What's Your Story?

Yahoo News ran a story yesterday about a Pennsylvania Pastor, Jim Moats, who claimed service as a Navy SEAL to a local paper as part of a story in the days following the killing of Osama bin Laden. The pastor, who confessed to the fabricating story, evidently purchased a Trident medal at a military surplus store and wore it around town- as well as telling what Navy SEAL training was like to the paper.  But to some real SEALs who read the article, they recognized that his story closely paralleled depicted in the Steven Seagal classic "Under Siege."

Really? You ripped off details from a Steven Seagal movie?

Now, this pastor is not the first person to make up a story (read: LIE!) about their military service.  Several politicians have been caught spinning tales about their military careers.  But one quote in the story is really telling.  It comes from retired SEAL Don Shipley.  He says, "We deal with these guys all the time.  Especially the clergy.  It's amazing how many of the clergy are involved in those lies to build that flock up." (Note: It was Shipley who said the pastor's tale sounded more like "Under Siege" than real SEAL experience.)

Clergy are "those guys" who fabricate stories about military service?  Where is our integrity as pastors?

Do we really need to "puff up" our testimonies and personal stories in order to lead people to Christ?  Can't a boring conversion story of been in the church all my life and God has been faithful just as powerful of a testimony as the skid-row to front row of the church testimony?

Pastors, leaders, and fellow Christians- when we have to lie to share our faith, it destroys our character and damages our witness and the witness of those Christians who have integrity in their lives and ministry.  The story of our faith is not tied up in who we are and what we have done (whether mundane or great), but our story of faith rest firmly upon the foundation of what God has done through Jesus Christ in our life.  That we have been redeemed and reconciled through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus- God's Son.  Our preaching, teaching, and our testimonies should rest on what God has done, not what we have done.

What's your faith story? Mundane? Fantastical? Have you ever been tempted to embellish your story? What did you ultimately do?

A Lot of Hot Air

Photo: Reuters/KUSA TV

I was in my office on Thursday when our church secretary called me in the see this story about a boy who was trapped inside of a run away helium filled ballon.  Yes, I tuned in on my computer just a few minutes before the balloon landed safely in a fied somewhere in Colorado.  Since then, the police involved in the investigation believe this to be a hoax- a publicity stunt with the hope of "better marketing themselves for a reality television show at some point in the future."  There will be a lot of talk about this in the days to come about how this happened, and who/what is to blame for this situation.  Let me add to the noise some thoughts on this instance.

1. Shame on parents who use their children to pursue their goals of celebrity and fame (Jon and Kate- are you listening?).  The Heenes put their children in a position where they would have to lie in order to keep up the hoax.  Falcon- the boy supposedly in the balloon, was so nervous/sick during interviews on Friday morning, that he threw up several times off camera.  What does say about parenting when children are used as a means to reach our goals?  What kind of emotional scarring might occuring in this case- and in the case of Jon and Kate's children?  Is not the job of parents to raise and protect their children so that they can grow into adulthood with the tools they need for life?
2. Shame on the media for continuing to air shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8 (or whatever it's called now), Wifeswap, and the other shows that invade families lives.  To me, Jon and Kate Plus 8 and TLC are the biggest violators here.  Why has TLC continued to air the shows while Jon and Kate headed to divorce?  If the executives cared about the people rather than the bottom line, they would have pulled the plug on this series.  What will happen to the children of the show once the cameras stop rolling?  What will happen to Jon and Kate once the show ends, the complimentary trips end, and money dries up?  For the Henne family- is it too hard to believe that a network would give them a series? (Sci-Fi Network??).  Network executives need to remember that the people in their reality shows are, in fact, people- not property.
3. Shame on you and me for continuing to watch shows like Jon and Kate Plus 8, 18 Kids and Counting, Table for 12, Wife Swap, Nannie911, The Bachelor/Bachelorette, etc.  Let's be honest here, we watch some of these shows because we are interested in the train wreck that often happens.  We want to see carnage.  We don't want to see a family that has it all together.  We want to see someone who is a mess and makes us feel better about ourselves. If we continue to watch these shows that the networks put on, the networks will continue to roll out family after family or person after person for us to watch implode. We are not that far from being the Hennes' ourselves as we want to feel connected with celebrities and the life they live.  That's why we tune in each week on the TV.  That's why we read US Weekly, Star Magazine, and Ok! Magazine rather than being engaged in what is happening in our own country and around the world.   

I have no clue what will happen to the Hennes' this week.  The authorities are talking about filing criminal charges of some sort.  Let's hope that no network will show up on their doorstep, and that the this incident can be put behind them as they continue life in the real world.