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Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 12 February 2011

In the wake of successful revolution, Tunisia's and Egypt’s greatest need is to identify extraordinary leaders possessing the passion and ability to articulate a vision for developing and governing a free society.

It is one of the ironies of freedom—nations conceived and governed “of the people, by the people, for the people” nevertheless require leaders. The “people” can voice their will, but the people can’t ultimately lead. This was true in Colonial America, certainly during the run-up and experience of the American War for Independence, and in the early days of the Republic. It remains true today. In early American times John and Abigail Adams were such leaders.

In Joseph J. Ellis’s recent book First Family: Abigail and John Adams, he explores the more than 1200 letters this remarkable couple left to history. These letters reveal their incredible partnership and Abigail’s sharp intellect, common sense, and steady personality, all of which provided John the stable port in the storm his restless intellect and personality required. With her support, John played a critical role in leading the Continental Congress toward independence and later authoring the first constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Eventually he became the first Vice President and second President of the United States.

John and Abigail were two of an exceptional generation of leaders, people like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and many more. One and all, though they often differed markedly in political perspective, they were committed to freedom’s basic values: liberty of body, mind, and soul, freedom of worship and speech, respect for human dignity, protection of life, rule of law, freedom to work and property rights, justice.

These are not uniquely American or any nation’s values. These are human values. These values and the leaders to build upon them are what Tunisia and Egypt now desperately need.

Revolutions are by definition volatile, chaotic experiences requiring passion and risk to succeed. Consequently they’re vulnerable to misdirection or takeover that can produce a result different from the past but not in concert with the original revolution’s vision of a better tomorrow. Dictators, strongmen, or dominating religious leaders can suddenly seize control—think Iran, 1979, when the Shah left only to be replaced by Ayatollah Khomeini and his mullahs.

What the rest of the world and certainly what the citizens of Tunisia and Egypt do not want is to discover their drive for freedom has been side-tracked or co-opted. They don’t want to jump out of the frying pan into the fire.

So here’s hoping Tunisa, Egypt, and any other Middle East or African country considering free government can find or develop strong and effective “Founding Fathers,” or "Mothers," leaders wholly committed to freedom and wholly up to the task of making it happen.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.

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Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 10 February 2011

It’s Thursday evening. What better time to consider what we could live without? Here’s my list in no particular order:

--Beer commercials.

--Reality television programs.

--Abercrombie and Fitch.

--MSNBC.

--Cauliflower.

--Taxes.

--Wars and rumors of wars.

--Airline ticket change fees.

--Rap music.

--“It’s a perfect storm.”

--Tattoos.

--Lists.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.

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Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 10 February 2011

Grand Rapids was recently added to a list of cities targeted for casino development by a group wanting to put seven more privately held casinos in Michigan. Never mind that this would push Michigan’s total number of casinos to over thirty. Never mind that casinos have brought little but aggravation, traffic, social problems, and bankruptcies to almost every area in which they’ve been located.

Now Michigan Is Yours, the casino backers, need 320,000 signatures by July 7 to make a statewide ballot this November. It’s too early to project whether the group will be successful, but it doesn’t help that Grand Rapids’s otherwise good and decent Mayor George Heartwell has endorsed the idea for a casino in his city. He says he’s not a fan of casinos but believes Grand Rapids may have to develop one “from a defensive posture” because of all the other casinos in the state. Huh? Not a very compelling argument.

Now Michigan Is Yours consultants cited support for a casino’s economic development potential by University of Las Vegas Nevada professor Bill Thompson. Taking nothing away from Thompson’s credentials, his affirmation is nevertheless laughable because he hopes to work as a consultant for the Now Michigan Is Yours campaign. So of course he endorses the idea.

Unless they are located in an already attractive tourist or high traffic destination, casinos never bring to town what proponents claim they will: jobs, positive economic spinoffs, tourism. Casinos do bring to town negative impact upon local economies (Think about it: if tourists are not a casino’s primary patrons than locals are; the money casinos glean comes directly out of local families' and businesses' pockets), increased social pathologies (casinos and gambling don’t cause but certainly contribute to job absenteeism, debt, bankruptcies, divorce, and suicide), and decreases in land values near casinos.

For the past twenty years, casinos specifically and gambling generally have been looked upon by political leaders as potential pots of gold for local and state governments. But it’s rarely worked out that way. The problems gambling introduces to a community eventually far outstrip any potential benefits.

Grand Rapids would be ill-advised to introduce a casino to its economy. In addition to the economic problems noted, casinos contribute to a “seedier” atmosphere and general decrease in a locality's perceived reputation. Casinos are a losing bet.

CasiNo in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.

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Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 09 February 2011

We’re living in a time when both Democrats and Republicans bemoan both our increasing budget deficits and expanding, astronomic national debt even while they do nothing about them. Leave it to the next politician. Who wants to take responsibility for cutting budgets, which is to say cutting programs? Not most of our partisan leaders.

But to give them a break, our politicians are not a cause but a symptom, or perhaps an extension—of us. We voted them in and they keep spending more because we keep asking for more. We are living off our children, mortgaging their future and maybe the future of our culture and country as well.

We’re addicted to spend, spend, more, more. Without resorting to doomsaying for the sake of the dramatic I can say, without fear of exaggeration, we are living on borrowed money. Soon, if we do not change course, we will be living on borrowed time.

In a recent article I wrote about our money madness I noted this: “American culture has lost confidence in hard work, ingenuity, and a better tomorrow. And neither political party is addressing the deeper moral crisis of this age.

We need to rediscover the purpose of life and redefine our view of money. Yes, money is useful. It’s a tool placed for a time under our stewardship. Money can help resolve some problems.

However, money cannot resolve all our problems and certainly cannot resolve our most important problems. The first step toward treading a different path than the one we’re on is recognizing this.”

There is possibility and hope, but our political leaders on both sides of the aisle need to act with vision, resolve, and optimism. One can only hope they will act soon.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.

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Written by Rex M. Rogers

Published: 08 February 2011

I finally heard Joyce Meyer speak in person. Last Saturday evening, February 5, 2011, she stepped into Joel Osteen’s pulpit at Lakewood Church in Houston.

I was in Houston, saw the church earlier in the day and later looked it up online, wondering if Osteen might be there the next morning. I’d wanted to go to Lakewood to “experience the phenomenon” and hear Osteen in order to draw my own conclusions about his presentation. Of course as things happen he was in Israel. He’d asked Joyce to cover the church services that weekend. Since I’ve wanted to hear her in person and take my own measure of her presentation too, this was my chance.

First, Lakewood Church. The facility is the former home of the Houston Rockets and is located just off US Route 59, Lloyd Bentsen Highway, in Houston. So the interior is bowl-shaped like any arena with upper and lower ovals of seating. Since the church occupied the building some $91 million of renovations were implemented, including arena-style, flip up, cushioned, armrest seats installed on the floor and extensive television lighting and cabling installed above the platform. The platform or stage is located on one end of the oval, effectively eliminating seats behind it. Parking is available in city and corporate parking garages in adjacent blocks.

The church is huge. Escalators take you up to entry level and the arena-now-auditorium seats about 16,000. I’d guess about 7,000 attended Saturday evening because floor seats were occupied, along with about 90% of the lower, larger bowl, where I sat. The crowd was one of the most, if not the most, ethnically and racially diverse crowds I’ve ever witnessed in a church—not just a few people here and there different from the majority but a genuine mixture of differing races and apparent nationalities throughout.

The music service was surprisingly (I anticipated upwards of 45 minutes to an hour) short, maybe 30 minutes. The music, stage presenters and soloists, and the entire production were loud, backed by a praise band, well-rehearsed, and assuming you like the style, quite good. Joel Osteen’s sister played a key role, singing, praying, leading, and so did his older brother, a former physician. To say the congregation “got into” the music understates it. People were thoroughly involved, singing, clapping, moving, and apparently happy. Each song, each solo, each presentation earned an ovation.

Joel Osteen was introduced by his brother for a short remote video greeting and send off for Joyce Meyer. The Lakewood congregation responded to her as he asked, warmly with a thunderous ovation.

Joyce is now 67 years of age and has been preaching for about 30 years. Before this she led popular Bible studies in her hometown of St. Louis. Her active ministry, as we now know it, began with a radio format in 1985 and television in 1993. She’s not much of a joke-teller, but her experience, sense of humor, talent, and knowledge of the Word of God were immediately evident. In reference to Churchgoers she said things like, “You sing the song. You have the bumper sticker. You have your Christian jewelry on.” She joked, “Don’t make me come out there,” and “I’m preachin better than your actin.”

Her topic was “forgiveness,” from her next book coming out later this year. Before she finished she’d referenced and explained at least 9 passages of Scripture and quoted many more. Her content was biblical, well-presented, engaging, and convicting. It also demonstrated a wisdom born from life experience—in more than one instance she used negative illustrations about herself.

Her observations included:

--The Word has the ability to heal you everywhere you hurt.

--You can have lousy circumstances and a good attitude and be fine; you can have good circumstances and a bad attitude and be miserable. Your attitude is your attitude. No circumstances or person can change it.

--Do yourself a favor and forgive.

--Most of the ground that Satan gains in the life of a believer is gained through unforgiveness.

--“Angry Christian” is an oxymoron.

--We have to get over caring about how we feel.

--“Put on mercy.” We can choose to be merciful, which is not fair because we’re giving something to someone they don’t deserve. It’s not about being fair. It’s about doing what’s right on purpose.

--Everything God asks you to do will benefit you in the long run.

--Regarding people who are hurting us: we need to become much more concerned about how they are hurting themselves.

--You can’t do much about others or how you “feel,” but you can do something about what you do. When you do something long enough it will help change your feelings.

--The Disciples were a mess, but Jesus kept forgiving them.

--Legalism looks at what people do. It wants to exact a punishment or a price.

--Mercy looks for the why behind the what. It wants to understand the hurts that make the other person act as they do and exercise compassion.

In terms of the subject, she eventually said, “There is a gift of mercy. I don’t have it.” She went on to say not having the gift of mercy doesn’t mean we aren’t responsible for developing it, for “putting on” mercy as the Bible says.

At the conclusion of the hour long message, she gave an invitation: for people to signify by standing that they held some unforgiveness toward someone, which they now wanted to give to God and then forgive the other person; for people who did not know Christ to accept him as Savior, and she instructed them how this could be done and led in prayer.

There’s much debate, or at least there used to be, in the Christian community about the propriety of “women preachers” or women becoming ordained. I don’t want to get into that debate here.

There was also some concern awhile back about Joyce Meyer Ministries finances. No improprieties were ultimately demonstrated. In 2009, Joyce Meyer Ministries was approved by the Evangelical Council of Financial Accountability, an organization that independently evaluates the integrity of many Christian nonprofits.

I have not read any of Joyce Meyer’s some 90 books, among them a few bestsellers. In the end I can only attest to what I saw and heard last Saturday evening in Houston. On that night Joyce Meyer presented a biblically sound message with excellent content backed by a humble and engaging personality. I liked the message and I liked her.

© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2011

*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact Rex or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com or follow him at www.twitter.com/RexMRogers.