The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security. — Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their Public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected, whereby the Legislative Powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary Powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil Power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefit of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation, and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & Perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these united Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States, that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. — And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.

— John Hancock New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

http://preachermike.com/2010/06/20/dont-try-to-be-the-cool-parents

-MH

• You cannot watch a movie at home or in a theater without at least looking to see if you got a text message.
• You continually look for that out-of-the-ordinary photo opp so you can twit pic it.
• Your life is a continual tweet or status update.
• When you don’t want others to talk to you, you act like you are on your phone.
• (applicable to me) – to avoid those sheisters in NYC who start any conversation with “excuse me sir” or “live comedy show,” you walk down the street with the phone to your ear.

The significance of these little devices and their effects on our lives is amazing and frightening at the same time.  Just last night I watched the original “Terminator” movie – and communication dated the flick.  When Sarah Connor was trying desperately to get in touch with her roommate, it took her the better part of 20 minutes to locate a place that had a pay phone so she could make the call.  All that work just to get an answering machine – which used a tape.

Yesterday I also had a complete scare when I thought I had left my phone in a cab in NYC.  It took me accessing the phone GPS online to realize it was still in my bag.

Don’t get me wrong – I much prefer having the ability to communicate when and where I want.  I guess I am just amazed at how much sway these objects have had on my life.  My hope is that I can regain control over it!

-MH

Forget the mandates.  Forget the abortion issue.  Forget the constitutionality or non-constitutionality.  Forget the debt or deficit-neutrality claims.  Let’s go Econ 101 for just a moment and talk supply and demand.

We are about to see a demand curve take a hockey-stick growth rate.  A market that has been treating X-number of insured and some uninsured, will now have millions of new insured individuals.  Here’s the problem – despite this legislation, there is still a significant shortage of doctors – and no plans for addressing that issue. 

Think about it this way.  You are accustomed to going to a restaurant.  You typically wait about an hour for a table.  The same crowd tends to be there.  Now imagine that a lot of individuals who previously never went there just got handed gift cards to that restaurant.  It is a simple Operations Management nightmare – same number of tables, same number of servers, same space in the building, same typical customer set, plus a spike of activity for which you are not equipped.  The results?  Longer wait times, the need to cycle your food deliveries faster, and everyone gets frustrated.

Apply the same here.  We have the same shortage of doctors today as we did yesterday before the bill was signed into law.  What result do I see?  Longer wait times, and physicians trying to find a way to quota-out their available appointments to those patients who have insurance that pays the best.  I don’t fault them.  It’s economics.

And what happens when you have a shortage of professionals?  Well, that has already happened – and we can apply the lessons learned here.  It has happened in the airline industry with pilot shortages.  Things that happened in that industry?

• Reduction of flights
• An increase in pilots hitting their maximum hours quicker resulting in more canceled flights
• In the push for additional pilots, airlines relaxed their requirements for new pilots – so the person flying your plane who may have had to previously have 400 hours in certain equipment may now only be required to have 200 hours. 

Do we really want that in healthcare?  How far off are we from the medical boards relaxing standards in an effort to get more doctors practicing and dealing with the overflow of patients? 

Regardless of where you stand on this issue, it will affect you because your doctor only has so many hours in a day – and the rate at which we are seeing doctors enter the workforce is not as high as 20-years ago.  Have all the rallys you want on the issue – until this unfortunate fact gets dealt with, everyone will hurt.

-MH

Plane crashes.  Survivors on remote Island.  Island strange.  Secret communities.  Surprise “stations,” or evidence of high technology.  In the clip to follow, you will see two people -- Desmond, the love-forlorn hero desperately trying to get off the island to find his true love, Penny; and Charlie -- the musician turned semi-hero.  In this clip, Desmond and Charlie are in an underwater station they have discovered, and Charlie receives a desperate transmission from…who else…Penny.  The season ended with a haunting scene of Charlie sending a message despite the odds:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MotKxENoXFE

I am someone who appreciates creativity that sends a message when it comes to teaching teens about the Bible.  I want to give some serious props to the PV Youth Ministry team (Steve Hovater, Ryan Rampton and Sarah Smith) for using the clip above to frame the youth group’s minds around the notion of “Urgent Messages.”  If it were your last message, what would you send?  Below is a video of some of the result.  I think it is worth watching.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OodqZ4dNc3o

Now understand, I do this enough that I have my standard line…”La Guardia – and take the tunnel…stay off the FDR.”  This guy engaged me in conversation right away.  Good conversation.  Not the type that is hoping for a larger tip, but something substantial. 

I usually retreat into the screeen of my Blackberry as the cab driver is talking in some language I don’t understand into his phone.  This ride was different.  It was in the tunnel that this guy starts talking about his family, and what he thinks is important.  I can tell you that this random cab driver in New York City has his head screwed-on better than most of the people I interact with.  After a few questions of my own, I realized this is the kind of guy that will move things around in his life to have more time with his family.  He didn’t seem interested in posessions, but more interested in the things that stay with you longer than life.  Yeah…this guy gets it.

My ride came to an end quicker than I realized or wanted.  It wasn’t until the plane was taking off that the thought ran through my head that I might have just had a brush with an angel.  You can call me cheezy if you like, but yesterday I was reminded that there are a lot of people out there who value the REAL things.  How refreshing.  I sure hope all of us can keep all the real priorities in the right place!

-MH

I would submit that our typical reasoning is not always the case.  Sure, there are plenty of times when members disagree – otherwise they would not be human.  Disagreement and learning to love through it is part of what makes church such an interesting dynamic.  Forget worship styles, discussions of where to spend money, mission efforts to support or not support or any other splinter of record.  Today I want to position two thoughts outside of our typical understanding in an attempt to create more dynamic, adaptive and relevant churches.

ITEM ONE:  ELDERS SHOULD HAVE TERM LIMITS

Show me the scripture that defines the role of Elder as a lifelong appointment, and I’ll show you the scripture that says “never use an instrument in worship.”  Neither exist.

The lifetime appointment of Elders, I submit, has done more harm than good.  Too many churches end up with a host of power-brokers rather than shepherds.  Too many good men have not had the spiritual cahoonas to bow out, or have suffered from a myopia that blinds them to the wisdom of when they should step down.  And, if one does step down, it is not seen as natural.  It starts the undercurrent – “wonder what is going on?”  or “is it his health?”  or “he must disagree with something.  We put a lot of good men in a very bad situation when we appoint them as an elder and seemingly say “see you at your funeral.”  So what is the fix?

First, under no circumstance should someone not meeting scriptural qualifications be ordained as an Elder (Yes…I said “ordained” and not our created word of “installed.”  Deal with it.)  When someone is found qualified, and if they meet whatever muster the congregation puts out (isn’t it funny how much outside-of-scripture process we put in place for this part), then they should be an Elder….for five years.  After that?  Sabbatical.  Head back to other work.  How invaluable would it be to have an elder who has served well re-immerse themselves into the work of that congregation, and have it feel normal?  How healthy would it be for a congregation to be able to tell an Elder that their service is so valued, they will get a break?

I have known many great men who have been fantastic shepherds; and almost all of them have burned-out.  Why do this to them?  Why put that much pressure on them and their families?  It is hard work if done correctly – and any Elder who serves well should be worthy of not just double honor, but also a break.  Sure, they should be able to serve again in a few years, but there should be a limit.  This provides a natural progression for the leadership of the congregation to always reflect the cadence of what is going on.  I submit that any Eldership and congregation would benefit from such a radical departure from what has always been….at least what has always been from the 1930’s until now.

ITEM TWO:  TERM LIMITS FOR PREACHERS

This one will get several people stirred, but let me share my reasons.  First, I have been in the situations where a 20-plus year preacher decides to leave.  It is horrible – even if it is well past time for that person to be gone.  This is one of the most precipitating factors in a lot of church splits or church distress.  Churches that experience the departure of a long-time preacher typically go through the following pattern:

• Members wonder “what will we do?”
• A segment (appx. 10-15%) will not be happy with any replacement
• Approximately 5% of the members will leave if there are alternative congregations
• An average of two preachers will come and either be chased off or leave of their own accord before a preacher that will be there a while will land.  Body count – at least two preacher families and the few in that congregation that tried to make it work
• By choice number two, Elderships will start to make uninformed decisions regarding the “next guy”
• The church loses about 5-7 years of effectiveness, membership stagnates or declines, and wounds that will always be sore are formed between some members.

For the preacher, this approach does a few things:

• Preachers burn out, too.  Some churches have taken to giving their preacher a sabbatical to avoid this, but that approach typically just delays the burnout.
• No preacher, no matter how good, is at the top of his game every week – especially at a congregation with multiple services.
• “Preacher Atrophy” is very real.  How many of us hoped we would have the same teacher for 10+ years of our school life?  Apply that principle here.

My suggestion for churches is simple – inform the preacher going in that they have 5-7 years.  The reasons are for the good of the congregation.  First, the preacher does not have to be run out of town – they can move to another area of work.  Second, Elders (who are supposed to be able to teach, anyway) should be REQUIRED to preach at least once a year.  Third, churches should make more use of those in their congregations who can preach, anyway.  I find it comical that most churches simply will not utilize talent that sits in the pews for preaching.  Oh, I know all the arguments…including  that tired old “we need consistency in the pulpit.”  Let’s just call it what it is – too many Elderships are scared of what someone will say.

Please don’t hear what I am not saying.  I am NOT saying that preachers or Elders have no value.  On the contrary, I think we diminish their value by continuing to push these guys into pressure situations with no relief valve.  Plus, everything I am positioning here is just as scriptural as what we do today.  Just think about it.  We set-up our leadership to burn out and our preachers to fail.  Is it any wonder so many congregations see crises?

-MH

I’m sitting in a car dealer waiting room waiting for a couple of things to be taken care of on my daughter’s car, and the new version of the show is on in the background.  Here are some observations.  Don’t hate me – they are just honest.

• Drew Carrey has packed-on about 500 pounds.  Merge “The Price is Right” with “The Biggest Loser” and THEN you’d have a show.
• Every person who actually has gotten onstage today has been so large as to cause seismic readings.  They are all winded after they make the three-step climb to Drew.
• Wouldn’t you hate it if you actually made it up to the stage and they open the curtains and you get a chance to win….A KEYBOARD with 10 lessons.  What has this show become??
• I have seen three inbred people so far.
• Whoah….a meth addict just got $1.00 on the showcase showdown.
• The sound effects are still the same as when I was seven.
• NOOOOOOOO!!!!!   The signal just went out whilst meth addict was doing the bonus spin!

As I said…don’t hate me.  It’s a bit boring in here!

-MH

For the last two years, I have worked on my body.  I hate to say I was a fat lard, but life is not exactly where I desire to be living it when I go to by a new pair of trousers and the sales guy asks “are you looking for a buffet pant?”  I’m sure I looked at him like a pig looking at a watch.  A buffet pant?  What the heck is that?  Well, anyone who has ever rented a tuxedo knows what this is.  ADJUSTABLE WAISTBAND.  FAT PANTS.

That was nearly two years and 40 pounds ago.  I have actually enjoyed learning to like exercise.  I feel good.  I feel healthy…and short of plastic surgery, I’m not sure what else to do. 

This year I need to put more effort into my spirit.  I have done the auto-pilot thing long enough, and I’m officially tired of giving the same answers to spiritual questions I gave even five years ago.  If I am going to be part of the body of Christ, I do not want to be body fat.

A couple of areas where I will spend time:

-Reading the Daily Bible (chronological order) – and actually doing it on a daily basis.  I have read through the bible about three times in my life (as a year-long effort).  If you do the math, it amounts to an average of three chapters per day every day of the year.  I’m probably more excited this time around because A) I’m reading it in chronological order and B) the church I attend is having every member do the same thing this year.  I am anxious to see exactly how God works through a church where every member spends time reading His word every day.

-Find more designated “meditative” time.  I have an iPod full of bible studies and sermons that don’t get listened to as much as could be.  I am designating at least one day per week where that will replace my music for the day.

-Re-learning to give:  I have heard it said that there are three types of giving:  Obligation giving, giving until it hurts, and giving until it doesn’t hurt anymore.  To this day, I am still teetering between the first two. 

I would love to learn a lesson from the most famous non-named woman ever to live.  You know who she is, but you (like me) don’t know her name.  Her story is couched in a scene where Jesus and his disciples are watching people giving to the temple treasury.  Our bibles record only a few short words and we have inserted the label of the story of “The Widow’s Two Mites.”  In reality, though, this woman shakes foundations.  She is a seismic catalyst in a scene where Jesus’ disciples thought others were creating the earthquakes.  Picture the rich, the well-to-do, the church leaders all coming in and giving lavish amounts.  I don’t question their hearts.  Most of them probably did it out of desire and not out of selfish ambition.  That is not the difference Jesus notes here, though. 

Jesus asks his disciples “did you see that?  Did you see what she just did?”  Odds are at least one of them thought Jesus might have been pointing out a thief.  No, Jesus points out that this unnamed woman who threw in “thinnies” gave more than all of those others  because she gave out of her poverty while everyone else gave out of their wealth. 

To my knowledge, Jesus never spoke directly to the woman.

For all we know, she never even knew the coversation was happening.

For all we know, she left that day not knowing that Jesus Himself not only took note of her, but would include her story in the Gospels that would touch mankind for the rest of time.

For all we know, she went hungry that night because of her gift.

THAT is the kind of giving into which I want to grow.  I hope I can meet this woman someday in eternity.  I would love to know her full story.  For now, though, I’ll be content with having her as a goal – a level of maturity I have not yet reached. 

My hope is that at the end of this year, I will know God more fully, become more familiar with His word, and be a little more amazed at how He works.  Happy 2010!

-MH

Well, let’s say it’s been a bit hectic.  Perhaps I’ll get back to my every-other-week mode in 2010.

Interestingly enough, I have been disabled on Facebook because my account was hacked and used as part of an email-for-money scam.  Let us all rise up and wish that such cyber-punks will be caught, strapped to a table, and have all body hair (yes… ALL of it) plucked follicle by follicle with tweezers.  And, may that process take about seven full days to complete.

Bitter, party of one, your table is now available!

-MH