John Markum

Why I love Church

   I love our church, Edgewood! My wife and I have been a part of this church family for only a little over 2 years, but the church has made us feel like family. The crowd from our Saturday night worship experience is especially near to my heart, as these are the people that I worship with week in and week out. These are the people that I more often get to see bring friends to hear the Gospel. This is where we get to see life-change happen. A few reasons I love my church family would include:

  • The willingness of our people to receive God’s Word, even when the message is challenging their status quo.
  • The genuine attitude of worship that is often so palpable in our worship experience.
  • The smiles and warm greetings that take place before, during, and after our service.
  • The many volunteers that setup, teardown, run, play, lead, greet, ush, serve drinks, design graphics, edit video, watch the little kids, teach the big kids, and so on – many of whom worship at one of our Sunday morning services.
  • Our leaders’ creativity, passion, and commitment to the success and growth of our church.
  • The consitent enthusiasm of our church family in worship, hearing God’s Word, bringing others with them, and even in their generosity.

Edgewood is a great place to make relationships, grow closer to God, serve others, and be a part of a move of God ithe Quad Cities. I love our church! To see more about our church, check out www.edgewoodbaptist.net or to see more about our Saturday night worship experience, The Awakening, go to www.qcawakening.com

John

Thoughts on Marriage

   For some reason I watched Sister Wives for the first time tonight – a show about a family consisting of 1 husband and 3 (soon to be 4) wives and their children. The controversial nature of their family makes them a perfect candidate for TLC programming. While I find the show… enlightening, I am far from promoting their polygomous lifestyle. The show did make me think of some thoughts on marriage in no particular order:

  • God made 1 woman for 1 man. Genesis 2:24
  • Scripture makes no wholesale command against polygamy, except in church leadership. 1 Timothy 3
  • Proverbs 22:3 – ‘nough said!
  • Frank Ramono to son Ray on Everybody Loves Raymond, “If you’ve got a problem with your woman, don’t go get another woman. Now you’ve just got TWO problems!!!”
  • How do you court another woman without committing emotional adultery? Matthew 5:28 
  • Is it not hypocritical for 1 man to have 4 wives, yet each wife is expected to be married to 1 man?
  • Polygamy is against the law in all 50 states. Romans 13
  • My wife (singular) is the only woman who can satisfy all of my needs – emotionally, relationally, and sexually – guilt free.

John

Politically Incorrect

   This will be the test of the loyalty for some of my viewers for this brand new blog! Many people are staunch are their political views, and others even more grounded in the idea of “separation of church and state.” But with the voting polls opening in less than 2 days it seems appropriate to put some things in perspective…

  First of all, it is worth noting that the terminology of “separation of church and state” appear nowhere in any government document; not the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, ammendments, or preamble to any such documents. It was written in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to an association of Baptist churches and referenced by a Supreme Court Judge later on in 1878. Many have tried to suggest that the first Ammendment states “separation of church and state,” which it does not. It does state that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibitting the free exercise thereof.” I am a pastor. I am also an American citizen. My choice to back a political figure is as legitimate as that of any other American. My rights are not invalid simply because my motives are spiritually driven. With that said, I officially endorse…

   Jesus. “Really?!? That’s a lame, predictable answer.” Probably, but the truth is no candidate – and I mean NO CANDIDATE – has ever impressed me to such a degree that I would recommend them wholesale for others to vote for. Not that I wouldn’t. “Are you Republican or Democrat?” Neither. I would have said Republican at one point. But I’ve been overwhelmingly disappointed with the moral depravity on both sides of the political aisle. And a candidate who can quote Scripture is as unconvincing to me as someone sitting in church who knows all the right things to say, but does not live it. Both parties say “God bless America.” Do they mean it? What do their  political choices suggest? Do the bills they pass honor the God they ask to bless this country?

  These days, I’m too busy lifting up Jesus to give the same level of attention to a political candidate. He is still the only one capable of bringing lasting, meaningful change to this country, or the world for that matter. One day, He will return and reign over the world in truth and justice, on a level unlike any human government is capable of. In the meantime, we must remain engaged in the world in which we live and exercise our rights.

   I’m an American and I intend to vote on Tuesday. My choices will be based on Biblical and moral principles. In some cases, I will choose the lesser of two evils. But the “lesser of two evils is still evil.” In some races, I’ll not select a candidate at all, simply because I’m hard pressed to stomach voting for either.

I encourage every reader to go out and vote for the individuals who give us the least government interference, lowest taxes, greatest protection, and most importantly, possess the highest character. This may not be the most politically correct post I make, but I have a right to exercise my “freedom of speech.” A statement that does appear in our constitution.

John

The phrase no pain, no gain has been a mantra for athletes and fitness junkies for years. And what they understand about physical pain needs to be broadened to a much more general use in all of our lives. Pain hurts. That's the whole problem. No one enjoys it, and if someone does, we rightfully

The Premium of Pain