Loving, Learning, and Leading

Keeping it real: Health Care Reform As a physician who had significant administrative experiences in the past, I got to see the ins and outs of healthcare and its funding. Its a complex topic with many different players and many different agendas. Within a single office visit there are multiple different interests secretly battling it out for attention, and for money. This is why the discussions that many of the political pundits are having regarding healthcare reform are more political agendas than authentic concerns for the health and wellbeing of a nation. The system is complex and interdependent so that each intervention has reverberations throughout the system. For instance, if you continue to limit reimbursements to health facilities and providers, as has been the case for government supported plans such as medicare and medicaid, the unintended consequence is inaccessibility to care for those who are the most dependent on care (Many practices that are primarily medicaid ...

I believe that the current discussion regarding the Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is fascinating to watch and that the process itself has huge implication on how America see's itself and our openness to discuss race and race relations with a clear head. One of the statements made from Republican Senator O. Hatch, was that he was looking for Justices that are committed to enforce the law/constitution, not legislate it. He was reacting to her very public statements that most interpretations of constitutional law are in fact ways of legislating without the process. When we think about supreme court rulings (whether they be conservative or liberal leading), we must all understand that she speaks truth. Rowe vs Wade was not a "law" but an interpretation of the constitution that made abortion permissible. Placing the separation of all religious activity from public supported venues is also an interpretation of a constitution that originally was designed to deny a ...

Graceful Mourning Today, there will be a huge memorial service for Michael Jackson, which will probably been one of the most highly viewed, Tivo"d, and taped events of all time. As I sit here, there is around the clock coverage of his life, his performances, and the speculation regarding the many legal and social problems that he experienced. At the same time, as I complete football junkie, the life and death of quarterback Steve Mcnair has saturated sports networks and sports media. Steve is regarded as one of the paragons of integrity and commitment as the quarterback of both the Tennesee Titans and later for the Baltimore Ravens. He was considered the consummate family man with a stable marriage and the father of four. He was shot to death, along with his apparent lover, last week. His wife, family and friends are devasted by the loss of a father, husband, and even more important, their trust. It is simply overwhelming to put yourself in their shoes. I have read nu...

Things I think I think This is one of those blogs when I have a couple things on my mind that I want to say and get your opinion on. This is one of these times when you have some feelings and thoughts that are not completely concise and well articulated, but you still feel the need to express. So here are the things that I think I think: 1. Church people and church programs spend a lot of energy trying to be nice, as opposed to being loving. Niceness is polite, charming, and even kind. It provides harmony and the ability to work with one another. Love is a whole different animal. It is vulnerable, self-sacrificing, forgiving, forbearing, and even painful. Love exacts a price from us, and it is why we choose niceness over and against love. 2. People are looking for a community where they can be real. By real, I am suggesting an authenticity. Authenticity is the ability to express yourself in a way that is true to your true self and know that you are accepted. Not that you are perfect, b...

Asking and Receiving Today, I was speaking with a good friend about how God answers prayer. I believe that one of the major ways that God demonstrates his presence and power is through our prayers. The ancient wisdom of God's Word tells us to: "Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. " (Colossians 4:2) Its the watchful and thankful part that I think we mess up. I was reminded of this when I was traveling down the interstate in decent traffic and someone in the lane to my right put his left turn signal on. There was no room for this person to merge, but I slowed to give him space to merge left in front of me. Despite the fact that I gave him abundant space, he began talking on his cell phone and did not merge. After about 2 minutes, I returned to normal speed and he again put on his turn signal after about 5 more minutes. I repeated the cycle two more times before he actually merged, because he was so distracted. I believe that God often answers ou...

Restoration from the inside out Theologian Cornelius Platinga once described the Kingdom of God as simply "the way things are supposed to be". That simple definition reasonates with me as I read the paper, walk the streets, watch the news, or simply talk to my neighbors. So many times, I hear of senseless violence, grinding poverty, and debilitating hopelessness and my thought is "thats not the way things are supposed to be". That feeling is almost intuitive and it is shared by the most innocent children to our most seasoned elders. Its just not the way things are supposed to be... Lately, I have been spending time praying about how New Hope (the church I am privileged to pastor in Rochester, NY) can be a catalyst for "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done". If the kingdom is "the way things are supposed to be", what role can New Hope or any of us have in ushering in this new reality in the face of so much pain and suffering. The Kingdom or re...

Charity and Justice Yesterday, the leadership team of New Hope Free Methodist church was visited by Dr. Elaine Spaull. Dr. Spaull is the city councilperson for the eastern distric of the city of Rochester. Many of you who regularly read this blog know that I am not the one to embrace politicians as means to producing significant community and cultural change. Its not that politicians are corrupt or evil, but simply that many of them are inefficient vehicles of change. In light of what I just said, I was amazed as well as deeply moved and highly motivated after our visit with Dr. Spaull. Dr. Spaull has given up successful legal and academic careers in order to head the non-profit Center for Youth ( www.centerforyouth.net ) that is devoted to identifying and developing struggling and troubled young adults in the Rochester/Monroe County area. Last year, they helped over 22,000 young adults and gave shelter to over 1000 homeless teens. This is an agency that is making a difference i...