The Weapon of Prayer

During the last few weeks as news of more casualties from Iraq continues to pour across our news, I have been troubled. My personal position is one of support for the war effort to protect our freedom. I am however, upset when so many people die. I know that the simple answer is that "war is a necessary evil." and "that is the price you pay for freedom." However true those statements may be, I still get upset when I read of people dying.

I had a conversation with some friends at work this week about the war. Some were vehemently supportive of the war, and others were slightly against it. At the end of the discussion, the conclusion we came to was, that as Christians we should be praying about this war and all of its aspects. I was convicted. I read about a few dying here, a few there, and for a split second I feel sad. But it doesn't impact my life too much, and I tend to be over my concern in a matter of seconds.

All through the Scripture people's prayers have been connected with military matters. Prayer wins battles and sometimes causes them never to be fought. I began to think, "There is a world aspect to my prayers, and maybe my prayers could make a difference in the present situation in Iraq." I decided to pray for the entire Iraq conflict, all the soldiers on both sides, all the countries involved, all the religious sect, all the unseen spiritual powers. I have decided to pray for the whole deal.

Then I ran across this article by Johann Christoph Arnold. It definitely comes from an anti-war pacifist position, but he retells a story from the life of Gen. George Patton, that I wanted to share here.

As a history buff intrigued by the potential lessons of the past, I recently stumbled on an interesting story about General George S. Patton. An ardent believer, Patton noted that in times of battle, his men all prayed, but that when things quieted down, the praying stopped. This disturbed him and, in a nutshell, led him to write a “training letter” that was eventually distributed to every unit under his command. It read, in part:

Those who pray do more for the world than those who fight; and if the world goes from bad to worse, it is because there are more battles than prayers. Hands lifted up, smash more battalions then hands that strike. Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for our Army, and pray for peace.

We must march together, all out for God. The soldier who ‘cracks up’ does not need sympathy or comfort as much as he needs strength and prayer. We are not trying to make the best of these days. It is our job to make the most of them. Now it is not the time to follow God from ‘afar off.’ We need the assurance and the faith that God is with us. With prayer, we cannot fail.

These words were written during the Battle of the Bulge, when a sudden break in the weather handed the Allies an unexpected victory over Hitler’s forces. Patton, and many others, attributed the outcome to prayer.

Citizen King

Boston public television producer Henry Morgenthau III's "The Negro and the American Promise," featuring interviews with Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, made headlines in spring 1963. The program aired in a climate of racial conflict, just months after Alabama governor
George Wallace's defiant support of "segregation forever," and before the March on Washington.

PBS is airing these interviews with Dr. Kenneth Clark, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin as part of their Citizen King program. These interviews are great history, interesting philosophy and cutting commentary on race relations in our day today. Watching Dr. King and Malcolm X comment on each others respective movements is especially interesting. Check out these great videos at the PBS web site.

The Fighting Temptations

O.k. I'll confess it. I like movie musicals. If it's a musical I pretty much like it. And I got into one last night that I really enjoyed. The Fighting Temptations starring Cuba Gooding Jr. and Beyonce Knowles is literally packed with great music.

Aside from the R & B star power that they throw at you. I love the progression that they slyly take you one. They start you out with the most old fashioned southern gospel spiritual, sung at a funeral featuring Shirley Ceasar. From there you move to the O'Jays and their Do-wop, Beyonce and her sensual R&B, to T-Bone and Zane with their Rap/Hip Hop. Without trying I think this movie preaches pretty convincingly how so many musical styles branch from the same tree.

A few other messages in this movie hit home. As the main song constantly says, "I ain't good enough, but he still loves me." People struggle, they mess up and make mistakes. Unfortunately there aren't enough people in the church broadcasting the message that God gives second chances. That Jesus is about loving you where you are and turning your life around.

The movie also shows the constant style conflict between the old and the new. But the members of the choir seem to transcend the issue. Why is that? How can they do it? Is it because they have a common goal, because they love music or is it just unrealistic to think that 3 generations of music lovers each with their own styles can perform together?

Money drives all the characters in the movie. Pretty accurate to real life. Pretty scathing commentary on music in general, both mainstream and gospel. And it's not just money, its the desire to compete and be the best that spoils music sometimes. Toward the end of the movie (of course, it's a feel good musical after all) the main characters are singing just for the joy of it! This leads me to one of my pet soap boxes. I think people should just love music. I think they should live music, all day and night. Who are you if you are always worried about practicing for the next performance? Getting tight just so people can say how good you are? In the movie, the Barbers (the O'Jays) just sing because they love to do it. As a Christian, I want to find ways to make music, just because I love music and my music honors God. I think that most of my efforts go into performing music for people rather than making music for God's sake. For the simple fact that I love to do it.

Other notable themes in the movie: judgmental church people, the dual lives many people live as they are involved in church and hide there other activities, music as power to motivate and help people overcome challenges, belonging to a community, lying, and materialism.

Check out one of my favorites, T-Bone, in this movie. He plays a convict does some nice work on the soundtrack. Check out his website at www.houseoftbone.com

All in all a fund movie, with great music, but what am I going to say....I love music.

Easter Pics and New Addition

We had the greatest long weekend ever. Good Friday we tore up the crappy while fishing a little pond near where Jennifer's Mom and Dad live. It seems that Joby and Winfield, beat Zeke and I, in our little fishing tournament 23 to 19 (or something like that). Saturday was fun as well.

Here are a few pictures of the children on Easter Morning.



After watching the movie, Cheaper By the Dozen, we decided that maybe our family was too small, so we added this little ball of joy. Her name is Queen Maxine, but we have all taken to calling her "Queenie". All the kids are absolutely crazy about her, as are Jen and I.

Flowers

These crazy tulips in our yard. They explode into bloom literally over night. I began to question what the world would look like from the perspective of a flower sprout. These pictures are what followed.

Weekend Pics

This past week was a marathon. Jennifer and I were involved at the CMA Pastor's Retreat all week, followed by a regional evangelists staff meeting. It was a great week, and we had a blast, but by Saturday we were ready for some rest. Saturday afternoon, Jennifer got on my bike and for the first time rode it around a little bit on Iron Mountain. She did so good. Later that evening we watched the final four and hung out with some of our friends.

Sunday afternoon was a special treat as we took the kids to the park. The wind was coming and going, and even though it wasn't the greatest of days for it, we managed to get the kite up a few times. It was so fun.





All in all a great weekend and a memorable Palm Sunday. We are really looking forward to observing this Holy Week and Easter. There is much to do here at CMA and lots for us to do as we prepare to travel all summer.

Daffodils

Here are some recent pictures of daffodils that have recently been in bloom in our area.




One day while outside I was completely taken by how fast these flowers come up and how quickly they orient themselves to the sun. Over the course of a few hours these plants break through the surface reach toward the sky, and then with a explosion of color, burst into bloom overnight. I like that they always point to the sun. I'm trying to learn something from that.

What's New

It seems like the last few weeks have been a blur since we returned from our trip to Florida. Weekend before last the guys from Inside Out came up to Mena to play the Rocking the Rose Show at the Mena Airport. They were absolutely great. Here are a few pics from their concert. We also took some great video and I am trying to find some time to edit it and put it into some sort of usable form.



After staying up hanging out with the guys, we got up bright and early to head to Texarkana for a Piker family portrait. It was a very fun day as well. Here are some pictures from our meal together and a silly shot of Jerrod Piker eating strawberry pie.



Sunday was also a great day, in the afternoon we had a great day in the park. All the kids played on the playground, and in the sand. Here are some pictures of that afternoon.





After that the week came on pretty fast. Jennifer and I have a lot to do on the upcoming Pastor's Conference here at Iron Mountain. Then out of the blue, I hurt my back on Tuesday. Turns out, it was pretty rough for the next few days. So I spent the rest of the week trying to recover. During that time they poured the slab at the new house site. We are so excited.

This week is going much better and we are getting alot done.

New Bike?

Things are in the works to get this cute little Honda CBR 600 F2. Plans are to paint it and make it my own.

Ministry Pics from the Road

On February 20, we stopped into Cabot High School in Cabot Arkansas for a special service that they were having. There was a group of teenage guys there that had a worship band, and they were really good. I was privileged to get to talk with this group for a few minutes. What I am always so amazed by is how passionate for Jesus some teenagers can be. In my life I fight apathy on a moment by moment basis, so it always spurs me just a little to see someone of any age who really cares about something. There were a few teenagers in Cabot who were taking their life and purpose for the Kingdom of God very seriously. I really liked seeing that. From there we shot over to Memphis, spent the night in a hotel, and drove the next day to Atlanta.

The Florida state CMA rally was held at Camp Keystone, a Salvation Army facility near Keystone Heights, Florida. The place was truly amazing. Beautiful grounds with plenty of rooms and meeting places, as well as fun activities like a great lake, and a putt-putt course. We had a great room to meet with teenagers, and some CMA friends from Orlando organized everything in a great way. We met Friday evening, Saturday morning and Saturday evening and did a whole lot of hanging out in between. Saturday evening especially we had a great time of worship and got the opportunity to pray for the young people who wanted us to. It was a very special time. We also made some really great contacts in helping us establish local CMA youth movements in Florida.