A November to Remember

I can't remember a November this warm. What a gift after the cool, wet summer that we had this year. But should we be thankful or alarmed? If it's just one of those interesting blips in the weather pattern, great. But if it's an example of global warming, then we should be concerned.

Global warming is one of those topics where there's a lot of disagreement. Several years ago, for example, National Geographic devoted a whole issue to it. The editor expected many readers to appreciate the articles. He was also prepared to have some subscribers cancel their subscriptions because they believe that global warming is a bunch of nonsense. Despite the possibility of a negative response, he pushed ahead because he felt that carbon dioxide and other air pollution warming our atmosphere is one of the biggest threats to our planet today.

Wherever you stand on the issue, two things are clear. God is sovereign and in control in every season, whether we're experiencing record highs or lows. And he has assigned us to be the earth's earthkeepers and care takers. That's why an exceptionally warm month like November should prompt us not only to give thanks for a break in our heating bills but also to examine our lifestyles with a view to protecting His beautiful world from harm.

Less Judgment; More Grace

Tennis great Andre Agassiz has published his autobiography, Open, in which he admits that he wore a hairweave early on in his career, took crystal meth more times than he can remember during one year, and always hated tennis. These are shocking admissions from one of the most charismatic payers of all time and the only male singles player to achieve a Career Golden Slam ( Wimbledon, U.S Open, Australian Open, French Open and a Gold Olympic medal).
Reaction to his drug use was swift and strong, especially from Martina Navratilova who said, “Shocking. Not as much shock that he did it as shock he lied about it and didn’t own up to it. Do you take away a title he wouldn’t have won if he had been suspended?”
To his credit, he is telling the truth now. On Sixty Minutes (Nov. 8, 2009) he asked for grace. I hope he gets it not only from his colleagues but the rest of us. Everybody could use a little less judgment and a little more grace, especially when a person remorsefully 'fesses up.

Infection Control

We introduced the fist bump in church last Sunday as an alternative to hand-shaking. It seemed like a wise, pro-active move in light of the swine flu fears that are sweeping the nation. Reaction was mixed. Half of the folks continued to shake hands while others had fun touching knuckles or elbowing each other. Privately, several people told me that I was over-reacting to fears stirred up by the media. Others let me know that they thought it was a good way to reassure people who might otherwise stay away from church.
In addition to this new protocol, hand sanitizer bottles can now be found throughout the building and sanitizer dispensers will be attached in various locations once our order arrives. Hand washing instructions have also been placed by every sink.
All of this makes me feel linked to Old Testament times when the Jewish priests functioned not only as spiritual leaders but also as infection control staff. While I'm not willing or able to declare who is and who is not "unclean", I am certainly supportive of our medical community's efforts to mobilize against the H1N1 virus.
My next infection control challenge is to encourage people to sneeze into their sleeves instead of their greeting hand. Now that's "unclean" behaviour that ranks right up there with the curious list of unclean things and practices that you can find in the books of Moses.