frank viola on organic church

If you want to hear a provocative take on a Trinitarian expression of church, carve out 30 minutes and click here to listen to Frank Viola bring it in his always passionate way.

simple fix for our economy

Sometimes we make things too complicated. Last Sunday the St. Petersburg Times asked readers for ideas on "How Would You Fix the Economy?" I think this guy nailed it:

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan:

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations:

1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.
2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed.
3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that! If more money is needed, have all members of Congress and their constituents actually pay their taxes.

To the writer's simple suggestions I would add a 4th requirement:

4) They MUST give $100,000 to the charity of their choice - Hearts fixed.

utopia

For most generations utopia was a concept so far beyond their reach it wasn't worth a second thought. Not today. Today we're going for it. Almost every week I sit down with someone who is looking for the perfect job, the perfect role, the perfect community, the perfect church, the perfect mission, the perfect fit. Utopia--that ideal, perfect place--seems to be well within our reach and worth looking for no matter how long it takes.

Except it isn't. Utopia is actually the Greek word for no place, and it turns out that no place seems to be where most people end up during that long look for the perfect place.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not an advocate for settling. I believe we should take time to imagine the kind of place we really want to live in and serve out of and reach for it. It's just that that place usually needs to created through lots of grit and perseverance rather than simply found.