The Morning Plow

Sitting in John Wayne airport waiting for our plane back home...just spent the past three days at Disneyland. Some people claim it's the "greatest place on earth"...my children think so. This was the first time we have been there in 7 years...I will say there is nothing better than watching your kids, when they are in that 3-9 age, experience the wonder, excitement, and joy of being at Disneyland. Their awe and joy transport you back to an age of innocence, simplicity, and less stress.  But them being older was still a blast!!! Our time there was still pretty awesome. As I took it all in, I made some observations  These observations were often made at bench in the evening, after hoofing 12 miles a day around the parks... some deep and others superficial. Obviously, all are unscientific.   I would say around 10% of the guests were masked. If I had to bet, a majority were children (under 18).  There was no social distancing in effect and everyone seemed fine....

Before I begin, it feels weird that I want to respond every week to David French...I don't want my blog to be a response to David French...however, I enjoy his Sunday newsletter and it sparks many ideas. I also want to point out that this is not a rebuttal or refutation,  but rather a different perspective...my take on the issue between fundamentalist and evangelicals. I find labels useful in defining or describing phenomena.  They allows us to articulate and communicate more effectively and efficiently.  I also realize they can become lazy generalizations that don't account for the complexities of  humans.  This is especially true when the labels are being used by contentious or adversarial groups.  Often these labels become mere caricatures and epithets as opposed to qualitative descriptions.  Such is the case with fundamentalists and evangelicals.  Much of the problem is that, generally speaking, both are suspicious and fearful of the other and...

David French discussed the recent turmoil in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) this morning in his newsletter .  I will not rehash all of the details, specifics, or personalities involved.  However, I do want to discuss what I believe to be the underlying cause.  Simply, the large scale institutionalizing of the church leads invariably to a host of temptations, that without appropriate safeguards, will constantly threaten their integrity and mission.  I call these temptations the the 3 P's of Pride:  Power, Prestige, Profits.  By the way, anytime the 3 P's are present, they often attract the unsavory and unscrupulous ( Simon the Sorcerer is a good example ). Much like the corrupt Sanhedrin of Jesus's time and more recently the long train of abuses in the Catholic Church, the hierarchical and bureaucratic structure that religious institutions create, often with good intentions, become corrupted by a self serving and self preservationist mindset.  Bo...