andrew dodson

It’s been quite a while since I’ve done some random blogging.  Too long.  Here goes:

• I can’t believe UK lost to South Carolina.  Again.  Same thing as last year.  They just didn’t play well at all.  Special teams gave up 14 points.  There’s your ballgame right there.  Sure, the offense didn’t play well, but how can you win giving up 14 points on special teams?
• The ESV Study Bible will be released on Wednesday.  I’m not sure there’s ever been as much hype over a Bible before.  I can’t imagine people getting all jacked up when the King James was released way-back-when, although it’s kind of funny to think about.  People lining up outside the Lifeway tent in the local village, waiting for them to open.  You get the picture.
• I rescanned all of my cable channels last night.  A friend told me that if you have an HD compatible TV and do that ever so often, you’ll pick up new channels.  The odd thing was that my TV found over 200 digital channels.  But, since I don’t have the DTV package, I can’t view them.  Oh well.  The good news is that I discovered I can get ESPNHD and ESPN2HD.  That will come in handy for upcoming UK football & basketball games.
• Admittedly, I grow a little more weary as Election Day gets closer.  There’s no chance I’d ever vote for Obama, but I’m not too enthused about McCain either.  Palin’s had some slip ups as of late, as well.  I will say this – neither candidate will fix all of America’s problems in four years’ time.  The question is, which one will fix some of our problems and not create more?

The disclaimer in my last post said that I had yet to do any research on the subject of a female being a political leader. These types of questions fuel my study of the bible, so I started digging in.

In Judges 4, we see Deborah as the only female judge of Israel. In Isaiah 3:12, Judah is pretty jacked up, and God says women will rule over them. Most read into this to say it was because all the men were jacked up, so God punished Judah by appointing women to lead them. While that’s likely the case, based on the text, it also shows us that God did ordain for women to be political leaders. And, who’s to say that America isn’t pretty jacked up in its own right, so we might need a woman to set us straight (please don’t read too much into this statement).

Elsewhere throughout the Bible, we see plenty of queens being mentioned. Not to mention, women like Ruth and Esther who were influential in one way or another.

Am I too far off base here? I’m curious to know what other people think. I just disagree with Pastor Baucham on this issue.

Well-known pastor Voddie Baucham recently appeared on CNN to discuss the Biblical stance on whether or not Sarah Palin should be the Vice President. The discussion gets pretty interesting. I have to applaud Baucham on his passion for preaching truth and staying true to the Word. But, I also have to say I’m not sure I agree with him. He thinks Palin should not be the V.P.

I believe the Bible teaches women should not be pastors of a church. In fact, I think the Bible is very clear on that subject. Without doing much research on the matter (my disclaimer), I don’t believe this teaching carries over to government. Not because of separation of church and state, but because I don’t believe the Bible ever mentions that a woman should not be a political leader. It does, however, say that God ordains the leaders of our government and that we should submit to them.

And, for the record, I think Palin is great. I wish we could swap McCain and Palin on the ticket.

Check out the video for yourself:

While running some errands in Lexington on Saturday, I noticed a bumper sticker. It read “got hope?” (a la “got milk?”). Barack Obama’s website address was printed below the question. My first thought was, “seriously?” Are people really putting all of their hope into a politician? How bad has America become that we look for hope in a politician?

Personally, I’d much rather place my hope in God than Obama, McCain, Bush, or any other politician. We can have our preferences, and that’s great – it’s what makes America a great country. But, ultimately, God decides who will sit in the oval office, live in the governor’s mansion, and occupy an office in city hall.

Romans 13:1-2 Listen

13:1 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2 Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Some would ask, “what if they are crazy and do evil things?” First, we should pray for them.

1 Timothy 2:2 Listen

2 for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.

Then, we need to recognize’s God’s control over the situation and know that he is working to accomplish his purposes, which are meant to be good for us. Think about the crucifixion of Christ. Regardless of what you believe, I think it’s safe that we all agree a crucifixion is brutally evil. In the case of Christ, though, God ordained the event to happen.

Acts 4:27-28 Listen

27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.

The ultimate good of Christ’s death on the cross was forgiveness of our sins.

The world is full of tension this day-and-age. We can all ask the question of why God would allow such evil to happen in the world? This is a deep question that can be talked about much more in depth than this post. But, we can rest assured that God is working to accomplish his purposes, which will ultimately benefit those who have placed their faith in him. That gives me much more hope than a politician can offer.

(For more on this subject, I highly recommend Trusting God by Jerry Bridges. He writes on this matter much better than I can.)

More and more, we’re being bombarded with the idea of “going green.”  Eco-friendly products are becoming more and more available.  The process of making products is becoming more and more eco-friendly, as well.  With all of the fuss about going green, I wonder where God comes into play?

First, I must admit, I’m not an environmentalist.  But, I’m also not an anti-environmentalist.  I sit on the fence.  I don’t litter, and to my knowledge, my vehicle is the only not-so-environmentally-friendly product I use.  I don’t recycle, personally, but we do recycle cans at CLS (for a person we know – not an employee – that uses them to help pay her bills).  I’m supportive of our city’s recycling program (which I don’t participate in, only because I don’t own a home).  My guess is, if I researched my lifestyle in relation to environmentalism, I’m not doing all that I could to help the environment.

The story of Genesis tells of how God created the earth.  We also see in Scripture that God reveals himself through creation.  Scripture also tells of God’s sovereignty over the earth.

Part of me hears all of this fuss over going green and thinks it’s a futile human attempt to prolong the life of the earth.  Since God is sovereign, it’s up to Him, not us.  Another part of me thinks that since God did create the earth, we need to be good stewards of it, just like we are to be good stewards of our money.  All good things come from Him.  Another part of me is excited about the growing use of organic products to create things we use every day.  It’s like we’ve finally realized that what God created is sufficient for our every day needs.

Where do you sit?  Is Earth Day like Christmas for you?  Or, do you not care?

I’m still excited about the snow. A lot of people around here don’t like snow or cold, but I do. Actually, I don’t like cold without snow. But, cold with snow I’ll take. Anyhow, here’s some random blogging:

• I’m going to see Christian comedian Tim Hawkins tonight with a group from The Point. It should be fun, and I’m looking forward to it.
• I don’t think my PCG is meeting this week, due to Valentine’s Day. As much as I’ll try to get them to postpone their celebrations until Friday, I think I’ll be out-voted. Regardless, I’ll still be posting PCG notes for this week’s text on Thursday.
• The Josh Martin Band settles back into gigging with a performance this Friday. It’s a small gig for a church Valentine’s Day dinner, but a gig nonetheless. We’ve been working on a few new songs as of late, but I’m not sure we’ll play any of them just yet.
• I writing this post using ecto – a desktop blogging software. I’ve tried desktop blogging before, but ultimately went back to using Wordpress directly via the web, or ScribeFire (a Firefox plugin). It seems software like ecto has become more powerful since I last tried it (probably back in 2006 sometime). With the rising popularity of blogs, it seems desktop software has grown in features. We’ll try it for a few days to see if I like it. I’ve also tried MarsEdit, but ecto has more features that suit my tastes.
• Don’t miss the Extreme Makeover Home Edition this Sunday! It is a two-hour special, and it is the Louisville episode. If you remember, CLS was a part of this construction, as we assisted with some printed curtains and pillow cases.
• I can’t believe my parents are registered Democrats. Poor folks will have to choose between Hilary or Obama if they vote in the Primary. I would vote don’t vote in that case. Or, vote for the most beatable of the two, hope that one wins the Primary and then gets beat in November. I think they’re switching parties before the Election, finally.
• I haven’t publicly (on this blog) endorsed a candidate, yet. Maybe in the next week or so, I’ll post my choice and why I support that candidate. Not that it matters to you much – you can make up your own mind. But, it might drum up some support for my choice, or cause you to consider them for your vote.
• Thanks to everyone who, through the blog, Facebook, MySpace, phone calls, text messages and emails, wished me a happy birthday. I really appreciate it!

Democratic candidate for Governor, Jody Richards, is using Wordpress to power his campaign website. It’s a fairly simple design, but I’m a fan of simple.

Anne Northup is also using Wordpress.  A little more visually appealing.

Georgetown College has seperated from the Kentucky Baptist Convention to become its own governing body.

Georgetown College – Kentucky Baptist Convention Agreement

I suspect this will open up new financial opportunities for the College, though I’m only speculating. Reason being, President Crouch is known for being a money-hungry leader, and the College has been in a financial bind for the last several years. Otherwise, I can’t figure a reason for the split.

I hope this will result in a stronger relationship between the two organizations.

The month of September is shaping up to be extremely busy for me. I’m going to make every effort to blog ever so often throughout the week, but no guarantees. If I happen to not make it around here too often over the next few weeks, I’ll see you in October.

(as a side note, “Wake Me Up When September Ends” by Green Day is a great, great song).

Since moving into my apartment, I’ve been in a war. Like the current (real) war, I thought it would be a short-term problem that would take care of itself quickly. I thought my offensive and defensive schemes were far superior to that of my opponent. Like the insurgents, my opponent has stuck around. Still not powerful enough to win the war, but just strong enough to sting every once in a while. Strong enough to decrease my morale in regards to this war.

My opponent? Lint. Yep – I said lint. This isn’t your ordinary lint though. This is a nasty black lint that comes from my bathroom towels and wash cloths. To this day, they still shed their pesky lint, which covers my bathroom. I’ve washed & dried them over and over again. I wipe out my tub, wipe off the toilet and sink regularly. I sweep the floor. Still, I have lint in my bathroom.

I think I’m at my wit’s end. I might head to a good, quality retail establishment very soon (i.e., NOT Wal-Mart) and pick up some good towels and wash cloths. Maybe they’ll work FOR me, as opposed to AGAINST me.