Chuck Tooman is a guy I met a few years ago when we were doing the house church. I still receive periodic emails from him. I found the latest one very encouraging and moving and though I wish I could link the entire text, I'll post just a few paragraphs:

A recent radio broadcast claimed pornography to be the new battle ground, and expressed alarm over the possibility that this war will be even more intense than the abortion issue because of the intensity with which lust has saturated our society. Urgent voices pleaded for creative, dedicated minds to respond now.

My heart¡¦s immediate and painful response was, ¡§No! No! No! That¡¦s the wrong focus! Jesus says, ¡¥If I be lifted up I will draw all men to me.¡¦ Jesus is the focus, not pornography! We have pornography because we have quit lifting up Jesus!!¡¨

I shake my head and wonder. When are we going to get it?! When are we going to learn?! Satan has to be dancing to his heart¡¦s delight because the more we battle issues¡Xno matter what they are¡Xthe less we focus on Jesus. We thoughtlessly rush into what we can do instead of trusting God for what He can do.

When we battle pornography, abortion, gambling, war, the environment, immigration or any other issue here on earth Satan has a heyday because we are battling on his turf and he¡¦ll welcome those approaches any day. Why? Because he¡¦ll use up and destroy resources that could be used for spreading the gospel, and he¡¦ll gleefully use up and destroy people because people are what make up the Kingdom.

We must fight the battles in the heavenly realm, and we do that by lifting up Jesus Christ. As we lift up Jesus Christ and pray for people to be more Christ-like, a strange thing happens: they become more Christ-like. As we lift people up for healing through Christ, another strange thing happens: they become healed. Prayer lifting up Christ has changed the tides of battles, the outcomes of wars and the directions of nations, and that should not surprise us because scripture tells us that the king¡¦s heart (and everything else) is in the hand of the Lord.

AHHHHHHH! I wish I could post more, this is great stuff. And timely...I had a conversation with a colleague today about the environment and how he was twisting Scripture to pass his viewpoints on. I am all for turning off the lights, conserving gas, etc., but whether I do this or don't has absolutely zero bearing on my relationship with Christ. If I feel He has called me to this, I need to obey. If I feel He has called me to AIDS orphans in Kenya, I need to obey. If I feel He has called me to rich businessmen in Palm Springs in December, I need to obey, and no one can question or qualify that.

I thought Donald Miller said this well in Searching for God Knows What when he discussed how we always try to measure ourselves against our neighbor..."I'm more green than her"..."I read from the King James Version"..."I go to such and such a church"...we might be better off just lining everyone in the world up next to each other from the most spiritual to the least, then at least we'd know where we stood. I love the sarcasm!

My colleague also went on to tell me that a local Presbyterian Church invited him to make a presentation on the environment or being green or something. I didn't get any deeper as I had to leave, but if this is in the sermon or during the service, I would not be happy, that and half of what we preach on Sundays has no business in the gatherings. If it's on a Tuesday night or something or before or after service for those who wish to attend, no issues.

Furthermore, and finally, I am still not convinced that this is a biblical issue. Jesus never addressed it not did Paul, all I can get from my colleague is that "we should be good stewards of God's Creation" which he tells me is in Genesis 1, when I reply that Genesis 1 actually reads:

God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

So then I am told that "...well, wouldn't you think that "rule" means to rule wisely..." which I reply that I would think that but I wouldn't KNOW until I looked up the Hebrew text and found out for myself what "rule" means...instead of reading my own preconceived notions into the text I could engage in proper biblical exegesis and look it up and see what it really means, but then that might not suit my needs...I'd rather plead ignorance.

In addition, my basic understanding of this is that the world is also under a curse due to the Sin of Man and as we humans do, so also the earth is awaiting a time of redemption, whether we go green and save it or not:

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. - Romans 8:22-23

I could go on, and I might talk about his use of a verse in Micah in a future post, but I'm out of steam right now.