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Random Thoughts

Ancient Nation Building

Ever been to a failed state? I’ve been to a couple and have friends in several others. These places aren’t a lot of fun. Failed states are broadly defined as places where the government has failed to serve their people with basic services. The result is chaos, from civil disobedience to massive refugee issues.

I was recently reminded of an insight from the Old Testament about failed states. When the nation of Israel was in Egypt, enslaved by the Pharaohs, they were a nation of people with little identity. There was no written code for their religious system and they …

Apocryphal, Random Thoughts,

Just Plain Silly….but a lot of fun

Now here’s a crazy idea: Heaven is going to be a customized place for each individual. God would become bored designing just one idyllic place and soon ache to find new ways to express creativity. Creating one set perfect Heaven is simply too stagnant for a Creator who took the time to create 350,000 types of beetles. God is too much in love with life to live within such limitations.

So, Heaven will be a customized place that fits the needs and interests of each of us. The generous God that I know would want to provide anything and everything …

Random Thoughts,

The Bachelorette

Okay, so The Bachelorette is not a TV show most people would think I watch. I’m a 50-year old bald guy who has zero tolerance for crappy drama on reality television. But I will watch the show. At least this once, tonight.

Why? Because the people of Hawaii deserve that. This economic crisis has put a stop to travel and tourism. It has been especially difficult on the men and women who work in hospitality — those folks who get a high percentage of their income from tips. The bellhops, the waitresses, the smiling people at the front desk, the …

Random Thoughts,

Comprehending Heaven and Pizza Deliveries

Warning to the reader. If you are young and idealistic, please do not take this too seriously. Do not lose your vision for the future or your joyous desire to create a better world. We need that more than ever. But understand that I speak from some experience, and I speak as a person who tends to live in the future more than the past.

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The older I get, the harder it is for me to comprehend heaven.

Heaven seemed possible when I was young. I was filled with idealism and hope, and felt that great things could be …

Random Thoughts, Uncategorized,

James O'Donnell quote

“…. great capitals and bustling cities are all well and good, but the constructive and creative energies of humankind are often best seen among the mixtures and minglings of peoples at the margins of nations and empires.”

James J. O’Donnell, from his book “The Ruin of the Roman Empire”…

Random Thoughts,

History is written by the losers?

Recently finished a book on the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Or the conquest of Constantinople, depending on how you look at it.

Curious insight from the author of the book (Roger Crowley). He writes, “…the Ottoman perspective often has to be constructed by reading between the lines of Christian accounts: 1453 is unusual in being history largely written by the losers.”

Apparently, most of the stories about the battle for the city were recorded by the losing Christians. Specifically the Greeks and Italians. The Ottoman Empire, which won the battle, wrote very little about the battle. Only later did …

Random Thoughts,

Fundraising Insight

A few years ago I had an insight about fundraising that I’ve never written down. It’s probably not a profound thought, and I’m sure many have come to the same conclusion. But it’s still worth recording here as a new insight for some, a reminder to others.

As far as I can tell, the first ever significant capital campaign is described in Exodus 35. Moses told the people to give of their wealth and their talents. The aim was to fund and then build the Tabernacle and all the items that went inside.

What struck me is that the fundraising …

Apocryphal, Random Thoughts,

Albert Bayly

Lord, whose love in humble service bore the weight of human need,

Who upon the cross, forsaken, worked your mercy’s perfect deed;

We, your servants, bring the worship not of voice alone, but heart,

Consecrating to your purpose ev’ry gift that you impart.

Still your children wander homeless, still the hungry cry for bread,
Still the captives long for freedom, still in grief we mourn our dead.
As you, Lord, in deep compassion, healed the sick and freed the soul,
By your Spirit send your power to our world to make it whole.

As we worship, grant us vision, till …