Crosswinds Foundation

I found it interesting that, in conjunction with the Alabama and Mississippi primaries, Public Policy Polling thought it would be a good idea to poll the people of my fair state and those in Mississippi to see where those voting in the Republican primary stood on the President’s religion. They found 45% of those polled in Alabama believe him to be a Muslim and 14% consider him a Christian. His numbers were even worse in Mississippi where 52% of those polled believed him to be a Muslim and only 12% a Christian. Some question the accuracy of these polls which considered responses from only 600 voters. However, maybe the numbers are accurate. Consider the results of similar polling done by Pew Research among conservative Republicans on a national level. In 2009 they found that 18% of conservative Republicans believed the President to be a Muslim. When taking the poll in 2010 the number was on the rise having increased to 34% of conservative Republicans believing him a Muslim. Maybe th...

After the attack on the World Trade Towers, country singer/songwriter Alan Jackson put his thoughts about that day in the song, "Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning ". As this song depicts, that day surely seemed like the end of the world. All of us can remember where we were as that event unfolded. (Listen to the song at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvj6zdWLUuk ) This week the media has given much attention to a prophecy by Harold Camping that the world will come to an end on May 21, 2011; which is, as I am writing, tomorrow. I couldn't help but think of the contrast of Camping's prediction and the events of September 11. September 11 really happened. It had all the feel of the end of the world as we knew it. The question Alan Jackson poses is one that still resonates with us today. Camping's prediction concerning May 21 st , does not depict a real event for that day - it is a false prophecy. It has the media's attention today but will quickl...

As I looked at my feet there were literally hundreds of hamburgers and hot dogs. I was in the midst of a fast food junkies’ ultimate burger fantasy. As I stared at all this food and thought how good it would be to reach out and have one, I couldn’t help also thinking that the ones for whom they were prepared would probably much rather be sitting at their own table eating a meal of their own choosing. Last week as tornadoes ripped through much of the Southeast, my own state, Alabama was especially hard hit. As the rescue and relief efforts got under way I had an opportunity to go into one of the hardest hit areas of my home city, Birmingham. My friend Andy Jenkins had offered to take me into the staging area of the relief effort, for what he described as a “20 minute” recon trip, so I could better assess bringing in volunteers associated with my group, Crosswinds Foundation. As so often seems to happen when being with Andy, our “20 minute” trip turned into an adventure that lasted mo...

“Si me dieras el si!” Loosely translated this means, “If only she would say yes”. This is the only sentence I learned in my four quarters of Spanish other than, “Donde es el bano?” (Where is the bathroom), and “Yo quiero mas cervasas.” (I need more beer). The latter two, I must admit, were closely connected as part of my college days. The former, however, proved to have much greater importance as it was a sentence I learned while attempting to woo my future bride into marrying me. Fortunately God in His infinite wisdom convinced my bride to say yes because He knew I needed lots of help staying close to Him. He also knew she needed to be challenged by my foolish ideas. In addition to my wife, I have also learned much from God through, more than 30 years of toiling in the soil, making sure the grounds and greens at the golf course were in good shape. Recently, I have seen evidence of this as He used my new amigos and fellow workers to teach me and them more about Him and His ways. ...

"All Hallow's Even" is upon us or, if you don't speak Olde English, Halloween. October 31 is a day kids love to celebrate, as do many grown-ups. After all, it involves dressing up in a costume and pretending to be someone, or something, else and, then there is candy - lots of candy. The celebration of Halloween has long been woven into the fabric of our culture. Most Americans can remember selecting, or making, a Halloween costume and going trick-or-treating. Many of us still hold fond memories of bags full of candy being gathered as we ran door to door holding out our container to be filled with those delicious morsels - detesting that one person in the neighborhood who always insisted on giving out "healthy" treats - and at the end of the evening emptying all of it into a big pile to cull out our least favorite brands and then negotiate trades with our fellow trick-or-treaters. As we got older there were parties to attend, perhaps accompanied by innocent ...

Okay, I admit it – I got sucked into Lost. A couple of years ago I watched a few episodes from the first season and got hooked. I went out and bought all the seasons on DVD and immersed myself in the storyline preparing for the new season that year. It didn’t matter that it didn’t make sense. It was terrific storytelling and we were told the writers had it all mapped out. In fact, it was so well mapped out, we were led to believe, that the season of the writer’s strike, they were upset that some of the plot development from that season would not get in, or would be rushed. This gave me comfort. So, I could live with my confusion. After all, I knew one day it would all fall into place – the writers had it all plotted out. One day all would be revealed and I would be able to say, “So, that’s why the polar bear was there; that’s where the smoke monster came from.” So, here I sit after the series finale – my hopes dashed. It turns out it was all a sham. There are no real answers; in fact, ...

It is not unusual for someone to ask me what I think are the biggest or most important shifts in faith-beliefs that have occurred in recent years. Answering this question usually leads to an interesting discussion about where we are as a society as regards religious, or “spiritual”, issues. Following is my “Top Ten” list for your consideration and discussion. 1. God doesn’t exist/isn’t real/is dead. 2. There are many gods, or perhaps one God who expresses himself, or itself in many different forms. 3. Many/all religions lead to eternal life, or to the same God – they just have different understandings of who, or what, God is. 4. All religions, basically, teach the same truths, perhaps, with a little variation. 5. The Bible is not God’s word but just another book. 6. Jesus was a great teacher or prophet, but he was not God in the flesh. 7. The universe and man came about through evolution. 8. When a person dies they come back again as another person, or thing, through reincarnation. 9. ...