MyJC

The following verses are about relationships between master and slave. I've changed the wording a little bit so we can see how - from the context - we can apply these verses to modern situations. You'd be better to memorize them from the original, so I've given you links to the whole passage in their context in the English Standard Version [ESV].

Matt Damon is one of my all time favorite actors (I think he's the second best working actor - Johnny Depp being the best). I eagerly watched his recent appearance on "Inside the Actor's Studio" tonight and I guess it should have been no surprise that he took a swipe at the President, but it was just so unnecessary, so uncalled for, and so stupid that I was just really disappointed by him.

Johnny Depp, for example, is a terrific actor, very talented, very bold, and has proven his abilities in a variety of edgy characters. He openly disagrees with the politics of the Republican party and has utter disdain for President Bush. That's absolutely his right and he stuck to his word that when George W Bush was elected, he left the country. That's intellectual honesty and I can tip my hat to that. I think he's completely wrong in his politics and obviously no brain trust, but he's intellectually honest about it. And, he's still a really terrific actor.

Matt Damon, on the other hand, simply used his opportunity to talk about acting to respond to the typical "Inside" question, "What turns you off?" to slam the President. Not because of a disagreement on politics, policy, philosophy of government, but on his supposed "lack of intellectual curiosity."

Rev. Larry Allmon was a man of many careers. He was a pastor, a teacher, a school administrator, a Missions Director, a caretaker, an ESL teacher, and a gardener. But, his life-long trade skill was as a story-teller. Whenever Larry preached, or taught, or just "hung out" he would tell stories. And he was great at it. 

He was a loving husband to Margaret and father to my life-long friend Charlie, his brother and four sisters. He was friend to my parents and often dropped by to visit them. He was a friend to me and my wife, as well. I call him my spiritual mentor because he was the first pastor I remember, he was the one who baptized me as a child, he was the one who gave my wife and me pre-marital counsel, officiated at our wedding, and he lead us in weekly Bible study for several years. But, mostly, he taught me, by example, to love the Word of God and how to tell a story that captures the attention of your listeners. 

The first pastor I can remember is Larry. I remember him as kind and gentle. I remember being able to listen to him and understand him explain the Bible even as a 1st and 2nd grader. He had a way of keeping my attention and focus that few pastors or Bible teachers have - that remains true even later in my life. And Charlie was my best pal. We used to get in trouble running around the church together. We would slide under the pews and race around the hedges (killing the ivy). I loved going over to Charlie's house to play.