Top Ten Bad Jobs in LCMS

Here’s a great list posted by Rev. Preus over on the BJS site -

Top Ten Bad Jobs in the Synod If you are a Confessional Lutheran
(From Pr. Preus)

10. Overseas missionary. Really bad job security.

9. Any one whose sole job is working for Fan into Flame. “How do you explain that two year gap in your resume during the years 2007-2009?”

8. Executive director of Concordia Historical Institute. Really bad job security.

7. Seminary professor at Ft. Wayne without tenure. How would you like to know that your future depended upon Wayne Graumann, John Kieschnick and David Buegler – all Jesus First supporters?

6. Seminary professor at either seminary. How would you like to have a job where you had to gulp hard, plug your nose and say nothing negative about Ablaze?

5. Mega church pastor. The pressure of weekly performance and growth should generate NFL and Rock star salaries, and you are making only $120,000.

4. First lady. Turns out you can’t say anything from the pulpit without getting hammered.

3. Confessional talk show host. Really bad job security.

2. Executive Director to the Board of Communications Services. One day you’re respected. The next day you’re not. Ouch! And all of that for someone who will never reciprocate.

1. Synod’s treasurer. “You spent what on travel for your wife? You spent that on consultants? You want me to sell that? I can’t possibly balance that! You fired who?”

So where are the good jobs?  Then again these would be the good jobs if the LCMS returned to it’s historic roots instead of going down the “wrong path”.

Principles to follow

The LCMS is holding a convocation on structure that ends tomorrow.  This is a little late since two days have been completed but let us pray that the following principles are/were followed.

I. Keep the good

II. Avoid the bad

III. Fix what’s bad now

IV. Make it better

You can read each area in further detail here.

Simply amazing

Michael Phelps continues to amaze, this time coming from behind to win his 7th gold medal of these Olympics.

Move over Mark Spitz.

Michael Phelps won his seventh gold medal of the Beijing Olympics on Saturday, edging Milorad Cavic by a fingernail, .01 of second in the 100m butterfly on Saturday at the Water Cube.

Phelps, who was seventh out of eight swimmers at the first wall but made up ground with his turn, still looked to be behind Cavic in the final meters but got to the wall first in 50.58 to Cavic’s 50.59.

Spitz won his seven gold medals at the 1972 Munich Games. Phelps will try to beat the record in the 4×100m medley relay Sunday in the final day of swimming in Beijing.

While the pre-meet, potential upset talk in the 100m fly centered around world-record holder Ian Crocker, California-trained Cavic, who competes for Serbia, surpassed Phelps in the heats as the second-fastest man to swim the event. He nearly spoiled Phelps’ chase at history.

Phelps said Cavic’s words before the race fueled him.

“Cavic said it would be good for me and good for swimming if he won,” Phelps said in an NBC poolside interview after the race. “I’m at a loss for words. I had no idea the race was that close. I was lucky enough to get my hands on the wall first.”

Drill Here, Drill Now Tuesday – 8/19/08

This was started over at Wake Up America by Jessi in an attempt to get our supposed Representatives and Senators in Congress to WAKE UP to the problem of rising energy costs. It will continue every Tuesday until the allowing of more domestic drilling takes place.

My Gas Price (the Green Bay, WI metro area): $3.68/gallon for regular unleaded.

American needs to drill here drill now.  America is having a energy crisis and we need to do something now!

Urge Congress and pass a bill to drill in America, where the United States has vast oil and gas resources onshore and offshore that are currently illegal to develop and therefore inaccessible.

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 38 billion barrels of undeveloped oil resources (19 billion barrels onshore and 18.92 billion offshore).

U.S. law prohibits the development of approximately 180 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped natural gas resources (94.5 trillion cubic feet onshore and 85.7 trillion cubic feet offshore).

Also did you know that …

CONGRESS RECENTLY VOTED TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO DEVELOP U.S. OIL SHALE RESOURCES

With oil prices at an all-time high, Americans are facing escalating gas, diesel, and aircraft fuel increases. Oil prices are projected to increase further.

Congress, however, has made it illegal to develop vast domestic oil resources in large parts of the United States.

The most startling Congressional prohibition on domestic oil production concerns the recently enacted ban on the development of oil shale resources in parts of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming in the Green River Formation. According to a Rand Study estimate, this reserve contains over one trillion barrels of oil, with 800 billion barrels fully recoverable, or three times the current oil reserves as Saudi Arabia.

I encourage you to sign the drill here, drill know petition if you haven’t already done so.   Since Speaker Pelosi decided it was best to embark on a five week vacation, sign this petition as well. 

Finally demand that American Energy Freedom Day be protected by going here.

Run through the rain

From email, a reminder to not let life move so fast that you don’t take the time to make memories each day.

NEED WASHING

A little girl had been shopping with her Mom in Target. She must have been 6 years old, this beautiful red haired, freckle faced image of innocence. It was pouring outside. The kind of rain that gushes over the top of rain gutters, so much in a hurry to hit the earth it has no time to flow down the spout. We all stood there under the awning and just inside the door of the Target.

We waited, some patiently, others irritated because nature messed up their hurried day. I am always mesmerized by rainfall. I got lost in the sound and sight of the heavens washing away the dirt and dust of the world. Memories of running, splashing so carefree as a child came pouring in as a welcome reprieve from the worries of my day.

The little voice was so sweet as it broke the hypnotic trance we were all caught in ‘Mom let’s run through the rain,’ she said.

‘What?’ Mom asked.

‘Lets run through the rain!’ She repeated

‘No, honey. We’ll wait until it slows down a bit,’ Mom replied.

This young child waited about another minute and repeated: ‘Mom, let’s run through the rain,’

‘We’ll get soaked if we do,’ Mom said.

‘No, we won’t, Mom. That’s not what you said this morning,’ the young girl said as she tugged at her Mom’s arm.

‘This morning? When did I say we could run through the rain and not get wet?’

‘Don’t you remember? When you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!’

The entire crowd stopped dead silent. I swear you couldn’t hear anything but the rain. We all stood silently. No one came or left in the next few minutes. Mom paused and thought for a moment about what she would say. Now some would laugh it off and scold her for being silly. Some might even ignore what was said. But this was a moment of affirmation in a young child’s life. A time when innocent trust can be nurtured so that it will bloom into faith.

‘Honey, you are absolutely right. Let’s run through the rain. If GOD let’s us get wet, well maybe we just needed washing,’ Mom said.

Then off they ran. We all stood watching, smiling and laughing as they darted past the cars and yes, through the puddles. They held their shopping bags over their heads just in case. They got soaked. But they were followed by a few who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars.

And yes, I did. I ran. I got wet. I needed washing.

Circumstances or people can take away your material possessions, they can take away your money, and they can take away your health. But no one can ever take away your precious memories…So, don’t forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories everyday. To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.

I HOPE YOU STILL TAKE THE TIME TO RUN THROUGH THE RAIN.