#1 Focus on the Family has been widely criticized for a video they made that asked people to pray for rain so that Obama's acceptance speech would be rained-out. When the criticism came-in, they pulled the video and Dobson said it was only a joke. But Stuart Shepherd, who mad the request said he was "partly joking." He said, "Sure it's boyish humor perhaps to wish for something like that, but at the same time it's something people feel very strongly about. They're concerned about where he would take the nation,"

OK, so it was one of those jokes, that actually was true. I appreciate Focus on the Family for many wonderful things they've done for families, but stuff like this (joke or not) makes it difficult for the rest of us who are trying to represent Christianity to those who aren't Republicans. It makes Christians appear anti-intellectual & close-minded. I, for one, watched Obama's speech. I wanted to know what he would say. It's an important time for our country, and it allows me to speak intelligently to others.

I'm unashamedly pro-life (see #2 below) but we have to be OK with listening. People have to be OK with dialogue & discussion. We all have to be OK with the exchange of ideas. And Christians have to realize that these things make Jesus look pretty unattractive.

#2 Sarah Palin has been attacked for many reasons in the past few days. For me, the jury is still-out, but I've honestly liked a lot more than what I haven't liked. People have a right to attack her record & positions, but several groups (not the least of which would be the National Organization of Women) have labeled her as anti-woman, or "not an advocate of women." They've done this because she is pro-life.

This is completely stupid for a number reasons: #1. She is a woman - is she "anti-self." #2. Half of the people in our country think that her pro-life position is good. Dismissing half of our population because they disagree with you is pretty ridiculous. #3. At the very least, she is an advocate of women who have not been born yet. Agree or not, it's a position that deserves to be respected. It's consistent with her belief that life begins at conception.

#3. Michael Moore has expressed his enjoyment over the timing of Hurricane Gustav. He thought it was hilarious that it looked like it might interrupt the GOP Convention. He even said that it showed that God wasn't on their side. I don't know that I even need to say much other than this - it's clear that there are people who so desperately want to see their political ambitions forwarded, they could care less about the loss of lives that might occur. To read more, here's a link: http://www.businessandmedia.org/articles/2008/20080830000004.aspx

#4 A friend of mine is has been talking about Jesus with a co-worker for a long time. His friend was invited to go to Word Explosion - a spiritual revival-type of event that is hosted in Tulsa. My friend was so excited about this. But he was really disappointed when he talked to his friend the next day. His friend went planning on learning about Jesus. All he got was an earful of right-wing politics from the so-called "evangelists." It breaks my heart when Christians on both sides of the aisle trade in preaching about The Kingdom for some smaller, mortal kingdom. It happens all the time.