Bill Teague’s lpc e-pistle

Debt is on the nation’s mind. We’ve got fourteen and a half trillion dollars of the stuff and no one knows what to do with it.  As a taxpayer, my share of the debt is $130,000. Between us, Becky and I, as taxpayers, “owe” the federal government substantially more than we owe the bank that carries our mortgage. The mortgage will be paid off in a few more years. Certainly not so our share of the national debt.

Another way to look at it is that as a citizen, our soon to be one-year old grandson already owes $47,000 to the federal treasury. Happy Birthday, Caleb.

No one knows what to do about our debt and our frustration with debt and debt politics is completely non-partisan.  It’s a nice mess we’ve gotten ourselves into. Continue Reading »

Sunday’s message will look at the Sermon on the Mount text about avoiding oaths and telling the truth. “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’;” Jesus said, “anything more than this comes from evil.”

Truth telling sometimes gets complicated in a complicated world. Or so we think.  What about the white lies that lubricate our social lives – “You look great in that dress” – or the strategic lies meant to save lives – “There are no Jews hiding in my attic”? Continue Reading »

The sign at the corner of Gillam Avenue and Bellevue always announces the week’s sermon title, so this week it proclaims, “The Sex Thing.” Since sex sells, I wonder if that will be enough to get some curiosity seekers into worship this Sunday. They probably will be disappointed if they come. In fact, the sermon title is a bit of false advertizing. A more accurate title might have been “The Marriage Thing,” but then the curiosity seeker might have come expecting some gay-bashing or a seven-steps-to-a-happy-home seminar, neither of which will be offered on Sunday.

Though it wouldn’t fit on the signboard, the topic for Sunday’s sermon is “how Jesus’ righteous expectations for sex and marriage far exceed the righteousness of the Pharisees in these matters, and, yes, get real, he thinks they are realistic standards for Twenty-first Century Christians.” Continue Reading »

Our denomination’s new Form of Government takes effect on Sunday.  For most of us this news is about as exciting as hearing that your dentist’s new billing software goes online next Tuesday.  In fact, there may be more to like about your dentist’s new billing software.

I have made no secret of my unhappiness with the new Form of Government, nFOG.  From the bland universalism of its foundational statements to the trendy vacuity of its radical inclusivity, from its anxiety about bureaucratic control to its abdication of responsibility for any ordination standards, there’s a lot I don’t like about the new Form of Government. The best case scenario for nFOG is that it will impact the life of our congregation about as much as my dentist’s new billing software impacts the life of my family. I hope we don’t notice it. Continue Reading »

The Pursuit of Happiness and the Banning of Babies

It’s one of those slow news day stories.  Malaysian Airlines recently reaffirmed its policy of banning babies from its first class cabins and some intrepid reporter tried to create a controversy by telling the story. Turns out, though, that there’s little controversy.  The L.A. Times was one of several news sites to conduct one of those unofficial polls, and about 80% of us agree with the Malaysian Airlines policy. Continue Reading »