It's fall and time for old boots and new tobacco. I proudly proclaim that I own a classic pair of Sketchers boots from the mid-90's. Ah the 90's. When men were men and boots were boots. Oh yes its true. Sketchers at one time made actual boots. Now in the age of bastardized genre-bending music and gender-bending attire, Sketchers has deteriorated into inbred, cross-pollinated footwear designs. But I digress.
Recently during a cigar walk, complete with old boots, I passed Urban Outfitters. The store is located in an old church and it struck me how metaphoric it is to have commerce in a church.
An example of commercial principals in the church is church marketing. Church marketing rubs me the wrong way. Especially roadside church signs and their witty letter boards. Honestly, who is going to have a profound religious experience after reading a lame and sugary sweet half-sentence on a light-up sign that could just as easily be telling me today's special at the Stop-N-Go. These churches are trying to either attract new members or impart pearls of Gospely wisdom to the unwashed masses. I contend they fail on both fronts. The logic behind church marketing irritates me. God's love and message of salvation is it's own marketing. No colorful banner or fantastically charming roadside sign will ever top that. I don't remember reading about Paul wandering around, wondering how to attract a congregation. He focused on the message of God's love and the man who embodied it. And the masses congregated.
God builds strong congregations where He sees fit. The fitness of a church is based solely on its relationship with Him. As a result, the church that openly and publicly lives the Gospel will attract attention. In essence, take the church to the people instead of bringing people to the church. Being the Word is the only solid ground on which to build the Kingdom of God. All else is shifting sand. Furthermore, the goal should be the spiritual development of the individual and encouraging that individual to find a Christian community of worship; any Christian community of worship. After all, is the message of the Gospel the redemption of mankind or the growth of a singular church?
A more humorous Conservative Manifesto
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The Conservative Manifesto according to the book How to Win a Fight with a Liberal.
Conservatives believe in an honest days work, family values, free enterprise, keeping what you earn and killing them before they kill us.
Conservatives believe in NASCAR, neighborhood barbecues, Sunday sermons, the Ten Commandments, fair and balanced news, faithfully interpreting the Constitution, and that America would be a safer place if Clinton had spent his eight years in office protecting America rather than fiddling with cigars and porking chubby girls.
Conservatives believe in a shining city on a hill, and in protecting that shining city from terrorists, illegal aliens, and social warfare parasites.
Conservatives believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment requiring that every liberal who threatens to move to Canada actually has to move to Canada.
Conservatives believe if there is such a thing as global warming and if rising oceans flood the planet, you're going to need a bad-ass SUV to get around.
Conservatives believe any short list for secretary of defense should include Jack Bauer, Chuck Norris, and Iron Man.
Conservatives believe in moments of silence, border security, terrorist surveillance, preemptive war, the power of the markets, states' rights, the right to life, liberating people so they may live in freedom, and that listening to Hollywood liberals talk about values is like listening to the French talk about military deterrence.
And above all, conservatives have unwavering faith in the strength and character of the American people and every confidence that our great nation will triumph over the twin evils of our time - terrorism and liberalism.
Conservatives believe in an honest days work, family values, free enterprise, keeping what you earn and killing them before they kill us.
Conservatives believe in NASCAR, neighborhood barbecues, Sunday sermons, the Ten Commandments, fair and balanced news, faithfully interpreting the Constitution, and that America would be a safer place if Clinton had spent his eight years in office protecting America rather than fiddling with cigars and porking chubby girls.
Conservatives believe in a shining city on a hill, and in protecting that shining city from terrorists, illegal aliens, and social warfare parasites.
Conservatives believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment requiring that every liberal who threatens to move to Canada actually has to move to Canada.
Conservatives believe if there is such a thing as global warming and if rising oceans flood the planet, you're going to need a bad-ass SUV to get around.
Conservatives believe any short list for secretary of defense should include Jack Bauer, Chuck Norris, and Iron Man.
Conservatives believe in moments of silence, border security, terrorist surveillance, preemptive war, the power of the markets, states' rights, the right to life, liberating people so they may live in freedom, and that listening to Hollywood liberals talk about values is like listening to the French talk about military deterrence.
And above all, conservatives have unwavering faith in the strength and character of the American people and every confidence that our great nation will triumph over the twin evils of our time - terrorism and liberalism.
The Conservative Manifesto of 1937
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The Conservative Manifesto was written by U.S. Senator Josiah Bailey of North Carolina in 1937 in opposition to the New Deal. As the dawn of the Newer Deal and the Even Greater Society approaches, it is fitting to reflect on these solid ideas against collectivization which are still valid today. A recent UCLA study concluded that FDR's socialist New Deal caused the Great Depression to last seven years longer. Presently, financial analysts predict a recession on the horizon. The same brand of policies that lengthened the American Great Depression will undoubtedly be proposed by Congress and the President Elect. History will repeat itself. Not necessarily in the form of "Great Depression; The Sequel" but in a prolonged financial crisis irritated by government intervention.
The Conservative Manifesto 1937
1. Immediate revision of taxes on capital gains and undistributed profits in order to free investment funds.
2. Reduce expenditures to achieve a balanced budget, and thus, to still fears deterring business expansion.
3. An end to coercion and violence in relations between capital and labor.
4. Opposition to “unnecessary” government competition with private enterprise.
5. Recognition that private investment and enterprise require a reasonable profit.
6. Safeguarding the collateral upon which credit rests.
7. Reduction of taxes, or if this proves impossible at the moment, firm assurance of no further increases.
8. Maintenance of state rights, home rule, and local self-government, except where proven definitely inadequate.
9. Economical and non-political relief to unemployed with maximum local responsibility.
10. Reliance upon the American form of government and the American system of enterprise.
The Conservative Manifesto 1937
1. Immediate revision of taxes on capital gains and undistributed profits in order to free investment funds.
2. Reduce expenditures to achieve a balanced budget, and thus, to still fears deterring business expansion.
3. An end to coercion and violence in relations between capital and labor.
4. Opposition to “unnecessary” government competition with private enterprise.
5. Recognition that private investment and enterprise require a reasonable profit.
6. Safeguarding the collateral upon which credit rests.
7. Reduction of taxes, or if this proves impossible at the moment, firm assurance of no further increases.
8. Maintenance of state rights, home rule, and local self-government, except where proven definitely inadequate.
9. Economical and non-political relief to unemployed with maximum local responsibility.
10. Reliance upon the American form of government and the American system of enterprise.
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