A Family Tribute

#1 – 2 Minute Mark

I chose to tribute Mark first in my family tribute series because he never reads this, so I can make fun of him. The second reason is because I thought of his nickname today, 2 minute Mark, which he is infamously known for by four others that were at my bachelor party. And the meaning will continue to be known by only those four...(Ask me later)

Mark & I have a kindred spirit, which, I guess would make sense, since we are kin and all. I have fond memories of him hiding in a closet and bursting out with a butcher knife threatening to kill me. Seriously. I'm not kidding. But those were in the olden days, when we were but small children, playing small children's games. But people who saw Mark & I as kids would say that we are similar. We were both over-competitive, we both made some bad decisions in the girl department (in high school, I mean. Come on guys, we love our wives!) and we are both SEVERELY overweight. Not really. Well, I am, but that's not the point. I do have a treadmill after all.

Here is my tribute to my brother.

#1) Best nick-name ever
#2) He is someone I can look up to. And I don't mean someone I can look up to like Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr. or Dave Turner or someone else famous like that. These guys brought peace to the world, struck blows against racism, and in Dave's case, we have yet to see. But none of those people are real to me. They are heroes to the world, and great men, but the world is made up of heroes like my brother. He is someone real to me. He is my brother and friend. He is a great dad to his kids. He is an honest Christian who is doing his best and really trying to please God. He feeds people and combats racism at home and in his city where he sees it. He challenges me to be a better person. If the world had more heroes like this, then maybe we wouldn't need the big heroes (No disrespect to the big guys, they are great too). Everyone would be a hero. And everyone needs someone close to them that they can look up to in this way. Mark is one of mine. Hey, 2 Minute Mark could even be a super-hero name...
#3) His job is helping kids who are at the end of their ropes. He works for Child & Family Services in a group home that cares for kids that not even their families want. He gives them a friend, some discipline, an ear, and becomes a hero to them. It's jobs like his that make a real difference in this world. And I know that you can make a difference where ever you are, and that's true, but Mark is in the fire. Maybe he would be embarrassed by me saying this, and knowing his humility, he would probably talk his role down a bit, but this is real, and this is the work of Jesus.
#4) He likes ketchup on his tacos, and when I put ketchup on my tacos, other people think I'm crazy. Thanks for being there for me, Mark. There with ketchup.

I could go for longer, but this is getting too long, and I'm in ACTS class right now, so I better pay attention. Sorry, teacher/uncle Blair. The moral of this story and the reason for this tribute is that my brother Mark is one of the coolest dudes I know, and if I turn out to be half the man that he is, I will be proud and honored to walk in his footsteps.

This is really getting out of hand...I'm weeping uncontrollably right now!

P.S.- If you are ever in trouble, just yell out “2-Minute Mark!”, and he will come to your rescue. It's like Superman, but faster!

it's flaring up again...

i'm not sure if i should even share this...
but i gotta be cynical with somebody, and it might as well be the internet.

RADIO SPOOF DRAWS SUPPORT FOR NAZI-LIKE TREATMENT OF U.S. MUSLIMS - TOP
CAIR says callers' reaction is a 'wake-up call' on Anti-Muslim bigotry

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 11/27/06) - A parody of anti-Muslim bigotry on a Washington, D.C., radio station drew support for treating American Muslims in a manner similar to how the Jewish community was targeted in Nazi Germany.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said today that the reaction to the parody is a "wake-up call" for religious and political leaders who remain silent on the issue of growing Islamophobia in America.

In his 630 WMAL program on Sunday, November 26, talk show host Jerry Klein seemed to advocate a government program to force all Muslims to wear "identifying markers." He stated: "I'm thinking either it should be an arm band, a crescent moon arm band, or it should be a crescent moon tattoo." (4:00) Klein said: "If it means that we have to round them up and do a tattoo in a place where everybody knows where to find it, then that's what we'll have to do." (11:38)

[The program focused on public reaction to the removal of six Imams, or Islamic religious leaders, from a US Airways flight in Minnesota last week.]

Some callers to the program rejected discriminatory treatment of Muslims, but others supported Klein's statements and even suggested that even more severe measures be taken against American Muslims. "Richard" in Gaithersburg, Md., said: "Not only do you tattoo them in the middle of their foreheads; you round them up and then ship them out of this country, period." (15:58)

"Heath" in Upper Marlboro, Md., said: "I don't think you go far enough. . .you have to set up encampments like they did during World War II like with the Japanese and Germans." (23:50)

Later in the program, Klein revealed that his call for discriminatory actions against Muslims was "baloney." Klein said: "I can't believe any of you, any of you, are sick enough to have agreed for one second with anything that I have said in the last half hour." (25:15)

To listen to the entire program, go to:
http://wmal.com/showdj.asp?DJID=19978# (Scroll to the bottom of the page for streaming audio.)
http://rope.wmal.com/aud_archive/jk061126.mp3 (download)


i would like to believe that this is not the view held by most people. it makes me sick to my stomach that people today think like this. something inside me dies when i hear that kind of hatred.

while i know this has nothing directly to do with churches or christians, it got me thinking about our churches and how we represent Christ, not only to muslims, but also to other minority groups in our north american society. how do we get around these attitudes? these misconceptions about other cultures and people? timothy mcveigh was responsible for the oklahoma city bombings, but you don't see calls to round up middle aged white men for concentration camps. as christians in this kind of world, how do we deal with this? how do we look past skin color, class lines, etc... and tear down these barriers? when was the last time you walked into a church that had more than 95% white people attending? or 95% middle class or rich folk attending? if you have, i'm proud of you. but if i'm being honest, i haven't. why do we group together like this? why do the rich stay in the suburbs while the poor stay hungry in the ghetto? why can't we have churches filled with a variety of skin colors; natives, whites, hispanics, black, rich, poor, etc... as opposed to our own separate churches for each? do you guys think it's fine that things are this way? or do you think, like me, we have so isolated ourselves that there is more racism and fear of what's different than us going on than we are willing to admit?

i know i just asked 100 questions, but i would love to hear any ideas, or response, that anyone might have. i love the church, and i by no means want to be the accuser. i am also the accused. am i exaggerating? is there less of this going on than i think? or is there more than i know? please, let's talk.

one more shot

that's what this is.
an attempt at respectful dialogue. one more shot.
i'm not so respectful some days, so it's a long shot.

but a shot none the less.