Gran Torino

/ Jason Morris / Leave a comment

This evening, Emily and I went to see Gran Torino with some friends.

To put it simply, this movie is incredible. It’s smart, funny, moving, passionate…It’s a film that inspires and challenges you. It makes you laugh at times and at others it brings you to tears (though, I’m a man so I refrained from shedding any tears).

I had heard some complaints going into the film that Eastwood growled too much throughout the film. Well, first…it totally fits the character he plays. Secondly, it’s pretty much classic Clint Eastwood. Finally, Eastwood gave an incredible performance…definitely deserving of some prestigious awards (though snubbed by some).

I don’t want to be one of those jerks that gives away the whole film. So, again, I’ll simply tell you to go see this film.

For those who are easily offended by course language…you have been warned.

Above Reproach

/ Jason Morris / 1 Comment

One of this mornings Star Press headlines is greatly disappointing and sickening. It’s the story of a pastor being arrested, after a lengthy investigation, for inappropriate relationships with young boys in his congregation.

This is one of those headlines that does a lot of damage to the Church. Instead of hearing about all the wonderful things Christian churches are doing all over the world, we are told the deeply troubling story of a pastor that allegedly used his position for extremely troubling acts.

Whether or not he is found guilty, this will leave a scar on the Church. People who already have a sense of distrust towards the Church will not have much confidence in the Church after reading this story.

Unfortunately, these things happen way too often. And, it’s not always some kind of sexual sin that does the damage. The real issue is when pastors and leaders in the church use their positions of authority to feed their egos and sinful desires.

And, now, the Church is put in an awkward position. How do we respond to something like this?

Of course the victims need to be provided with counseling, surrounded in prayer, and supported as they process the events that have taken place.

But, what about the pastor? I believe in justice. I believe in discipline. I believe that, if he is found guilty of these charges, he needs to face the penalties that a court of law imposes on him. I believe that, if he is found guilty, he has done things that disqualify him from leading a congregation. Yet, I also believe this man needs counseling. I also believe this man needs prayer. I believe that healing can take place in his life. And, that’s difficult to type…because right now I’m angry about this…the damage truly goes beyond one local congregation.

Paul is quite clear about the requirements and expectations of Christian leaders. We are to be above reproach. While the tasks sounds unattainable…it is what we strive towards. John Wesley urged all to strive towards perfection. While perfection may be impossible to grasp in this world, it is our goal.

In 1 Timothy 3, Paul writes about the expectations of Christian leaders. I love the way the Message puts it:

If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he’s talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God’s church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap. (1 Timothy 3:1-7)

I believe these events should remind Christian leaders of the expectations set before us by Scripture. I believe these events should challenge us to strive towards perfection.

These events should also remind us that we are not perfect. While it is easy to “t-off” at someone who is on the front-page of the local paper, we need to be wise…we need to be careful. We need to take steps to protect ourselves. A pastor really should not even put him/herself in a position where these kinds ofaccusations can be made.

So, this morning, I am reminded of what is expected of me. And, while I do stumble and fall, I’m daily striving to live up to the call.

It’s Fun to Stay at the YMCA…Sometimes

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Over the past several weeks, I have been noticing some things that bother me about the YMCA. It has nothing to do with the facilities. It has nothing to do with the programing. In fact, I greatly enjoy the offerings of our local YMCA. I mainly go to the downtown “Y” because I like having the option to hop in the pool and do a few laps.

But, today, I was once again reminded of one thing that always strikes me as odd. That “one thing” centers on the language used in the men’s locker room. I’ve been around locker room humor and language for a long time. When you’re in high school and college, you kind of expect a certain amount of inappropriate topics of conversation and crude language. And, let’s be honest, I’m known to let a number of profanities slip out of my mouth. But, when I’m at the Y, I feel like things should be a little different.

The YMCA website says its mission is: “To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind and body for all.”

When I am at the Y, I believe that the healthy body part can be attained. However, I’ve been struggling with whether or not a healthy spirit and mind is being developed during my visits…

For example, today, the language in the men’s locker room contained enough profanities that even I began to blush. The topic of the conversation was extremely degrading towards women. I did not participate in the conversation. All of these guys know what I do for a living. Generally, when they see me, they tend to clean things up a bit. But, still, it’s going on and it makes me sad. The locker room should really be more than a gathering place for a bunch of perverted old men. I just continually wonder why people join the Y, a Christian organization, if they simply want to use the place like it’s the local gentlemen’s club.

Not only that, when I went down to work out, the Jerry Springer show was on one television, some trashy soap opera on another, and Fox News (this may be the most offensive of the three) on the other.

Building a healthy body? Check! I had a great workout today. Building a healthy mind and spirit? Well, yes. But, not at the Y.

In the end, what I realized today is that I simply need to take a stand. If I come into the workout room and there is trash on the televisions, I should speak to the staff and ask them to consider changing the channel. After all, there is a sign next to the television sets that says the staff reserves the rights to change the channel from any program that does not reflect the mission of the YMCA.

And, when they guys are going beyond friendly banter and getting into inappropriate and vulgar conversations, I simply need to step up and say, “Hey guys, this is a Christian gym. I didn’t sign up for a membership here to be surrounded by the kind of conversation that isn’t even suitable for the Howard Stern show.”

But, today, I simply responded by putting my headphones in, cranking up the volume, and ignoring my surroundings. I missed an opportunity to take a stand. But, something tells me there will be other opportunities in the near future.

Closer to a Resolution

/ Jason Morris / 2 Comments

After a long meeting, we are closer to resolving the issue that has placed a heavy burden on our lives.

With the help of local governmental officials, we have uncovered a vast amount of corporate incompetence that has led to a decent amount of injustice.

The sad part is, while we are one step closer to having this put behind us, the local officials indicated that there are many others who have barely even started the fight.

There are laws that probably need to be addressed in order to make sure that citizens are being protected. Though we have found a great deal of help, I still firmly believe that there are major flaws in the system. There are often too many hoops to jump through in order to bring about justice.

Now, we need to address the corporate incompetence that led to this whole issue. While it all began with an error on a form submitted by the local government, they took all the necessary steps to remedy the situation. That’s where things fell back on the big business we are dealing with. It all boils down to someone in a very large company not bother to enter 6 to 12 numbers into a computer system.

Today, we finally got to the bottom of the situation. The large corporation continually tried to push the blame back on the local government. As we worked through all of the issues and questions, it was clear that this corporation failed to hold up to their end of the deal…entering correct numbers into their computers.

Now, we simply have to patiently wait while all of the appropriate paperwork is submitted, approved, and processed. At that point, most of this will be behind us…Unless we decide to get in touch with the Attorney General (along with other citizens facing similar issues with this big business).

I know I have not shared many details. If you’re truly interested in the full story, shoot me an e-mail (you can leave a comment with your e-mail…I won’t publish it, but will send you the story).

Standing in the Gap

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No, I’m not going to be writing about my latest trip to a fashionable clothing store. Rather, I’ll be writing about my dealings with some of our local politicians.

Later this afternoon, Emily and I will be meeting with some state and local government officials. The reason for our meeting is to bring about justice for all citizens of Delaware County and the state of Indiana who have been financially oppressed by the local government.

It appears that the Delaware County government is not a government of the people, by the people, or for the people. It appears that the Delaware County government is simply for the Delaware County government.

Rather than owning up to their own mistakes, elected and appointed government officials are simply trying to pass the blame to others. The have blamed everyone from major corporations to Governor Mitch Daniels. I’m sure “My Man Mitch” (he’s not really my man, but that is his campaign slogan) would love to know that local officials are blaming him for their own errors.

In the midst of our battle, we realized that the local officials were not going to be helpful in resolving this issue. We also realized that we may not be the only ones impacted by the issues we are facing. I do not desire for another resident of our county to face the injustices we have been met with over the last several months. So, we elected to contact some of our local officials.

We have been in contact with  Senator Richard Lugar and State Representative Dennis Tyler. Both have made contacts with our local officials to make sure that they are resolving the issue in a timely and effective manner. Being contacted by state and US officials definitely caught the attention of the local officials. Today, Representative Tyler will be with us as we meet with our local officials. I contacted another state level representative from our area. She was of no help (in fact, she did not respond to any of my correspondence).

As citizens, we felt that our representative needed to know what the people the represent are facing. I have voted for both of these men (Grandpa Burris would be proud to know that I have, indeed, voted for a Republican). I will continue to vote for both of these men. They have stepped up to look into matters effecting a normal citizen. I am not a fan of career politicians. However, I believe the both have displayed that they are interested in the matters their constituents are facing…and not simply consumed with status and party issues. These elected officials have chosen to stand in the gap and work on the behalf of the people!

Hopefully we will walk away from this meeting with the issue resolve. Hopefully no other citizens of Delaware County or the state of Indiana will have to face these same issues.