Kingdom Come & Vote For Me

Two simple posts for your enjoyment this week. If they spark any thoughts, please share.


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VOTE FOR ME
by Robert Lamm

Vote for me, vote for me
I want the nomination for the Presidency
Vote for me, vote for me
If I am elected, this is how it will be.

I'll cut your tax in half
I'll make the Russians laugh
I'll feed the hungry people everywhere.
I'll bring the railroads back
New trains and new track
From Waikiki to old Delaware.

Vote for me, vote for me
I want the nomination for the Presidency
Vote for me, vote for me
If I am elected, this is how it will be.

I'll give Detroit one year
New cars that run on beer
Or anything except gasoline.
I'm looking to the sun
More power for everyone
And the cleanest sky that you've ever seen.

I'm not going to kid you, there's a lot to do
Little can I promise, it's really up to you
But if we all work together
And I think we can
And if you want some new ideas
Then I'm your man.

Vote for me, vote for me
I want the nomination for the Presidency
Vote for me, vote for me
If I am elected, this is how it will be.

I'll work for global peace
And the sweet release
Of the love and human kindness in us all.
I would give all I've got
You just give me a shot
Somehow, I know that I can win the fall.
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Some things never seem to change. The above song is from Chicago 11, Sept. 1977.

What Life Legacy Would I Want?

FYI: New Post at MD

Amongst several blogs including this one (Mere Discipleship Blog, Tangled Weblog, Jettybetty, Phil's, Amy's), we have had continued discussion about the meaning of real discipleship and challenging ourselves on what that means in our lives. The excerpts from the article below illuminate clearly the attributes of a modern day disciple.

Excerpts from Party puts Cokesbury on mission for charity by Kevin Cowan Oct. 24, 2006, www.knoxnews.com

A lavish party and the work of a deceased church member have inspired Cokesbury United Methodist Church. The West Knoxville church has set a goal to raise $100,000 for the Red Bird Mission in Beverly, Ky. The organization provides spiritual, educational, health and community outreach ministries to the needy in a three-county region in the Appalachians.

Dr. G. Steven Sallee, senior pastor, read the Oct. 2 News Sentinel article "My Super Sweet 15," which chronicled an over-the-top birthday party thrown for a Farragut teen. The bash was inspired by MTV's series "My Super Sweet 16," which goes behind the scenes of six-figure parties for wealthy teens.

"I came home from church and I read that story," Sallee said. "At 2 o'clock that same afternoon, I went back to church to conduct a funeral for a member." The member was Rachel Noble, 81, of Knoxville. She and her husband, Walter Noble, "responded to a need in Red Bird," Sallee said, "and ministered to some of the poorest people in Appalachia for 35 years."

According to government statistics, Beverly's Clay County is the poorest county in Kentucky, with a per-capita income of $9,626. About 40% of the county's residents live below the poverty line. Also, 50% of Clay County residents older than 25 are not high school graduates.

At Red Bird, Rachel Noble was a nurse, Sallee said, and her husband carried "coal to the school and worked at some of the churches." It bothered the pastor that Rachel Noble "spent 35 years helping others and that it was going to be unnoticed," he said, "and that this little 15-year-old girl had gotten all of this notoriety for all of this money spent for a birthday party."

So Sallee came up with the idea to begin a series of sermons, "The Cure for the Common Life." The first cure introduced to the congregation was "finding a cause." As part of the sermon delivered Oct. 8, Sallee retold the story of the birthday party and shared the story of Rachel Noble's life.

"Spontaneously in the sermon, I said I think we should raise $100,000 to take to the Red Bird Mission in Rachel Noble's name," Sallee recalled. "As soon as I announced it, the entire congregation started applauding." As he sang the service's final song, "People started coming down the aisle putting checks in my pockets," Sallee said. "I reached into my pockets and there was about $12,000 or $13,000 in checks."

In the days after the message, money has continued to be donated, even by those who may have needed help themselves. "There was this woman dressed shabbily," Sallee remembered. "She said, 'That sermon has changed the way I look at life. I can't afford it, but I want you have this.' It was a check for $100."

Cokesbury is about at the $46,000 mark, Sallee said Monday. The pastor hopes to reach the goal by Oct.31 and present the check to Red Bird Nov. 5 during a service at the church. If more than $100,000 is raised, Sallee said Cokesbury wants to donate the excess to Second Harvest, a local food bank.

To make a donation, mail checks (payable to Cokesbury for Red Bird Mission) to Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 9908 Kingston Pike, Knoxville, TN 37922. To find out more about Red Bird Mission, go to www.rbmission.org.

Now that is the legacy of a disciple. As I was reading the article, I realized that Mrs. Noble was the mother of one of my bosses. The effort will be getting a check from me.

Freedom and Where Do You Go to Get Away

Below are the lyrics to three songs from King's X most recent CD Ogre Tones, two of which I used as a discussion tool in our college life group last night. I post the lyrics here to see what response they generate from the blog world. The two songs I used in life group were Freedom and Get Away. If the songs spur some thoughts, please post them.

Alone
No one should be made to feel...ALONE!

No one should be made to feel rejected, and to feel the pain
No one should be made to feel unwanted, and to feel the hate
Sticks and stones, breaking bones
Names and words they hurt you...effecting everything

No one should be made to feel alone...nobody...nobody should
No one should be made to feel alone...alone...alone

No one should be made to feel their heart break, and to feel unloved
No one should be made to feel they're ugly, and to feel ashamed
Sticks and stones, breaking bones
Names and words they hurt you...effecting everything

No one should be made to feel alone...nobody...nobody should
No one should be made to feel alone...alone...to feel alone
No one should be made to feel alone...nobody...nobody should
No one should be made to feel alone...alone...to feel alone

Alone...Alone...Alone

Freedom
Freedom, to have two mothers and all be men
Freedom, to terminate Jay Phebus if he don't fit in
Freedom, to kiss my brother right on the lips
Freedom, to make my own concoction and take a sip
What a trip.... blame it all on God

Freedom... Freedom... Freedom... Freedom...

Freedom, to pay for a killer to have TV
Freedom, to get elected and set my own salary
Freedom, to go out and join the KKK
Freedom, to get in trouble for everything that I say
What a day.... blame it all on God

Freedom... Freedom... Freedom... Freedom...

Freedom, to scam everybody and make a buck
Freedom, to get your credit card number and press my luck
Freedom, cut down the forest, make new disease
Freedom, and throw everything we got into the seas!
And would you please... blame it all on God, we can blame it on God!

Freedom... Freedom... Freedom... Freedom...


Get Away
Hey God, I watched the news tonight, why are your people so f&%$ing mean?
Hey God, that kid was locked up for 3 years, why do the innocent suffer?

Where do you go....to get away....away

Hey God, they say your perfect and in control, and I am falling apart
Hey God, the god of so many names, but who can I blame, what the hell are you thinking

Where do you go...to get away...away
Where do you go...to get away...away

We're standing here and we're couting our fears ... Abraham
Live in a desert, there's nothing there ... Abraham

Where do you go...to get away...away
Where do you go...to get away...away
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What feelings and thoughts do these lyrics arise in you?