Comments on: Who Is My Neighbor?

By: Cliff

Cliff — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:41:39 +0000

I’ve heatd of a self-sucking cow…

By: Peaches

Peaches — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 23:04:03 +0000

Patrick,
I agree with you.
When there are organizations, large or small, mega or otherwise, there is a certain bureaucracy that comes with the fact of an organization. The question is whether the members of the organization will give in to the inherent bureaucracy. It’s not necessary.
However, the reason usually lies with the leadership who leads out of control and not out of commitment.

By: Ted

Ted — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:02:19 +0000

Christiane, it’s a Leonard Cohen song, but Judy Collins can sing it ANYTIME

By: Zoe

Zoe — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:46:32 +0000

I agree with you that there is no reason to think that Lee and Frank were selfish and like you, I’m disturbed by the many criticisms of them. I’m not just disturbed because I don’t think the criticisms have much basis, but because they’re entirely irrelevant – if Christ died for selfish people who were his enemies, then surely we as his people who have been rescued from slavery to self are called to help the undeserving and selfish just as much as the deserving and selfless.

By: Erin C.

Erin C. — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 03:17:57 +0000

As an introvert and would-be artist who’s also one of my disabled father’s caregivers, I thank you so, so much for every last word of this.

By: Derek

Derek — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:11:26 +0000

Steve, you said:

Maybe to her and from her experience, the â€œevangelistic teamâ€ meant bible thumping cultists showing off their well dressed children in an attempt to show just how trees, flowers and chirping birds their religion was.

Cultists? Bible-believing Christians do this just as much as cults do. We believe we have something to sell. But Jesus is NOT for “sale”. He’s for “give” and for “share.” Marketing Christianity… bah.

By: John

John — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 06:22:26 +0000

I feel your distress. Last church I attended the pastor made it clear that regular giving was a prerequisite for even consideration of using a person in any type of leadership position. Recently heard one radio preacher say the same thing. Problem is, we don’t itemize our tax deductions (standard deduction is greater) and so we choose to give anonymously almost all the time. So though we had much to offer and in fact did teach and help, we were never considered for any official leadership role, and we were almost entirely ignored. Again, seems like it’s so often about conforming to the mold of the system rather than about what really counts.

By: The Monday Melange 01.25.10: Todd Grantham, PETA, Lane Kiffin « Everyone's Entitled to Joe's Opinion

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 04:03:27 +0000

[...] –This church’s response to a person living in their community who called in with a legitimate need:Â Epic fail.Â If “Lee” had called your church, would they have done better?Â I sure hope so. [...]

By: D2

D2 — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 05:26:57 +0000

Chaplin Mike,

Good story to generate discussion. To deal with Lee’s immediate request, if there was no one at the church who could assist, she should have been referred to Interfaith Caregivers. They are found in many parts of the US and one of their services is to provide respite care for caregivers. There was a suggestion to use a Stephen Minister. While I think that Lee could benefit from a SM, it should not initially be for respite care.

By: Chaplain Mike

Chaplain Mike — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 03:44:47 +0000

Thanks, Deanna. Your perspective as a home care nurse is important for many to hear. I’m sure my response to this story would have been very different when I was a pastor. Now that I am a hospice chaplain, and visit homes like this all the time, the world has a new look to me. In fact, I’m not sure I would have even been able to write this story before doing my current work.