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Syndicated Columnist and Radio Talk Show Host Dennis Prager is on a quest for goodness. I recently heard him say that goodness grows one person at a time. Evil, on the other hand, can and most often does happens in mass.

While this is not an absolute, it got me to thinking about how we Jesus people try to change the world. We believe and have practiced mass evangelism, hundreds, even thousands of people have been known to "trust Christ" in a single meeting.

The wife wanted something to take care of, I volunteered, but she chose a dog. So three weeks ago our family's newest member arrived,  Annie, a two year old pure bred Coton de Tulear, which is French for cotton ball. She is about 8 pounds, with white gray markings, she is one of those little over active things that reacts to everything. She was purchased for several thousand dollars by a Cardiologist in Newport Beach. They had her flown, first class I'm sure, from Texas to her gated ocean view palace over looking the Pacific. My idea of a dog is an old hound who sits at my feet and looks up twice a day. We had to apply to rescue Annie because the Cardiologist needed one less dog, all that grooming, plastic surgery, dog massage etc. was putting pressure on his budget.

Faust was the fellow who sold his soul to the Devil. The story is a confirmation of Jesus' words, " What would it profit a man if he gained the whole world, but lost his own soul?"

To be Faustian has come to mean the hubris resident in a person whose drive is to put themselves at the center of all things. No price is too high for the lusty high one gets when even for a brief time, when all things fall at your feet.This hubris is the sure way to defeat God's purpose in one's life. We have sold ourselves out to getting our own needs met through ministry, rather than finding the joy of living for others.

I was weaned on the idea that our mission as Christians was to reach the world. Student workers would speak of " taking our school for God." Pastors spoke of "reaching our community," or missionaries would call for many to join in the world wide crusade to reach all ethnic groups.

The one thing no one really spoke about was what would it be like if everyone on a campus, in a community or a nation believed; what would life be like if everyone became a Christian? Many don't think such a discussion is relevant because the bible clearly states that the world will not be totally converted in its present configuration.

I find that on a street level most Christians think of Grace as a gift or force that at one time God bestowed on them. It was an event more than a process, a divine choice rather than something we arranged. We stenciled "GRACE" on our front walk one Christmas, people stopped, read, commented, looked toward our house as to wonder, " What kind of people live there?" We discussed it with many who stopped while we were out front. Most of them thought  of Grace as being nice, as in gracious, or giving people a break who deserve something worse.

I read a lot of stuff, some of it is helpful, most of it just clutters my mind and makes it harder to think. One of the common themes in my reading is people calling for a "New Hermeneutic." I suppose this means the one I have is worn out. I really think it means if you don't like the answers you are getting with the old one, create a new way to make the bible say what you want. The old hermeneutic is to interpret the scriptures in light of at least three criteria;

We've all been there, up to our eyeballs in the malaise that is election. No matter what road I take to a answer I can live with, I always end up in the same place, embracing the mystery. Each time I read or discuss or even think on this subject which extend far beyond my mental abilities, I must not only find an answer I can live with, but also a God I can love and respect.

A couple weeks ago the Father of the Conservative Moment, William F. Buckley died. The 82 year old icon was found slumped over his desk, he went out writing. He never seemed to stop working, the author of over 50 books was working on biography of Ronald Reagan. My sense of loss was very powerful, I teared up and had a moment. His affect on me was immense, yes I am conservative and agreed with much of his thinking. But it wasn't primarily  my love for his thought or his Spy novels or books on many subjects that attracted me to him. It was the life he lived, his passion for thought, he lived life to the full.

One of the first expectations put on me as a new Christian was the " Quiet Time."  Most of us know it as a designated period of time each day when we meet with God. I can't forget the many bromides offered up in defense of the "Quiet Time." One of the most memorable was, " The first day you skip your time you will know it, the second day your close friends will know it and the third day everyone will know it." This seems to indicate that a structured time with God each day is required for good behavior and attitude- And if you skip it, there is immediate slippage in attitude and conduct.

I decided to follow Jesus at Oral Roberts University. It was in October of 1967 when I slipped out of my bed one evening and committed my life to my God, my leader, and my teacher. I was a basketball player with a wonderful jump shot and a Athletic Scholarship, otherwise, I would of never been at such a place. I love Oral Roberts,  he did so much for me, and I love the university. I have not been what you call a Charismatic, but I learned some very good things about God there that have stayed with me.

Antony Flew is a renowned philosopher who arguably has been the best known atheist in the English-speaking world until his announcement in 2004 that he now believes in God. What makes this news outside the corridors of Oxford and Cambridge is the new rise of militant atheism. One only need browse the best sellers on the subject in the last two years. Christopher Hitchens' God is not Great, and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion, and Sam Harris' End of Faith.

Tom Brady may throw six interceptions, Eli Manning may rush for 206 yards, but how would I know, I’m screaming through the sky in a thin skinned cylinder traveling at 600 miles per hour. I will miss the whole thing, including the five or is it six hours of pre-game show? How will I get through life without watching the Manning Family home movies or the parade of Tom Brady’s girlfriends, ex and present strolling down the fashion runway? And then there is Tom Petty, the Eagles said no, and he promised to keep his clothes on.

Ok, I admit it, at a very lusty level; I would rather be home with my feet up watching the game.

Most of us think of a bed as a place of rest and leisure, for Winston Churchill it was the place from which he saved the free world. He kept his secretaries busy dictating into the night the many books and speeches that provided the hope that was needed in England's darkest hour. Churchill's day at Chartwell, his country home before and after the Second World War, and Chequers, the Prime Minister's official country home during the war, he would work in bed from 8:00 AM till 12:00, meet for lunch with guests, take a long walk, do paper work, after tea he would play a board game with family, then dress for dinner. After guests left around midnight, he would go back to his bed to work until around 3:00 AM.

After working as a pastor for twenty years and working as an outside helper for nearly another twenty, I have a couple of observations. The first is that the church continues to try and reach the world without making disciples. The second is that being a discipleis much more important than creating a plan to make other disciples.

My 2007 was a mixture of blessing and challenge, if there is a difference for the Christian between the two. In the middle of publication of new books and curriculum, gaining new friends and seeing God work in special ways, I found myself not enjoying it very much. In January I couldn’t go to Singapore because I had heart palpitations. Then my prostate began to hurt and it didn’t stop until September, many days of misery. I started feeling better just in time to get a double hernia. I continued to travel and speak until it hurt too much to do either. Then there was surgery and the healing process.

I recall a statement Rick Warren made a few years ago that gave many a pastor heartburn. He essentially said that the people you already have in your church is the best predictor of the types you can reach. In other words, you are stuck with the kind of people you appeal to and therefore, that should be your target. If you are working with blue-collar members, but you work to reach intellectuals, you are likely to be on a fool’s errand. Conventional wisdom then is to focus on “your type” person, interact with them, program for them and for goodness sake, write your sermons for them. Preach to the people you have, not the people you don’t have.This is the homilectical tradition of the elders; speak to people where they are.

Jesus said that " people will hate you on my account."  So why do so many people like an ordained Southern Baptist pastor who served as Governor of Arkansas for ten years?

I was heartened to read Willow Creek Community Church's recently published REVEAL, WHERE ARE YOU?. It took courage to ask the hard questions, to stare into the eye of the tiger and then make changes. One thing that has always impressed me about Bill Hybels is his humility. Since humility is the core trait of Jesus, it opens up many of God's good graces to Bill and to us. I don't want to argue Willow's methods or the various versions of their church and gospel over the years. What  interests me is their core finding. There are four activities they found present in their most mature followers who ironically were most dissatisfied with the church itself. The four were the practice of four daily disciplines, 1. Prayer, 2. Bible reading, 3. Prayer to confess sin, 4.