Excellent!

Last night as I drove home, pulling into my driveway, I saw a man walking his dog down our street. Seeing him brought back memories to me. I stopped at the head of my drive way and got out of the car - retrieving the empty garbage cans on the corner of my front lawn. As the man came abreast of my house I said to him - "a beautiful night for a walk". He looked at me and said, "Excellent night. Thank you, sir." His emphasis was on the word excellent. Here's what caught my attention with him.

His hair was cut short in what is known as a high-and-tight; meaning he was shaved up the sides and the very top was a short, buzz cut. He had on a Marine Corp t-shirt and shorts. He was fit and walking briskly and looked to be about 10 years younger than I. On the calf of his leg was a Marine Corp emblem tatoo. He was a Marine and rightfully so, proud of it.

I too was in the Marines, many - many years ago. And often times seeing a fellow Marine brings the memories of those days to the surface. His emphatic response, "Excellent" reminded me of how Marines exemplify excellence and exhuberance in all they do. A mumbled response, a hanging head, a lackadaisical, "yeah" is the response I've come to expect in most cases when I say something to a passerby. Occasionally I will receive something a bit more spirited. However, rarely do I get the - Excellent! response.

I'm not surprized this man responded so. It's easy to see that he takes great pride in being a Marine. He takes pride in what the Marines stand for - integrity, honesty, honor, and yes - pride ... and is willing to share that with those around him.

I was blessed by his single word in a way that has stayed with me even into the next day. It is a reminder to me that when I respond to someone I have the opportunity to bless them with my own form of exhurberant "excellent" with the intent of lifting spirits and bringing a smile to the face. Or I can mumble and hang my head and respond lackadaisically. I choose the former.

From one Marine to another, from a Marine to all those reading this post, from a pastor who strives to bless those around him - Have an Excellent! day and may God bless you always.

Pastor Patrick

Keeping Drugs Off Our Streets

Recently our Milton Police department installed a brilliant red drop off box in front of the police station labeled, Drug Drop-Off. I had the pleasure of watching as they installed the box and then spoke with the police department about the box. The Milton Police department is the first agency in Rock County to offer this permanent, 24-hour, prescription drug drop-off. It is a mailbox-style drop box for unused prescription drugs.

My feeling on this is – this is a wonderful thing. This is a place where you can get rid of unused prescription drugs anonymously (if so desired). This certainly would have come in handy earlier this month as I and my siblings were trying to get rid of my mother’s unused prescription drugs following her untimely death July 5th. In Sheboygan County there is no drop box for drugs. Subsequently we struggled to find a good solution.

During a recent conversation I had with one of my staff members I learned that kids now days have what is called a “pharm” party. Kids raid their parent’s cabinets for unused prescription drugs; bring them to a party; place the drugs (unmarked – no bottles…) in a big bowl; stir the bowl and then grab a handful for consumption. I shudder to think of our youth involved in something like this and the detriment to their health, their minds and possibly their lives. God help them!

One concern shared with me was the security of this drop off box. Is it secure? Could someone break in and take the contents? In my conversation with the department they said, it’s as secure as it can be. The box is bolted to the ground and has been designed for this specific purpose (dropping off drugs). There is a camera trained on the box 24/7. The cost of the box, sans the bright red paint job and logos, was $650.00. Thought, function, security… have been well invested in this box. And the community is using it! Over 70lbs of prescription drugs were taken from the drop box the very first time the police department emptied it.

The proper disposal of the drugs is quite involved – much more than just flushing the pills down the toilet! The drugs are collected via the drop box. The local pharmacist volunteers his time to separate the collected drugs. Then they are boxed and shipped out (or flown out) to a drug disposal center.

If you, your family, your parents or grandparents have old, unused drugs in your bathroom cabinet and you don’t know what to do with them. Bring them in to the Milton Police Department. Let them help you to dispose of them appropriately.

All in all, way to go Milton Police Department! I like what you are doing in our community for the safety and concern of the people. God bless you and keep you.

Pastor Patrick

Keep the Faith

If you’ve followed the Christian news at all recently, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Anne Rice’s declaration to stop following Christianity, while still being a follower of Christ. Anne is the best selling author of the Vampire Chronicles and recently wrote the book, Of Love and Evil. Ten years ago Anne made headlines in declaring her return to her Catholic heritage and moving from atheist to believer. Today you will find on Anne’s Facebook a posting that states, “Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out… In the name of Christ I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-science. In the name of Christ I quit Christianity and quit being Christian. Amen.” (posted July 28th)

The issues Anne talks about, which cause confusion, discomfort, even anger, are many of the issues we all deal with. I had a conversation with a young lady of my community several months ago where she said she was against organized religion – for many of the same reasons Anne has cited. We are no strangers to these controversies, are we? I have spoken with people in my community (some from my church) who have left the church because of arguments on homosexuality, or politics, or feminism (should a woman be allowed in the pulpit or be ordained as a pastor…). Some have left the church because someone said something to them to which they took great offense.

The truth is we find many things within the religious organization that are discomforting, off-setting, and seemingly at odds with the teachings of Jesus Christ. Gandhi once said that he has no problem with Jesus – in fact he is in agreement with the teachings of Jesus. His problem is with the Church. Our Church is fallible. Our Church is made up of people who are sinful and imperfect and often times at odds with one another. There are issues I struggle with in the Church. I’ve been a pastor for 6 years and involved in ministry for about 10 years. There are things I will probably always disagree with, struggle with, and try to understand (perhaps with success, perhaps not). Perhaps you’ve experienced this too?

Yet, this doesn’t negate the fact that we strive to follow the teachings of Jesus and to be the Christians Christ calls us to be. Our best chance of doing this is as a community – a Body of Christ. Don’t turn your back on Christianity because of the weak, fallible areas of our “organized religion”. As Adam Hamilton wrote in his recent Washington Post article in response to a man who said he was leaving the church, “Please, don't let this man define what it means to be a Christian. We desperately need to show the world that there is another way to be Christian!”

I would echo this. Please don’t leave the church. We need you to help lead us to be a better Church. Our issues cannot be resolved if we quit the game. Persevere. Hang tough. Help us to see the other side of the picture. And think about it this way. Perhaps there are some tensions that are not meant to be resolved (Andy Stanley’s words at the recent Willow Creek Leadership Summit). The tension is important for the health of the church.

Keep the faith and at times you’ll have to help us keep the faith too.

p.s. two great books to read to learn how those outside the Church view the Church:
UnChristian by David Kinnamen; They Like Jesus But Not the Church by Dan Kimball.