As many of you have probably heard on the news, Maine recently held a vote, the first question was an effort by opponents of same-sex marriage in Maine to use Maine’s People’s Veto process to overturn “An Act to Promote Marriage Equality and Affirm Religious Freedom”. [balletpedia] The veto passed 53% to 47% making same-sex marriage illegal in Maine. I really only kept up with this because of my friends and family from Maine, especially those on Facebook. I would say a large majority of my Facebook friends from Maine were against this Veto — supporting the “No” vote — keeping same-sex marriage legal.

There was a lot of anticipation leading up to this vote and a lot of disappointment from my friends and family after the votes were counted. But I truly feel like Question #1 was the wrong question to ask. The real question that should be asked is, “Should the government have any authority in deciding who can and who cannot be married?”

In my opinion, the government has no say in who can be married. When I think of marriage, I think of it in Christian terms. I am married to my wife before God – not before the government. If the government one day decided that my marriage to Kati was invalid (or illegal) it would not make me any less married to her. I think this entire movement is completely flawed because it is based on a false idea. Because for 200 years married people have given the government the right to determine who is and who isn’t married. But the government does not care about what “marriage” is… to the government, “marriage” is a tax status, a certificate, a formal partnership. Basically to the government, a marriage is just like a Limited Liability Company.

In this post, I do not plan on taking a position on whether or not same-sex marriage is acceptable. But I do believe, in a country that claims that all people should be afforded the same rights, than same-sex couples should be given the same rights as all other couples. In my opinion, the best way to do this is to fight to stop the government from recognizing “marriage” at all. If the government wants to keep track of the tax status of formally united couples, then there should be a “certificate of unity” (or whatever they want to call it) given to any couple who chooses to do so and the government can determine who is and who is not qualified to get such a certificate.

This way, anyone who wishes to “marry” can do so before God, on His terms. This might not work at all, but I think it is the best solution. You can campaign to Republicans who want smaller government and you can campaign to homosexuals who want equal rights. What do you guys think about this as a possible solution?

Four Georgia college presidents have signed on to a national initiative to fight binge drinking by their students — by lowering the drinking age from 21 to 18.

Launched in July 2008, the Amethyst Initiative is made up of chancellors and presidents of universities and colleges across the United States. These higher education leaders have signed their names to a public statement that the problem of irresponsible drinking by young people continues despite the minimum legal drinking age of 21, and there is a culture of dangerous binge drinking on many campuses. 1

As it currently stands, 18 year olds are allowed to smoke, drive, join the military, get married, open lines of credit, vote, etc. but you are not allowed to drink a glass of wine with dinner, or have a beer with friends. The Amethyst Initiative was started as a way to prevent Alcohol abuse among young adults. Their theory is that if 18 year old College Students are allowed to drink, then they will drink more responsibly. The reason why they do not drink responsibly now is because they’re not allowed to do it at all.

I started to drink when I was about 16. We drank and got drunk. It wasn’t a weekly occurrence for me, but when we drank, we did it with the idea that we were going to get drunk. I believe the Amethyst organization believes that if we were allowed to drink, then we wouldn’t need to find excuses to buy an excess amount of alcohol to get drunk. It would be a more casual thing for everyone. It seems to make sense, in a way.

By the way, Amethyst “is derived from the Ancient Greek words meaning ‘not’ (a-) and ‘intoxicated’ (methustos). According to mythology, Amethyst was a young girl who incurred the wrath of the God Dionysus after he became intoxicated with red wine.” 2

Personally, I think that drinking at 8 is fine. There are whole countries that have no limit on the drinking age, many of which have lower alcohol related tragedies than America. I also believe that God does not condemn drinking alcohol.

What are your thoughts on all of this?

Here are some more articles about this:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/18/college.drinking.age.ap/
http://gpbnews.blogspot.com/2008/08/ga-college-presidents-want-to-cut.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,418822,00.html

A few days ago I received an email sent to all students, staff, and alumni of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The email from Dr. Akin was an essay concerning Integrity in Ministry. In Part 1 of this post I am merely going to attach this email. Afterwards, I would love to hear what everyone else thinks about what Dr. Akin has written or what your thoughts on the subject are. In Part 2 I will discuss the essay and hopefully will discuss what everyone else has commented.

Here is the email:

Integrity In Ministry: A Word From The President’s Heart

By

Daniel L. Akin

For 30 plus years I have been burdened for the personal integrity of those in the ministry. The reasons are simple. Integrity is a biblical requirement (1 Tim 3:1). And, the respect for those in ministry is at a low ebb, especially in our nation. Of course one major area of importance is how ministers conduct themselves with the opposite sex. I have always challenged fellow pastors to make a rock solid, non-negotiable commitment: “I will never be alone with a woman who is not my wife.” This commitment and conviction has not always been applauded. I have been accused of being a Pharisee, legalist, sexist and Neanderthal. I was once accused of having “psycho-sexual hang-ups in need of therapy!” But praise God and by His grace, I have never been accused of adultery because in almost 30 years of marriage, I have never been alone with a woman other than Charlotte. I have no plans to change this.

Sexual temptation is a powerful reality, and a wise person will never forget that no matter how much you love Jesus, “the wrong person plus the wrong place plus the wrong time will equal the wrong thing happening.” Look no further than to the tragic story of King David, a man the Bible says was after God’s own heart.

Sexual immorality exacts a heavy price tag. It will cause you to dishonor Christ, wound the church, break the heart of your mate and lose forever the respect of your children. That is a price only a fool would pay.

This issue was brought to my mind again in a recent blog by my friend Ed Stetzer. By the way, I am excited to tell you that Dr. Stetzer is going to join our faculty as a visiting research professor. Personally I am thrilled we will get to share him with our friends at LifeWay. In Ed’s blog he referenced the “The Commandments for Saddleback Staff” by Rick Warren. Here is Rick’s list.

1. Thou shalt not go to lunch alone with the opposite sex.*

2. Thou shalt not have the opposite sex pick you up or drive you places when it is just the two of you.*

3. Thou shalt not kiss any attender of the opposite sex or show affection that could be questioned.*

4. Thou shalt not visit the opposite sex alone at home.*

5. Thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex alone at the office, and thou shalt not counsel the opposite sex more than once without that person’s mate. Refer them.

6. Thou shalt not discuss detailed sexual problems with the opposite sex in counseling. Refer them.

7. Thou shalt not discuss your marriage problems with an attender of the opposite sex.

8. Thou shalt be careful in answering emails, instant messages, chatrooms, cards or letters from the opposite sex.

9. Thou shalt make your co-worker your protective ally.

10. Thou shalt pray for the integrity of other staff members.

*The first four do not apply to unmarried staff.

These are wise words for any minister of any sex or age. These are principles that will help us in finishing the race well for King Jesus. Integrity as it relates to your sex life is not optional for the minister of the gospel. It is essential. Take the high road in this area. Be cautious and be careful. Stay close to Jesus and stay close to your mate. End your race with no regrets. It will glorify God, and you will be glad you did. I love you, and thank God for the honor of serving you here at Southeastern Seminary. What a blessed man I am.

You may have heard the news, a couple of weeks ago there was a large “wave of religious violence” in Nigeria. “Around 1000 people were displaced, several critically wounded, and every church reportedly destroyed in Shira Yana, Bauchi State, Nigeria on 2 February 2008.” Christianity Today ran a news article titled Churches destroyed in wave of religious violence in Nigeria.

Apparently this was all started become a young Christian woman was accused of blaspheming Muhammad. A young man who was 20 died, the article does not say if he was a Christian or not. Here are the other reported losses in this article:

• On the following morning the youth attacked her house accompanied by a crowd
• triggering a rampage in which police and Christians were attacked and their homes and churches destroyed.
• Elsewhere, a Baptist church and a Deeper Life church were set ablaze
• A car owned by a local Christian that was parked close to the churches was also destroyed in the blaze.
• six Christian-owned houses had been razed to the ground

Although it is devastating to lose your buildings, cars, sense of security, etc. to senseless violence, I ask, “What was Lost?”

From time to time we all hear about the United States of America being a “Christian Nation.” Many Muslim terrorist hate the U.S. because they believe it is a Christian Nation. Many U.S. citizens desire the U.S. to become a true Christian Nation. Many U.S. citizens believe the U.S. is already a Christian Nation. There are even some who feel that you should be a Christian to be considered a citizen of the U.S.

In the olden days, when Rome ruled the world, it was quite common to convert all the people of a nation to Catholicism. If you were a citizen, then you were Catholic. This was when the church and state were one. My question to you all is this: Do we really want the United States to become a Christian Nation?

If everyone in the United States were a Christian, there would be a few issues that we’d have to deal with. First, who would they share the gospel with (apart from their newborns)? Second, who would they disciple as new believers? Third, how would they influence the world?

It seems to me that God already has a nation… or a “Kingdom” and he has sent it into the world. A “Christian Nation” would not only be impossible from a obedience stand-point, but also would be impossible from a logistical stand-point. If everyone in the U.S. were Christian, then there would be no one in the U.S. For all would be obedient in sharing the gospel and discipling the Lost. So the U.S. would be empty and then ultimately be filled with non-believers.

What do you think? Should the U.S. strive to become a Christian nation? Are there more logistical issues with being a Christian nation? Are my concerns invalid?