according to jeff

I was visited a few days ago by Elder Goodwin and Elder T. Elder Goodwin and Elder T. were representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (that is, the Mormons), and wanted to have an uplifting talk with me about Jesus.

“Great! Which Jesus shall we talk about?” I asked. (I figure it’s always a good idea to get them off-script as soon as possible.)

They weren’t quite sure what I meant by that, so I explained.

“My Muslim neighbor across the street talks about Jesus. However, the Jesus that he talks about was just a prophet, did not die on the cross, and was not resurrected from the dead. However, the Bible teaches that Jesus was God, Jesus did die on the cross, and Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Obviously, my Muslim neighbor is talking about a different Jesus. So, should we talk about the Muslim Jesus or the real Jesus?”

“Or maybe you’d prefer to talk about the Mormon Jesus. Do you believe that Jesus is God?”

“No, not God. But the ‘son of God’”.

“Well, what about the Bible? Do you believe the Bible, or just the Book of Mormon?”

“Oh, no, we believe the Bible, too.”

“Good, but you see, the Bible teaches that Jesus is God. For instance:”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ¹

“No, that’s talking about ‘logos’, not Jesus.”

“But the Bible doesn’t stop there:”

The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. ²

“When you read the whole passage, it’s pretty clear that John is referring to Jesus, and to Jesus as God. And there are more examples in the New Testament as well. Jesus is God. Jesus died on the cross. Jesus was resurrected from the dead.”

“So, which Jesus are we going to talk about? The Muslim Jesus, the Mormon Jesus, or the real Jesus?”

We went on to discuss other things, and before they left, they gave me permission to pray for them. I simply thanked God for their zeal, and asked God to help them know the truth. If their Mormon faith was true, then I asked God to strengthen them. However, if they were in error, I asked God to reveal that, then to give them strength of character to respond to the truth.

If the Mormon missionaries stop to talk to you about Jesus, make sure you understand which Jesus they’re talking about: the Mormon Jesus or the real one!

1. John 1:1
2. John 1:14

According to a June 23, 2006, article in the Washington Post (login required) and repeated at MSNBC:

Americans are far more socially isolated today than they were two decades ago, and a sharply growing number of people say they have no one in whom they can confide, according to a comprehensive new evaluation of the decline of social ties in the United States.

A quarter of Americans say they have no one with whom they can discuss personal troubles, more than double the number who were similarly isolated in 1985. Overall, the number of people Americans have in their closest circle of confidants has dropped from around three to about two.

“One in whom you can confide” and “one with whom you can discuss personal troubles” sounds like what I’d call a close friend. According to this study, 25% of Americans don’t have a close friend and the “average American” has only two close friends. Two close friends — that doesn’t sound like much, does it?

I hadn’t realized my wealth. I have lots of acquaintances, and as I stop to think about it, I have several close friends. In fact, according to this study, I’m above average! Friends that I could confide in and count on include:

• My wife
• My pastor
• 1 church friend
• 2 homeschooling fathers
• And more…

Beyond these, there are several from church, work and the homeschooling community that I could call on in time of need. Yes, I am rich in friends, and appreciate this reminder.

How about you? I hope you’re rich in friends, too. I’m reminded of the oft-quoted proverb: “To have a friend, be a friend.” Though that proverb isn’t found in the Bible, it represents a biblical principle:

Do to others as you would have them do to you.
— Luke 6:31 NIV

The Bible gives some other practical advice as well:

He who loves a pure heart and whose speech is gracious will have the king for his friend.
— Proverbs 22:11 NIV

In fact, the book of Proverbs is full of treasures about friendship: trust, respect, dependability. If you’ve not read it lately, perhaps now is a good time?

Pollster George Barna has released results of a study related to house church attendance in the United States. According to the study:

The new study, based on interviews with more than five thousand randomly selected adults from across the nation, found that 9% of adults attend a house church during a typical week. That is remarkable growth in the past decade, shooting up from just 1% to near double-digit involvement. In total, one out of five adults attends a house church at least once a month. (emphasis added)

I find these statistics astounding. Can it really be that involvement in house churches is growing? If so, I don’t see it here in Iowa.

For instance, using the random sample of my 8 immediate neighbors:

• Three families regularly attend church (Presbyterian, Church of Christ, Nazarene)
• One family regularly attends the Islamic mosque
• Four families rarely (if ever) attend a church
• None attend a house church

So, 50% of my neighbors attend a religious service, either Christian or otherwise. 38% attend a Christian church on a regular basis. 50% rarely if ever attend any church. 0% attend a house church. Of course, my sample is not statistically significant, but I suspect that is is fairly representative of my locale. Perhaps this growing house church movement is seen more in places other than Iowa. For instance, I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that it is growing in America in the Southeast and the West.

I am generally supportive of the concept of “house church”, though my specific response would vary based upon what is actually meant. As with any model of meeting and organization, the house church has its own challenges and advantages. My local church does, too. The real question isn’t is it OK for a church to meet in a house? (Yes, it is.) The real question is what does the Bible say church should look and be like?. And then, how can I help the church that God has planted me in be more like that?

Here it is: June 21, the longest day of the year. (OK, for you detail freaks, it’s not really the longest day. It’s really the day with the most amount of daylight, at least here in the northern hemisphere.)

Here in Iowa, we’ll peak today with about 16 hours of sunlight. The sun rises before me, the birds sing to welcome the new day, and kids play outside deep into the evening. It’s a great day!

But it’s all downhill from here, with fewer and fewer minutes of sunlight daily until we dip to about seven and a half hours of sunlight daily. With only seven and a half hours of daylight, the sun rises after I do, and sets before dinner. Then is slowly builds back toward today, the longest day of the year!

So, I experience today, June 21, as a bittersweet day. It’s great while it’s here, but it’s a reminder of the seasons and the short days to come. What about you?

I enjoy a good card game. Pepper, Hearts, Spades — all good games.

Many years ago, when fresh out of college and working at Rockwell, I’d often be invited to play in a lunchtime game of Hearts. It was often one of the highlights of the day. I still enjoy the game, though now I play against the computer most often. I don’t play on the Internet against other real people; I just play against the computer program. I name my opponents Louis, Andrew and Ralph. When playing against these computer “friends”, my first goal is to win. My second is to win with a low score. Every now and then, I end up with a perfect game.

In any game, it helps to know your opponents. Playing against the computer is no different; the Windows XP versions of Hearts has some quirks that can be exploited. For instance, the computer will never willingly play a higher heart on a heart lead. This can be used to advantage when shooting the moon. I’ve also noticed that if a computer player has both the queen and king of spades, then it will play the king rather than the queen when some one else has played the ace. The programming seems to give preference to safely getting rid of the king than dumping the queen.

Playing with real people is much more satisfying, though. My wife’s family used to always play Pepper at family get-togethers. If you haven’t played Pepper, but enjoy card games, then you should give it a try. Maybe we can expand its popularity beyond Iowa and Ohio. (Come on, Idaho, join us!)

Hm. I think I’ll pull out a deck and invite my wife and kids to play!

Fantasy baseball provides some interesting dilemmas. For instance, consider this situation from a few nights ago.

The Cardinals are playing the Reds, and have a two-run lead heading into the top of the ninth inning. Closer Jason Isringhausen comes into the game to try to nail down the win and earn a save. Isringhausen is also a member of our fantasy team, the Hot Wheelers, and earning a save would gain us one-half of a point in the standings.

And out, a hit and a walk later, there are two on with only one out. Ken Griffey Jr. is coming to the plate. Junior is also a member of the Hot Wheelers, so it was a Hot Wheeler on the mound facing a Hot Wheeler at the plate.

And thus the dilemma. As a Cardinal fan, do I root for Isringhausen to get a double play, preserve the win and earn a save? Or do I root for Griffey to hit a homerun, erasing the potential save but gaining valuable offensive statistics?

If this was all that was involved, I’d typically root for Isringhausen to earn the save. Save opportunities are more rare than at-bats, so the save is potentially more valuable in the long-term than a homerun. However, that wasn’t all that was involved.

The Reds’ Todd Coffey, also a Hot Wheeler, was warming up in the bullpen. So, a homerun by Griffey would blow Isringhausen’s save, but gain a save opportunity for Coffey.

It was all clear now: root for Griffey to either hit into a double play, or hit a homerun. Nothing in between would suffice. The worst situation would be Griffey making an out and the next batter knocking in the potential winning run. Almost as bad would be Griffey getting a hit but knocking in only one or two. Thus, I needed a double play to end the inning and preserve the save for Isringhausen, or a homerun to put the Reds on top and give Coffey a chance at earning the save.

Like many people who listen to or watch sports, I live with the delusion that my thoughts while watching actually affect the outcome of the game. In this case, it must have worked, because Griffey did indeed hit a homerun to put the Reds up by one, and Coffey came into the game to earn the save. This sequence resulted in the Hot Wheelers vaulting back into first place.