The Pauline presidency

As I was praying this morning, it occurred to me that our president is the perfect man for the job. Many Americans feel he is too far to the "left". Many are not only dissatisfied with where he is going, but, also, with what they expect him do based on his history and present path. I think there are some amazing things that could come from where he is. Imagine if one were to meet Paul before his conversion. As a Christian, he would be the last thing you would want to run into. Yet, God turned a powerful agent against good into a powerful man for Christ. Please hear me clearly. I am not saying our president is evil. I think he is young and has ideas that make it hard for him to see God's spirit. But, I see a man whose heart is for healing and change. Imagine if Paul's crusade, conversion and transformed ministry were played out on the world stage! Billions could be saved by such an awesome act of God.

I hope people will begin to see what can be instead of what they think is. Lord, let people have a vision of our situation inspired by the possibilities you want to become reality. And, let the prayers of those who see this vision be filled with your power. I pray that God will turn this man's heart the way he turned Paul's. Lord, let Barack Obama SCREAM the name of JESUS CHRIST AS LORD to the world, glorifying You, Father, to the world. May he be a surprise attack from heaven oh God. Surprise the world with this man more so than has already been done. Surprise this man with your Holy Spirit. Let what people see as danger become a great light through your transformational power and glory oh God. Take his radical point of view and use it to guide this nation back into a place of righteousness and holiness in radical ways. Begin to hold the pen he uses to demonstrate authority in pause before he approves wicked plans with his signature. Cause him to take pause. Blind him on his current mission and make him stop, wait to hear you. Speak to him every time he acts. Take him away from the glory and prestige of the moment to a place where he and You speak. Pour your heart into his and make him realize in countless small moments the directions he is redirecting our country, our world every single time he acts. Give him a greater perspective, a supernatural understanding of who he is and who You are oh Lord. Bring him to the point where he stops in a public way, chooses not to approve something previously thought to be a given as a sign of his faltering as a man. Begin the work to make him an agent of the kingdom of heaven, of eternity, not of a four year reign. Let him be a man who makes mistakes as a leader AND accepts responsibility for these mistakes. Place on him the crown jewel of wisdom that comes from gracefully admitting one is wrong; from recognizing the power of humiliation. Lord, let this man repeal his approval of abortion and publicly declare his mistake. We as a people can use such leadership. Let him cry from his heart at the mistakes he makes. Fan what is good in his heart Lord and make it grow from a small flame to an explosive fire. Fill Him with the Holy Spirit. Let him prophesy truth over our nation, over our age, over the spirit of this country. Create in him a pure heart oh God. Pour onto him supernatural wisdom and rewrite the history books with his life Yahweh. Glorify the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit with your lips, your heart, your soul, your spirit and your leadership Mr. President.

Time banking

A while back the idea of time banking got in my head. I can't recall how or where, but, it stuck. After mentioning something to Kerri about it today I took a moment to see if anyone else had started a similar initiative. As it turns out, the term time banking was coined by Edgar Cahn. (Here is their website.) It has been around since the 80's and seems to be fairly well established in communities where social justice movements and liberal ideals have taken root and succeeded. This also explains why it hasn't gotten much exposure in my homes to date: Baton Rouge, Memphis and Dallas. At any rate, the concept is simple; one hour of my time gets me one hour of someone else's time.

My first response, before I found the website, was to try and figure out an algorithm for translating one person's work effort to another. I was originally envisioning a system identical to the existing economic structure we use in everyday life without exchanging money. When I read their website, however, the hour for an hour makes perfect sense. At first I was a little insulted. Doesn't an hour of my time mean more than an hour of a gardener's. Of course, I immediately realized there was another lesson in that (stemming from our church's sermon on pride). So, God was mentioning that everyone has the same time and we truly have been given equal opportunity to help others. In other words, this social construct we use to navigate our everyday lives based on wealth, worth and value is horribly corrupted because it inherently causes people to determine the value (or perceived value) of themselves and others. In short, everything becomes a competition.

From the website, it looks like there is software, organization, message boards...things to make money for this foundation. Well, that fine and dandy, but, the idea alone seems to have enough power in and of itself. So, I am going to try and create one of these banks here in Frisco and see if it takes. In our economic climate, people are looking for ways to save money and still meet their needs. The notion that money is not the only way to survive (and more importantly thrive) seems to be rudimentary to this group. They have more in mind, like social reform, community building and the kind of grassroots effort that America as a nation lacks these days. Yet, it is exactly what we need. We need to return to community. We need to regain control over what we value and stop letting our things (and those who make them) dictate what our time and lives are worth.

They say 150 is the ideal size for a time bank. So, the Frisco time bank currently has a count of 2...if you count myself and Kerri. We'll see how well it goes. To me it is a little different from the Christian churches did back in the day where folks freely gave to those in need (a la Acts). Nonetheless, the notion that people do not have to operate by the rules of society as society dictates seems like a powerful place to let God speak. And, in our times, it seems like an even more powerful opportunity to minister. People are looking for ways to save money. They would be more interested in reaching out, more likely to try something different. And, therefore, more open to hearing God in unexpected places.

If anyone is interested, email me and we'll see what we can come up with. I'll probably be starting a blog here shortly to the effect of what I'm talking about here.