’m not a politically savvy individual, nor do I intend to be. I have a different agenda to push in this post.

I couldn’t help but think about the six degrees of separation phenomenon (what is that?). I have found this to be fascinatingly accurate. But it means that most of us know or are about to know some jobless people. I’m speaking of those who have no job due to circumstances outside of their control.

My dad said something on the phone to me not too long ago, concerning our economy; “I think we’re all going to have to just learn to live with less.” I think he’s right.

My generation and younger (maybe even the generation older than me) has been shown a country of “have”. We grew up knowing how to have (have=get a credit card), and we grew up having. I know I did. And you didn’t have to grow up wealthy to be a haver… In the U.S.A. it’s true for most of us. The government’s answer to not having has been consistently “go into more debt.” Once again, I don’t mean to make politics the focus. I have no idea what will fix the mess, but I don’t think that’s a false statement about the government. It’s just a fact. Having and going into debt to have is the model we have been shown.

Now, I’m not one of those, “How could you spend $3 on a cheeseburger, you heartless person, when you know that there are starving children in Africa?!” I can because that’s what it costs to get a decent cheeseburger. Our cost of living is much higher than that of Africa’s. But I do think that looking at poverty-stricken countries is a great way to refocus our minds on just exactly what we do and don’t need. So, my question would be, “Does having money (or the ability to borrow it) equate to higher needs?”

In “Total Money Makeover” Dave Ramsey mentions a luxury car (I think it was a Jaguar, perhaps) that he owned and had to make the tough decision to sell and downgrade. Later, he was able to buy a near identical car because he had actually earned the money to do so. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that because you can’t draw a line on car price or square footage amount or meal price, etc. If you ask the question, “How much is too much?” and then try to answer it with a physical limitation, you just became a legalist. But I think you can raise the question, “At what point during his money-making did he decide that the Jaguar was better than a Maxima or a Maxima better than a Corolla or a Corolla better than a Cavalier (two points to me for the automobile hierarchy )? Once again, you simply cannot draw a line at one or the other, but you can question your motives…

BINGO! Motives: Ah, what a difficult, non-physical way of answering the “how to have less/how much is too much” quandary! Whether you do or don’t have the money, you aren’t going to lose your salvation over the choice of a Jaguar versus a Corolla. But you do have a moral obligation as a Christian to check your motives deep within. And, yes, I can actually think of a couple of reasons a person might actually need a luxury car. All I’m saying is that you have to ask yourself what those reasons are in every decision and learn the differences between needs/wants and can wait for cash/cannot wait for cash.

Paul taught us that “all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial.” How many people could we benefit (including ourselves) if we could just get ourselves to inwardly separate the needs from the wants? Are we even capable of the distinction anymore, or are we too far gone?

May God grant all of us the vision and desire of a Christ-like life, where our decisions are based on what will bring Him glory and not what will bring ourselves glory.

Your bro in Christ,
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P.S. I am determined to one day write a short post… It is very difficult for me. lol
P.S.S. I meant no judgment call towards Dave Ramsey. I like the guy, and “Total Money Makeover” really is a great book. Highly recommended.

One of the worst instances I’ve had was indeed my fault but no big deal. I started to come over on someone by accident, but I quickly swerved back. We were coming up to a red light and slowing down, and I caught my mistake before it was too late so no harm was done. However, the white Suburban loaded with Vietnam veteran stickers thought it to be a more serious offense. He sped up, cut me off, and while at the red light, adjusted his side mirror to show me his pistol (this was in downtown Nashville). Then, he proceeded to stare me down, follow me, and get behind me again to ride my bumper. My finger was hovering over the “Call” button with 911 loaded in the call window the whole time. Anybody breaking out a pistol because of a driving error needs to chill out!

David Young, Teaching Minister at North Boulevard in Murfreesboro, TN, says that you should give these people the sign language symbol for “I love you” and continue on your way. However, Bear Grylls says you should just ignore them completely. Whatever the best tactic is for dealing with road rage, it doesn’t change the fact that I see the rage on nearly a daily basis.

What are we so angry about? I don’t think there’s an easy answer to it. I know a Russian missionary who says that Russia is the most depressed country he’s ever been in, and many studies have linked that opinion to a lack of religion. But I know a lot of angry Christians too. John Eldridge, author of “Wild At Heart”, would probably link this anger to the suppression of manhood and the Christian teaching of “turning the other cheek” (you know… the thing Jesus said). Eldridge could be onto something there, but it doesn’t explain the road raging females (unless they’re angry about their wimpy/irresponsible husbands).

Of course, you will encounter the one who just got fired, or just had a fight with his or her spouse, etc. But that’s not everyone. Is it our depression? Is it our selfishness? Is it our lack of religion? Where is the anger coming from?!

Why is my appointment more important than the slow poke’s in front of me? Why do I get so incredibly angry at the person who just cut me off? I didn’t wreck so, why am I so upset? Quite frankly, I think we all just need to learn to care a little more about the person we don’t know. It’s easy to get angry when you see the other person as just a chunk of metal in front of you… that makes them an object.

Eureka! We have arrived! So, here we find the crux of the matter! Hello, all you “objects” reading my post. Why not get upset that the object cut you off? Why not let the object remain homeless? Why not let the object starve to death? Why not make fun of he oddly shaped object? Why not make the object wear less clothes? Why not lust after the object?

What if we realized the object was actually being pursued by God’s love? Hello, person.

Y’all’s bro in Christ,
page lynch

Amy and I were having a discussion the other day that was fueled by the phrase “they don’t make stuff like they used to.”  Since we moved in, our garage door broke; we bought a new one; it only closes on its own when it wants to.  Our dishwasher broke; repair costs not worth it; parents bought us a new one (the other one was only a couple years old).  Our water line froze; discovered it had not been properly insulated.  A brand new light bulb went out the day we put it in.  My new Universal Audio 710 preamp came without a nut on the quarter-inch line in (=not good).  My new Fender Telecaster’s top pickup went out within a couple of weeks of purchase.  There is something wrong with my iMac (actually having that checked out tomorrow).  My Lightwave 3D version 9.6 software came with improper installation instructions for inputting the product key; on the phone their response was “they just haven’t fixed that yet” (the INSTALLATION instructions?!).  My soft-box lighting kit came with a bad light bulb (we’re talking $15 a pop for these puppies).  Our new printer’s glass was completely shattered when we opened it (you know, the copy-scanny part).  McDonald’s getting my hot mocha right is a total shot in the dark (and I only go there at random, not regular).

Thank goodness for warranties!… and parents!  But the events that have culminated into little better than a massive waste of time, lend themselves to questioning.  A good question is, “Why can’t they make stuff like they used to?”  Maybe an even better question could be, “How did they used to make stuff?”  Amy has an inherited ’93 Dodge Ram that is a total tank.  With only a short bed and regular cab equalling the length of my ’04 Nissan Xterra, in a game of chicken I have full confidence that this truck would plow through and ask, “What Xterra?”  It is not very economical though.  Quite frankly, its comparable Army tank might actually achieve better gas mileage.  Maybe “going green” means “going weaker”?

At any rate, we then moved on to discussing children in a like manner (as if they came off assembly lines).  ”They don’t respect adults anymore,” we say.  ”No one teaches their children ‘yes, ma’am’ and ‘no, sir.’”  I could feel myself instantly growing hunchbacked with a long, grey beard and a cane, shaking with anger, “Young whippersnappers and your fandangled Fandangos!”  (Click on the [Store] section of my website to hear my old man voice… seriously… I’m not making that up).

Okay, so they don’t make material things or children like they used to.  All my brand new things break.  No children call me “Mr. Lynch.”  I have been seeing a lot more blogs and videos (in recent years) poking fun at “marketing” schemes of churches.  Apparently, churches produce a product they are trying to get others to buy into.  If that’s true, I think we have to ask the question, “Are we making it like we used to?”  We also have to ask, “Which was the better way of making it?”

Those are good questions that do not have easy answers… Mainly, because it is pretty hard to successfully generalize what “the church” is or has been.  I am not trying to answer those questions (not in this particular blog, anyway… maybe in a 1,000 page book, where at the end I write, “In conclusion: I dunno, dude.”).  For now, I believe there to be a greater question: “What would the world be like without Captain Hook?”  You read it right.  Without Captain Hook, Peter Pan would just be some boy in green tights, and the world would certainly be a lot less exciting.  And what a fashion statement that hook is!

What would the world be like without the church (the “Product’s” marketing company)?  Oh, she is flawed alright… But the Product is not broken.  She is just confused about her methods because she was accepted as a standard for so long, but now, in the blink of her eye, a morality switch has been flipped in our culture, making her an adversary.  She is retreating, frozen, and lashing out all at the same time.  She is attacked without and even moreso within.  She needs loving guidance, not judgmental mockery.

In our desires to “make church how it used to be” or to make it something “new,” let us not forget that “the church” is not that building or what it looks like, but us (oh my, how we would look if we really believed that!).  When we finger-point and disparage one another, we break the Product because we dismantle everything It stands for.  And if we continue to bash and devour ourselves and give into the pride of “I’ve figured this thing out,” we will simply create even less unity (hard to imagine) and more of the very thing Peter Pan and everyone else seem so upset about; …catchy hooks.

["I love you." -GOD], [iPray], [We missed you last Sunday!]

Extra! Extra! Read one more paragraph!
Admittedly, I had a terrible time with collecting my thoughts into a manageable snippit of something spiritually nurturing in this post.  As I reread (good practice), all I can hear is the sarcastic voice of Wesley from “The Princess Bride” saying, “Clearly, you have a dizzying intellect.”  Please understand, I joke, yes, but this is a big issue.  I simply cannot rationalize and explain my views in a “little” blog entry so, have grace.  It proved difficult to summarize.  I am well aware that I did not even scratch the surface of either side of this argument.  I merely mean to express my discontent with the way we are treating each other in it.  I have certainly been guilty of judgmental harshness as well.  Let us all go in peace.

Y’all’s bro in Christ,
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We knew there was a possibility of this happening before we bought the house, but it seemed unlikely to happen this soon.  We were totally wrong.  Really, I can get over the construction noise.  It inhibits my recording time, but it won’t last too much longer.  What is really getting to me: I never realized how much it would bother me not having a yard.

“Go water the tomatoes,” Dad would say, and off I would be, trudging through our seemingly endless backyard towards the garden, hauling a monstrosity of a hosepipe.  Gaining more energy from the fresh country air, after the chore was completed, I would hang on a tree or sit on the porch and enjoy the sunset.

Looking for a change of pace, I moved away to college in Nashville, and thought, “Finally, I am free to roam.”  But the older I get and the more I roam, the more I want to be back home.  I don’t mean living with my parents again, of course.  I simply mean that place.  That fresh air.  That beautiful landscape.  The outdoor chores.  My own grass to cut and my own garden to plant.  I used to loathe watering the tomatoes, but now it seems like that simple act would be a blissful paradise.  I find myself more and more appreciating my past, chores and all.

God is testing my ability to be content, no doubt.  Against all unlikely circumstances, Amy and I prayed and prayed that God give us a house, and He delivered.  But here I am, discontent with the house.  I’ll have to work through this.  Interestingly enough, God didn’t give us a house until we had truly become content with being in our apartment.

I can’t help but wonder, though, does it ever stop?  Why do multi-millionaires care so much about making more money?  Why do landowners buy more land?  Why does a guy who received a new house want a new house?  I don’t think there is anything wrong with setting goals and working diligently toward them, but I think that contentment might just have to be grounded in something deeper than “don’t you dare want that” (finger wag).  Instead of spending our lives dwelling on the things which discontent us (or trying not to), maybe instead we should be attempting to continually re-appreciate the contents of our lives that once contented us and delight in a re-discovery of the reasons why.

Ex: I love no longer having an old woman living above me who calls the office every time I play my ACOUSTIC guitar because she thinks it’s too loud.

Y’all’s bro in Christ,
page lynch

I’m not trying to chop away at my theological roots. I’m trying to help us all to root ourselves in a deeper theology.
I’m not saying that I have God figured out. I’m saying that we cannot figure what is infinite.

I’m not saying I have all the answers. I’m saying we can all work on the questions.
I’m not saying I question your motives. I’m saying we can motivate each other to question.

I’m not trying to write a new story. I’m trying to help sculpt the Story’s current chapter.
I’m not trying to form a new main idea. I’m trying to help our ideas conform to the Gospel thesis.

I don’t write to be more creatively imaginative than you. I’m creating a writing that proposes that the Body imagine being one mind.

Y’alls bro in Christ,
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