FOR PROFIT

For profit...
   Monsanto and other companies can genetically modify our food at will, with no legal ramifications for any consequences to our health...

for profit...
   tort reforms have been enacted that GREATLY LIMIT any financial liabilities in lawsuits, and severely limit the ability of citizens to sue companies, doctors or individuals, many times requiring that a hearing be held with an arbitrator paid by the company being sued

for profit...
   Lumber executives sit on the National Forestry oversight committees and make decisions regarding our national forests...
   Lobbyists influence government officials to legislate exemptions from over-harvesting our trees, the source of our oxygen...

for profit...
   Oil, coal, natural gas executives sit on our Natural resources over sight committees and make decisions regarding the oil, coal and natural gas extraction, cost and usage...
   Lobbyists influence government officials to legislate exemptions from pollution and safety standards
   and for the increased fracking, drilling (on land and off shore), pipelining and unregulated burning of
   these pollutants

for profit...
   we go to war so that military equipment manufacturers can make more, para-military and private security companies can make more, management companies like Halliburton can make more...
   Our government officials know it is good for profit and jobs, so we engage in the business of killing for profit as a nation

for profit...
   companies who claimed to be "job creators" laid off millions of employees so that when times got rough, they would still make gain...
   and their executives got bonuses for doing so, at the expense of those they laid off
   and government cut unemployment help to those who were laid off

for profit...
   corporations are now considered "people" so they can manipulate regulations to suit them
   PAC's can hide where their money comes from and are virtually limitless in how much money
they can pour into false, negative ads to dupe the public into support for their corporately owned
candidates

for profit...
   the companies getting "incentives" and "entitlements" have shipped thousands of jobs overseas, so that they can exploit people there, have even fewer regulations on pollutants, deplete their natural resources and pollute their land, water and air
   and our government officials allow it, even encourage it to happen

for profit...
   government has been busting up the power of organized labor, creating "right to work" states and undermining organized labor in other ways so that employers can exploit them at will

for profit...
   for generations we exploited migrant workers for cheap manual labor, made them live in horrid conditions, and ate the fruits of their labors
   then, when it cost us a little money, in the interest of profit, some of the same folks who hired them in their homes for little pay and great expectations, voted and demanded that we start rounding them up like criminals and deporting them... why?
   so that for profit prisons can make more profit by having their inmates work for low wages during their incarceration, in factories and fields...

for profit...
   neighbors engage in re-gentrification so that their property values will go out, pushing out those on fixed income and of lower income from affordable housing in the process

for profit...
  we refuse to limit assault weapons and large ammunition magazines that belong on fields of battle alone and not on our streets

for profit...
  we ignore the real science of global warming, so that our air, water and ground will not sustain healthy life any longer, but companies reap record gains without regulation

for profit...
  we privatize our schools... mental health facilities, healthcare, prisons, and other institutions so that we can de-regulate them and make more money

for profit...
  we de-regulate banks so they can engage in predatory practices in which thousands lose millions

for profit...
  we create food deserts, and make the cost of groceries, fuel, insurance and other necessities more expensive in poor, urban areas and keep them nice and low in affluent suburban ones

for profit...
  we refuse to make medicines more readily available and we charge more for them

for profit...
  we make the cost of healthcare outrageous, especially for those with no insurance

for profit...
   insurance companies receive premiums for years, and then cancel on people when they have one claim or find a reason not to pay for procedures they need when they need them

for the nation's profit (reduction in the deficit)...
  we balance on the backs of the poor by taking away from them, while refusing to require those
of means (individuals and corporations) to pay even their fair share of taxes toward that end
  because they have government officials in their pockets...

"Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."  Jesus
"You cannot serve both God and wealth."  Jesus
"By their fruits you will know them."         Jesus
"These conflicts and disputes among you, where do they come from?  do they not come from your cravings that are at war within you?  You want something and do not have it; so you commit murder.  And you covet something and cannot obtain it; so you engage in disputes and conflicts.  You do not have, because you do not ask.  You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, in order to spend what you get on your own pleasures.  Adulterers!  Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ... 'God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"  James 4:1-10
"Now the whole company of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.  ... There was not a needy one among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold... "  NOT Marx, Lenin... Acts 4:32-37
"For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but lose their life?"  Jesus   Matthew 16:24-26
"Take care!  Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions..."  Jesus  Luke 12:13-21

We have met the enemy, and they are US!
Any apathy toward the needs of others, complacency about another's plight while I have plenty, any willing or out of chosen ignorance gain at the expense of others - ANY others, is NOT living the Agape Love (selfless, committed action on behalf of the other) Jesus COMMANDED US TO LIVE.
We have all gained affordable goods on the backs of others.  It is time for this to stop.  Jesus demands it.  Stand up.  Speak truth to power.  Demand justice for ALL and not just the wealthy and powerful.
Pastor Jamie

IRS, BENGHAZI, AP "scandals"

Smoke and Mirrors...

To scapegoat this hated President... to come up with a "reason" to hate him and punish him for BEING President... mostly by those among the White, Wealthy Entitled...

Yes, his administration must take responsibility and do ALL they can to eliminate these activities in the future.

But to those on the Political "Right" who keep fueling the flames...

You represent ALL THE PEOPLE, and not just the wealthy and powerful.

ELIMINATE THE SEQUESTER
STOP TRYING TO KILL HEALTHCARE FOR ALL PEOPLE
STOP DOING ALL YOU CAN TO KEEP THE ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM
    HAPPENING, AND ESPECIALLY JOBS
STOP SUPPORTING THE LOOPHOLES AND "ENTITLEMENTS" THAT KEEP THE
    WEALTHY FROM PAYING THEIR FAIR SHARE OF TAXES
STOP ALLOWING LOBBYISTS AND THEIR CORPORATIONS, INDUSTRIES FROM
    RUNNING ONE FULL BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT, OR TWO, DEPENDING
    ON WHO IS IN THE WHITE HOUSE
STOP ELIMINATING OUR HELP TO THE MOST VULNERABLE IN FAVOR OF THOSE
    WITH THE WEALTH AND POWER
STOP SIDING WITH EXTREMISTS WHO KEEP ASSAULT WEAPONS AND LARGE
    CAPACITY MAGAZINES ON THE STREETS
STOP LISTENING TO THOSE WHO WOULD LEGISLATE A WOMAN'S BODY, AND
    START LEGISLATING LIMITS ON PROFIT, AND THAT GUARANTEE A LIVING
    WAGE FOR ALL WORKERS

DO THE RIGHT THING FOR ALL THOSE YOU REPRESENT,  AND NOT THE POLITICALLY EXPEDIENT ONE FOR YOURSELVES!!!!!!!!

Pastor Jamie

Mothers' Day

I lost my mom last August.  I am thankful for her in my life and all that that means to me.  I very much appreciate the other mothers in my life who make a HUGE difference... including my wife and my daughter who is mother of my granddaughter... I love them all very much and honor them, not just today, but all days...

The honoring of Hallmark and FTD today aside, and the benefit that they gain from days like this in our culture... it seems to me that the MOTHERS in our society NEED TO BE HONORED...

Perhaps a way to honor them would be...

For our children to stop killing each other, in recognition that the one you are so angry with also has a
    mother...

For our politicians, who are elected to represent our mothers, to stop playing political games and honor our mothers by:
    taking assault weapons off our streets that kill both mothers and their children
    supporting health insurance initiatives that help working and/or poor mothers and their children
    make sure our mothers get paid a living wage (instead of a minimum one) for their hard work
    make sure our mothers get paid the SAME wage for the same work that our fathers get
    do what we can to clean up our environment so that the air, water, ground, food and all else
         is suitable for our mothers and their children to live with
    stop supporting two justice systems, so that the inequities of imprisonment are eliminated, and
         fewer mothers must visit their sons in prison
    stop trying to HURT the economy and jobs for political reasons, and create jobs so that our
         mothers' children will be able to find sustaining employment
    make education equal among ALL citizens, so that SOME mothers' children are not held down
    make sure affordable housing, utilities and transportation are available to ALL mothers and their
         children
And for us men to INSIST that they do that for our mothers...
   
For our churches and pastors, called to serve God's children and their mothers, honor them by:
    recognizing the mothers who are pastors as equals, and treating them equal to the males
    lifting up women as being equal, valued and honored in the church
    preach and teach on the gender neutral passages regarding God as they are in Hebrew, Greek
       and also, lift up the feminine images of God in scripture
    stop saving Womens' Day and Mothers' Day as the only days women preach in the church,
       or the only day women in the scripture are lifted up as virtuous servants
    and recognize our mothers' rights to do with their bodies as their conscience dictates, and
       make decisions regarding all sexual issues based on the same
And for us men to INSIST that they do that for our mothers...

For our men to be REAL MEN, and recognize their wives as highly valued mothers, equals and
   partners... not "less than" in ANY WAY... and to treat them with the respect, dignity and honor due
   them... and to raise their daughters as self-respecting, strong, dignified mothers to be (or not)... by
   showing them how a woman should be treated by her son, grandson, boyfriend, husband, brother,
   cousin or father...

Rather than the annual church attendance, worship service honors, dinners, flowers, cards and gifts...
   maybe EVERYDAY should be MOTHERS' DAY...

... it could be, if we would truly honor them.

Pastor Jamie
   

Why we cannot serve two masters

Matthew 6:24,25
   With this very short, matter-of-fact statement in the Sermon on the Mount (Luke 16:13), Jesus declared that God and Wealth (identified by Him as the rival master), would compete for our hearts as our God/god.  The nature of Greed was well developed, and devotion to it well established in Jesus' time.  "Mammon" may as well be the name of a god.  It demands deep, unwavering devotion.  It possesses the souls of any who would devote their lives to it.  I dominates our thoughts, feelings and actions.  As people obsess over obtaining it for themselves, they are in fact owned by it, run by it, possessed by it.  Jesus pointed out that we are not meant to have two LORDS in our lives.  We cannot faithfully serve both God and Wealth.  We will hate the one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other.  But you see, we have tried to ride the fence, walk some line between and give lip service to God while truly serving Wealth as our god.  We offer God our praise and tithes, as a very religious way of courting Wealth, our real god, in order to obtain its favor.  We praise God with our lips, but our hearts are full of greed for more wealth (Mark 7:6-8).  And we despise Jesus for pointing things like this out to us.  We resent that we cannot get away with it, so we ignore what Jesus taught and exemplified, distort it, twist it or take it out of context to allow us to continue our duplicitous faith lives.
James 4:1-12
   The New Testament prophet, James, points out that our devotion to our god - Mammon, is at the heart of why we engage in war, quarrel among our selves, commit all manner of sins against one another and are never satisfied.  It is not for a lack of prayer that we do not get what we want, but a lack of concern for anyone else's well being.  The nature of our greed means that our prayers are dominated by our being "blessed and highly favored", sometimes to the neglect of others around us in need, and sometimes because of our exploitation of them in order to get more.  We will use our Military, Political Allegiances, our dominance of The World Trade Organization, fear, hatred, conspiracies, false accusations, lies, deception, corrupt power, charm and whatever else we need to use to get more for our selves at the expense of others around the world and within our own nation.  A very few people, driven by their devotion to Mammon, control the soul of our nation for their own gain at the expense of the rest of us and others, and they will do ANYTHING to please their god.
   The Old Testament prophets said it was wrong.
   Jesus said it was wrong.
   The Apostles and New Testament prophet said it was wrong.
   Prophetic voices in our day and time, indeed for the past 32 years especially, have said it is wrong.
But at the promise of getting the benefits of pleasing this god, MANY have bowed down and serve it in their lives.  They think it serves them, but it possesses their soul and ultimately the soul of our nation.  We are arrogant, violent, selfish, defensive, ruthless and mean-spirited, because that is what it takes to offer our devotion to the god of wealth - greed - mammon.   We have wiped out the land's original inhabitants for it, justifying it with a hatred based on a false sense of self-righteousness.  We have enslaved generations for it, rationalizing it with a belief in our superiority.  We have held people down for it, claiming that it was their lack of something and not our ruthlessness and exploitation that made it happen.  We continue to exterminate, exploit and exclude others in our own country and the world because we want it all for our selves, as the true believers in it - all while claiming the name of Jesus with our lips and form of worship, but in function bowing at the feet of Mammon.  Our value for independence of will separates us from the plight of those whom we trample.  Our value for laissez-faire economics allows us to re-define morality in only sexual terms, so that we can ignore the deplorable nature of our actions.  Our cries for limitless freedom and therefore profit in the world allow us to destroy the creation upon which we depend and other human beings with whom we are spiritually connected, all so that we can get MORE, NOW and only for "us".  With all of this, our sense of entitlement has grown, so that we are indignant when anyone who is NOT "us" challenges us, gets some for themselves or claims a different value.  We quite arrogantly claim faithfulness to Jesus, while giving our devotion to Mammon.
   In order to follow Jesus, we must go where Jesus has gone and do what Jesus teaches, directs and commands us to do.  If we were to live the Agape Love (committed action on behalf of the other) that Jesus COMMANDS, we would truly love neighbor as self and love God with all that we have.  That is a threat to Mammon, for it means that our value would not just be for those things that keep our devotion tied to Mammon - the promotion of self above all else.  It means we would value Jesus and His Way over Wealth and its ways, people over profit and the creation over quick personal gains.  We would not believe that "the end justifies the means".  We would not value self-indulgence over a true, loving relationship with God and people.
  You cannot serve both.  People who try to are deceived and deceivers.  To whom will you submit your Will and conform your Way?  Will it be the Way of Jesus - the Way of Agape Love, or will it be the way of Greed - the way of ruthless self pursuits?  You cannot serve both; for you will either hate God for not letting you have whatever and however much you want and love Mammon for promising it to you, or you will be devoted to Mammon in order to whatever you want and despise God for not promising the same things.  Or you will Agape Love God and Neighbor, and give your true devotion, singularly to God, knowing that it is best for you and everyone else.  Make a strong choice and be genuine in living in it.  God is worth it.  Neighbor is worth it.  You are worth it.
Pastor Jamie

God Bless America...

Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright was not wrong in what he preached.  It was twisted around AND taken out of its context for political reasons.  It served as one of my first major disappointments in this President, whom I continue to support with mixed disappointment and appreciation, because he caved in that early to political games, rather than fight them, a pattern I see continuing, unfortunately.  I believe you have to stand up to bullies, state the truth and therefore expose their lies, and not placate them.  That being said, I believe The Rev. Dr. would have been better to say, "God Bless America..."

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
with a CHANGE OF HEART from HUBRIS to HUMILITY, so that we no longer honor and bow to those who are "entitled", hoping someday to join their ranks and gain our "entitlements" on the backs of others, but rather work toward the good of ALL in the community and nation.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to go from GREED to GENEROSITY in our hearts, so that the IMMORALITY we fight is no longer narrowly defined only in sexual activities and orientations, but rather in ANY ruthless, selfish, mean-spirited and heartless actions that hurt many for the sake of a few.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to move from VIOLENCE in our hearts to PEACE in our hearts, so that we do not meet every challenge defensively and then work to justify our defensive, turned OFFENSIVE actions, but rather start with Peace within and then put it out in the world around us, refusing to give in to a VIOLENT orientation to the world around us, refuse to arm our selves in anticipation of a fight, refuse to look for opportunities to "stand our ground", refuse to have an "us vs. them" mentality, but one of peace.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to move from INJUSTICE to EQUITY AND EQUALITY in how we see EVERYONE, not just in our land but across the world, halting the abuses of power that effectively, intentionally, systematically suppress the well-being and growth of many so that a few may have dominance and impunity in wielding their power.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to abandon our ARROGANCE for COMPASSION, ending the "might makes right" way that we view those within our nation and abroad, the "if I can, I necessarily should" way of thinking that leads us to "get away with" many atrocities across the nation and the world (and change laws to make it legal), and the "if it's good for me, I do not care how it affects others" mentality that prevails in this land of "individual liberty", for a concern for ALL out of COMPASSION for ALL and not just "self".

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to a new self image from PREDATOR, exploiting the masses for the sake of a few in our own land and abroad, to ADVOCATE for others, building up ALL and seeing the wisdom and REAL strength in having EVERYONE strong and being well, empowered and valued, therefore at peace within and out in the world around them.

GOD BLESS AMERICA...
to move from its HATREDS that allows us to rationalize, justify and condone the vilification of so many for so many reasons, even to dehumanizing others for our own purposes, to an ACCEPTANCE and CELEBRATION of the other for who they are and what they bring to the diversity and therefore strength of the nation and world community.

In other words,
GOD BLESS AMERICA...
with the AGAPE LOVE that Jesus taught and exemplified - COMMANDED...
... and start with the American Church, those who claim to follow Jesus, please.

Pastor Jamie

To the President and Democrats...

Dear President Obama and Democrats,
I am afraid that I believe President Obama's budget hurts the poor, and is therefore

extreme in its own right... when will Democrats stop playing politics and do THE

RIGHT THING for the most vulnerable in our nation and stand up to the bullies,

rather than try to placate them?  You fend wolves away from the most vulnerable,

and do not allow them to attack them so that they will leave YOU alone... throwing

the most vulnerable to the wolves will NOT secure your positions in coming elections.

People are seeing the inconsistencies and will not stand for it.  I stood with the

President and worked to get him elected and re-elected.  Now, because he (and you)

has (have)  not pushed for assault weapons bans/ extended clip bans/ economic justice for

the most vulnerable and protection for our environment, I cannot continue to back

him.  He has the bully pulpit.  He had a mandate in the last election.  He has turned

against MANY of us who supported him by turning against the most vulnerable,

and I cannot support politics as usual over the good of those whom I love in this

nation.  DO THE RIGHT THING!  If you do not, and continue playing politics, it

WILL COST Democrats the next election... third party alternatives will siphon off

votes, but people cannot, in good conscience continue to support you who dupe us

into believing that you will do the right thing.

Rev. Jamie Kaufman

Following Jesus as a way of life

I am a follower of Jesus.  I love Jesus' teachings, examples for living in God's Kingdom and the possibilities that following them presents for the sake of the world.  I truly believe that Jesus' Way of living in the world would make a better world, if we would live in it.  I am a person of the Way of Jesus.

"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord' and do not do what I tell you?"  (Luke 6:46)  There are many who call themselves "Christians", who were baptized, who have their butts on pews or seats in sanctuaries and who breath in the sanctuary air at least once a week... many whose Bibles are well worn, who give praise and thanks regularly, who profess Jesus as personal Savior, some who even do wondrous healing and signs in His name, and who do not follow Jesus.

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?'  Then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; go away from me, you evil-doers." (Matthew 7:21-23)  Following Jesus is NOT just about praising and worshiping Him as Savior and basking in the glow of His Divinity and Power.  It is about submitting to Him as Lord of our lives and living the Kingdom Values He taught and exemplified.  It is NOT about works-righteousness, but coming to Him out of thankful, grateful hearts for His Agape Love and Grace, and following His example in how to live those in the world.  THAT is a genuine walk with Jesus.  Saying the right words, having the right posture, outward shows of devotion and even exhibiting Spiritual gifts, while ignoring what Jesus taught and exemplified, leave us as strangers to Jesus, at least if you believe Jesus.  It is all about following His way in the world around us, which is centered on Agape Love and Grace.  Praising His Name, singing His Praises, ecstatic prayers and gyrations, professing His name, getting others "saved" by saying "the sinners' prayer", etc., etc. mean nothing if we also use His Name to Judge others, exclude them, have a violent heart, make it all about us instead of about Him and others around us, ignore those in need who are brothers and sisters, condemn others for ANY reason, nit-pick others on how they are living while ignoring our need to be Gracious, living the idolatry of greed or lust for power or obsession with prestige, or belittle, shame, scapegoat, blame, victimize, abuse, exploit anyone for selfish reasons (or ANY reason).  That is NOT following Jesus.  I know what direction that is, and it is NOT the direction in which Jesus goes.  Jesus said, "follow me."

"The Kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will some say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!'  For, in fact, the Kingdom of God is within you."  (Luke 17:20,21)  We are "out there" people who profess Jesus, sometimes.  We look for sin "out there", evil "out there" and righteousness "out there", salvation "out there", God "out there".  Jesus taught us that we live within the Kingdom and the Kingdom lives within us.  Paul did also - "In Him we live and move and have our being." (Acts 17:28)  We are intimately connected with God.  I must fight my battle with sin and evil WITHIN myself.  I must look for the sources of sin and evil WITHIN myself, and not in outward things... I must also seek God WITHIN MYSELF, as God has promised to be there.  My only righteousness is in Christ Jesus, who is WITHIN ME.  Apart from Him, I have none, but I am not apart from Him.  Purity and Holiness are not mine to have, but His to have, but He is WITHIN ME.  Therefore, if I seek purity and holiness as outward acts, I miss the relationship I have with the Pure and Holy WITHIN ME.  It is about living Kingdom Values in THIS PART of God's Kingdom, as they come from within me and out into the world, NOT about seeking those things in the world around me to attain them.  Agape Love and Grace have been given to me.  I must pour them out into the world around me, in order to follow Jesus.

Following Jesus is not a work.  It is work, but it is not a work toward self-righteousness or salvation.  It is a RESPONSE to the awesome and marvelous Grace and Love I have received from my Lord, and a recognition that I WANT to submit my will and conform my way to Jesus' Way, as He taught and exemplified it, witnessed to by the four Gospels and His Words in them.  It is also the recognition that the world around me will be a better place if I live His Kingdom Values in it, and the desire for that better world.  It means that I will not reflect the world, but address it with the Good News of Jesus - stand toe to toe with Unjust Power, Unchecked Greed, Uncontrolled egos and those who insist that the right way to live in this world is to give lip service to Jesus, but in actions and words be Unloving and Ungracious.  It means standing with those whom others, even or especially by those in the religious community, have been cast out, disenfranchised, marginalized and rejected.  It means being the voice of the voiceless and united power of the powerless, not for self gain, but purely for THEIR sake.  It means feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, welcoming the undocumented alien, visiting the sick and imprisoned.  It means proclaiming the Acceptable Year of the Lord, as Jesus did, and working to free the oppressed.  It means Agape Love (selfless, unconditional committed action on behalf of the other).  It means Grace (undeserved loving mercy for the sake of the other).  That is work, but it comes out of a genuine Agape Love and Gracious relationship with the Lord of my life and those whom Jesus loves, who are also my sisters and brothers.  Unwavering, with a stubborn refusal to judge others, Lord let me follow You by living what You taught and exemplified for me, and out of a genuine, deep love for You and my Neighbor, who you defined as stranger and enemy (Luke 10:25-37).

Pastor Jamie