Scott Jenkins

Now is our moment! Now is our time! We are the people we have been waiting for! Yes We Can!

It amazes me how much these phrases scare so many people these days, especially church leaders. We are told that these thoughts are arrogant, impossible, and filled with false hopes. If believing our world can be changed for the better is false hope and impossible then what are we doing and why are we taking up space on this planet and worse yet why are so many church leaders the main catalyst for these attacks?

These questions have really been rolling around in my head as I look at America’s choice for its next president. Why is the so called Christian mainstream so sure Barack Obama is this horrible person? What has he done that is so hideous? He has united races, classes, and people that have never participated before in their government and has given them a reason to believe again. What is so wrong with that?

The first thing I consider when trying to answer this question is it must be that he is of the belief that outlawing abortion is not the best way to stop abortion. For as I am learning in America, to be a good Christian means all you need to do is overturn Roe v. Wade and all the problems in the world will go away. While I feel that is false hope and really not a smart thought I will for the basis of my question consider it. After considering it and being an American that believes in the Constitution I realize that this makes no real sense. Even if Roe v. Wade is overturned abortion will still be legal in many states so the idea that this will outlaw all abortion is silly. In order to do that you need an amendment to the Constitution outlawing abortion and the irony about casting a presidential vote for this is that the president is the weakest office holder for this kind of law as it takes either state conventions, Congress, or State Legislatures to pass an amendment. So in reality in order to outlaw abortion a vote in your local state legislative race carries more weight than a vote in a presidential race. Wonder if the Christian Right has ever pondered this truth?

So as we see from above no real intelligent person would cast their vote for president on the abortion issue. Therefore it must be something else. Let’s take a look at the idea of bringing peace to the world for it was Jesus that said blessed be the peacemakers. Barack Obama unlike his opponent believes that ending wars and searching for reconciliation with our enemies is the right thing to do. In other words he feels that the best way to bring stability to the world is through relationships not through dropping bombs. I’m not always the smartest guy in the room but when you weigh this idea that Obama wants to find a way to end the war and McCain wants to continue it for the next 100 years it is pretty clear who is the peacemaker.

So if it is not an overstated single issue and it is not about getting us out of a mistake that is the Iraq war then it surely must be something else, right? I mean our church leaders are always right, right? Let’s take a look at things back home. The Christian Right supports a political party that has allowed gas prices to rise to their highest levels in years while their donors, the big oil companies, keep having record profits. They support a candidate that in one of the biggest financial crises in our country’s history answers questions about it that he does not know much about the economy. They support a political party and candidate that believes that an executive making hundreds of thousands of dollars a year deserves to pay less taxes then a single mom of three working two jobs at minimum wage. So much for the belief that to whom much is given much more is expected.

Then one of my favorites, the Christian Right supports a candidate that does not believe that everyone should have access to quality and affordable health care. I guess it is ok to them if children get sick from treatable diseases, families go bankrupt if someone gets sick, and that there are elderly persons who have to choose between food and their medicine. How in the most wealthiest nation in the world can we allow things like this to go on? I for one don’t understand it which is why I agree with Barack Obama that we need to fix it in the next four years and I am ready to join with him to help make it so.

Anyway I could go on and on but I think you get my point. Why does the Christian Right and a lot of church leaders fear this man so much and feel that John McCain is so much better? It boggles my mind.

But wait you say, what about the fact that he is a Muslim (LIE), or that he does not salute the flag (LIE), or that he did not take the oath as a U.S. Senator on the Bible (LIE). All LIES. Let me repeat that, all of these statements are LIES being submitted to play to our fears and to scare people. I believe that people are smarter than this and that these fear tactics that the Republicans always play will backfire this time.

However as unbelievable as all the above facts are the one that surprises me the most is that the Christian Right and the leaders of so many churches are against Barack Obama because they believe he is peddling false hope. They say that these ideas of a better nation and world are just a dream, that they are impossible. Well “my friends” that is the biggest lie of all being said against Barack Obama and the movement he is leading. God says that all things are possible and that if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways that He will heal our lands. We do have a long way to go but at least we have someone running for president that believes that we can all get there and I will follow and fight for that any day over the side that says what we have is the best we can do. Yes we can change this world and I want to support someone that believes this fact too!

So as I am sure you can tell I support Barack Obama for president. John McCain is a great man and a hero and he deserves our respect and gratitude. It is just that he in my opinion is not the best choice to be our next president. However with that said my biggest frustration are Christians whose only reason for voting for John McCain are the lies and fears being spread that I have addressed above about Barack Obama. Barack Obama is a Christian and a man of high moral character that is uniting a coalition of all people to bring change to this country and this world and he is without a doubt the right person for this job at this time.

Over the next few months leading up to this election I plan on supporting Barack Obama in this endeavor and I hope you will join with me in this journey. I also am planning on writing more blogs about my thoughts concerning this election. I hope as you read you will consider what I am saying and will offer your own thoughts as well. Only by sharing our ideas and working together for the good of all will be able to move forward to the goal that we all want which is a world as God intended.

John F. Kennedy has always been one of my heroes. So I wanted to share a piece written in the New York Times by his daughter, Caroline Kennedy.

A President Like My Father
By CAROLINE KENNEDY
OVER the years, I’ve been deeply moved by the people who’ve told me they wished they could feel inspired and hopeful about America the way people did when my father was president. This sense is even more profound today. That is why I am supporting a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries, Barack Obama.

My reasons are patriotic, political and personal, and the three are intertwined. All my life, people have told me that my father changed their lives, that they got involved in public service or politics because he asked them to. And the generation he inspired has passed that spirit on to its children. I meet young people who were born long after John F. Kennedy was president, yet who ask me how to live out his ideals.

Sometimes it takes a while to recognize that someone has a special ability to get us to believe in ourselves, to tie that belief to our highest ideals and imagine that together we can do great things. In those rare moments, when such a person comes along, we need to put aside our plans and reach for what we know is possible.

We have that kind of opportunity with Senator Obama. It isn’t that the other candidates are not experienced or knowledgeable. But this year, that may not be enough. We need a change in the leadership of this country — just as we did in 1960.

Most of us would prefer to base our voting decision on policy differences. However, the candidates’ goals are similar. They have all laid out detailed plans on everything from strengthening our middle class to investing in early childhood education. So qualities of leadership, character and judgment play a larger role than usual.

Senator Obama has demonstrated these qualities throughout his more than two decades of public service, not just in the United States Senate but in Illinois, where he helped turn around struggling communities, taught constitutional law and was an elected state official for eight years. And Senator Obama is showing the same qualities today. He has built a movement that is changing the face of politics in this country, and he has demonstrated a special gift for inspiring young people — known for a willingness to volunteer, but an aversion to politics — to become engaged in the political process.

I have spent the past five years working in the New York City public schools and have three teenage children of my own. There is a generation coming of age that is hopeful, hard-working, innovative and imaginative. But too many of them are also hopeless, defeated and disengaged. As parents, we have a responsibility to help our children to believe in themselves and in their power to shape their future. Senator Obama is inspiring my children, my parents’ grandchildren, with that sense of possibility.

Senator Obama is running a dignified and honest campaign. He has spoken eloquently about the role of faith in his life, and opened a window into his character in two compelling books. And when it comes to judgment, Barack Obama made the right call on the most important issue of our time by opposing the war in Iraq from the beginning.

I want a president who understands that his responsibility is to articulate a vision and encourage others to achieve it; who holds himself, and those around him, to the highest ethical standards; who appeals to the hopes of those who still believe in the American Dream, and those around the world who still believe in the American ideal; and who can lift our spirits, and make us believe again that our country needs every one of us to get involved.

I have never had a president who inspired me the way people tell me that my father inspired them. But for the first time, I believe I have found the man who could be that president — not just for me, but for a new generation of Americans.

“I’m asking you to believe. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington… I’m asking you to believe in yours.” - Barack Obama

For to long we have allowed the cynics and the doubters to tell us what can be done in this country and in this world and it has left us with the mess we have. That all changes tonight in Iowa. Tonight led by Barack Obama we will begin to take our country back and begin the transformation in the United States that will lead to not only a better country here but a better world as well.

There is a power in the belief of hope and tonight thousands of Iowans of all ages, races, and backgrounds will brave the cold and stand up and show all of us that the power of a dream and the power of hope can change the world.

I am excited to say that I support Barack Obama for president and am looking forward to a new era of change and hope that begins tonight in Iowa!

While I feel the Democratic Party has many good candidates running for President let me say without a doubt that the one I support for President is Barack Obama. I have enclosed here Barack Obama’s speech from this past weekend in Iowa as I feel it shows why he should be our next President. Enjoy the speech and I hope you will join with me and thousands of others in supporting Barack Obama for President.

Barack Obama’s Address to the Jefferson Jackson Dinner 2007
Veterans Memorial Auditorium
Des Moines, Iowa
November 10, 2007

Thank you so much. To the great Governor of Iowa and Lieutenant Governor of Iowa. To my dear friend Tom Harkin for the outstanding work that he does. To the congressional delegation of Iowa that is doing outstanding work, and to Nancy Pelosi, Madam Speaker — thank you all for the wonderful welcome and the wonderful hospitality.

A little less than one year from today, you will go into the voting booth, and you will select the President of the United States of America.

Now, here’s the good news — the name George W. Bush will not be on the ballot. The name of my cousin Dick Cheney will not be on the ballot. (We’ve been trying to hide that for a long time. Everybody has a black sheep in the family.) The era of Scooter Libby justice, and Brownie incompetence, and Karl Rove politics will finally be over.

But the question you’re going to have to ask yourself when you caucus in January and you vote in November is, “What’s next for America?”

We are in a defining moment in our history. Our nation is at war. The planet is in peril. The dream that so many generations fought for feels as if it’s slowly slipping away. We are working harder for less. We’ve never paid more for health care or for college. It’s harder to save, and it’s harder to retire. And most of all, we’ve lost faith that our leaders can or will do anything about it.

We were promised compassionate conservatism, and all we got was Katrina and wiretaps. We were promised a uniter, and we got a President who could not even lead the half of the country that voted for him. We were promised a more ethical and more efficient government, and instead we have a town called Washington that is more corrupt and more wasteful than it was before. And the only mission that was ever accomplished is to use fear and falsehood to take this country to a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged.

It is because of these failures that America is listening, intently, to what we say here today — not just Democrats, but Republicans and Independents who’ve lost trust in their government but want to believe again.

And it is because of these failures that we not only have a moment of great challenge, but also a moment of great opportunity. We have a chance to bring the country together in a new majority — to finally tackle problems that George Bush made far worse but that had festered long before George Bush ever took office — problems that we’ve talked about year after year after year after year.

And that is why the same old Washington textbook campaigns just won’t do in this election. That’s why not answering questions because we are afraid our answers won’t be popular just won’t do. That’s why telling the American people what we think they want to hear instead of telling the American people what they need to hear just won’t do. Triangulating and poll-driven positions because we’re worried about what Mitt or Rudy might say about us just won’t do. If we are really serious about winning this election, Democrats, we can’t live in fear of losing it.

This party — the party of Jefferson and Jackson, of Roosevelt and Kennedy — has always made the biggest difference in the lives of the American people when we led, not by polls, but by principle; not by calculation, but by conviction; when we summoned the entire nation to a common purpose — a higher purpose. And I run for the Presidency of the United States of America because that’s the party America needs us to be right now.

A party that offers not just a difference in policies, but a difference in leadership.

A party that doesn’t just focus on how to win but why we should.

A party that doesn’t just offer change as a slogan, but real, meaningful change — change that America can believe in.

That’s why I’m in this race. That’s why I am running for the Presidency of the United States of America — to offer change that we can believe in.

I am in this race to tell the corporate lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda in Washington are over. I have done more than any other candidate in this race to take on lobbyists — and won. They have not funded my campaign; they will not get a job in my White House; and they will not drown out the voices of the American people when I am President.

I’m in this race to take those tax breaks away from companies that are moving jobs overseas and put them in the pockets of hard working Americans who deserve it. And I won’t raise the minimum wage every ten years — I will raise it to keep pace so that workers don’t fall behind.

That is why I am in it. To protect the American worker. To fight for the American worker.

I’m in this race because I want to stop talking about the outrage of 47 million Americans without health care and start actually doing something about it. I expanded health care in Illinois by bringing Democrats and Republicans together. By taking on the insurance industry. And that is how I will make certain that every single American in this country has health care they can count on. And I won’t do it twenty years from now. I won’t do it ten years from now. I will do it by the end of my first term as President of the United States of America.

I run for President to make sure that every American child has the best education that we have to offer — from the day they are born to the day they graduate from college. And I won’t just talk about how great teachers are — as President, I will reward them for their greatness — by raising salaries and giving them more support. That’s why I’m in this race.

I am running for President because I am sick and tired of Democrats thinking that the only way to look tough on national security is by talking, and acting, and voting like George Bush Republicans.

When I am this party’s nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don’t like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is OK for America to torture — because it is never ok. That’s why I am in it.

As President, I will end the war in Iraq. We will have our troops home in sixteen months. I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century — nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, “You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”

America, our moment is now.

Our moment is now.

I don’t want to spend the next year or the next four years re-fighting the same fights that we had in the 1990s.

I don’t want to pit Red America against Blue America; I want to be the President of the United States of America.

And if those Republicans come at me with the same fear-mongering and swift-boating that they usually do, then I will take them head on. Because I believe the American people are tired of fear and tired of distractions and tired of diversions. We can make this election not about fear, but about the future. And that won’t just be a Democratic victory; that will be an American victory.

And that is a victory America needs right now.

I am not in this race to fulfill some long-held ambitions or because I believe it’s somehow owed to me. I never expected to be here. I always knew this journey was improbable. I’ve never been on a journey that wasn’t.

I am running in this race because of what Dr. King called “the fierce urgency of now.” Because I believe that there’s such a thing as being too late. And that hour is almost upon us.

I don’t want to wake up four years from now and find out that millions of Americans still lack health care because we couldn’t take on the insurance industry.

I don’t want to see that the oceans have risen a few more inches. The planet has reached a point of no return because we couldn’t find a way to stop buying oil from dictators.

I don’t want to see more American lives put at risk because no one had the judgment or the courage to stand up against a misguided war before we sent our troops into fight.

I don’t want to see homeless veterans on the streets. I don’t want to send another generation of American children to failing schools. I don’t want that future for my daughters. I don’t want that future for your sons. I do not want that future for America.

I’m in this race for the same reason that I fought for jobs for the jobless and hope for the hopeless on the streets of Chicago; for the same reason I fought for justice and equality as a civil rights lawyer; for the same reason that I fought for Illinois families for over a decade.

Because I will never forget that the only reason that I’m standing here today is because somebody, somewhere stood up for me when it was risky. Stood up when it was hard. Stood up when it wasn’t popular. And because that somebody stood up, a few more stood up. And then a few thousand stood up. And then a few million stood up. And standing up, with courage and clear purpose, they somehow managed to change the world.

That’s why I’m running, Iowa — to give our children and grandchildren the same chances somebody gave me.

That’s why I’m running, Democrats — to keep the American Dream alive for those who still hunger for opportunity, who still thirst for equality.

That’s why I’m asking you to stand with me; that’s why I’m asking you to caucus for me; that’s why I am asking you to stop settling for what the cynics say we have to accept. In this election — in this moment — let us reach for what we know is possible. A nation healed. A world repaired. An America that believes again. Thank you very much everybody.

I went to see “The Kingdom” with some friends tonight and I highly recommend it. It was a great movie and really got me thinking. There were some really good lines and the last 1/2 hour is some of the most intense scenes I have seen in awhile. I won’t share anymore here as I don’t want to ruin the movie for you but if you do end up seeing it please let me know because I would love to talk about it some more.

Back in 2000 George W. Bush declared that he was a compassionate conservative and that he would make a good president. It is amazing to even me, someone that did not support him, how wrong he has actually been. I have spent many years in politics and I know that leadership is making decisions and sometimes these decisions upset some people and I might not agree with all of them all of the time. I can accept that as I know that while I wish I did that I don’t have all the answers. However what the president did this week is just plain wrong.

This week with the stroke of his pen the president wiped out health insurance for millions of our nations children. He is trying to justify it by saying that the program is to expensive and that it is the beginning of socialized medicine. Mr. President with all due respect no program that can save children’s lives could ever be to expensive and yes in the richest and most affluent country in the world everyone not just your rich friends should have health insurance. Not only is it morally and ethically the correct thing to do but it also is the more practical and economic thing to do as well. Healthy children will have a better shot in school and also have a better chance of growing up to be healthier adults. To jeopardize that is just plain wrong.

Lets hope that over the next few days the U.S. House of Representatives can find the 15 or so votes they will need to override this veto and save these children from this horrible situation.

All people deserve the right to have affordable, quality health care and I am so glad that there are people running to be our next president like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards that will see to it that this happens.

I am a huge soccer fan and this morning was rough to watch the U.S. Women’s Soccer team lose its semifinal match to Brazil. The U.S. had a 51 game unbeaten streak coming in and was ranked #1 in the world. Granted when you lose 4-0 and the other team controls the ball for 67% of the time and takes 18 shots and you have to play the whole second half a person down due to an ejection there are many reasons for the loss. With all that said I blame our coach Greg Ryan for benching our starting goalie, Hope Solo, for this game. You don’t take out one of the players that got you there.

His argument was that Briana Scurry had more experience and was 12-0 alltime against Brazil. Those facts are true and yes Briana was one of the heroes of the 1999 World Cup but this was a bad decision. For one thing she had not played this whole World Cup yet and to take Hope out who had shutout every opponent since the opening game just messes up the flow of the team. Plus one reason Briana was 12-0 coming in against Brazil is that for a lot of those games she had the likes of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy, and Brandi Chastain which are all retired so that stat is a little misleading.

I’m not saying that the U.S. would have won with Hope in the goal but she is one of the stars of this team and part of the future of U.S. Soccer and she had earned the right to be in there.

So the final will be Brazil vs. Germany and the U.S. will have to wait till the 2008 Olympics to regain its rightful place as the #1 ranked women’s soccer team in the world. I just hope in the Olympics that they play with Hope.

After spending an awesome evening on Friday night hanging out and sharing an awesome dinner with some really good friends I took off for Richmond on Saturday morning to visit my friends Dan and Alicia.

It was a great weekend and a great time to catch up with Dan and Alicia. They have a great house in the Church Hill section of Richmond and the community has changed so much since I have been there last. Houses all around are being refurbished and it is neat to see this community come back to life. On Saturday afternoon I got to go with Dan to a meeting of people that are coming up with some awesome and innovative ways to connect their communities and all of Richmond. It was really cool to see a real grass roots effort that has so much energy and potential. I’m excited for Dan and this group and I’m sure that when they are done with their project Richmond will be a better place for it.

After the meeting Dan, Alicia, and I went to a coffee shop not far from where they live and then we got some of the best pizza I have ever had. Upon eating our pizza and having some beer and wine we hung out at their house and caught up on each others lives and watched some college football. I have always enjoyed just hanging out with Dan and Alicia and I really miss being able to do this more so this time was special.

On Sunday morning we got up and went to the church they are apart of called The Well. It meets in their pastor’s home on the west end of town and it is an awesome and inspiring group of people and you can tell just by being around this group that God is doing some awesome things through them and I am exicited to see how this church will continue to impact the community around them. After some worship and prayer time Dan led the group in a discussion on how they can be apart of God’s work in building the Kingdom of God in Richmond to make the city a better place. It was so awesome to see all the amazing things that are being done in Richmond to achieve this goal and it was really neat to get to meet some of the people that are spending their time to see this vision realized. I also got a chance to speak some about FaithWorks Project and really enjoyed this time of worship and community.

After the church service everyone went to this french restaurant where some of their friends were playing jazz music. It was a really good time and gave me a chance to meet some new people. I enjoyed The Well a lot and look forward to being with these people again the next time I come to town.

Dan, Alicia, and I went back to their house and hung out and watched some football. The Ravens won which was good and my fantasy team is winning though tonight will be the decider. I should have let Alicia draft for me as her team (Man Eaters) are really rolling and dominating her league.

I had a really great time this weekend in Richmond with my friends and I appreciate their having me down for what was a really fun time.

“Exceptional student and athlete”, “Fun-loving”, “Full of Spirit”, “Caring”, “Friend”, “Christian”

These are just some of the things I heard said about my friend Alicia’s brother Jarrett when we were in Virginia this weekend celebrating his life and grieving his sudden death.

Jarrett Lane was a son to Tracey, brother to Alicia and Fawn, brother-in-law to Dan and Roger, grandson to Nancy, uncle to Landon, Kennedy, and Kaydance, and a friend to all that met him. Last Monday Jarrett was one of the victims of the senseless tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech and the world will never be the same without him.

I was fortunate that I got to get a chance to know who Jarrett was. His sister, Alicia, and her husband, Dan, are two of my best friends and two of the most important people in leading me to Christ and to all the wonderful blessings and friends God has given me through Horizon Church. So many times while hanging out Alicia would talk about what her brother was up to whether it was at school, playing sports, working, traveling to Georgia to visit his grandfather, watching Virginia Tech sports, or anything else Jarrett was doing at the time. These conversations were always so much fun and awesome to have because I remember how happy Alicia always was when she was talking about him. She always had a smile when she told us what Jarrett was doing. There is no doubt that she was so proud of her little brother and when you look at who Jarrett was you can easily see why.

I also got a chance to meet Jarrett one time when he came to Baltimore to visit Dan and Alicia. I remember us just hanging out at their apartment in Owings Mills having a great time. I remember us just laughing and having fun as we told stories and just shared our lives with each other. Jarrett was fun and a friend to anyone he met and I feel blessed to say that I got that opportunity.

This past weekend as some friends and I traveled to Narrows, VA we got to learn more about who Jarrett was and what he meant to all the people he came into contact with. We got to see and hear first hand what he meant to his hometown of Narrows. He was more than the valedictorian, athlete, youth leader, he was one of their stars and Narrows or any other town could not have asked for a better ambassador. It is amazing to hear how thousands showed up for his viewing and to see how a town grieved together at his funeral. He truly was the best this generation or any generation has to offer and he will surely be missed.

My friends and I also were given the honor of being a part of his funeral and it was something I will never forget. One thing I took away from this service was Jarrett’s faith and his love of Jesus. It was said there and at other times how when asked what he would want to be remembered for Jarrett would always answer as a Christian. When you look at Jarrett’s life there is no doubt that he was.

As I have reflected on this past week and on all that has happened I can’t stop thinking about Paul’s words in 2 Timothy when he says “For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” I see Jesus with Jarrett telling him that Yes, you have fought the good fight, that you have finished the race, and have kept the faith and I see the smile on Jarrett’s face as he embraces his Lord and Savior.

Jarrett’s death came to soon for all of us, especially for those he loved and for those that loved him. He truly will be missed but he will never be gone from our hearts.

So as I conclude this let me just say to my friends Alicia and Dan how much I love both of you and that I am praying for you and your family through this time. Thank you for letting me know and experience who Jarrett was and will always remember Jarrett as an awesome guy and as he would have wanted as a Christian.

* Two funds in honor of Jarrett have been established. I encourage you, if you feel led to, to please send contributions to either the Jarrett Lane Memorial Fund, or the Jarrett Lane Scholarship Fund, in care of Celco Federal Credit Union, P.O. Box 361, Narrows, Virginia 24124.

* Also I ask that you please keep Jarrett’s family as well as all the families of this tragedy in your thoughts and prayers.

On January 20, 1961 John F. Kennedy spoke these words: “To those peoples in the huts and villages of half the globe struggling to break the bonds of mass misery, we pledge our best efforts to help them help themselves, for whatever period is required. If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.”

Now 46 years later these words still ring true. In to many places across the world and on our own shores people are suffering in extreme poverty. To many people go to bed hungry, to many people die of diseases that can be cured, and to many people are killed in acts of brutal violence because no one will act to help them. The time for change has come and the stakes have never been higher.

Like that time years ago, the torch has been passed but this time it has been passed to all people that still believe that we can do better and that we can change the world. The torch has been passed to a group of people that still believe that in God all things are possible. The torch has been passed to those that still believe peace in the world can exist, that we can conquer poverty, and that diseases like AIDS that are destroying millions of lives can be cured. The torch has been passed to those that still hold onto the founding principles of this nation that we are all created equal and endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This group echoes the famous words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and know that they have a rendevous with destiny.

Groups and leaders like Rick Warren, One.org, Kiva, Hope International, and so many others have taken the torch and have begun the fight and it is not only our privilege but it is our responsibility to join them. For it is by all of us working together and following our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ that we are confident we can change the world. It is with this energy, faith, and excitement that I want to introduce to you FaithWorks Project.

FaithWorks Project seeks to glorify God by being the connection between compassionate donors, forward thinking microfinance institutions, and innovative community development initiatives. FaithWorks Project’s mission is to fight poverty by empowering emerging entrepreneurs globally and strengthening community development locally.

Over the next few weeks as we share FaithWorks Project, I hope you will be as excited as I am and will want to become a part of a group that along with so many others is going to fight to change the world.

To be continued . . .

Let me tell you, I had an awesome weekend! I also have the greatest friends in the whole world and am so blessed to be a part of such a great community of people known as Horizon Church.

Last week started off pretty rough and when added to everything that has been going on recently really had me at a pretty low place. The guage had reached below empty and I was totally drained and felt everything toppling down on me. However then an amazing thing happened. In this emptiness that was my life Wednesday night God stepped in in some amazing ways. Through friends, songs, movies, books, the Bible, God just really stepped in and when I felt that I was at my weakest He was there. Though this is hard to say because I should have realized it much earlier but I finally realized that He and the people in my life really do love and care for me and that we all are in this together and that we all will be victorious in the Kingdom of God through the amazing power and grace of His son Jesus Christ. What an uplifiting thing to finally realize and the funny thing is it happened in the down time not in the happy and up time.

I feel energized again and am excited to step back into the battle. Yes, there will be ups and downs and times when the journey is hard but that is ok. I embrace the challenges that lie ahead as they will only make the victory sweeter. Like Jonathan in the Bible it is time for me to step out and face the enemy head on and to trust that God will lead me to victory. The odds might look impossible at times and the enemy might seem to strong but my prayer now is that I will have the faith to follow God no matter where He leads and to know that in the end I will be victorious.

Rebecca St. James’ song “Stand”

There is a time for healing
There’s a time for all purposes under the sun
There’s a time for laughter
There’s a time to let go and a time to hold on
So we are here, but why are we waiting
Why are we acting like dead men walking
The time has arrived for us to arise
Joining our hands, united together
This is our time to be strong
This is our time to rise up
To stand and be counted
This is our time to believe
To know in our God we are free
Let the world know to Him we belong

Lord capture our hearts now
Drown out the pleasures and treasures that bind us
Give us Your courage
To be strong to be brave
And to never back down
There’s no time to lose
We can’t be silent
In a world that is dying to find out the truth
We’ve got the hope
We’ve got the answer
Let’s lay down our all
With reckless abandon

This is our time to be strong
This is our time to rise up
To stand and be counted
This is our time to believe
To know in our God we are free
Let the world know to Him we belong

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.  The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.” - Theodore Roosevelt

I’ve read this quote so many times and yet was reminded of its truth again today when I read it in a book about the Leadership secrets of Billy Graham.  This is what I want my life to be about.  I want to follow the journey God has in store for me and I want to live it with all the passion and energy I can muster.

I was watching a show this weekend about Rick Warren (the author of Purpose Driven Life) and his new dream/mission to rid Africa and the world of poverty and disease.  It was such a powerful testament of the power of God to use one person to ignite a course of action that will change the world.  In the interview Rick Warren was asked about all the people that feel he will never be able to rid the world of poverty and disease and his answer was that when they make his tombstone they need to only put four words on it and they are “At Least He Tried”.  I was inspired and moved and only hope that I can follow God with as much passion and faith as him.

It also has me really thinking about where I see God leading me.  I do believe that we can change the world through the local church.  I do believe that we need to plant churches and start businesses that better communities and that help lead people to Jesus Christ.  I also believe that this can be done and that we must begin this now.  Will it succeed or will it fail?  I don’t know but I am ready to trust in God and find out.  I have a feeling it is going to be an awesome journey!

Well if you have been reading this blog since its inception in March 2004 you will see that a lot of it has concerned politics and my career in it. There have been numerous references to politics and as to whether I should follow my childhood dreams and run for office. Its been a struggle of mine since I came to Horizon back in May 2003. Well here we are July 3, 2006 and the filing deadline for elective office is tonight at 9pm. If you don’t file today then the next time you can run for a state or local office is 2010. Wow I guess it is decision time.

Well I think most of you already know that that decision is not to run. I really feel and have felt that God wants me to follow Him in a different direction at this point in my life. I am confident that He is leading me to becoming who I was created to be and I am very excited about that and hope I am ready for what that is. Still though today has been harder than I thought it would be. I have kept checking the election board sites to see who has filed for what offices. I actually called Baltimore County’s Election Board and inquired on a race that I am pretty confident as I look at the field as of right now that I could win. It feels like my emotions are in a tug of war.

Then I realize that I really am where I want to be. I love where my life is at right now. I have the best friends a guy could have. We are moving forward following God together at Horizon with a dynamic group of people and the future seems amazing with all God has in store for us. There are dreams of being able to help our community with business start ups and who knows what else. Anything is possible and I can’t wait to go after all of it.

So tonight at 9pm the filing deadline will pass and for the first time since 1994 it will pass without me being either a candidate or a campaign manager.

However it also passes for the first time with me following Christ at Horizon and you know what something tells me that this new campaign with this group of people led by Christ is going to lead to some amazing things.

Have you ever heard someone speak to a crowd and just be sitting there and feel that their message was directed solely to you. Well it has happened to me a few times and this morning was one of them. DJ spoke at Horizon Towson this morning and his message really touched me. I realized as he talked how much of my own day to day life I am living still dwelling in the past. I realized how much I still have to learn about grace and forgiveness and friendship. I realized how much insecurity I feel because I still live with this idea that I don’t fit into this amazing group of people at Horizon because of who I was and I don’t live everyday as who I am now. I remember sitting at Caribou a couple days before I got baptized and talking with Joy (the person who baptized me) about what it meant and what would happen. I remember her leading me to a verse from 2nd Corinthians and her telling me that this would be true for my life from then on and that I could let go of who I was for who I was becoming. The verse is 2nd Corinthians 5:17 and it says this, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” I realized this morning that I still had not fully grasped this amazing gift Christ has given me and that it was time to do so. So in a way I recommitted my life to Him today and am only happy with who I am now and who He will help me to be in the future.

So this afternoon I cleared my schedule and I slept some and then I went to Barnes and Noble and bought a new book. For the first time in a long time I bought a book you won’t find in a Christian book store but it was a book that just came out written by a Christian who also happens to be a person I really admire and wish was the president. His name is John Kasich and the book is entitled “Stand for Something”. As I have begun reading this book tonight and as I dwell on this day all of it seems to have ignited the thing in me that makes me come alive and that is the belief that I can through Christ change this world. That the dreams in my heart are not just dreams but that Christ can and will work through me to make them come true. I believe that I am at Horizon at this time and place for a purpose. I believe all of us there are. I envision a community where we all help each other and trust in Christ to achieve anything He has put on our hearts. I see a new day coming for our communities where all of us love God and each other and where no one feels alone. I dream of a enterprise whose sole purpose is to help enable others to follow after the dreams God has put on their hearts. Basically I believe again and am ready to live confidently again in the realization that anything is possible.

Look I could go on and on right now about a lot of stuff and I’ll be posting more in the near future but I want to end this post with where I am at the end of a really uplifiting day. I know I am not perfect and never have been and I know that the future ahead will not always be easy and will have its challenges but I think it is time for me to trust God and to accept the gift that His son gave me and that is that because of Christ and His sacrifice that I am a new creation. It is time for me to trust Him and to live confidently and secure in Him and in the relationships of the amazing people that He has put in my life.

So to my friends that are sharing in this journey with me let me end by saying this. Let’s dream the impossible dreams together and lets work and follow Christ and trust in Him and I know that they will come true.

OK, so last night at link group we got into a discussion about fast food and the negative effects it can have on the body. I also realized during the discussion how much fast food I tend to eat. So I have decided to stop eating it all together. I still might have an occasional run to Chick-Fil-A but other than that if it is fast food I am not going to eat it. Hopefully I can achieve this goal as I feel it will help me to stay more healthy.

It has certainly been awhile since my last post. A lot has been going on. I am working on an exciting venture with Mark that seems to be taking shape. Stay tuned for details soon. I also resigned from the Democratic Central Committee. It has been hard to think that my life at this point will not have politics in it but I feel confident knowing that for now it is the right choice. I also am getting really excited about the future of Horizon and where God is leading us as a church. We have a retreat planned and I can’t wait to get together with all my friends (leaders) and pray and discuss where we feel we are going as a community.

It also seems over the last couple of months that some of my friendships have grown a lot stronger. Being in Texas for Mark and Missy’s wedding was awesome and it has been really cool to have them as neighbors and also now as a part of my link group. Also Aaron, Jenn, Rebecca, and me have been getting together to watch a movie once a week. While the movies are not always what I would rush out to see, these nights have become my favorite part of the week. There is so much going on in my life right now that it feels so relaxing to know that there is a place like these nights where I can go and enjoy some great friendships and feel like everything is right in the world. Then when you add our Saturday morning cram sessions, link group, and Sundays at Dave and Mel’s I can honestly say that I am blessed and feel that I have the best friends in the whole world.

So anyway that is some of what has been going on. I hope to post more regularly as there seems to be a lot I want to talk about. So I hope for those reading that you will keep checking this site out.

So I am home this morning as the plumber does some unexpected work at my condo. Nothing like getting out of the shower at 6 in the morning and having the fawcett break and not being able to turn the water off.

Anyway it gave me some time to chill some and to watch an awesome A&E show on Martin Luther King Jr. While watching it I realized something again that has been on my heart lately and that is the power of the church to influence the world. I just got done reading Bill Hybels’ book “Courageous Leadership” (great book - I highly recommend it) and in it he discusses a lot about how the one thing that has the most ability to change things for the better is the local church. I have been thinking about this ever since and I really feel that he is right. So this morning as I watched this show on Martin Luther King Jr. it occurred to me that Dr. King’s life epitamized this truth. Dr. King was a young minister at a small church in Alabama and yet he was able with others to launch one of the biggest movements for social change in our country’s history. Dr. King did not run for office but he followed Christ’s commands to love thy neighbor and through love, perserverance, and faith he launched the civil rights movement.

So as I sat there and watched this show and as I heard him give his famous “I have a dream” speech again, all I could think about is Horizon. For so long my dream has been to work in the White House because I have always believed it to be the most powerful place on earth where I could help the most people and fix the most problems but recently I am feeling that to not be the case but that Bill Hybels is right and the place to do these things is the local church. Dr. King was not President yet he did as much good as any President. I am realizing the things that are bringing me alive again and they mostly revolve around the times I am with the amazing people from our local church - Horizon Towson. As we come together and as we all talk about our lives you can feel that God is taking over and leading us to amazing things. I am excited to see what we all can do together in the future as we all serve Him.

Another thing Bill Hybels’ says in his book is that on the night of his 50th birthday, after all of his friends had thrown him a party, was that he felt he had the perfect life because he was doing the thing God had called him to do and he was doing it with the people he loved the most. I must say that yeah that does sound like the perfect life to me. I also am wondering if maybe I have begun to live this. For when I can spend time with my friends dreaming together about what God is putting on our hearts and then as we take action through faith in Christ to get there I begin to think I might be doing the thing God has called me for and I definetly know I am doing it with the people I love.

So who knows where my life will lead. I might never get to the White House but who knows maybe I already am at the place and with the people that make up the most amazing place on earth to change this world.

It always amazes me how nights like last night (The State of the Union) always get me fired up to want to get back involved in politics again. As I listened to the speech and the inept things that came out of the President’s mouth I realized how much I miss public service. I thought about going into the speech and offering my own response like Gov. Kaine did and who knows I might at a later time but then thought that thats not what this post is about. It is about where I feel God taking me right now in my life.

If you read comment #2 from my last post on 11/22 you will see where a friend of mine said I should run for office. I appreciate the encouragement and the funny thing he is not the first person that has told me that recently. I am finding myself being drawn back into public service more and more each day. To the point now that I realize I need to stop and talk and listen to God to try to figure out what He wants for me.

My friend, Mark, and me are embarking on a journey of forming a non-profit to help Christians invest in their communities to start businesses and this is what I am most excited about right now. I also feel that it is something that God is leading us to and am ready to go after it. I also realize how much power the local church can have in revitalizing our communities and society if we just all join together and follow God’s lead. I really feel that what we are doing at Horizon will mean so much more than what a politician could do in Towson, Annapolis, or Washington. You can really feel God using this church to change people’s lives and it is so exciting and I am so glad to be a part of it.

However with all that being said I am feeling this draw to reeneter the poltical arena. I am feeling a draw to try something different and that is to run as an independent for a seat that all polling and conventional political wisdom would say I can’t win and yet that challenge excites me. It excites me to wonder if this is God’s plan for me. Not that I will necessarily win but that I will help to begin to change the system so that we can get away from self-serving partisanship to a system where we really do fight and care for each other. I don’t know.

Over the next few weeks I am going to try to blog more about my thoughts on this subject and I am hoping to get some more people to read this blog. I am hoping my friends will join me in this conversation and let me know your thoughts on this subject. Most importantly I just hope you will pray for me to help me to discern what God’s will is in all of this and that once I figure that out that I will have the faith to follow it no matter where it might lead.

Forty-two years ago today President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. JFK has always been one of my political heroes. Even though he died 12 years before I was born I can say that he had a big impact on my dreams of going into politics. It actually was while doing a paper in 8th grade on how the world would have been different had he not been killed that I met Senator Thomas Bromwell, who has been the other huge political influence in my life.

So on the anniversary of his death I wanted to share an excerpt of a speech that had JFK not been killed he was set to deliver later that day in Texas. While he never was able to deliver this speech I feel these words hold so much meaning as where we need to be as a people so I wanted to share them here:

“For this country is moving and it must not stop. It cannot stop. For this is a time for courage and a time for challenge. Neither conformity nor complacency will do. Neither the fanatics nor the fainthearted are needed. And our duty as a party is not to our party alone, but to the nation, and, indeed, to all mankind. Our duty is not merely the preservation of political power but the preservation of peace and freedom. So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause – united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future – and determined that this land we love shall lead all mankind into new frontiers of peace and abundance.�? - John F. Kennedy (excerpt from speech he was suppose to deliver 11/22/63)