I received word that it looks like Leila will not live. Her head injury was just too great.
The cup we are give is very bitter, but God will help us to drink it and will use it to nourish us in the long run.
Sometimes there is no "why." Why her? I don't know. Why Melissa? I don't know. Why does Jesus (Leila's father) have to endure this? I don't know. Why does Elaine have to lose both her children to tragic accidents? I don't know.
I do know that God did not cause this accident to teach us something. I do know that neither Jesus, Melissa, Elaine, nor Leila did anything special to deserve this. God does not cause tragedy to teach us.
But God can teach us in tragedy. There is nothing that God cannot redeem. I believe that the greatest jewels in our heavenly crown will be made out of the tragedies of our lives - if we turn them over to God.
Into thy hands, O merciful Savior, we commend thy child, Leila. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech thee, a sheep of thine own fold, a lamb of thine own flock, a sinner of thine own redeeming. Receive her into the arms of thy mercy. Amen.
May Leila's soul rest in peace and may it rise in Glory!
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Please pray for Jesus, Elaine, John, and their entire families (including me and my wife).
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
On Prayer
Given my last post, prayer has taken on a greater focus in my life. Especially praying for unlikely outcomes. I believe (I faith) that God can perform a miracle and bring to full health even the dead.
I pray as I am able and I pray for what I want. In Leila's example, I want a complete healing for her and for her family.
But, following the example of our Lord, I also pray that God's will be done. What I deem may be best for the family (Leila's health) may not be what God knows is best or what is God's will. I do not belive that God will's our deaths or our pains. But God does will us joy and presence with Him.
So, how then should I pray? Should I pray for the miracle? Should I pray for God's will to be done? Should I pray that I come to understand God's will in any given matter?
As an Anglican, my answer to those questions is yes! I pray that God grant us a miracle. that God will intervene and bring Leila to full health and wholeness. I pray that no one will be able to deny the healing that only God can give and that others are brought to deeper faith in God through His power working on Leila and her brother. This is my intercession and my petition. In this prayer, I ask for God to work in and through us. Here is where I make my will known to God. I ask that this cup pass us by - the cup we are drinking is already sufficiently bitter.
I also pray that God will do what He knows is best for us - that His perfect will be known to us and be effected in our lives. This is the prayer of submission. Here I humbly accept that God knows better for me than I do and that He knows better for Leila and her family than I do. I submit myself to God's will. This is where I say that I will drink the cup and drain it to the dregs if that is what God wants me to do.
I also pray that I may understand God's will in this matter. I pray that, no matter what God does, that I can see where it is best for Leila, her family, my family, and me. This where where I ask God to help me drink the cup and help others drink it too (as necessary).
The cup our Lord drank on those Three Days was bitter and terrible. It was filled with pain, sin, anger, and hatred. But, out of the dregs of that cup came salvation for all who believe.
I don't know what the cup before me contains - let alone what the cup before my family contains. I don't know if it will be sweet or bitter. But I do know that God can and will use this cup before me to bring me closer to Him.
Pray that I will have the grace to minister to my extended family and help them to see that the cup will be nourishing to their souls if they ask God to help them drink it.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I pray as I am able and I pray for what I want. In Leila's example, I want a complete healing for her and for her family.
But, following the example of our Lord, I also pray that God's will be done. What I deem may be best for the family (Leila's health) may not be what God knows is best or what is God's will. I do not belive that God will's our deaths or our pains. But God does will us joy and presence with Him.
So, how then should I pray? Should I pray for the miracle? Should I pray for God's will to be done? Should I pray that I come to understand God's will in any given matter?
As an Anglican, my answer to those questions is yes! I pray that God grant us a miracle. that God will intervene and bring Leila to full health and wholeness. I pray that no one will be able to deny the healing that only God can give and that others are brought to deeper faith in God through His power working on Leila and her brother. This is my intercession and my petition. In this prayer, I ask for God to work in and through us. Here is where I make my will known to God. I ask that this cup pass us by - the cup we are drinking is already sufficiently bitter.
I also pray that God will do what He knows is best for us - that His perfect will be known to us and be effected in our lives. This is the prayer of submission. Here I humbly accept that God knows better for me than I do and that He knows better for Leila and her family than I do. I submit myself to God's will. This is where I say that I will drink the cup and drain it to the dregs if that is what God wants me to do.
I also pray that I may understand God's will in this matter. I pray that, no matter what God does, that I can see where it is best for Leila, her family, my family, and me. This where where I ask God to help me drink the cup and help others drink it too (as necessary).
The cup our Lord drank on those Three Days was bitter and terrible. It was filled with pain, sin, anger, and hatred. But, out of the dregs of that cup came salvation for all who believe.
I don't know what the cup before me contains - let alone what the cup before my family contains. I don't know if it will be sweet or bitter. But I do know that God can and will use this cup before me to bring me closer to Him.
Pray that I will have the grace to minister to my extended family and help them to see that the cup will be nourishing to their souls if they ask God to help them drink it.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Monday, April 27, 2009
URGENT PRAYER REQUEST
This afternoon, my family was hit with a tragedy.
Elaine, my sister-in-law (my wife's brother's wife) lost her daughter, Melissa, in a tragic car accident. Three years and two weeks ago, Elaine lost her son in another car accident.
On top of losing her two children to tragic accidents, her grand daughter, Leila (age 2), was seriously injured in the accident. She has massive head trauma and her brain is swelling. Also, the neurologist said that Leila's CT Scan showed a brain suffering from oxygen deprivation, so it is likely that Leila will not recover fully even if she survives the brain trauma. That way that the doctor talked, it seems likely that Leila will also die as a result of the accident.
Please pray for Leila - that God would work a miracle and bring healing and health to her.
Please pray for Jesus, Leila's father who just lost his wife and is looking at losing is baby girl.
Please pray for Andrew (age 5), Leila's brother, who was also injured in the accident but is not facing life threatening injuries - just broken bones and those heal.
Please pray for Elaine and John (Elaine's husband) as they face this tragedy together.
Please keep the entire Snyder, Poindexter, and Juarez families in your prayer for the next several days. I will send an update when I have more information.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Update - 4/28/2009 - I spoke with the family earlier today. Leila's prognosis is unchanged, but she is showing some responsiveness and they've reduced the pressure inside her skull. Andrew had a bit of a rough night as the pain meds wore off. They are trying to get him scheduled for surgery to set his bones today, but that my not work out. Please continue your prayers. - pls.
Update #2 - 4/28/2009 - I just spoke with my wife who is at the hospital with her family. Andrew had surgery today to set his legs and (I assume) his pelvis. The surgery went well and they are managing his pain. Please continue to pray for Andrew's recovery along with a miracle for Leila. - pls
Elaine, my sister-in-law (my wife's brother's wife) lost her daughter, Melissa, in a tragic car accident. Three years and two weeks ago, Elaine lost her son in another car accident.
On top of losing her two children to tragic accidents, her grand daughter, Leila (age 2), was seriously injured in the accident. She has massive head trauma and her brain is swelling. Also, the neurologist said that Leila's CT Scan showed a brain suffering from oxygen deprivation, so it is likely that Leila will not recover fully even if she survives the brain trauma. That way that the doctor talked, it seems likely that Leila will also die as a result of the accident.
Please pray for Leila - that God would work a miracle and bring healing and health to her.
Please pray for Jesus, Leila's father who just lost his wife and is looking at losing is baby girl.
Please pray for Andrew (age 5), Leila's brother, who was also injured in the accident but is not facing life threatening injuries - just broken bones and those heal.
Please pray for Elaine and John (Elaine's husband) as they face this tragedy together.
Please keep the entire Snyder, Poindexter, and Juarez families in your prayer for the next several days. I will send an update when I have more information.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Update - 4/28/2009 - I spoke with the family earlier today. Leila's prognosis is unchanged, but she is showing some responsiveness and they've reduced the pressure inside her skull. Andrew had a bit of a rough night as the pain meds wore off. They are trying to get him scheduled for surgery to set his bones today, but that my not work out. Please continue your prayers. - pls.
Update #2 - 4/28/2009 - I just spoke with my wife who is at the hospital with her family. Andrew had surgery today to set his legs and (I assume) his pelvis. The surgery went well and they are managing his pain. Please continue to pray for Andrew's recovery along with a miracle for Leila. - pls
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Forrester and the Ordination Process
A blog post by Greg Griffith at Stand Firm shows that Bishop elect Forrester re-wrote the liturgy for Baptism and for the Eucharist for Easter, 2008. I am not going to do a point by point reffutation of what Forrester has written. Others have done that much better than I (see here for a great example).
I think he is trying to be true to the faith as he understands it and THAT IS THE MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH TODAY.
For the past several decades, we have stopped doing the hard work of discernment in our ordination process for deacons and priests. The majority of dioceses no longer concern themselves with trying to verify that the Aspirant has any formation as a Christian - that (s)he understands and can articulate the faith in a way that shows they can form other Christians - before sending the aspirant off to seminary.
During the years at seminary, too many postulants and candidates are not interviewed to verify that they still hold, understand, and can articulate the faith. Too many are sent to seminary because they can successfully negotiate The Process (queue dramatic chord), not because they have a valid call to be priests and have received sufficient formation in the lay order before moving on to academic formation for the clerical order. Not having a good grounding in the faith, they are unprepared to discern between wheat and chaff in what they learn academically. In order to make good grades in seminary, they start writing papers that get good grades and they start to believe what they write.
My dad was ordained in the 1980s and he told me "If you can get out of seminary with your faith intact, you should be ordained because seminary will test your faith like nothing else." I believe there is a lot of truth to that, but too many bishops, COMs, and standing committees don't seem to check that last part - that the person believes the Faith, understands the Faith, and can teach the Faith.
What we have substituted instead is Process. Step 1, meet with the Bishop (or representative). Step 2, jump through the hoops put out by the COM etc. We have substituted process for discernment. We have substituted subjective "I sense a call" for objective "John understands the faith and can articulate and teach it."
Now, I have nothing against the Ordination Process per se. I learned an great deal about ministry and about the faith during my discernment process and my ordination process. I had a lot of my assumptions challenged and I am very glad that I went through the process. But (and this is a huge) the COM and the Standing Committee both asked me questions concerning my understanding of the faith and challenged me on several issues. They did their jobs.
One problem I see now in TEC is that too many priests and deacons lack the basic formation as Christians, let alone priests and deacons. And it is from the Priests that we take our Bishops. We have too many people in positions of authority and influence that are not willing to tell a nice person "no" if they don't understand the Faith, can't explain it, and can't teach it.
Jesus Christ did not defeat death to make us nice. Jesus Christ defeated death so that we could die with him and be raised to new life. I wish more priests and deacons (and bishops) would understand and teach that.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I think he is trying to be true to the faith as he understands it and THAT IS THE MAJOR PROBLEM IN THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH TODAY.
For the past several decades, we have stopped doing the hard work of discernment in our ordination process for deacons and priests. The majority of dioceses no longer concern themselves with trying to verify that the Aspirant has any formation as a Christian - that (s)he understands and can articulate the faith in a way that shows they can form other Christians - before sending the aspirant off to seminary.
During the years at seminary, too many postulants and candidates are not interviewed to verify that they still hold, understand, and can articulate the faith. Too many are sent to seminary because they can successfully negotiate The Process (queue dramatic chord), not because they have a valid call to be priests and have received sufficient formation in the lay order before moving on to academic formation for the clerical order. Not having a good grounding in the faith, they are unprepared to discern between wheat and chaff in what they learn academically. In order to make good grades in seminary, they start writing papers that get good grades and they start to believe what they write.
My dad was ordained in the 1980s and he told me "If you can get out of seminary with your faith intact, you should be ordained because seminary will test your faith like nothing else." I believe there is a lot of truth to that, but too many bishops, COMs, and standing committees don't seem to check that last part - that the person believes the Faith, understands the Faith, and can teach the Faith.
What we have substituted instead is Process. Step 1, meet with the Bishop (or representative). Step 2, jump through the hoops put out by the COM etc. We have substituted process for discernment. We have substituted subjective "I sense a call" for objective "John understands the faith and can articulate and teach it."
Now, I have nothing against the Ordination Process per se. I learned an great deal about ministry and about the faith during my discernment process and my ordination process. I had a lot of my assumptions challenged and I am very glad that I went through the process. But (and this is a huge) the COM and the Standing Committee both asked me questions concerning my understanding of the faith and challenged me on several issues. They did their jobs.
One problem I see now in TEC is that too many priests and deacons lack the basic formation as Christians, let alone priests and deacons. And it is from the Priests that we take our Bishops. We have too many people in positions of authority and influence that are not willing to tell a nice person "no" if they don't understand the Faith, can't explain it, and can't teach it.
Jesus Christ did not defeat death to make us nice. Jesus Christ defeated death so that we could die with him and be raised to new life. I wish more priests and deacons (and bishops) would understand and teach that.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Prayer Request
My life has been more full than normal.
I am in the midst of a major project at work that is consuming my nights and weekends. The last several weeks have been spent thusly:
1. March 29 - 2 mock go-lives run. Kairos team meeting all day Saturday, another mock go live over the weekend.
2. April 5 - Holy week. I spent the afternoon at work. We had a Mass of Colegiality and Renewal of Vows on Tuesday, a Seder at Church on Wednesday, Maundy Thursday (I preached), Good Friday, and the Great Vigil. Saturday was spent catching up on all the work I could not get done on the Wednesday or Thursday evening or when I was preparing my Thursday Sermon and my Kairos Talk.
3. April 12 - Easter Week. I went straight from Holy Week/Easter Day to Kairos on Wednesday afternoon thru the following Sunday. I had to solve a work problem via the phone on Thursday.
4. April 19 - This is go-live week. I've spent every night in front of the computer trying to solve last minute problems. I will miss the Kairos followup this weekend because of go-live.
5. Next week will be post go-live support.
When this project is over, I am going to have a nervous breakdown. I've worked for it. I've earned it. And no one will deprive me of it. :)
Please pray that I will be given the strength and wisdom to complete the tasks assigned to me.
Please pray that my team and customer have a successful upgrade and conversion and that their new system provides what they need to effectively and efficiently run their business.
Also, please pray for the Kairos family of St. John at Coffield as they meet this weekend. Pray that they will continue to be overwhelmed by God's agape love and that those who did not make a decision to follow Jesus will do so.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I am in the midst of a major project at work that is consuming my nights and weekends. The last several weeks have been spent thusly:
1. March 29 - 2 mock go-lives run. Kairos team meeting all day Saturday, another mock go live over the weekend.
2. April 5 - Holy week. I spent the afternoon at work. We had a Mass of Colegiality and Renewal of Vows on Tuesday, a Seder at Church on Wednesday, Maundy Thursday (I preached), Good Friday, and the Great Vigil. Saturday was spent catching up on all the work I could not get done on the Wednesday or Thursday evening or when I was preparing my Thursday Sermon and my Kairos Talk.
3. April 12 - Easter Week. I went straight from Holy Week/Easter Day to Kairos on Wednesday afternoon thru the following Sunday. I had to solve a work problem via the phone on Thursday.
4. April 19 - This is go-live week. I've spent every night in front of the computer trying to solve last minute problems. I will miss the Kairos followup this weekend because of go-live.
5. Next week will be post go-live support.
When this project is over, I am going to have a nervous breakdown. I've worked for it. I've earned it. And no one will deprive me of it. :)
Please pray that I will be given the strength and wisdom to complete the tasks assigned to me.
Please pray that my team and customer have a successful upgrade and conversion and that their new system provides what they need to effectively and efficiently run their business.
Also, please pray for the Kairos family of St. John at Coffield as they meet this weekend. Pray that they will continue to be overwhelmed by God's agape love and that those who did not make a decision to follow Jesus will do so.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Monday, April 20, 2009
Serving God
As I just returned from a Kairos prison ministry weekend, I was struck by the great amount of service that many volunteers give.
I am faithful in my Kairos ministry. I go to the reunions (making about 9-10 a year) and serving 1-2 Kairos weekends a year (depending on the date of the fall weekend - they often schedule the fall weekend for Coffield on the same weekend as Diocesan Convention). But I am not as faithful a servant as many others in Kairos. Duncan (my table leader this weekend) serves two units and is active in AA and other ministries. Jim and Gary serve as volunteer chaplains and spend many weekends and weekday evenings at the unit.
One problem with too many in the Church today is that they want Jesus as savior, but not as Lord. They want to worship, but not to serve. Or, as a friend of mine once put it, a lot of people want to serve God - they just want to serve Him as advisors.
When you look at your life, ask yourselve how Jesus is manifested as Lord in your life. Where is your obedience to your Lord? Where is your service to your Lord? Having Jesus as Savior is rather easy. Having Jesus as Lord is much more difficult. During the Great 50 Days, has yourself how Jesus is Lord is manifest in your life and how you can show it forth.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I am faithful in my Kairos ministry. I go to the reunions (making about 9-10 a year) and serving 1-2 Kairos weekends a year (depending on the date of the fall weekend - they often schedule the fall weekend for Coffield on the same weekend as Diocesan Convention). But I am not as faithful a servant as many others in Kairos. Duncan (my table leader this weekend) serves two units and is active in AA and other ministries. Jim and Gary serve as volunteer chaplains and spend many weekends and weekday evenings at the unit.
One problem with too many in the Church today is that they want Jesus as savior, but not as Lord. They want to worship, but not to serve. Or, as a friend of mine once put it, a lot of people want to serve God - they just want to serve Him as advisors.
When you look at your life, ask yourselve how Jesus is manifested as Lord in your life. Where is your obedience to your Lord? Where is your service to your Lord? Having Jesus as Savior is rather easy. Having Jesus as Lord is much more difficult. During the Great 50 Days, has yourself how Jesus is Lord is manifest in your life and how you can show it forth.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Kairos - Thank You For Your Prayers
I am very tired - but it is a good tired. I got home from Kairos #27 at Coffield at about 8:30 last night. I was so stoked that I didn't get to sleep until about 11:00 - although I went to bed at 9:30pm.
I hosted two participants. A host's job in Kairos is to be a friend and contact for the weekend. I met my participants for cookies, fruit, and coffee each morning and checked on them during the day.
Thursday started slow (as is normal).
Friday, my participants opened up a little bit. One described himself as one with one foot in the Church and one in the world. The other one was very reserved and said he didn't really need other people.
I gave the "Friendship with God" talk on Friday in which we showed the men that God isn't looking for them to sin, but is reaching out to them for a relationship with them. I also gave a quick homily on Isaiah 49 - where God says that He has inscribed us on His hands.
Saturday, I had the joy of hearing an inmate's confession of faith in Jesus Christ as he said he was tired of fighting and being defeated. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Sunday, one of the two participants I was hosting also made a confession of faith and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The other participant I was hosting also made a confession of faith to his family leader.
Please continue to pray for the men. Particularly the men who I heard either commit for the first time or recommit. Pray for Robert, Jessie A., Jessie T, Albert, Beck, Steven, and Juan.
There is one man who pointedly did not commit to Jesus, but said he would think about it. "Joe" is a rather intellectual person who is well read and philosophy and theology. I didn't get a chance to talk with him too much, but his father was an Odinist (Norse Pagan) and both his father and grand father spent significant time in prison. Pray that God would enlighten Joe's heart and mind to understand the His truth.
Again, thank you for the prayers and support for the weekend. While the struggles of TEC are many (and one of the Coffield Chaplains joked with me about TEC and its struggles), they pale in comparison to the work of reaching the lost and forgotten with the reconciling love of God and His power to make all things new. If only TEC's leadership knew the love of God and submitted to His will. But it is infinitely harder to convince those that think they are saved that they need salvation. Those who know they are lost already know their need.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
I hosted two participants. A host's job in Kairos is to be a friend and contact for the weekend. I met my participants for cookies, fruit, and coffee each morning and checked on them during the day.
Thursday started slow (as is normal).
Friday, my participants opened up a little bit. One described himself as one with one foot in the Church and one in the world. The other one was very reserved and said he didn't really need other people.
I gave the "Friendship with God" talk on Friday in which we showed the men that God isn't looking for them to sin, but is reaching out to them for a relationship with them. I also gave a quick homily on Isaiah 49 - where God says that He has inscribed us on His hands.
Saturday, I had the joy of hearing an inmate's confession of faith in Jesus Christ as he said he was tired of fighting and being defeated. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
Sunday, one of the two participants I was hosting also made a confession of faith and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The other participant I was hosting also made a confession of faith to his family leader.
Please continue to pray for the men. Particularly the men who I heard either commit for the first time or recommit. Pray for Robert, Jessie A., Jessie T, Albert, Beck, Steven, and Juan.
There is one man who pointedly did not commit to Jesus, but said he would think about it. "Joe" is a rather intellectual person who is well read and philosophy and theology. I didn't get a chance to talk with him too much, but his father was an Odinist (Norse Pagan) and both his father and grand father spent significant time in prison. Pray that God would enlighten Joe's heart and mind to understand the His truth.
Again, thank you for the prayers and support for the weekend. While the struggles of TEC are many (and one of the Coffield Chaplains joked with me about TEC and its struggles), they pale in comparison to the work of reaching the lost and forgotten with the reconciling love of God and His power to make all things new. If only TEC's leadership knew the love of God and submitted to His will. But it is infinitely harder to convince those that think they are saved that they need salvation. Those who know they are lost already know their need.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Which Jesus will you follow?
There has been a lot written and read and said about The Rev. Forrester's elevation to the Episcopate. Many are concerned that He is a "Buddhist Christian" because he practices Zen Buddhist meditation techniques. Many are concerned that his (s)election process was uncanonical and some are concerned about his Christology and Theology.
Also in the news is the impending deposition of Ann Holmes Reading for trying to be both a practicing Muslim and an Episcopal Priest.
The problem is not just with them. While both are responsible for their beliefs and actions, they are also the results of formation gone very wrong.
Too many clergy that I've read about or corresponded with and too many "liberal" or reappraising books I've read speak Jesus as a person who is just like us, but knows God's love for him much more than we do. In their theology, Jesus is simply a person with hightened spiritual awareness.
This Jesus is very attractive to many people. He shows that we, too, can aspire to special divinity by becoming mor aware of our natural divinity as children of God.
The problem is that this Jesus doesn't require our death. This Jesus doesn't require a whole lot from us. This Jesus doesn't judge us or himself. If we are divine, then there is no judgement.
This Jesus has the power of a warm fuzzy. Something that makes us feel good about ourselves and about our lives, but doesn't change us.
You have a choice in which Jesus you will follow. Will you follow the Jesus - the Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father - the Second Person of the Trinity complete both in human nature and in divine nature - the unique Incarnation who suffered and died for us to reconcile us to God and then rose victorious from the grave after defeating death and sin? Will you come and die with Jesus so you can be raised in New Life and participate in his victory over sin and death?
Or will you follow Jesus the warm fuzzy. Will you let this Jesus make you nice and a warm fuzzy yourself?
Warm fuzzies are not stronger than death.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Also in the news is the impending deposition of Ann Holmes Reading for trying to be both a practicing Muslim and an Episcopal Priest.
The problem is not just with them. While both are responsible for their beliefs and actions, they are also the results of formation gone very wrong.
Too many clergy that I've read about or corresponded with and too many "liberal" or reappraising books I've read speak Jesus as a person who is just like us, but knows God's love for him much more than we do. In their theology, Jesus is simply a person with hightened spiritual awareness.
This Jesus is very attractive to many people. He shows that we, too, can aspire to special divinity by becoming mor aware of our natural divinity as children of God.
The problem is that this Jesus doesn't require our death. This Jesus doesn't require a whole lot from us. This Jesus doesn't judge us or himself. If we are divine, then there is no judgement.
This Jesus has the power of a warm fuzzy. Something that makes us feel good about ourselves and about our lives, but doesn't change us.
You have a choice in which Jesus you will follow. Will you follow the Jesus - the Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father - the Second Person of the Trinity complete both in human nature and in divine nature - the unique Incarnation who suffered and died for us to reconcile us to God and then rose victorious from the grave after defeating death and sin? Will you come and die with Jesus so you can be raised in New Life and participate in his victory over sin and death?
Or will you follow Jesus the warm fuzzy. Will you let this Jesus make you nice and a warm fuzzy yourself?
Warm fuzzies are not stronger than death.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
It's Kairos Time Again!
Once again, I will be part of a team that will be visiting Jesus in Prison. From April 16th through April 19t, I will be in the Coffield Unit in Texas visiting our Lord and spreading His message of love, reconciliation, and the call to be made new among 42 inmates.
For the people that may read this, I have a request. I know many of you are interested in things concerning the Episcopal Church. There are those who disagree with me and those who agree with me on what should happen in TEC and the Anglican Communion. I am asking that we set these things aside and commit to pray for the 42 inmates at Coffield that will be participating in the Kairos weekend.
If you will pray for the weekend, please leave a comment here with your actual name (first name is suffiient) and the city and country in which you will be praying.
We write the names on strips of paper and then form those strips into a "prayer chain." We wrap that chain around the place where we are holding the weekend as a visible reminder to the team that Prayer is what sustains and upholds us in ministry and to the inmates as a visible reminder that thousands of people from around the world are praying for them.
Please add your name to those who will pray for the men at Coffield.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
For the people that may read this, I have a request. I know many of you are interested in things concerning the Episcopal Church. There are those who disagree with me and those who agree with me on what should happen in TEC and the Anglican Communion. I am asking that we set these things aside and commit to pray for the 42 inmates at Coffield that will be participating in the Kairos weekend.
If you will pray for the weekend, please leave a comment here with your actual name (first name is suffiient) and the city and country in which you will be praying.
We write the names on strips of paper and then form those strips into a "prayer chain." We wrap that chain around the place where we are holding the weekend as a visible reminder to the team that Prayer is what sustains and upholds us in ministry and to the inmates as a visible reminder that thousands of people from around the world are praying for them.
Please add your name to those who will pray for the men at Coffield.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
A Break - with music
The last week and a half has been busier than most - thus the lack of blog posts. I had to prepare a Lay Eucharistic Minister (actually a Lay Eucharistic Visitor) retreat, prepare a sermon, do my normal work, get my son prepared for a Weblos Woods campout, gather charitas (letters of encouragement and evidence of prayer) for my Daughter as she went to her first Happening (like Cursillo or Walk to Emmaus, but for High School students).
So, I let the blog posting on the Seven Deadly sins subside for a bit.
In between time (and as a good Lenten break that reminds us that God's Grace is what saves us), I offer this rendition of Amazing Grace.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
So, I let the blog posting on the Seven Deadly sins subside for a bit.
In between time (and as a good Lenten break that reminds us that God's Grace is what saves us), I offer this rendition of Amazing Grace.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Deadly Sins - Pride (Part 1)
Perhaps the root of all sin is the sin of Pride. Pride is putting one's self in the place of God. It is making decisions as if you were God or acting as if God's plan and your plan are the same. When I am honest with myself, I will admit that all too often God's voice sounds like my own; God's plan is to make my happy now and God's will is just what I want.
Being the root of all sin; pride is, perhaps, the most deadly of sins. Like all sin, pride brings darkness to our lives and our souls so that we are no longer even aware of the extent of our sins. We may intellectually know of our sins, but we do not know them. We do not own them. We don't really feel that the "memory of them is grevious to us. The burden of them is intollerable."
Following St. Augustine's Prayer Book, Pride is putting yourself in the place of God as the center of our lives (or some part of our lives) or the object of our love. Pride refuses to recognize our status as creatures who are dependent on God for our lives and everything around us. Pride shows itself in several, often subtle, ways
Irreverence - Neglect of woship of God every Sunday in His Church or being content with a perfunctory participation in worship. Disregard of Holy Days or additional opportunities for giving God honor. Failure to thank God or to express our gratitude adequately. Disrespect for God or for holy things by deliberatly treating them (in thought, word, or deed) in profane, contemptous or an overly-familiar manner. Use of holy things for personal advantage or the attempt to bribe or placate God by religious practices or promises.
Sentimentality - Being satisfied with pious feelings and beautiful ceremonies withouth striving to obey God's will.
Presumption - Dependence on self rather than on God. Neglecting the means of Grace - sacraments, prayer, and study. Dispensation of ourselves from ordinary duties on the grounds that we are "above that." Satisfaction or complacency over our spiritual achievements (or even taking credit for our spiritual achievements). Refusal to avoid, when possible, immediate occasions of temptation. Preference for our own will, ideas, or plans. Foolish optimism. Failure to recognize our work as a divine vocation or to offer our work to God. Unwillingness to surrender to Jesus or to abide in him. Failur to offer to intercede for others - especially those who have asked our prayers.
Distrust - Refusal to accept God's wisdome, providence, and love. Worry, anxiety, misgivings, overly scrupulousness or perfectionism. Attempts to discern or control the future through any means. Supersticion is a form of distrust.
Over-sensitiveness. Expectation that otherswill dislike, reject, or mistreat us. Being too quick to take offense at others actions or words.
Timidity in accepting responsibility or cowardice in facing difficulty. Surrendering to feelings of gloom, depression, pessimism, discouragement, self-pity instead of fighting and praying for courage and hope.
When I look at this (partial list), I tremble at my own sin. I see myself far too often in this list. I plead with Paul "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And, I rejoice with him in the answer: "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ!"
The whole point of an examination of conscience is not to run ourselves down or to feel bad about ourselves, but to know our own sinfulness and then offer that to God and ask for forgivness and amendment of life.
Pride hide our sins from us. Pride leads to the dark and damp place in our souls in which sin grows like mold and mildew. Confession is the God's ultraviolate light shining on the mold and bringing it to nothingness. I urge you to make a private confession at least once during this Lent.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Being the root of all sin; pride is, perhaps, the most deadly of sins. Like all sin, pride brings darkness to our lives and our souls so that we are no longer even aware of the extent of our sins. We may intellectually know of our sins, but we do not know them. We do not own them. We don't really feel that the "memory of them is grevious to us. The burden of them is intollerable."
Following St. Augustine's Prayer Book, Pride is putting yourself in the place of God as the center of our lives (or some part of our lives) or the object of our love. Pride refuses to recognize our status as creatures who are dependent on God for our lives and everything around us. Pride shows itself in several, often subtle, ways
Irreverence - Neglect of woship of God every Sunday in His Church or being content with a perfunctory participation in worship. Disregard of Holy Days or additional opportunities for giving God honor. Failure to thank God or to express our gratitude adequately. Disrespect for God or for holy things by deliberatly treating them (in thought, word, or deed) in profane, contemptous or an overly-familiar manner. Use of holy things for personal advantage or the attempt to bribe or placate God by religious practices or promises.
Sentimentality - Being satisfied with pious feelings and beautiful ceremonies withouth striving to obey God's will.
Presumption - Dependence on self rather than on God. Neglecting the means of Grace - sacraments, prayer, and study. Dispensation of ourselves from ordinary duties on the grounds that we are "above that." Satisfaction or complacency over our spiritual achievements (or even taking credit for our spiritual achievements). Refusal to avoid, when possible, immediate occasions of temptation. Preference for our own will, ideas, or plans. Foolish optimism. Failure to recognize our work as a divine vocation or to offer our work to God. Unwillingness to surrender to Jesus or to abide in him. Failur to offer to intercede for others - especially those who have asked our prayers.
Distrust - Refusal to accept God's wisdome, providence, and love. Worry, anxiety, misgivings, overly scrupulousness or perfectionism. Attempts to discern or control the future through any means. Supersticion is a form of distrust.
Over-sensitiveness. Expectation that otherswill dislike, reject, or mistreat us. Being too quick to take offense at others actions or words.
Timidity in accepting responsibility or cowardice in facing difficulty. Surrendering to feelings of gloom, depression, pessimism, discouragement, self-pity instead of fighting and praying for courage and hope.
When I look at this (partial list), I tremble at my own sin. I see myself far too often in this list. I plead with Paul "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" And, I rejoice with him in the answer: "Thanks be to God in Jesus Christ!"
The whole point of an examination of conscience is not to run ourselves down or to feel bad about ourselves, but to know our own sinfulness and then offer that to God and ask for forgivness and amendment of life.
Pride hide our sins from us. Pride leads to the dark and damp place in our souls in which sin grows like mold and mildew. Confession is the God's ultraviolate light shining on the mold and bringing it to nothingness. I urge you to make a private confession at least once during this Lent.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Monday, March 02, 2009
Deadly Sins - Anger
For the next few days, I plan to discuss each of the Seven Deadly Sins. Because it is first in the list below, I will start with Anger. Note, for each of these sins, I will use, as a base, the Examination of Conscience found in Saint Augustine's Prayer Book (revised edition, 1967). That is the best resource I've found for an examination of conscience.
Many people confuse the sin of Anger with emotional anger and they make two mistakes. The first (and probably the most common) is to dismiss the sin of Anger by saying that you are simply experiencing the emotion and, after all, Jesus got angry and drove the money changers out of the temple. The second mistake is to refuse the emotion of anger and not deal with the causes - whether they are external or internal. This can cause significant emotional harm if done for some length of time. A person will often hide or swallow or ignore the anger and let it build until he lashes out at something rather minor - say getting cut off in traffic or having someone else take the parking spot you were waiting for first.
The sin of Anger is self-focused. It is open rebellion against God or other persons in order to remove obstacles (real or imagined) that come between our selves and our wills. It retaliates to any threat to our security, avenges insults and seeks redress of wrongs - normally in our favor.
There are different types of anger. Resentment is the refusal to discern, accept, or fulfill God's vocation for you. Resentment leads to dissatisfaction with your God-given talents, opportunities, or abilities. It can lead to unwillingness to face up to difficulties or sacrifices required by God to fulfill your vocation. Resentment leads to transferring blame to God, our parents, or families, our bosses or anyone else for the reasons behind our failures. Resentment shows itself in cynicism, profanity, grumbling and a desire to escape from reality.
Pugnacity is an attack upon another in anger. It can be physical, emotional, or spiritual. Murder by desire (and remember, that saying "you fool" or "raca" is murder by desire) or deed. Striking another, cursing another, insulting another, or damaging an other's reputation by words and deeds. Arguing, bickering, contradicting others to get your own point across, being rude or snubbing others are all forms of pugnacity. It is more than just hitting another, it is the desire or will to cause harm to others. It can be shown in praying for the ill of another person - even when in the form of praying to help others. One of Satan's favorite tricks with pugnacity is to rub the salt of injuries into your wounds even when you are on your knees. Does this sound familiar to anyone but me? "Dear God, please help XXX see the error of his ways. Let him know how much he hurt me by betraying me and lying to me. Let him seek your forgiveness for his sins."
Another form of Anger is Retaliation. It is vengeance (actual or planned) for wrongs real or imagined. It is giving excessive punishment out of a desire to hurt, not discipline. Hostility, sullenness, and rash judgment. Refusal to forgive or to offer or accept reconciliation. Unwillingness to love your enemies, to seek their good or to pray for them. Retaliation shows itself in ostracising others and getting others to join you in cutting someone off from the group to make you feel better. Putting others down so you can feel better about yourself. Refusing to join in the groups activities simply because you did not get your way. Feeling superior to others.
Now, how can we tell if we are experiencing the emotion of anger or the sin of anger. Close and honest examination is required. Normally if you are angry at a slight you have experienced, you are moving into the sin area. If you are angry at the plight of others, they you are probably not sinning as much.
Anger is a natural (fallen nature, of course, but still natural) emotion. We experience it all the time. What do we do about it? How can we stop at the emotion and not move into the sin?
The key to diminishing our anger is forgiveness. Refusal to take offense at the slights (real or imagined) and forgiving others when they do offend us is the best defense. When I am working in prison and discussing forgiveness with the inmates (and even team members) I always say that forgiveness is the easiest and hardest thing we will ever do. We often don't want to forgive. But God commands us to forgive and we ask to be forgiven in the same way we forgive others. Can you imagine how much trouble we would be in if God answered the Lord's Prayer "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" with "Yes, in the same way your forgive others, I will forgive you."
Forgiveness does not come naturally. It takes work and prayer. But it is also easy. All that God really requires us to do is say: "God, I am very angry at this person. I don't want to forgive him. But You ask me to and I want to be obedient to You. Please, Lord, help be to forgive. Help me to see XXX the same way you see him. Help me to love him as you love me."
During this period of Lent, make a list of all the people who make you angry. Write down their names. Then, pray the prayer above for each of them and offer them to God. Every day, ask for help in forgiving them. Ask God to take your anger and substitute His forgiveness and agape love.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The next sin - Pride (part 1)
Many people confuse the sin of Anger with emotional anger and they make two mistakes. The first (and probably the most common) is to dismiss the sin of Anger by saying that you are simply experiencing the emotion and, after all, Jesus got angry and drove the money changers out of the temple. The second mistake is to refuse the emotion of anger and not deal with the causes - whether they are external or internal. This can cause significant emotional harm if done for some length of time. A person will often hide or swallow or ignore the anger and let it build until he lashes out at something rather minor - say getting cut off in traffic or having someone else take the parking spot you were waiting for first.
The sin of Anger is self-focused. It is open rebellion against God or other persons in order to remove obstacles (real or imagined) that come between our selves and our wills. It retaliates to any threat to our security, avenges insults and seeks redress of wrongs - normally in our favor.
There are different types of anger. Resentment is the refusal to discern, accept, or fulfill God's vocation for you. Resentment leads to dissatisfaction with your God-given talents, opportunities, or abilities. It can lead to unwillingness to face up to difficulties or sacrifices required by God to fulfill your vocation. Resentment leads to transferring blame to God, our parents, or families, our bosses or anyone else for the reasons behind our failures. Resentment shows itself in cynicism, profanity, grumbling and a desire to escape from reality.
Pugnacity is an attack upon another in anger. It can be physical, emotional, or spiritual. Murder by desire (and remember, that saying "you fool" or "raca" is murder by desire) or deed. Striking another, cursing another, insulting another, or damaging an other's reputation by words and deeds. Arguing, bickering, contradicting others to get your own point across, being rude or snubbing others are all forms of pugnacity. It is more than just hitting another, it is the desire or will to cause harm to others. It can be shown in praying for the ill of another person - even when in the form of praying to help others. One of Satan's favorite tricks with pugnacity is to rub the salt of injuries into your wounds even when you are on your knees. Does this sound familiar to anyone but me? "Dear God, please help XXX see the error of his ways. Let him know how much he hurt me by betraying me and lying to me. Let him seek your forgiveness for his sins."
Another form of Anger is Retaliation. It is vengeance (actual or planned) for wrongs real or imagined. It is giving excessive punishment out of a desire to hurt, not discipline. Hostility, sullenness, and rash judgment. Refusal to forgive or to offer or accept reconciliation. Unwillingness to love your enemies, to seek their good or to pray for them. Retaliation shows itself in ostracising others and getting others to join you in cutting someone off from the group to make you feel better. Putting others down so you can feel better about yourself. Refusing to join in the groups activities simply because you did not get your way. Feeling superior to others.
Now, how can we tell if we are experiencing the emotion of anger or the sin of anger. Close and honest examination is required. Normally if you are angry at a slight you have experienced, you are moving into the sin area. If you are angry at the plight of others, they you are probably not sinning as much.
Anger is a natural (fallen nature, of course, but still natural) emotion. We experience it all the time. What do we do about it? How can we stop at the emotion and not move into the sin?
The key to diminishing our anger is forgiveness. Refusal to take offense at the slights (real or imagined) and forgiving others when they do offend us is the best defense. When I am working in prison and discussing forgiveness with the inmates (and even team members) I always say that forgiveness is the easiest and hardest thing we will ever do. We often don't want to forgive. But God commands us to forgive and we ask to be forgiven in the same way we forgive others. Can you imagine how much trouble we would be in if God answered the Lord's Prayer "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us" with "Yes, in the same way your forgive others, I will forgive you."
Forgiveness does not come naturally. It takes work and prayer. But it is also easy. All that God really requires us to do is say: "God, I am very angry at this person. I don't want to forgive him. But You ask me to and I want to be obedient to You. Please, Lord, help be to forgive. Help me to see XXX the same way you see him. Help me to love him as you love me."
During this period of Lent, make a list of all the people who make you angry. Write down their names. Then, pray the prayer above for each of them and offer them to God. Every day, ask for help in forgiving them. Ask God to take your anger and substitute His forgiveness and agape love.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The next sin - Pride (part 1)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Deadly Sins
In Catholic theology, we talk about the Seven Deadly Sins. Human's love to catorigize and lable so that things are easire to deal with. Anyway, the seven deadly sins can easily be remember by a wonderful acronmyn (and being a computer programmer by trade and the son of an Air Force Officer by birth, I love acronyms). Fr. Doug Travis taught me this acronym: APESLAG.
Anger
Pride
Envy
Sloth
Lust
Avarice
Gluttony
I had often wondered what it is about sin that leads to death. We all know that the wages of sin is death. We all know that Sin do not coexist. So, why does God hate sin so much? What is it about sin that causes God to cast us away from Himself?
When I was in college, I often wondered about death and hell. What was just about God condemning a man to eternity of punishment for 70 or 80 or even 100 years of sins - no matter how heinous the sins were? How could I reconcile God's justice and love with this rather imbalanced equation (100 years of sin = eternity of punishment).
I prayed and asked questions. Perhaps the most important work for me on this subject was C. S. Lewis' book The Great Divorce. In it, Lewis sees people making the same choices that keep the from heaven and he sees a few leave hell. It is a wonderful book on the nature of time and eternity.
Another book that was instrumental to my image of sin and hell was Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Inferno. It is a "rewrite" of Dante's Inferno, but updated for the 20th Century. (As an aside, they have a sequel out, Escape From Hell, which is wonderful as well.) There is one scene that showed me a possible reason for hell. The protagonist of the story (Allen Carpenter, a science fiction author), sees a psychiatrist in the pit of Falsifiers and Counterfiters. The psychiatrist tells the story of putting a catatonic in a hot box until the catatonic reacted and when they got to box up to 130 degrees, the catatonic said his first worsd in sixteen years: "Get me the f$%# out of here!" The story continues:
I reasoned the same as Niven and Pournelle - that Hell was Heaven's insane asylum. Like Lewis, I thought it possible to leave Hell (at which point it becomes purgatory). Now I don't know if that is true or not and I have no real desire to find out personally, but I like the idea.
Now, what is it about Sin that causes us to enter Hell? What causes us to be judged?
When I think of sin as part of our nature - our ontology or our being rather than specific acts, I get a better idea. Sin is living or thinking as if God does not exist. Sin takes us away from God, not because God sends us away, but because It is virtually impossible to reach your destination by stearing away from it. Sin is not just rebellion against God, it is acting as if you are God yourself and God Himself does not exist. Sin is unreality. Sin is death because it takes us away from the Author of Life Himself - God. The Seven Deadly Sins are so labled because they cause us to deviate from the Path that God set for us to reach Him.
There are two correctives for sin. First, of course, is confession. Naming your sin and confessing it and taking responsibility for it and receiving God's forgiveness is a wonderful and freeing exercise. The second, and more permanent is to be made new. To be filled with God's grace and to have our new life operate within us so that we sin less and less.
Over the next several days, we will discuss each of the Seven Deadly Sins in more detail.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The First "A" - Anger
Anger
Pride
Envy
Sloth
Lust
Avarice
Gluttony
I had often wondered what it is about sin that leads to death. We all know that the wages of sin is death. We all know that Sin do not coexist. So, why does God hate sin so much? What is it about sin that causes God to cast us away from Himself?
When I was in college, I often wondered about death and hell. What was just about God condemning a man to eternity of punishment for 70 or 80 or even 100 years of sins - no matter how heinous the sins were? How could I reconcile God's justice and love with this rather imbalanced equation (100 years of sin = eternity of punishment).
I prayed and asked questions. Perhaps the most important work for me on this subject was C. S. Lewis' book The Great Divorce. In it, Lewis sees people making the same choices that keep the from heaven and he sees a few leave hell. It is a wonderful book on the nature of time and eternity.
Another book that was instrumental to my image of sin and hell was Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle's Inferno. It is a "rewrite" of Dante's Inferno, but updated for the 20th Century. (As an aside, they have a sequel out, Escape From Hell, which is wonderful as well.) There is one scene that showed me a possible reason for hell. The protagonist of the story (Allen Carpenter, a science fiction author), sees a psychiatrist in the pit of Falsifiers and Counterfiters. The psychiatrist tells the story of putting a catatonic in a hot box until the catatonic reacted and when they got to box up to 130 degrees, the catatonic said his first worsd in sixteen years: "Get me the f$%# out of here!" The story continues:
The mad eyes found me, and his face seemed to cae in. The cherubic
smile vanished. Urgently he said, "Get me the f$%# out of here!"
I reasoned the same as Niven and Pournelle - that Hell was Heaven's insane asylum. Like Lewis, I thought it possible to leave Hell (at which point it becomes purgatory). Now I don't know if that is true or not and I have no real desire to find out personally, but I like the idea.
Now, what is it about Sin that causes us to enter Hell? What causes us to be judged?
When I think of sin as part of our nature - our ontology or our being rather than specific acts, I get a better idea. Sin is living or thinking as if God does not exist. Sin takes us away from God, not because God sends us away, but because It is virtually impossible to reach your destination by stearing away from it. Sin is not just rebellion against God, it is acting as if you are God yourself and God Himself does not exist. Sin is unreality. Sin is death because it takes us away from the Author of Life Himself - God. The Seven Deadly Sins are so labled because they cause us to deviate from the Path that God set for us to reach Him.
There are two correctives for sin. First, of course, is confession. Naming your sin and confessing it and taking responsibility for it and receiving God's forgiveness is a wonderful and freeing exercise. The second, and more permanent is to be made new. To be filled with God's grace and to have our new life operate within us so that we sin less and less.
Over the next several days, we will discuss each of the Seven Deadly Sins in more detail.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
The First "A" - Anger
Thursday, February 26, 2009
What a Difference a Comma Makes
I remember a story by John Neuhouse that I read in "First Things" several years ago. He walked into a Church and saw a banner that read
GOD IS OTHER PEOPLE!
Now, I affirm that we often serve God by serving other people. I am a deacon and find that the most fulfilling ministry I do is not at the Altar (although I love the Altar). The most fulfilling ministry I do is in the prison or at the Sunday School class. I find that I serve God best by serving His people - even if those people deny that they belong to God (especially if they deny they belong to God!). If you want to serve God, go among His people and serve them in God's name. Go to a homeless shelter, a prison, a soup kitchen, a resale shop. Teach Sunday School, help clean up after a church dinner. Join a yard team to keep the church grounds neat. Join a mobile yard team that cuts the grass of elderly or disabled people who cannot afford to pay someone to cut their grass. By looking in the face of the poor, the oppressed, the sick, prisoners, and the like, we see the face of God. To know God, know His people.
Fr. Neuhouse wanted to change the banner slightly. He wanted to put a comma in it.
GOD IS OTHER, PEOPLE!
This shows us that God is not like us. God is utterly Other. We are not God. To know God, know that you are not Him and neither is anyone else. To know God, know that you know nothing yourself. To know God, you must seek Him to reveal Himself to you. To know God, we must hear the "still small voice" the Elijah heard. To know God, we must wait for Him.
Now, as an Anglican, I affirm both statements. I know that serving other people is serving God. And I know that other people are not God. I am called to serve them. But they are not God. Only God is God. I cannot put their needs ahead of God's needs because they often don't know their need. They "need" power, drugs, money, affirmation, food, shelter. What they really need is Jesus (along with food, shelter, and God's love). This Lent I call you to seek God's face in the face of the poor around us. I also call you to seek God's face in prayer and meditation. Know God in other people and Know God as other, people!
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
GOD IS OTHER PEOPLE!
Now, I affirm that we often serve God by serving other people. I am a deacon and find that the most fulfilling ministry I do is not at the Altar (although I love the Altar). The most fulfilling ministry I do is in the prison or at the Sunday School class. I find that I serve God best by serving His people - even if those people deny that they belong to God (especially if they deny they belong to God!). If you want to serve God, go among His people and serve them in God's name. Go to a homeless shelter, a prison, a soup kitchen, a resale shop. Teach Sunday School, help clean up after a church dinner. Join a yard team to keep the church grounds neat. Join a mobile yard team that cuts the grass of elderly or disabled people who cannot afford to pay someone to cut their grass. By looking in the face of the poor, the oppressed, the sick, prisoners, and the like, we see the face of God. To know God, know His people.
Fr. Neuhouse wanted to change the banner slightly. He wanted to put a comma in it.
GOD IS OTHER, PEOPLE!
This shows us that God is not like us. God is utterly Other. We are not God. To know God, know that you are not Him and neither is anyone else. To know God, know that you know nothing yourself. To know God, you must seek Him to reveal Himself to you. To know God, we must hear the "still small voice" the Elijah heard. To know God, we must wait for Him.
Now, as an Anglican, I affirm both statements. I know that serving other people is serving God. And I know that other people are not God. I am called to serve them. But they are not God. Only God is God. I cannot put their needs ahead of God's needs because they often don't know their need. They "need" power, drugs, money, affirmation, food, shelter. What they really need is Jesus (along with food, shelter, and God's love). This Lent I call you to seek God's face in the face of the poor around us. I also call you to seek God's face in prayer and meditation. Know God in other people and Know God as other, people!
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
What does God want?
In Moral Theology classes (and in college bs sessions) we often asked ourselves what God was more interested in. Was God more interested in what we do or in why we do it? In other words, is it better to do the wrong thing for the right reason or the right thing for the wrong reason? Let's take these one at a time and see if we can some how solve this dilema.
It is it better to behave righteously because of selfish motives.
This thought says that God is more interested in what we do than why we do it. It acknowledges that our motives are almost never pure.
Let's take a specific case that is rather easy to resolved - one with both pure and selfish motives. When I go to prison, I often get my own needs met in addition to meeting the needs of others. I feel good about myself and the work I do. I feel pride in it and I get a boost of "self-esteem" when others say what a great or good man I am because of my prison work. I confess that part of the reason I am involved in prison ministry is because of the feelings and accolades I receive. I also am involved because I believe that God wants me there and because I see a great need to help the lost find what they are looking for in Jesus Christ. But my motives are not pure. Would God rather me wait until my motives are pure? I doubt it. I believe that God wants me to do the work and to offer my selfish motives to Him so that He can make them pure.
Now, let's take a slightly different case. I am a glutton. I love food and use food as a drug far too often. Now, I often will say "no" to dessert or seconds when I am with others - not because I believe that the excess food is bad for me but because I want the others to think I am trying to work on my weight. Is God pleased with my "no" when I say it only to look better to others? I do not believe so. I believe that God is not please with my relationship with food - even when I refuse.
I don't think we can always say that God is please when we do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
It is better to do the wrong thing for the right reasons.
This statement says that God is more concerned with motives than with actions. It states that God would rather we sin if that sin is what we were convinced was the right thing to do. The problem is that we never know the right thing to do. Our consciences are twisted by sin so that what seems right at the time can be very sinful. This leads to "he made me do it" actions. People have killed others or physically and emotionally abused other in the name of helping them. It leads to the idea "we had to destroy the village to save it."
Between these two ideas, I (if you hadn't guessed) come down to doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. But. I don't think that God is as interested in what we do or in why we do it so much as in who we are.
God did not become incarnate, live, die on the cross, and rise to new life in order to change either our motives or our behaviors. God lived and died as one of use to change our nature. God came, not to make us nice, but to make us new.
Sinful behavior and sinful motives both flow from sinful being. God does not want to change our behavior so much as to change our being so that we are no longer sinful creatures. So to the original question - what does God want? God wants us to be new men and women. He wants us to have new life and to live from that live. The old life is one that is filled with sin and darkness. The new one is filled with God and animated by the Holy Spirit.
The sins we commit and the reasons we commit them are signs of how strong the old life is with us. So, next we will discuss the famous "7 Deadly Sins"
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Update - The Seven Deadly Sins
It is it better to behave righteously because of selfish motives.
This thought says that God is more interested in what we do than why we do it. It acknowledges that our motives are almost never pure.
Let's take a specific case that is rather easy to resolved - one with both pure and selfish motives. When I go to prison, I often get my own needs met in addition to meeting the needs of others. I feel good about myself and the work I do. I feel pride in it and I get a boost of "self-esteem" when others say what a great or good man I am because of my prison work. I confess that part of the reason I am involved in prison ministry is because of the feelings and accolades I receive. I also am involved because I believe that God wants me there and because I see a great need to help the lost find what they are looking for in Jesus Christ. But my motives are not pure. Would God rather me wait until my motives are pure? I doubt it. I believe that God wants me to do the work and to offer my selfish motives to Him so that He can make them pure.
Now, let's take a slightly different case. I am a glutton. I love food and use food as a drug far too often. Now, I often will say "no" to dessert or seconds when I am with others - not because I believe that the excess food is bad for me but because I want the others to think I am trying to work on my weight. Is God pleased with my "no" when I say it only to look better to others? I do not believe so. I believe that God is not please with my relationship with food - even when I refuse.
I don't think we can always say that God is please when we do the right thing for the wrong reasons.
It is better to do the wrong thing for the right reasons.
This statement says that God is more concerned with motives than with actions. It states that God would rather we sin if that sin is what we were convinced was the right thing to do. The problem is that we never know the right thing to do. Our consciences are twisted by sin so that what seems right at the time can be very sinful. This leads to "he made me do it" actions. People have killed others or physically and emotionally abused other in the name of helping them. It leads to the idea "we had to destroy the village to save it."
Between these two ideas, I (if you hadn't guessed) come down to doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. But. I don't think that God is as interested in what we do or in why we do it so much as in who we are.
God did not become incarnate, live, die on the cross, and rise to new life in order to change either our motives or our behaviors. God lived and died as one of use to change our nature. God came, not to make us nice, but to make us new.
Sinful behavior and sinful motives both flow from sinful being. God does not want to change our behavior so much as to change our being so that we are no longer sinful creatures. So to the original question - what does God want? God wants us to be new men and women. He wants us to have new life and to live from that live. The old life is one that is filled with sin and darkness. The new one is filled with God and animated by the Holy Spirit.
The sins we commit and the reasons we commit them are signs of how strong the old life is with us. So, next we will discuss the famous "7 Deadly Sins"
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Update - The Seven Deadly Sins
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sin - what we do or who we are?
Today is Ash Wednesday in the Western Calendar. It is the beginning of the season of Lent. During Lent, we are to examine our selves and to practice fasting and self-denial to let God better prepare us for the Joy that is Easter. So, I thought a small series on Sin would be appropriate.
First, what is sin? In the West, we tend to focus on sins as things we do. I remember a t-shirt I saw in College:
First, what is sin? In the West, we tend to focus on sins as things we do. I remember a t-shirt I saw in College:
- When we drink we get drunk
- When we get drunk we fall asleep
- When we fall asleep we commit no sin
- When we commit no sin, we go to Heaven
- So, let's all get drunk and go to Heaven!
Aside from the gluttony involved in getting drunk, the basic idea "when we sleep, we commit no sin" shows how "action" focused we are when it comes to sin. Further, we tend to think of "sin" as those actions that are socially unacceptable. Both of these are, like all good lies, partially true, but not the whole truth.
We tend to think thought like "Well, I didn't worship at the Temple of Zeus today, so I guess I'm not guilty of idolatry." or "Well, I didn't have sex with someone who is not my wife (or husband) today, so I guess I'm not guilty of adultery." The fact that we decided it was more important to sleep in than to say our morning prayers (thus worshipping our selves and our needs rather than God) or the fact we ignored our spouse and spent time in "harmless flirtation" with the attractive neightbor seems immaterial to us. We narrowly define specific sins and then, since we didn't to that, we didn't sin.
The truth is much worse than that. The fact that we spend any time at all justifying our selves or trying to minimize our sins shows how far we are from God's righteousness.
Sin isn't just what we do. Sin is a part of who we are. Sin is part of our DNA if you will. Sin shows itself in the baby's cries when she is not getting enough attention. It shows itself in the young boy who picks on others to make himself feel more important.
Over the next few days, I intend to spend some time looking at sin, not just in what we do but in who we are. Perhaps when we better understand the pervasive nature of sin in our lives we will be more ready to repent of this and ask our Lord to come and make us new.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Inside and Outside Strategy
The Episcopal Church is broken. It may not realize its brokenness and I doubt that it realizes the harm it has done to Anglicanism specifically and Christianity in general. In the name of "Justice" it has begun to bless sins and to pursue a "schorched earth" policy against clergy, congregations, and dioceses that cannot, in conscience, remain within TEC.
This both saddens and angers me. I love TEC. I was raised in this Church. I learned to serve God in this Church. I received New Life in this Church. I was fed with the Sacraments by holy and unholy men and women in this Church. I have served (as lay-chaplain and as a Deacon) nine different bishops in four different dioceses. I received ordination as a Deacon in Christ's one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church in TEC.
TEC is sick and refuses to go to the doctor. She refuses to take the medicine that will make her well.
Since the 60s and 70s, there has been a steady left-ward march from TEC's leadership. The problems today are not new. They did not drop out of thin air. They are the direct result of the problems of decades ago. If I were to pick a starting point, I would pick the lack of discipline for Bishop Pike. Bishop Pike became apostate by denying essential doctrines such as the Trinity and the House of Bishops refused to discipline him. This led to more heresy and apostacy being practiced without consequences within the life of the Church. The culmination was not the consecration of Bishop Robinson. The culmination was the acquital of +Walter Righter in the famous trial where the bishops sitting in judgment of +Righter (many of whom had committed the same offense) made up the concept of "Core Doctrine" (something new to Anglicanism) and declared sexual morality outside of "Core Doctrine."
The whilwind we are reaping today is a direct result of the seeds we planted in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Along with each of the milestones along the way, there were people who left the Church to form their own Anglican body. The largest of these Exoduses was after the Ordination of Women and the approval of the new Book of Common Prayer in 1976. Each time people left, it made the orthodox groups politically more vulnerable. These "Continuing Anglicans" were not part of the Anglican Communion and they fractured into many different bodies - each with its own special take on Anglicanism.
It is this history which I fear is repeating itself with today's "Outside Strategy." The only difference (and this is a huge difference) is that today's version of the "Contuing Anglican" movement strongly desires to remain part of the Anglican Communion. That is the outside strategy's saving grace. But there are still way too many different bodies within the outside strategy group for my comfort. As I understand the Anglican Church in North America, ACNA, proposed constitution, each "group" (or "network" such as AMiA, CANA, etc.) will continue to have its own ecclesial and political structures - each being part of ACNA. So, there is an AMiA bishop in charge of the AMiA congregations around Dallas. There is a Southern Cone bishop in charge of the Southern Cone congregations around Dallas. There is a Kenyan Bishop and a CANA bishop with similar responsibilities. This is madness and not workable in the long run. Until there is a return to one bishop in an area for churches in communion with each other, I cannot support the Outside Strategy. If the persons and personalities involved in the outside strategies cannot empty themselves to the point that they submit to another authority, then I cannot submit to them.
But the inside strategy cannot work! The inside strategy will not reform the Episcopal Church.
As I said in an earlier post, reforming TEC is not my responsibility. It is God's. I am called to witness to the power of God to make all things new. I am called to show the joy of following Jesus Christ in my own life and I am called to witness to the Truth. If I am to fight, God will provide the weapons and armor. If I am to die, I will die willingly. I am not called to success, but faithfulness.
I long for a faithful Church. My heart desires to abandon TEC and be joined to a more faithful expression of Anglican Christianity. But, I cannot abandon my Bishop, my Rector, nor my congregation to follow my heart. If I have learned one thing as a Christian it is that my heart (like all human hearts) is faithless. My heart is not God's heart. So, I must trust that God will let me know what He wants me to do.
My prayer is that those pursuing the Inside Strategy and those pursuing the Outside Strategy will work together, pray together, worship together (when possible). Witness to God's strength inside and outside. Do not depend on political expediency alone. Do not trust to committees. Do not trust in courts. Trust in God. Trust in Him Alone. Let the inside strategy be the anvil and the outside strategy be the hammer that God uses to reform TEC.
One thing that both we one the Inside and and those on the outside need to do is to let go of anger. The insider feel anger at being abandoned in the fight by the outsiders and the outsiders feel anger at the insiders who are collaborating. Both feel abandoned in their time of need. Both are right. But both need to move past the need to be right. We need to empty ourselves of our agendas and desires and be filled with God's faithfulness. Only then can either of us be fit instruments for reforming Anglicanism in North America.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
This both saddens and angers me. I love TEC. I was raised in this Church. I learned to serve God in this Church. I received New Life in this Church. I was fed with the Sacraments by holy and unholy men and women in this Church. I have served (as lay-chaplain and as a Deacon) nine different bishops in four different dioceses. I received ordination as a Deacon in Christ's one, holy, catholic and Apostolic Church in TEC.
TEC is sick and refuses to go to the doctor. She refuses to take the medicine that will make her well.
Since the 60s and 70s, there has been a steady left-ward march from TEC's leadership. The problems today are not new. They did not drop out of thin air. They are the direct result of the problems of decades ago. If I were to pick a starting point, I would pick the lack of discipline for Bishop Pike. Bishop Pike became apostate by denying essential doctrines such as the Trinity and the House of Bishops refused to discipline him. This led to more heresy and apostacy being practiced without consequences within the life of the Church. The culmination was not the consecration of Bishop Robinson. The culmination was the acquital of +Walter Righter in the famous trial where the bishops sitting in judgment of +Righter (many of whom had committed the same offense) made up the concept of "Core Doctrine" (something new to Anglicanism) and declared sexual morality outside of "Core Doctrine."
The whilwind we are reaping today is a direct result of the seeds we planted in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.
Along with each of the milestones along the way, there were people who left the Church to form their own Anglican body. The largest of these Exoduses was after the Ordination of Women and the approval of the new Book of Common Prayer in 1976. Each time people left, it made the orthodox groups politically more vulnerable. These "Continuing Anglicans" were not part of the Anglican Communion and they fractured into many different bodies - each with its own special take on Anglicanism.
It is this history which I fear is repeating itself with today's "Outside Strategy." The only difference (and this is a huge difference) is that today's version of the "Contuing Anglican" movement strongly desires to remain part of the Anglican Communion. That is the outside strategy's saving grace. But there are still way too many different bodies within the outside strategy group for my comfort. As I understand the Anglican Church in North America, ACNA, proposed constitution, each "group" (or "network" such as AMiA, CANA, etc.) will continue to have its own ecclesial and political structures - each being part of ACNA. So, there is an AMiA bishop in charge of the AMiA congregations around Dallas. There is a Southern Cone bishop in charge of the Southern Cone congregations around Dallas. There is a Kenyan Bishop and a CANA bishop with similar responsibilities. This is madness and not workable in the long run. Until there is a return to one bishop in an area for churches in communion with each other, I cannot support the Outside Strategy. If the persons and personalities involved in the outside strategies cannot empty themselves to the point that they submit to another authority, then I cannot submit to them.
But the inside strategy cannot work! The inside strategy will not reform the Episcopal Church.
As I said in an earlier post, reforming TEC is not my responsibility. It is God's. I am called to witness to the power of God to make all things new. I am called to show the joy of following Jesus Christ in my own life and I am called to witness to the Truth. If I am to fight, God will provide the weapons and armor. If I am to die, I will die willingly. I am not called to success, but faithfulness.
I long for a faithful Church. My heart desires to abandon TEC and be joined to a more faithful expression of Anglican Christianity. But, I cannot abandon my Bishop, my Rector, nor my congregation to follow my heart. If I have learned one thing as a Christian it is that my heart (like all human hearts) is faithless. My heart is not God's heart. So, I must trust that God will let me know what He wants me to do.
My prayer is that those pursuing the Inside Strategy and those pursuing the Outside Strategy will work together, pray together, worship together (when possible). Witness to God's strength inside and outside. Do not depend on political expediency alone. Do not trust to committees. Do not trust in courts. Trust in God. Trust in Him Alone. Let the inside strategy be the anvil and the outside strategy be the hammer that God uses to reform TEC.
One thing that both we one the Inside and and those on the outside need to do is to let go of anger. The insider feel anger at being abandoned in the fight by the outsiders and the outsiders feel anger at the insiders who are collaborating. Both feel abandoned in their time of need. Both are right. But both need to move past the need to be right. We need to empty ourselves of our agendas and desires and be filled with God's faithfulness. Only then can either of us be fit instruments for reforming Anglicanism in North America.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
Monday, February 09, 2009
The "New Thing" and the Fruits of the Spirit
One thing we keep hearing regarding the issues of authority and sexuality is "The Spirit is doing a new thing."
Now this references Isaiah 43:19.
This chapter is rather interesting. The first part of the chapter (verses 1-21) talk about God loving Israel and bringing her in "from afar" and "from the end of the earth." They talk about the power and majesty of YWHW.
But, starting in chapter 22, God says:
I believe this is a wonderful passage to talk about sexual morality in the Church. The chapter ends:
Now this references Isaiah 43:19.
This chapter is rather interesting. The first part of the chapter (verses 1-21) talk about God loving Israel and bringing her in "from afar" and "from the end of the earth." They talk about the power and majesty of YWHW.
But, starting in chapter 22, God says:
Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob; but you have been weary of me, O Israel! You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings, or honored me with your sacrifices. I have not burdened you with offerings, or wearied you with frankincense.
You have not bought me sweet cane with money, or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices. But you have burdened me with your sins, you have wearied me with your iniquities.
I believe this is a wonderful passage to talk about sexual morality in the Church. The chapter ends:
I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Put me in remembrance, let us argue together; set forth your case, that you may be proved right. Your first father sinned, and your mediators transgressed against me.
Therefore I profaned the princes of the sanctuary, I delivered Jacob to utter destruction and Israel to reviling.
Now, I consider myself a "classic liberal." By that I mean I will be willing to discuss any topic and will change my mind when shown a better case than the one I hold. I am willing to admit that the Holy Spirit is leading us to bless same sex unions. I am willing to agree that homosexual relationships can be sacramental and that the life long union between two men and two women is blessed like the life long union of one man and one woman. But, I need evidence. Show me in Holy Scripture where this is true. Show me, out of the Apostles' Teaching where this is true. Show me the Fruits of the Spirit in this.
I am referencing Galatians 5:19-25
Now the works of the flesh are plain: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, anger, selfishness, dissension, party spirit, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and the like. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.
In the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion, I see too many of the "works of the flesh." I see impurity, enmity, strife, anger, selfishness, dissension, and party spirit and I see them on all sides of this issue. I see this "new thing" bringing about schism and pain. I see it causing brothers and sisters to hate each other. I see too much name calling and personal attacks. I see the devil at work here, not the Holy Spirit of God. All of this was predicted when TECUSA started out on this course of action. We were warned of what would happen if we proceeded and we did it any way.
I ask my brothers and sisters on both sides of this issue: "Where is the gentleness in our lawsuits? Where is the patience in ACNA? Where is the self-control and the faithfulness?
John asks us to "test the spirits." In my testing of this spirit, I find it to be of the anti-christ for it breaks and tears the Body of Christ - the Church. If this "new thing" were of the Holy Spirit, I would expect to see more evidence of the fruit of the spirit rather than the works of the flesh.
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
If
"IF" is a big word. I have often said: "If is the largest two letter word in the English language."
One thing I have struggled with my entire life is feeling loved and accepted by others - especially my peers. I know that others struggle with this as well. I believe that our society is so "self esteem" focused because, subconsciously, we recognize that we are fallen creatures and not "worthy" of love. So, we proclaim (loudly) that we are good and that we are worthy of all sorts of honors. I believe that we do this because we (secretly) suspect that we are not lovable. We work hard to earn the love and respect and acceptance of others because we need that affirmation that comes from love and respect.
The problem is that the world (and most of us if we are honest) say: "I will love you if...." "I will love you if you are strong enough, good enough, smart enough, good looking enough, rich enough, work hard enough, etc."
We waste a lot of our resources trying to get past "if." As a society, we spend untold millions on cosmetics and surgery trying to get "good looking enough." We spend more time at the office trying to get "rich/successful enough." We all spend too much on "stuff" trying to win the approval of either ourselves or of others. We hope the stuff will fill the void left by "I will love you if."
The problem is that we are trying to fill a hole that only God can fill.
So, what is the solution? The solution is staring us in the heart. It is to surrender to God and not seek affirmation elsewhere. We need to learn and trust (=faith) that God loves us. God does not love us "if." He simply loves us. God does not love use because of what we are or what we do or have done or will do. He simply loves us.
If the Creator of the Universe (who knows us better than we know ourselves) loves us and believes that we are worth dying for, then what does it matter what others think of us? If we know, both in our hearts and in our heads, that we are loved, then "if" becomes meaningless.
The path to knowing yourself and loving yourself is knowing God and being loved by God. The path to loving others without "if" is to know that God loves them (and you) without "if" and to ask God to help you get past "if" in your life.
Now, God loves us as we are. But the Love of God is not unconditional. Accepting God's love means accepting the New Life that comes with God's love. It means being transformed and changed. It means surrendering to God. It means that we will be killed and raised to new life.
Knowing and accepting Gods Love is the most challenging and frightening prospect I can think of.
It is also the only choice we can make if we want peace in our lives. If we want to be free of "if" and free to love ourselves and others in a way that doesn't depend on "if," then we need to respond to God's love in faith and ask to be changed - ask to be transformed - ask for help surrendering and ask to be killed so that we can be raised in New Life.
Are you ready to leave “If” behind?
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
One thing I have struggled with my entire life is feeling loved and accepted by others - especially my peers. I know that others struggle with this as well. I believe that our society is so "self esteem" focused because, subconsciously, we recognize that we are fallen creatures and not "worthy" of love. So, we proclaim (loudly) that we are good and that we are worthy of all sorts of honors. I believe that we do this because we (secretly) suspect that we are not lovable. We work hard to earn the love and respect and acceptance of others because we need that affirmation that comes from love and respect.
The problem is that the world (and most of us if we are honest) say: "I will love you if...." "I will love you if you are strong enough, good enough, smart enough, good looking enough, rich enough, work hard enough, etc."
We waste a lot of our resources trying to get past "if." As a society, we spend untold millions on cosmetics and surgery trying to get "good looking enough." We spend more time at the office trying to get "rich/successful enough." We all spend too much on "stuff" trying to win the approval of either ourselves or of others. We hope the stuff will fill the void left by "I will love you if."
The problem is that we are trying to fill a hole that only God can fill.
So, what is the solution? The solution is staring us in the heart. It is to surrender to God and not seek affirmation elsewhere. We need to learn and trust (=faith) that God loves us. God does not love us "if." He simply loves us. God does not love use because of what we are or what we do or have done or will do. He simply loves us.
If the Creator of the Universe (who knows us better than we know ourselves) loves us and believes that we are worth dying for, then what does it matter what others think of us? If we know, both in our hearts and in our heads, that we are loved, then "if" becomes meaningless.
The path to knowing yourself and loving yourself is knowing God and being loved by God. The path to loving others without "if" is to know that God loves them (and you) without "if" and to ask God to help you get past "if" in your life.
Now, God loves us as we are. But the Love of God is not unconditional. Accepting God's love means accepting the New Life that comes with God's love. It means being transformed and changed. It means surrendering to God. It means that we will be killed and raised to new life.
Knowing and accepting Gods Love is the most challenging and frightening prospect I can think of.
It is also the only choice we can make if we want peace in our lives. If we want to be free of "if" and free to love ourselves and others in a way that doesn't depend on "if," then we need to respond to God's love in faith and ask to be changed - ask to be transformed - ask for help surrendering and ask to be killed so that we can be raised in New Life.
Are you ready to leave “If” behind?
YBIC,
Phil Snyder
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