Out of A Job But Not Out of a Purpose

After two years of working with John Tesh Media Group, the company needed to downsize and I was let go this week. It's been a great two years learning more than I would ever imagine about the Internet, the usefulness of social networking websites and the music business. John gave me a lifetime of learning opportunities so I feel confident in being able to obtain another job-even in this rough economy.


Today I attended a job fair at the Woodland Hills Marriot Hotel. I wanted to check out the available opportunities that were on display. Only one of them even caught my eye-Salem Communications-the umbrella organization that oversees many different Christian and conservative talk radio all over the U.S. They were only offering sales jobs selling air time to advertisers. Several other companies accosted me at the fair all with the same job opportunity-selling stocks on commission or offering money management services to potential customers . . . and then hit them up to buy insurance. I would rather eat a live snail crawling on the sidewalk than sell insurance. Just being honest.

Yes, I need a job to support myself and to fulfill my many financial responsibilities and obligations. However, there is something even more important than making a living and that's finding your purpose. In other words, "Life is really all about answering one question, 'Am I doing what God wants me to do?'" He put me on this earth for a reason. If my purpose here is to be sell insurance, then I better be the best insurance salesperson I can be in order to fulfill my godly calling.

I am at a time in my life when it is not safe to try to fulfill your dreams. The economy is tanking. I've got debts to pay off. Who in the world in his right mind has the freedom to think about fulfilling his or her dreams. Many people believe this kind of thinking is for kids. When I was younger I wanted to be an FBI agent, a detective, a Navy frogman or anything that smells of danger.

Now that I am grown, most people would tell me to stop dreaming. Settle down. Get a real job. Yet here I am with all these new media oriented skills and I am excited about what I've learned. But I still have to answer the question why am I here on this earth? And I know the answer-to serve God and to impact the lives of other people. Regardless of I did sell stocks, raised snails or found creative ways to use my Internet skills, I must use what I am best at doing and serve others.

It is God who has given me my past, my experiences, my skills and my passions. It's now up to me to take what He has given to me and use them wisely. How am I using my life to serve Him? So as I seek work, not only am I looking for a decent wage (I'm not that stupid), but I'm also looking for an opportunity to be the person God created me to be. I am seeking a place where I can take all that God has given me and put them to good use for His glory.

I haven't lost my purpose or drive to serve the Lord. I am now looking for where that special place is supposed to be. You are not any different. If you're out of work, perhaps this is your time to finally be in the place where God has always wanted you to be.

Out of A Job But Not Out of a Purpose

My name is Louis Not Luis

I've had it. And it all started with my birth certificate. I actually possess two proofs of my entrance into this world. One says "Baby Boy Lapides" and it includes my foot prints, someone's thumb print (probably my mother's) and a photo of Newark, New Jersey's Beth Israel hospital where I was born.


The other birth certificate identifies me as Louis Sherwin Lapides. I was never wild about my middle name and complained to my mother that she named me after a paint company, " Why not Dunn-Edwards, Mom?" But notice the spelling of my name L-o-u-i-s. Of course growing up, my name went through a few variations depending on what neighborhood my friends were from. The Italians called me Luigi. After the song "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen dropped in the 60s, I was Louie. My name actually became
cool for a few years. My brother would call me "Lou" and other friends would follow suit. When I broke 21 windows on mischief night, my name was "LOUIS" to my Dad after he got off the phone with several irate neighbors.

In the U.S. Army I was called "Louis" and "Jew-boy" and "Lou." When I heard Jew-boy then an equally harsh racial slur would be my response. Use your imagination.

Lately, a new phenomenon has taken place. It all started with Starbuck or Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I would place my order and the clerk would ask my name. I would respond with "Louis. L-o-u-i-s.' Even if a mistake was made and my name was spelled Lewis, I would not complain. No big deal.

Today . . . forget about it. A transformation has taken place. This young man once born in a Jewish hospital in NJ, bar-mitzvahed at age 13 and a strong pro-Zionist has now taken on the name "Luis." All of a sudden I am a Hispanic person. It would be okay if I was Hispanic. But I am not. I once visited Tijuana for an hour and left because it reminder me of some scummy village in Vietnam. I love Mexican food. But my name is not Luis.

Our culture has become Hispanisized. When I call a business, I am told to press #1 for English. No, the Hispanic person should press #1 for Spanish. This is America-an English speaking country. I never took one class in Spanish though I have studied at least 7-8 different dialects-mostly ancient Semitic offshoots.

But I am not Luis. I don't look Hispanic-despite my olive complexion. I don't speak Spanish and I am at a point where I resent the name "Luis" written on my coffee cup. What am I going to do about it? Probably make the cashier cross out "Luis" and replace it with the name on my birth certificate.

BTW-my Hebrew name is Lechem. But I don't go around telling people to start calling me by my Hebrew name. I am in America, an English speaking country, surrounded by English speaking people and I will not allow any one culture-many of whom are illegals-to start rearranging the English language, Maybe my name is the rallying point . . . the much needed lightning rod that can bring about change to take back this country as an English speaking country.

Oddly enough, when I meet an Hispanic individual with an Hispanic name like Jorge, I would never think of calling him George. I would never speak of New York Yankees catch as George Posada. So don't change English names into Spanish names.

One bumper sticker said it all, "Welcome to America. Now speak English!" May I add . . . . and my name is Louis! Please!

My name is Louis Not Luis

Pro-Palestinian Supporters Enter French Supermarket And Remove Israeli Goods From Shelves.

Try this in America.

Pro-Palestinian Supporters Enter French Supermarket And Remove Israeli Goods From Shelves.

The Church's Sin Against Ted Haggard

Ted Haggard never was never one of my favorite preachers . . . and my opinion has nothing to do with his unfortunate sexual choices. I'm not into mega-church pastors who strut around on stage, boast about how many people attend their church, preach from their ego rather than the Bible and create a circus atmosphere in the house where people gather to encounter God's presence.

Haggard, married and father of five, was the former pastor of the 12,000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Several years ago Haggard was ousted from his pulpit for having a homosexual affair with a male prostitute. Since he's been in exile HBO filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi, daughter of Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, has unwittingly composed a 45 minute documentary on Haggard, "The Trials of Ted Haggard."

From a Los Angeles Times article, we learn that Haggard met with Pelosi as a concerned friend who videotaped their conversations. He was recently disappointed to hear Pelosi made a film of their talks and sold the finished product to HBO.

Ted . . . let me clue you in on something: If you're going to invite an HBO filmmaker to your house and they bring a video camera to your meeting, assume you'll end up on HBO.

Regardless, Pelosi depicts the disgraced pastor as a repentant man who wants to tell his side. Haggard, in the film, appears to have worked through a lot of personal issues. He says, "I have an incredibly satisfying relationship with my wife, and I no longer have compelling and distressing thoughts attached to same-sex attraction that I used to." He currently sees himself as a heterosexual with issues. I appreciate his candid approach. Haggard sees sexuality as "confusing and complex" and finds that he "must fight hard to be a man of integrity."

But what about New Life Church in Colorado Springs-the church Haggard once pastored? I learned from the article that when he left, Haggard had to sign two legal contracts with the church. One of the separation agreements barred him from living in the state of Colorado or returning to his church. Can you imagine banning a pastor from a state of the Union of the United States of America for sexual sin? I've never heard of such a thing. Is that legal? Can you imagine Jesus banning Peter from Israel after he denied him three times?

Where does this church in this burst of self-righteous arrogance get off exiling a person from a state? I understand that they don't want to see Haggard's face on the church grounds. But you can't force someone to be exiled from the state! That sounds like something Josef Stalin would do in sending political enemies to Siberia? Why didn't New Life Church just execute Haggard in front of the congregation or use church funds to have him whacked?

I'm sure the church has their reasons for turning Haggard into a spiritual refugee bearing the mark of Cain, and those reasons will are meant to try to make the church leaders appear to be "loving" and expressing "concern for the pastor, his family and the church membership." What a crock!

The actions of New Life Church tell me that becoming a pastor is a dangerous profession. If you're a pastor and human enough to commit a sin, then watch out! You'll be treated inhumanely by a group of people who allegedly aim to model the love and compassion of the Son of Man - Jesus Christ. A better choice would be to build a robotic pastor who is computer controlled, made out of titanium and incapable of sin. In fact, he comes completely without genitals. It's a win-win situation for everyone. When it comes to becoming a pastor, real people need not apply. Christians want perfection not reality in the pulpit and the church ends up creating a man who must live a double life lest he be exiled or ostracized for telling the truth about his struggles with sin. I wonder how much New Life Church is responsible for making it nearly impossible for Haggard to come clean with another trusted congregant about his homosexual urges prior to ever committing the sin?

Are other fornicators and adulterers attending this Colorado Springs church also asked to leave Colorado when their sin is exposed? Why not? The pastor is the model for everyone else, and so the church -New Life Church - should follow the model with every congregant. New Life Church should set up a refugee camp in Utah -the next state over - as a holding place for carnal Christians. When they repent of their sin and give evidence of spiritual transformation, they'll be allowed to return to Colorado.

But there's "good" news. Recently, the church is allowing Haggard to return to the state and move back to Colorado Springs. Isn't that special? Does Ted have any self-esteem or respect that he would want anything to do with the people in his former church?

Also, the present pastor of New Life Church, Brady Boyd, who viewed the Pelosi documentary, was distressed that the church was depicted as casting Haggard out. Rather, according to the "puppet" pastor Boyd, Haggard agreed to leave Colorado in the spirit of a "fresh start." Now, does that sound like Christian double talk or what? Christian leaders always find a way to revise reality to make themselves look good and the transgressor look bad even if the leadership acts in an ungodly manner. In fact,
Little do they know that in the act of correcting a person in sin, the church leadership commits their own sin in the name of acting righteous.

Later in the Los Angeles Times article, Haggard apologized saying he was sorry if the film causes any of his former parishioners pain. Let us not forget that it is Haggard and his family who experienced the most pain, and if he finds it necessary to explain how the Lord has been redeeming his marriage and restoring his soul in a documentary, it's too bad if his former parishioners experience pain. Get over it. This is a man's life we're talking about - a man who God has been working with. Shouldn't the parishioners be rejoicing that their former pastor is salvaging his life? We are just too over-sensitive as Christians about causing pain in the lives of others. Does the surgeon apologize to the family for the pain he's causing their loved one by performing an operation?

I close with this passage from Isaiah 43:1-3:

I fear not, for the Lord has redeemed me; He has called me by my name. I am His. When I pass through the waters, He will be with me; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow me. When I walk through the fire, I shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch me. For the Holy One of Israel is my Savior.

What sinners in Christianity must fear the most is no longer the Lord God, but they must fear the wrath, judgment, condemnation and exiling of those who claim they are followers of Jesus.

The Church's Sin Against Ted Haggard

Things Christians Aren't Supposed to Say

Group think in any arena is unhealthy especially in the religious realm. When group think controls a person, they're hesitant to say what's on their minds for fear of being condemned or given a simplistic answer they already thought of themselves.


In evangelical Christianity there are certain "buzz answers" that are given when a believer is facing a specific struggle. If a person is facing a financial problem, one may hear, "God will provide," or "Perhaps you haven't prayed enough," or "God may be trying to get your attention by letting you suffer financially." Meanwhile the bills are piling up and the person is wondering where to turn. At the same time, I do not think the Church is meant to practice bailout for every Christian who has financial problems. Usually, the source of financial problems goes deeper than insufficient funds in a bank.

So a lot of questions are left unanswered in the minds of many Chrisrians. Many thoughts of the heart go unspoken. Much pain is unattended for fear of being given a pat response that piles guilt on the one undergoing the trial.

The reason for these poor responses lies in the fact followers of Christ are afraid to say, "I don't know," or "I'm not sure what God is doing in your life. Maybe it has nothing to do with God at all. You just made some bad decisions," or "Did you expect life as a Christian to be any different than what you experienced as a non-believer? Who sold you that bill of goods?"

Here's is my list of things that I'm convinced Christians won't admit or utter because they're afraid of a legalistic or simplistic response by their Christian friends:

•I refuse to forgive that person who caused me such pain and ruined my life.

•My children are totally out of control even though I raised them as Christians.

•I have sinned and am an imperfect human being despite Christ in my life

•I hate going to church; my soul is left dry and empty even though I attend faithfully.

•My pastor is a nice guy but he really doesn't preach out of the Bible.

•I have several chronic illnesses and all I get from other Christians is condemnation and names of charismatic healers I should go to.

•My marriage is horrible and I refuse to work on it anymore despite what God and Christians think.

•Christians in public leadership or on TV are an embarrassment. They practice sappy showmanship and their behavior in the pulpit or on stage is anachronistic and condescending.

•I feel so uncomfortable around overly emotional Christians who are always saying "Praise the Lord" and sound so robotic. Do these people have a life or has religion become their new form of entertainment?

•Why does the church jump on sexual sins by leaders and congregants, but ignore all the other heinous sins we commit like gossip, lying, backstabbing, gluttony, pride and unkindness?

•Is anyone really justified to be mad at God because of the way their life turned out?

•I am always have financial problems regardless of how much I give to church or pray for blessing.

•Does prayer really work? Events are going to happen anyway whether you pray or not.

•What in the world does it mean when people say, "You haven't prayed hard enough"?

•I'm sick and tired of Christians who condemn our country for using force to stop terrorists. Why are Christians such pansies when it comes to violence? Haven't they read the Bible?

•Why are there so many single Christian men and women? What has Christianity taught these eligible people that has kept them unmarried when they want to find a mate so badly?

•I think Christian men are being sold a bill of goods by a lot of Christian authors who write books on masculinity. Just ask Christian women what they're looking for in a Christian guy.

My list can be a lot longer. But you get the picture. If you care to comment on this post, send more of those hard-to-speak words you'd rather not say in a Bible study or a church setting. It's my conviction that the words we refuse to utter are truly what the average Christian has on his or her mind. Instead, we choose to live in a phony spiritual world in which we say all the right things just so we can sound "Christian." That's too bad.

Things Christians Aren't Supposed to Say

What Does It Really Mean To Make Peace?

The New York Times reported last year a group of Christians leaders met with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. Their goal was to have a warm, friendly exchange to demonstrate the only way to prevent war is through dialogue.


In their meeting held across the street from the UN Building in NY, the Iranian president spoke about the commonality of the messages of Judaism, Islam and Christianity. In light of his desire to destroy Israel, I find his religious commonality approach to be ridiculous.

The panel from the Christian perspective included a Quaker, a Catholic, an Anglican, a Baptist and a representative of the interfaith World Council of Churches.

The gathering was organized by the Quakers and Mennonites, especially in light of their commitment to dialogue and pacifism as a way to resolve conflict.

No Jewish leader was willing to attend the meeting.

The constituents tried to prod the Iranian president about his position on the denial of the Holocaust, human rights abuses, Israel and Iran's nuclear weapon build up. Ahmadinejad conceded nothing and often deflected questions by putting the focus on Israel and US policies.

A year later the president of Iran still makes his daily threats against Israel and spews his hatred for America. The only thing the Iranian president took from the meeting was the respect shown to him by the Christian clerics - a respect he does not deserve.

Is negotiation with a despotic ruler the way to achieve peace or merely a display of naivete when it comes to the evil lurking within a religious/political ruler?

I think when two people disagree on an issue, there is always room for negotiation and discussion to reach a resolve. Husbands and wives do it all the time and so do friends.

However, on a worldwide scale, when an individual is so committed to his stance of hatred against a country or a people, the evil in his heart overpowers any attempt to make peace.

For example, in 2000 at the Camp David Summit, President Bill Clinton, Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat met to discuss the Israeli/Palestinian issue. In a total surprise act of peacemaking, Barak offered Arafat and his people more land that was ever offered by Israel in exchange for peace and the cessation of Palestinian terrorism against innocent Israeli citizens. Arafat did not take the deal. Clinton was shocked and so were Arafat's aides. Why?

Arafat's hatred for Israel and desire to destroy the Jewish state was stronger than his desire for peace.

Can you carry on diplomatic discussions with a person resolved to see your demise?

Our country is naive to think the next president of the US will be able to solve the war on terrorism using words as weapons or as a healing balm. I'd rather have a Commander -in-Chief in the White House - John McCain - who understands firsthand the evil of war and knows the deep hostility of those who perpetrate the slaughter of innocent lives.

For your information, the day after the Camp David Summit in 2000, Palestinian terrorist sent several suicide bombers across the border into Israel.

I cannot cast my vote for a man -Barak Obama - who has no war experience, does not understand the darkness of the heart of a terrorist and would use diplomacy as a substitute for direct confrontation and military threat to show that the US will not tolerate terrorism.

My fear is that while a man like Barak Obama speaks peacefully to individuals like Ahmadinejad, behind the scenes he and his henchmen are plotting to obliterate Israel and do irreparable harm to the US using nuclear weapons. It is my opinion that a vote for Obama is a vote for naivete and ignorance of the real danger that lurks among terrorist groups and nations.

What do you think?

Check out some new blogs I posted on my page on the John Tesh Network.

What Does It Really Mean To Make Peace?

Dry Bibles, Wet Bibles or No Bibles

I'm a confessed church-hopper.  It's been that way for almost a year.  I keep asking myself, "Why?"  In one or two smaller churches I've met some wonderful, loving people and in other congregations, I met no one because they have an "invisible visitor" policy.  I've attended warm, inviting large sanctuaries and cold, indifferent smaller places of worship.  I've walked into churches that held business meetings on Sunday morning instead of conducting business with God. I've walked into congregations hurting in my heart to hear from God and walked out with a church budget spread sheet that I tossed in the nearest trash can. 

Actually, all of these obstacles can be overcome either through my own friendliness, or willingness to get involved in small groups to meet people on a more personal level, or just by having a church make a commitment to reserve Sunday morning for the teaching of the Word of God. It's all fixable. 

However, three problems keep cropping up in churches that I can't do a thing about.  This past Sunday I attended a large, modern church and after 20 minutes of listening to the sermon I had to leave. I've never done that in my life as a believer.  This church displayed one of the three problems I am about to discuss.   

Here they are in case you're curious,

First, some pastors preach out of a dry Bible.  These men stick to the word and like glue they adhered to the text so much they are unable to say anything practical or useful from the Word.  In my own experience teaching the Scriptures, I'd pray for the Lord to make the Word come alive to touch hearts of people in the congregation. I'd plead with the Lord to bring tears, laughter, joy and relief to the people hearing the Word.  

Yet some pastors have turned their teaching into an extended Bible commentary.  Great information.  Intellectually stimulating comments.  But dry and lifeless.  The pastor probably never leaves his study and interacts with real people with failing marriages, chronic illnesses and troubled teens.  These pastors cannot bring the Bible into the 21st century.  Perhaps a year away from the pulpit and working in a supermarket or a hospital might make them "real people" and not so plastic and rigid.  What a waste! I could've stayed home and read a good book.

Second, the wet Bible is used by the pastor who will get up before the congregation and say, "As I was preparing this message last night . . . "  Those words tell me this man is not prepared.  He has not studied or poured over the word during the week.  His presentation is superficial and predictable.  I heard a pastor this week give a watered down message. He would read a passage of the text and then say, "Isn't this crazy . . . that God would dwell with His people?"  I thought to myself, "Crazy?"  What a strange way to describe God's presence. This pastor used this term about 6 or 7 times.  I had to leave. He said very little about the text.  I would have found more respect for the Koran in a mosque than I found in this church for the Holy Bible. I felt ashamed to be a Christian where such little respect was shown for the Word of God. He might as well been preaching out of a Marvel comic. 

The watered down sermons are the ones where you hear tips and principles and 7 how to's on finding peace or fixing your family or re-roofing your house.  Most mega churches are based on this kind of preaching where the pastor thinks he's "one of us" because he wears sandals in the pulpit and a Hawaiian shirt and no tie. The pastor is not one of us; the pastor is held to a higher standard. He livs in a fish bowl where people watch his every move.  If he says the word "shit," that'll be the topic of the week in the small groups,  If his kids screw up in school, the uproar is much greater than if Joe Blow in the back row has 4 teens who are all smoking dope.  In the same way,  in trying to be "one of us," the pastor does not study the word "like one of us."  Who is he trying to kid?  

Finally, there's the no-Bible pastor. No Bible!   He's not even looked at his Bible. His message is about nothing. Ideas. Concepts. A book he's read. His identity as a Jewish person or a black person.  Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's pastor, is a no Bible pastor.  He's got fire, but it's not the fire of the Holy Spirit.  It's the fire of his politics or hatred of whites.  It's not the fire of the Holy Word.  If the word of God is not taught in the pulpit, it's time to go home and watch Sunday afternoon football and pop open a few beers.  The pastor is wasting your time.  If he's afraid to teach the Scriptures because people might leave because they're seeking a purpose-driven way to wash their car or have the greenest lawn on the block, then he needs to seek a new profession.   If the pastor is just catering to all the people who want their own "personal Jesus," he does a disservice to the bigger picture of the God we worship as our King not my personal divine servant.  I wonder if some Christians are confusing Jesus with Tinkerbell or Jiminy Cricket? 

Some pastors even hold the Bible when they speak but the words they speak do not come from the Bible. They tell stories and anecdotes and get people laughing.  They're entertainers.  They want to build their church on being a funny pastor or erect a mega-congregation on telling people how to get rich or healed or be successful.   They are no-Bible pastors. They give their people the "Show of  Shows" as they prance back and forth across the stage like a Vegas night club act. if they're gong to go that far, then bring out the Vegas dancing girls along with the Viva Las Vegas pastor. 

So which pastor is the one you ought to be looking for?  It's simple. You'll know the moment he opens his mouth.  He's the man who has humbled himself before the Word of God, prayed over it and meditated on the text and read the commentaries, studied the original languages and prayed over and over, "Lord, what do you want to say to your people through this passage of holy text?"  But if every week you're hearing a man of God teaching the same thing over and over - the same prophetic message, the same cry for more giving, the same focus on the importance of Israel, the same favorite passages, the same promises that God will heal all diseases, the same focus on faith . . . . this man has not been in the Word of God.  He preaches out of his own mind . . . an un-submitted mind to the Spirit of God.  He's got his mind all made up what he's going to say and he's going to bend the Scriptures like Gumby to make God's word adapt to his pre-conceived ideas.   

So what if every church is not a mega church?  Big deal!  But every church deserves a pastor faithful to God's word whether that church grows to 17,000 or stays at 170 in its membership.  The goal for the pastor is not to be purpose-driven but to be driven by the Spirit of God through the words God has inspired and placed in the pages of a book that begins in Genesis and ends in Revelation. 

Football games this Sunday or Church . . what will it be?  If your pastor can't take you line by line through the Scriptures, then those seats on the 40 yard line might be the better choice.  

You can always find a good self-improvement book at Barnes and Noble; but when the word of God is taught no book in Barnes and Noble or you can find on Amazon.com can compare to the empowerment of self-improvement God can accomplish in your life through His word. 

Dry Bibles, Wet Bibles or No Bibles