River Restoration: What's in a Name?

I spent the better part of the past week in Phoenix, AZ with colleagues from around the country at the 46th Annual Conference of the National Collegiate Honors Council (NCHC). Since serendipitously falling into the field over 8 years ago, I have had the privilege of taking part in what I believe to be one of the last bastions of classical liberal education in the modern university. My ruminations on what Honors education is, exactly, is a subject for another post. Suffice it to say for now that Honors is a laboratory for teaching and pedagogy, and concepts like experiential learning found their start in Honors.

NCHC's trademarked experiential learning pedagogy is City as Text™(CAT). CAT, in the context of the annual conference, gives participants the opportunity to "read" a place through the buildings, signs, and people in that place (those interested in reading up on this pedagogy can find more here and here). In Phoenix, I got to be part of a select group piloting an expansion of the traditional CAT method. Instead of an informal exploration and chance interviews with inhabitants, the organizers arranged meetings for us with city officials to get more information about city infrastructure. My assignment: the Salt River Restoration Project. Here is the report my group prepared for the CAT closing:

We met with Karen Williams, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Phoenix, and Wendy Wonderly, Coordinator of Environmental Programs. This experience was amazing! Karen and Wendy were incredibly hospitable. They even arranged to do a driving tour of the Rio Salado project after their presentation to us; we wouldn't have had a chance to see the project otherwise. Their passion for this project showed and is likely responsible for its success.

Rio Salado sign. Copyright 2011 - Matt Butera

The Salt River is dry. Originally it was a river that supported tremendous agricultural production. The Hohokam people built a network of irrigation canals, some of which are in use today. In the early 20th century a series of dams were constructed to concentrate and divert water for agricultural irrigation. Because of this the Salt River stopped flowing. River water now is primarily dedicated to municipal use, accounting for nearly 95% of Phoenix's water.


As a dry riverbed, the Salt River became a source for gravel and sand. These mining efforts were accompanied by using the river as a dump. Development along the Salt River course in Phoenix has been dedicated to heavy industrial use and low-income housing. Many in Phoenix consider the river a dividing line between affluence in the north and poverty to the south of the river.


In the 1960's a professor at Arizona State University challenged his class to walk the riverbed and think of how to revive the river. A county-wide ballot issue in 1987 to tax property to fund restoration efforts failed to pass anywhere except in Phoenix. In 1992, the expanded charge of the Army Corps of Engineers to include ecological restoration provided a means to pursue restoration. Karen has been the public face of these efforts for 15 years. The restoration cost was $100M, 65% of which came from federal funds, 35% of which was raised locally, including voter-approved bond issues in 2001 and 2008. Ed Pastor, one of the students in that class at ASU in the 1960's and now an Arizona congressman, has helped continue to find federal funding for the project.


Because water will never flow in the Salt River again unless the dams are removed, the project will never be self-sustaining. Phoenix Parks and Recreation has partnered with the Audubon Society to make a place where the public can learn about the restoration and enjoy the benefits of this natural resource.

Rio Salado. Copyright 2011 - Matt Butera

My note about removing the dams was not off-hand; one of the questions I had prepared before we got to City Hall was, "the term 'restoration' seems to indicate restoring the river from some deficit state to a steady state: at what point does this stop being a 'restoration' and become a 'preserve'?" Another simpler way to ask this question might have been: "how will you know when your restoration efforts are successful?" I'm glad I asked the question the way I did, though, because of the answer I got: Rio Salado will never be self-sustaining. In this sense, Rio Salado is less a restoration and more of an elaborate re-creation. Given the political and environmental pressures at work in Arizona, I'm happy that we have the re-creation at least.

I asked Wendy what chance she thought that something like the Elwha River Restoration in Washington state I had read about last month. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any indication that the political will to mount such a project exists. How amazing would it be, though, to see the desert like this again? (Arrakis, anyone?)

Arizona watershed map - 1850-2000. Images from the presentation given to our CAT group. A substantially similar presentation is online at http://www.sw-green.com/powerpoints/RioSaladoOct2008.ppt

Our CAT Exploration Group (I'm behind the camera) with Karen and Wendy.

 Photos courtesy of Matt Butera. See his Flickr feed for more.

ДобрО пожАловать!

While only about 15% of my historical traffic is from Russia, I've noticed this last week that hits from Russia have topped any other location. So, I thought I'd take a moment and say, ЗдрАвствуйте! 

I don't speak or read Russian myself so please forgive any mistake in rendering this welcome. I hope someday to learn...or at least learn Church Slavonic.

God Bless!

Bread for the Soul

I was excited to learn this past week that I had won a drawing to receive two books from Anna Larsen Books. The drawing was coordinated through Jane Meyer's blog, The Woman and the Wheat, which is quickly becoming a favorite read for me. Jane combines down-to-earth wisdom with a searching soul and a writer's knack for serving up the concoction in the most palatable presentation possible. And there's bread! Both physical and spiritual...

Take, for instance, this excerpt from Jane's latest post, "Emily," which I found spiritually nourishing:

I have never been homeless or lacking. I have never been broken, betrayed, battered or cast aside. My concern for other people’s sorrows is superficial and ultimately fits my schedule. And until I am placed in their position, all I can do is keep offering sandwiches and a smile, with no pretense that I am saving the world.

Jane has a special corner of her website dedicated to Simple Gifts where you can find, among other things, Anna Larsen's books. It is well worth your while to browse these offerings next time you want to give a gift that is "good for the soul."

Help Reaching Up

Most evenings my involvement with our boys' bedtime routine ends after we end our evening prayers. They want Mommy to read them stories and get them to sleep; I head off, usually, to take care of cleaning, feeding pets, or to catch up on work.

About once a month (usually when my wife has a CE meeting), I get to do the whole bedtime routine myself. This past Tuesday was one such red-letter day. After we had said our evening prayers, which consist of the Trisagion and Noah's own commemoration of his friends, the boys scrambled to find the books they wanted read. I thought it might be a good opportunity to teach a little about our prayers.

I started by explaining that we call this prayer "The Lord's Prayer" because Jesus taught us to pray these words. Then I said we would think about just the first two words, "Our Father."

Me: What does "our" mean?
Noah: It's ours. Stuff that is ours.
Me: Right. It belongs to us. What does "father" mean?
Noah: Daddy.
Me: What does a daddy do?
Noah: He takes care of you. He loves you and he helps you get things you can't reach.


And here I had presumed that I was going to teach the boys. You'd think I would have learned that lesson before.

I hugged Noah tight and enthusiastically read the books that he and Samuel had chosen: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, pausing to let them fill in from memory the correct words (as Jim Trelease recommends*) and then the wonder-ful McElligott's Pool. Turning out the lights and heading to my chores a little bit later than usual, I felt very loved, taken care of, and certainly helped to reach something I might not have otherwise.

*I found a link to Trelease's "30 'DOs' to Reading Aloud" at Good Books for Young Souls

Reflecting the Spotlight

The recent warm reception of my guest post, "One thing is needful" at St. Lydia's Book Club has helped me appreciate how much grassroots effort plays a role in introducing new writers to a wider audience in the digital age. Say what you might about mutual appreciation societies, but it is useful in any field to expose your work to the criticism of your peers and receive encouragement from them; that's what professional conferences are for (not that I'm claiming to be peers with those who have responded). And while I'm certainly not a professional writer, and a blog is not a professional conference, the collegial interaction of writers in the blogosphere serves much of the same purpose.

One responsibility of engaging in a collegium is giving back. With that in mind, I wanted to highlight a couple of authors whose work I find authentic, compelling, and highly enjoyable, but whose work is not likely to show up at St. Lydia's Book Club.

I've recently highlighted the Foy Davis fiction of Gordon Atkinson, but wanted to recommend his new blog Tertium Squid, too. Tertium Squid is Atkinson's new blog chronicling his continuing search for truth. I was first "introduced" to Atkinson when he blogged about visiting St. Anthony the Great Orthodox Church in San Antonio at Real Live Preacher. His appreciation for the beauty of the Divine Liturgy sparked a flurry of conversation in the Orthodox blogosphere, some of it merely appreciative of the fresh perspective, some of it speculative that Atkinson was headed for conversion. In addition to blogging about his faith perspectives at RLP, Atkinson writes fiction that is refreshingly raw and honest.

Raw and honest might also describe the non-fiction that Claudia Mair Burney wrote on her blog Ragamuffin Diva, and while her Amanda Bell Brown Mysteries are informed by that grittiness, they are decidedly romantic fiction (and quite enjoyable). I discovered Burney when I stumbled across her write-up of the Ancient Christianity and Afro-American Conference. As is the case with Atkinson, the thread I think I enjoy most running through Burney's work is a diligent and honest search for Truth. Burney's latest project, The Sunshine Abbey, continues this trend. Her latest post "A Simple Shaft of Light" recalls some of the same ideas I wrote about in "One thing is needful" with respect to looking for and finding salvific beauty in the world around us.

Both Atkinson and Burney have had their flirtations with Orthodox Christianity, but are not Orthodox (Burney was--and is still little-"o" orthodox--read about that story here). So while both might be better qualified to be profiled at St. Lydia's Book Club, it is not likely that either will be. I hope that I can use my little bit of spotlight to shine some light on these excellent writers, too.

Orthodox Writers and Readers

My guest blog post is now up at  St. Lydia's Book Club. Melinda Johnson, who authors the blog, invited my guest appearance after an exchange initiated by my comment on her post "Poets and Artists..." In my post I consider how art can be a vector for grace and how I regularly fail to appreciate the rich blessings I have. Here is an excerpt:

Christ told Martha, “One thing is needful.” If I took this to heart I would arrange my whole life around this weekly judgment. I would live a coherently Christian faith. I would order my thoughts, my actions, my interactions with others so that I would prepare prayerfully and fully, instead of distractedly and in haste. God, in His grace, grants me to grow a little in this manner every week, every month, every year. The Church is not only a spiritual hospital, it is also a school of repentance. I am learning how to want and need that one thing: communion with God.

Keith Massey's "Iguanadon likes this" mug

I was humbled to be asked to contribute to this excellent project in the first place, but feel even more so after receiving very kind comments on my post from much more accomplished bloggers. I hope if you visit St. Lydia's, you'll also take the time to check out the cool Orthodox children's books at Jane Meyer's blog, solid parenting advice at Molly Sabourin's blog, and a very nice write-up on my post from Keith Massey, who is a language scholar, novelist, and novelty designer (I'm putting this mug on my wish list).

Please take the time to visit St. Lydia's Book Club, comment on my post, and check out Melinda's Letters to St. Lydia.

Exile

Buttery welcome spills out
to sit with me in the grass
My back digging into the ridges of bark,
holding up this oak as the light holds up each blade
stark and shocked in the temporary respite of
a Texas summer night.

My sobs punctuated by my rough backrest
Energy dissipates in the air like the heat
radiating out of the dirt beneath me.

Just moments before possessed and displaced
so that I couldn't even find my way out
and beat on the door in frustration,
I grab fistfuls of grass and dirt
to remain planted
here
waiting for a breath of forgiveness...

Waiting for memory to fade
of fear, of anger, of cries.
Wanting to run away, but resisting
the urge.

How can I sing songs of peace and forgiveness
in a time of anger and selfishness?
Grace is a warm mystery
I am drowning, out of my depth

May my hands split and my body wither
If I should forget myself again, little ones
May I be dashed against the rocks if
I fail to love you more than worry about you.
Again.
My loves, my salvation.

Forgive me and call me home.

Summer 2011

Foy Davis

I have recently read all of Gordon Atkinson's Foy Davis stories and wanted to share them.

I first heard about the (now former) Rev. Atkinson when his blog post about a visit to St. Anthony the Great in San Antonio started burning up the Eastern Orthodox Christian blogosphere (large demographic that this is) including my own post.

These stories are less cultured than Atkinson's writing at Real Live Preacher (where the St. Anthony's blog post was written), but perhaps even more reverent about life in general despite the salty language (!).

Thought others might enjoy reading these stories that aren't about religion and philosophy, but are, really.

Here's an excerpt from the latest:

Foy nodded solemnly and rubbed the stubble on his chin. He let his hand drift down to his breast pocket. He felt the shape of the Bible through his coat, then let his hand drop.

“Roy, I’m so sorry.”

“Well, I’ll tell you I feel pretty good about it, all things considering.”

“Really? You feel good about it?”

“A man spends his whole life wondering how he’s gonna die. Everybody dies. It’s kindly natural to wonder about it. I’m not gonna die a horrible death like some I saw in Korea. I’m not gonna burn up or fall to my death - I’ve always been terrified of the idea of falling. Drowning too. I never wanted that. I know exactly how I’m gonna die. I’m 78 years old. I made it. I’m gonna be right here in this bed or one like it. Or maybe at home. If I get to hurtin, they’ll shoot me up with happy juice and I’ll shuffle off, as they say, with my loved ones around me. Man can’t ask for much more than that. No sir, I feel ready.”

Foy nodded. They sat in silence for a few moments.

“Did I tell you about my coffin?"

Foy smiled. Roy had told him about the casket at least five times.

“No, tell me about it.”

http://foydavis.com/

Cross-posted at Texags.com R&P board

Texas A&M to the SEC

If you've not been keeping up with the conference realignment chatter, all signs are pointing toward Texas A&M going to the SEC starting in 2012.

I've been keeping up with the buzz at TexAgs.com; TexAgs' Billy Luicci has had the only solid information in all of the speculation, so if you're the type that needs to know, check out his premium subscription service [/end commercial]

Last year when the SEC came calling, Texas A&M decided to stay put and saved the Big 12 from t.u.'s straying ways. We did this with the understanding that the Big 12 would address certain inequities. Another strike against a move last year was concern about travel cost (though, this was likely more of an issue with a move to PAC-10 than SEC). Since the cards on the table now tell a different story, this move has everything to do with Texas A&M's interests, and not some childish ego trip, as t.u. mouthpiece ESPN has taken to reporting.

Even some Aggie faithful have had a hard time seeing the light on this. Roland Martin '91, journalist at CNN, wrote recently in his blog

Texas A&M has a better shot of being a dominant school in sports by staying right where they are. That 20 percent may look good today, but there is no doubt that if the Texas A&M family walks away from the 80 percent, they will regret it for years to come.

Unable to keep silent on this as one of our own is throwing mud, I penned the following response:

Roland, I think you're a swell guy, and a good Ag to boot. But you're also dead wrong on this. Since you asked for an explanation, here's mine.

1. Yes, let's look at Arkansas. The Ags had a 21-34-4 SWC record against this powerhouse. Uneven, sure, but certainly competitive. Arkansas had a learning curve to step up their game in the SEC, as the Ags will. As you note, they've been to a BCS bowl since, have we? It is a truism that you play up to the level of your competition.

2. Sure it might be easier to a title game from the Big 12-2, but would we be competitive when we got there? The track record of the Aggies (and most the Big 12 at large for that matter) has been less than stellar in post-season play. If speculations pan out about 16 team superconferences and a playoff system, everyone stands to benefit from the churn.

3-4. This is not a reactionary move. Certainly the schedule for this decision has been accelerated by the recent publicity surrounding the University of Texas’ Longhorn Network, but to focus squarely on this issue would be to flatten out some very important topography of our context. When Texas A&M kept the Big 12 together with our decision to stay last year, it was with the understanding that the unequal distribution of conference revenues was going to be addressed by Commissioner Beebe. The developments of past twelve months suggest that no progress has been made, or may even be possible, given the players and leadership in the issue. A move to the SEC puts Texas A&M in a position of relative strength in that we are a school that the conference wants and is willing to work for and with. From a recruiting standpoint, being in the SEC gives Texas athletes a way to be affiliated with the most exciting and successful conference in the nation without leaving their home state. A large number of Aggie Former Students and fans see this as a proactive decision and a move that is net positive for all involved.

5. Yes, in-state rivalries matter...and so long as the t'sips are willing to play us, we're going to keep the door open to the Turkey day game. Out-of-state rivalries matter, too, and we've got history with LSU, Arkansas, Alabama...and these schools are willing to acknowledge and enjoy those rivalries, unlike t.u. (which distinction will be all the more useful once we're playing the T.U. Vols).

Several roadblocks remain: the SEC Presidents meet today to discuss the issue, the TAMU Board of Regents meets tomorrow, the Texas Higher Education Coordination Committee meets Tuesday, and a nebulous speculation about tortius interference.

Update: As I'm writing, I've received word that the SEC Presidents met and released the following statement:

The SEC Presidents and Chancellors met today and reaffirmed our satisfaction with the present 12 institutional alignment. We recognize, however, that future conditions may make it advantageous to expand the number of institutions in the league. We discussed criteria and process associated with expansion. No action was taken with respect to any institution including Texas A&M.

Luicci tweets that this could just be part of the process. I note that they didn't say "never."

Update #2: Rep. Branch's Higher Ed meeting has been cancelled. TAMU BOR voted Pres. Loftin the latitude to make decisions on conference realignment.

Creativity as a Transcendent Act

Over the last year I had the opportunity to "teach" two groups of University Scholars in a Faculty Mentor Group for the first time along with my good friend J. Vincent Scarpace. This seminar program is not new, it has been a cornerstone of the Texas A&M University Honors Program developmental scholarship program for some time, and is often cited by students as one of the most rewarding experiences of their undergraduate careers.

The idea for this seminar had its genesis in a conversation that J. Vincent and I started on Facebook. The topic of this conversation was a quote from Madeline L'Engle's book Walking on Water: Reflections of Faith and Art in which she quotes Bishop KALLISTOS Ware from an undated issues of Sobornost magazine:

"...an abstract composition by Kandinsky or Van Gogh’s landscape of the cornfield with birds… is a real instance of divine transfiguration, in which we see matter rendered spiritual and entering into the 'glorious liberty of the children of God.' This remains true, even when the artist does not personally believe in God. Provided he is an artist of integrity, he is a genuine servant of the glory which he does not recognize, and unknown to himself there is “something divine” about his work. We may rest confident that at the last judgment the angels will produce his works of art as testimony on his behalf." - p. 30

L'Engle further develops this concept of being a servant to a greater truth:

If the work comes to the artist and says, "Here I am, serve me," then the job of the artist, great or small, is to serve. The amount of the artist's talent is not what it is about. Jean Rhys said to an interviewer in the Paris Review, "Listen to me. All of writing is a huge lake. There are great rivers that feed the lake, like Tolsoy and Dostoyevsky. And there are mere trickles, like Jean Rhys. All that matters is feeding the lake. I don't matter. The lake matters. You must keep feeding the lake."

To feed the lake is to serve, to be a servant. Servant is another unpopular word, a word we have derided by denigrating servants and service. To serve should be a privilege, and it is to our shame that we tend to think of it as a burden, something to do if you're not fit for anything better or higher.

I have never served a work as it ought to be served; my little trickle adds hardly a drop of water to the lake, and yet it doesn't matter; there is no trickle too small. Over the years I have come to recognize that the work often know more than I do. And with each book I start, I have hopes that I may be helped to serve it a little more fully. The great artists, the rivers and tributaries, collaborate with the work, but for most of us, it is our privilege to be its servant. ---
When the artist is truly the servant of the work, the work is better than the artist; Shakespeare knew how to listen to his work, and so he often wrote better than he could write; Bach composed more deeply, more truly than he knew; Rembrandt's brush put more of the human spirit on canvas than Rembrandt could comprehend.
When the work takes over, then the artist is enabled to get out of the way, not to interfere. When the work takes over, then the artist listens. p. 23-24

J. Vincent, in our original conversation, had taken exception to the audacious notion that the talent of an artist, regardless of belief, was supposed to be co-opted for a purpose he might not support. For my part, I read Bp. KALLISTOS' commentary as incredibly generous in its orthodoxy. Since we all know that a contentious argument is perfect to draw interest, we figured this would be the place to start

We asked the students in our seminar to consider the following questions: can good art provide a transcendent experience? What agency (if any) does the artist have in expressing something transcendent?

We spent time in our early discussions laying the groundwork for exploring these concepts by asking the students to come up with a working definition of transcendence to inform future discussions. We engaged the idea of transcendence from the perspective of several different faith backgrounds, as well as a perspective of non-belief, and the students came up with the following:

Transcendence - The subjective experience of moving beyond one’s current state. - Fall 2010

Transcendence - the convergence between universal truth and human experiences. - Spring 2011

J. Vincent provided the students with instruction in the seven basic elements of art (line, shape, color, value, texture, perspective and composition), and then we turned them loose in his studio. Their mission: to produce an a work of art at the end of the semester that expressed their concept of Transcendence.

We had the good fortune to have a show for the students' artwork this past May at the Village Cafe in Downtown Bryan. It was truly rewarding to see the students take pride in their work and share it with their peers.

They had this to say about their experience:

This course was designed to allow us, through discussion and actual painting, to discover our interpretation of Transcendence and really understand the different motivations behind art. We also studied different types of art and postulated about some of the different motivations and goals of the artist. Overall, this was a very enriching experience of how the other side lives. - Fall 2010

As social animals, humans seek to share experiences. However, humans are to some extent handicapped by languages like English or Mandarin that lack universality. The elements of art, as they are not situated in any one culture, may instead serve as the grammar of a universal language. This semester, we have sought to understand how artists have employed this universal truth system to express diverse human experiences (transcending communicative limitations) and ultimately, how we too may employ this universal language to share our own experiences. - Spring 2011

One student went even further and wrote his own essay summarizing the experience. He has continued to process the ideas from our seminar and turned his essay into a blog post about the experience here.

This is my summary of the experience:

One of the most satisfying aspects of participating in a University Scholars Faculty Mentor Group is the concrete realization of what it means to be in a “community of learners.” The topics and discussions we visited in our meetings were subjects that I revisited throughout the last year: at work, with my children, and in my own scholarly and creative production.

I’ve realized that education is providing access to new technologies, machines—yes—but also processes, theories, literatures, all of which have idiosyncratic languages. At our best, educators demonstrate that these technologies exist, introduce their use, and perhaps even engage discussion about whether they should be used.

When we are really successful, our students are aware that technologies might exist to solve questions they have not yet asked, how to find those technologies, and begin critically evaluating the ethics of those technologies. None of this would be possible without pushing the students to explore an uncomfortable subject or situation in the relatively safe setting of a classroom to give confidence so that they can do more of that exploration on their own.

More on The Response

To temper my earlier criticism of The Response, I thought I'd share some observations having participated vicariously. At the urging of my friend Sue, I watched the live webstream from The Response from about 10:30 AM - 4:30 PM (actively listening/watching for the first two hours or so of that). The first thing I would say is that Perry played little part in the actual event, though his piece (see below) was certainly enough to justify speculation that he might use this as a springboard to a presidential bid, especially given the event organizers' estimate that 120,000+ participated in person or virtually.

I think that most of the folks who organized and/or participated in The Response were sincere and motivated by their basic theology, which is to say that while I might disagree with some details of their teaching, I cannot help but admire their devotion. That said, I maintain the thesis of my earlier post--to whit, that The Response had a cultural agenda that was necessarily exclusionary. Not that there is anything wrong with that, unless you claim otherwise. Using the language of the event, a person would need to "agree" with the statement of faith on The Response website to participate, which statement excludes the majority of the world's Christians. They certainly didn't put anyone on stage that claimed a different creed. To turn the tables, I wonder if The Response organizers would feel comfortable participating in a Roman Catholic event that listed the Nicene Creed as the statement of faith...but didn't check baptismal certificates at the door?

--------------------------
I live-blogged a bit of the part I watched here. Without any further explanatory notes, I've reproduced that record below.

posted 11:27a, 08/06/11

Interesting that this is the only thread on The Response. I guess no one here went? A friend of mine is closely involved, and based on her encouragement I've tuned into the live webstream.

While I agree with pg about Perry's motivations (my take on it here), the folks on stage seem pretty sincere...and Perry hasn't yet made an appearance. The messages so far have been 1) tribulation is sometimes a mercy that helps us focus on God, 2) pursuing wealth and the "American Dream" are a distraction from God, and 3) rooting out and repenting for sins like sexual immorality.

While I find the rock (praise?) interludes distracting, it is interesting that "Lord have mercy!" is the theme...not so far off from how EOC teaches us to pray. The messages are on target, but I feel embarrassed? disappointed? saddened? that what the whole stadium is getting so worked up about has a deep, robust, and comprehensive treatment in the historic church. The emotion-driven applause and catcalls make this seem more like a performance than instruction or worship.
posted 11:33a, 08/06/11

Spoke too soon...Perry is talking now.

His message, "God's agenda is not a political agenda, it is a salvation agenda." "God is wise enough not to be affiliated with any political party...or any man-made institutions." Preaching now from Joel 2:12-17.
posted 11:37a, 08/06/11

Isaiah 40:28-31

Paul 3-14:21

And "preaching" isn't exactly right. He's reading Scripture with pauses for dramatic effect and applause.

posted 11:48a, 08/06/11

Perry's closing prayer:

Lord you are the source of every good thing. You are our only hope. We stand before you today in awe of you power; In gratitude for your blessings; In humilty for our sins.

Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home, we see fear in the marketplace, we see anger in the halls of government. As a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us. And for that we cry out for your forgiveness. We pray for our nation's leaders Lord, for parents, for pastors, for the generals, for governors that you would inspire them in these difficult times. Father, we pray for our president that you would impart your wisdom upon him and guard his family. We pray for our military and the families that love them. Oh father, especially, for those special operators who lost their life yesterday in defending our freedoms.

You call us to repent Lord and this day is our response.

We give it all to you for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen, amen, amen.

posted 11:55a, 08/06/11

Dr. Tony Evans...likens the role of American Christians to that of football officials.

The moment that that "third team" of officials, which belongs to another kingdom, forsakes the instruction of the "Commissioner" and the "rule book" and aligns itself with either of the battling teams or bends to the hissing of the crowd, they have lost their legitimacy and the favor of the "League Office." How can we be "One nation under God" when we cannot be "One church under God"? "The reason why America is in a mess is because the Church is in a mess. If we fix the Church then God can use the Church to fix America."