The Auldridges

I have now seen the Lifehouse ‘Everything’ - Skit being discussed online in a couple of different places. It is a production by a group of what I believe are real and well meaning Christians, but I think it misses the mark. I refrained from posting a reply in either of the places I saw it discussed because in both places it was receiving very positive feedback and I felt my comments would be taken as divisive and obtuse, though they are certainly not meant to be either. But having watched the video a few times and read the reactions, I felt I just had to respond somewhere. Then I remembered I have my very own soapbox here at auldridges.com.

I am going to come off as an elitist and such a ‘negative-Nancy’. That is not intended. I just think we continue to miss the mark in the church today and believe we need to continually set the bar higher. So here is my own dogmatic and purposely limited response:

1) God does not have to fight for us, nor is he held helplessly at bay by the evils of the world as they work against us. Having already won the fight for His people, He actively grants and revokes capability to the evils of the world to act against us all the while maintaining sovereignty over the entire situation.

2) The real power that unites us to God is missing in this portrayal. It is the life and death of Jesus Christ, and faith alone in His deity and redeeming work which unites us to God. While that may be implied given the context of this production, its further display throughout the world removes that context and creates, what looks to me like, a fairly nonexclusive and unitarian feeling message. Christ’s message–The Gospel–is exclusive in its means and modes and I believe it is important to portray that.

3) The modern evangelical church, especially in America, resorts to emotional manipulation rather than solid theology and doctrine through the exposition of the Word. Proper teaching and discipling should reveal the Word and character of God, which itself will then fuel emotion. Christ told us to go into the world and make disciples. Emotional manipulation may create “converts” but will fail in creating disciples.

So there you go. My take on it. As I said, I do not believe I am ‘more Christian’ than those who put that production together, and I really believe it was put together with the most honest and pure of intentions. I really believe, however, that we have to be very particular in our accurate representation of God and His work for us.

Thanks for reading.

--Jim

When we first started our adoption process, we were told to expect an 18-24 month wait before completion. In the scheme of international adoptions, this was one of the longer programs. As of this month (Apr 07) it has now been 24 months and we have no referral and no end in sight.

Each time we call or email for an update, we are told the same thing. Somebody has been meeting with someone and is having productive results so there should be some good news soon. Last we heard (on Apr 4th) was that the people from our agency who are in Panama have been meeting with the Ministry of Social Development and the First Lady of the Republic about issues such as delayed responses from the administrative and legal parties involved in the process. We were told, once again, that the meetings were frutiful and something should be moving soon. But like I said, we keep getting the same talk and no walk.

Until very recently, I was very relaxed about the whole thing. I was still within the original expected time line and am not generally a worrier. But now that we are at the end of the original projection and have no real solid info and nothing in sight, I am getting irritated. And it seems that all around me, living close by, are little baby girls in families we know who I get to spend some time with and just adore, melting my heart that much more. Our neighbor has their beautiful girl home from China now, the girl Shari mentors has a baby girl, our really good friends have a little girl in foster care, and there are lots of little girls in the church nursery where we serve every few weeks. While I love my own boys more deeply than any of them, they just remind me of that part of our family that is still missing.

On top of that, there is a lot of money tied up in this now. We have already put thousands of dollars (and 2 years of effort) into this process so we can’t just turn away from it and start somewhere else. Mean while, we have thousands more dollars sitting in a savings account, with hundreds a month going into that account. This money is just sitting, waiting for us to get some sort of word. All these finances are tied up, unusable. And I have all sorts of projects that could (should) be done around this house right now. It would sure be nice to get this done and free up those resources.

Don’t get me wrong–I know it is all in God’s timing. I know He is sovereign and will make things happen when they should (or stop them if they shouldn’t). I know that all things work together for the good of those who believe, and ultimately for the glory of God. But in my humanity I am getting frustrated with a process that is not working the way it should and the emotions and resources it consumes.

--Jim

…a very merry Christmas. I didn’t post a Merry Christmas message yesterday because I wasn’t on the computer much. We had a great time as a family, first at our house in the morning with just Shari and the boys and me, then at my parents with them and my own gang along with all of my siblings and their spouses, my grandfather, and niece and nephew. The whole gang was there. And Emily, my sister, announced she was pregnant with her first! A new member of the family was living and celebrating with us!

Our boys had a great time opening all the presents their spoiled little butts received and enjoying the attention of family and playing with cousins. We had a blessed time, indeed.

Throughout the day, though, one thought kept coming to me. I kept zeroing in on the fact that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ. Though I have always thought of that on Christmas and throughout the rest of the year, I kept thinking about how Jesus’ birth brought to an end the need for Earthly covenantal representatives. Jesus being born brought to an end thousands of years of particular men representing us in God’s covenants. Jesus was replacing Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David. He was also replacing all of the prophets who had come before. He was doing more than replacing them–he was fulfilling them. In His birth a monumental step forward in the redemptive plan of God for man was completed. Our final representative–the one that wouldn’t fail–the one who holds our only hope–was sent to us. He lived around 30 years teaching this, but more importantly representing, with his perfect life, those who will call on Him. Before releasing His spirit to death, He earned what no covenant representative could have ever earned for us–true righteousness which we can take onto ourselves by placing a living faith in Him. In celebrating Christmas we are celebrating the final prophet and representative in the redemptive plan for man, Jesus Christ. I found this truly powerful.

I hope you all share what I felt in thinking about that. And I hope you each had a blessed and merry Christmas. Our family prays that the rest of your celebrations and the new year will be joyful as well.

--Jim

You can now chat with me from this site!

If you’ll look to the right of the main page, at the top of the sidebar, you’ll notice a new icon/link with the funny little word ‘Meebo’. I discovered Meebo a few months ago and have been using it quite a bit lately. It is a very handy web-based multi-platform IM client. And the really cool thing is that they have developed ‘widgets’ which you can drop into a web page and people can use it to IM with you when you are logged into Meebo. Well, that’s what the link to the right points to–one of my Meebo Widgets. So give it a click if you want to say hey to me. I am generally signed on to Meebo at work Mon-Fri somewhere between 7:00am and 4:00pm. However, I may replace my multi-platform IM client that I use at home (Trillian) with Meebo as well, so I may be available through this even more soon.

--Jim

Over the last two weekends, I have seen some people that I don’t often get to see. Two weekends ago we traveled down to Bristol, VA to see Jeph and Heidi–Shari’s brother and his wife–and their little boy Grant. They have done me the favor of documenting the details of the weekend ;), so I will simply add our sentiment. We really had a good time and it is always nice to see them. The drive to and fro was long, but not unbearable and the boys did great. Caleb did some napping and the portable DVD player came in quite handy. Grant is getting bigger and he and our boys enjoyed seeing each other and playing. They are very loving with each other, though Caleb showed his 3 year old colors a few times. We made some good memories rolling tomalles, playing in the park, studying the Word of God, and just being together. The sad part was the reminder of how far away we are from them and Shari’s other sibling, Jennifer and her husband Ron and little girl Cierra. Saying goodbye to come home was, as usual, no fun. I think Gabe was especially sad. Anyway, thanks to Jeph and Heidi for putting us up, and putting up with us, for the 4 day wekeend.

This past weekend I saw some people that I see even less often than our far flung family members. Shari and I attended my 10th high school reunion. I wasn’t sure if I was really looking forward to this or not, but I must say I had a very good time. My parents watched out 3 boys overnight (which is a large undertaking) and Shari was very loving and gracious to sit in the smoke filled club in which we all met for around 6 hours and not complain about the boredom or tiredness from which she was suffering. This freedom really allowed me to sit back, relax, and enjoy the time reminiscing. Seeing some of those people again and reliving some memories that I had almost completely lost was really quite enjoyable. I had a lot of good laughs and there were even some elementary school and sixth grade pictures going around that really dredged up some old forgotten times. The funny thing is that I forgot just how bad I really was in school and it gave me some needed perspective in case I ever have to deal with one of my boys acting similarly in school (though, from the latest parent teacher conferences, it doesn’t seem like I need to worry about it).

One thing that really hit me at this reunion was how little time I have in my life that I dedicate to cultivating friendships. Other than work, family, and attending church I don’t do a whole lot. I have no regular contact with people who I have considered as friends. I have seen in the last year or so that this is detrimental to me. There have even been studies about this recently saying that most of our society is like this now and how unhealthy it is. So I have set about moving forward in healing some relationships and developing that network of friendship that a person needs to have in their lives.

Here’s to catching up with people, learning life’s lessons, and moving forward!

--Jim

Jeph and Heidi have written a very nice blog posting about God’s adoption and make some parallels to our current process of adopting a little girl from Panama. Go read it!

And as long as we’re on the subject, I’ll go ahead and write an update on our process. Shari got an email from the agency a few weeks ago and sent it to many of you. For those who didn’t see it, I’ll go ahead and quote it so you know where we are in the process:

Dear Shari,

Your dossier was sent to Panama on January 6, 2006 and was delivered to the DNA about two weeks later. You will be asked to carry your dossier to Panama when you travel, until then please keep it in a safe place so you can find it intact when your time comes.

At this time you are waiting for a referral. As far as Faith families go there is only one family ahead of you in line for referral. I wish I could give you a timeframe when you could expect a referral but with Panama we never really know when a child appropriate for your family will become available. Our history tells us most families receive a referral approx 10-12 months after their dossier arrives in Panama. Please remember this is an average and each situation is different.

The process in Panama follows typically unfolds in this way - When a child has been identified for your family Panama will send Faith a photo or two of a child with modest information about the child. We will ask you to look at the photos to see if you think this child will be an appropriate match for your family. Due to the wide variety of ethnic groups in Panama the government wants to be certain you agree to the general appearance of a child. If you say yes you agree to the child the termination of parental rights will be accomplished and a temporary custody hearing will be scheduled. The termination of parental rights can take a number of months depending on the court the child’s file is assigned to. The temporary custody hearing will follow the termination of parental rights process. Approx two - three weeks after the temporary custody hearing you will travel to Panama to receive your child. In most cases families travel approx 6 months after receiving a photo of a specific child. This time frame will vary depending on the court and the specific circumstances regarding this child’s case.

The Panamanian Courts have the right to issue your family a completed adoption or a temporary custody order. In most cases Panama issues a temporary custody order. In this case the courts have the right to request your family return to Panama a few months after you receive your child to finalize the adoption in the Panamanian courts. They often want to observe how your child has bonded to your family and to see with their own eyes that the child is doing well. This second trip is only a short court meeting and you would be in Panama for approx 2-3 days. Not all courts are exercising this right but some families have been asked to return to Panama so I want you to be prepared for this possibility.

I hope this information helps you prepare for referral and the process in Panama.

Warm regards, Jill

--Jim

In a lecture at the Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg, Germany, Pope Benedict XVI quoted Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus from a conversation in the 1300’s as saying,

Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.

I am no Roman Catholic, nor do I hold the Pope or the Roman Catholic Church to be infallible or the final say on any matter, necessarily. But I have to admire the willingness to stand up and boldly, without hatred or malice, speak his belief in such a time as our world is currently in. It is not acceptable, in most of our world’s social climate, to speak directly against a particular religion or its figure heads. It is especially unacceptable to target Islam. On one hand you have the far right conservative Muslims who want to cut your head off for speaking so, on the other you have a society who thinks that to publicly disagree with another’s belief is an act of bigotry or ‘close mindedness’.

So let me be clear: I do not hate Muslims. I am a terrible sinner, deserving the wrath of my God. I try to maintain the perspective that I am the ‘least of these’ in relation to the other people in the world–my ‘neighbors’. But I applaud the Pope for standing by his convictions, for teaching those convictions to his church, for doing so without inciting hatred or ill will towards the people of Islam, and for the glaring truth in the statement I quoted above.

--Jim

I cannot, and we must not, ever forget the chill that ran through our cores and into our hearts on this day.

--Jim

So, apparently when your 3 year old son pours gerbil food down the drain of the bathroom sink, you won’t have any problems–at first. Yes, it seems to just go right down the drain, so you don’t worry too much.

But then, over a few days, flow through the drain slows to a halt. Hmmm, you say, I suppose that stuff has caused a problem. I’ll just open up the P-trap and clean it out.

So you do. Everything from the sink basin to the wall is all clean. You even pulled a ‘AA’ battery out of the P-trap. Job well done. So you reassemble and let the water run.

What’s this? Still clogged!!?? Oh my.

So off you go to Home Depot. Being the think-ahead type you buy a sink plunger, a ‘Zip-It’, and a drain cleaning bladder. You come home and plunge and plunge and plunge. But nothing moves.

So you disassemble the drain again and look into the wall pipe with a flash light. My but there’s some odd fibery stuff in there. So you grab the Zip-It and go at it!

Up comes mud and roots attached to little kernels of grain! Woo-hoo, harvest came early this year! That’s right, keep running that Zip-It in and out of the pipe–get it all out!

Now you re-assemble the pipe and test it again. All better! That drain runs smoothly and you got some grain and a battery out of it! Thanks 3 year old son.

Yes, this is a true story about how I spent my evening today. At least I can return the drain cleaning bladder since I didn’t need it.

--Jim

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in book 5 chapter 5 of The Lord of the Rings:

Master Warden: “…the world is full enough of hurts and mischances without wars to multiply them.”
Lady Eowyn: “It needs but one foe to breed a war, not two, Master Warden. And those who have not swords can still die upon them. Would you have the folk of Gondor gather you herbs only, when the Dark Lord gathers armies? And it is not always good to be healed in body. Nor is it always evil to die in battle, even in bitter pain. Were I permitted, in this dark hour I would choose the latter.”

If only society of today had the courage, valiance, and self sacrifical attitude marked by this passage. Though not gone, much quieter would be the calls for peace at any cost. We must understand that to avoid war by all means requires ignoring the plights of the opressed and exterminated peoples of the world. How confused is the indivudal who wrote the cynical bumper sticker, “When Jesus said, ‘love your enemies’, I don’t think he meant Kill them.” Is it not obvious that “loving” an enemy by avoiding war with him could very well be hating those which he destroys?

Of course we hate war, and it is not always just. We should never seek war for our own personal gain. We should never seek to conquer others as an end unto itself. But we must use the resources and strength given us by God to protect those without the means to protect themselves. This is something that President Bush understands. Though I have not backed every move made by him, I believe he understands that peace does not come by turning a blind eye, or burrying your head in the sand. President Bush understands what God has told us Himself in Ecclesiastes 3:

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: …a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; …a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

--Jim