2008-08-28T22:37:41Z Clint Copyright 2008, Clint SPHPBLOG New Song...but it's needed. And the story gets even worse than last time. At their big "Launchfest" celebration at Sertoma Park, a "pastor" from New Song told a teenage girl sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ to stop or leave!

My friend's daughter is so enthusiastic about witnessing and telling people about the gospel. She and her friends hand out gospel literature and witness to people whenever they have the opportunity. They buy gospel tracts like the Million Dollar Bill from places like Way of the Master. They give tracts to their server when they go to a restaurant and to people they meet every day, and they go to big public events like fairs and things to tell people about the gospel as well. They actually go to some places like street dances where they stand a chance of getting punched in the face for what they're doing. Their courage and enthusiasm make most Christians (like myself) seem pretty weak by comparison. You'd never expect that a girl like this would encounter such opposition by...a pastor of a CHURCH?

Here's an excerpt from her account of the event:

Here in town we have a little amusement park and a church rented it out so everyone in the community could get in for free and use the rides. "Christian" bands (I say that VERY loosely) were lined up to play on the grounds too. Needless to say there was a TON of people there!

I totally forgot about it until my mom mentioned it to me at supper so I jumped into my car and headed over to the park with a billion tracts in hand. I got there and passed out tracts like no body's business and did one-to-one with a big handful of people.

As I was doing this a man came up to me and said. "Hey! I noticed that you are passing these tracts out and well, I am the one of the pastors who but this on and we just don't want people to get religion shoved down their throats." I WAS SHOCKED! THIS PASTOR WAS KICKING ME OUT! He said I could come back when everything wasn't for free anymore (that was @ 7:00) I questioned him as polite as I could on why he didn't want people to get the TRUTH (I was SOOOO MAD/ SAD/ SHOCKED/ ANGRY/ FRUSTRATED/ HORRIFIED all @ the same time) He beat around the bush and told me I had to leave.

I went to my car and just cried.... these people need the LORD and a PASTOR is keeping me from witnessing! It was horrible! I came back later.... this time with EVEN MORE TRACTS. I wanted to get the word out a million times more because I was so worked up.

After I came back I thought I could witness wherever now so I was witnessing to a group of kids in the "band part" of the park and he (the pastor who kicked me out) walks up to me as I was witnessing and says I HAD to GET OUT of that part of the park too and says to the kids, "You guys don't have to listen to what she is saying." YOU DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO WHAT SHE IS SAYING?????? What???? I CARE FOR THESE PEOPLE!!!! ARHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I was going insane!

I am no stranger to New Song's mentality: acceptance. Appeal to the kids. Be the community's friend. Hey, if you provide free admission to the park, you'll have lots of "friends" until the gate fees come back. Didn't your mom ever tell you that people like that aren't your true friends? Besides, what made that event stand out as a "church" event when you specifically tried NOT to appear that way? In order to win people away from the world, maybe you ought to try providing an alternative to the world.

They are 180 degrees out of phase with the Bible, which says, "be not conformed to this world." Instead they specifically go out of their way to not present the gospel to people. What did Jesus say about that? Oh yeah: "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." There was one girl at Sertoma park trying to do just that, and she got shut down by a pastor of this so-called "church."

On the one hand, you have a girl who took the time to buy gospel tracts, drive to the park and hand them out, witnessing to whoever would listen (and gaining some ground, by the accounts I read), and crying for the people she was told she couldn't try to reach. On the other hand, you have a "church" who wants to buy the friendship of the community, deliberately leaving Jesus Christ out of it, who tells this girl she's not welcome to do the job they were told by their Saviour to do in a public park where they had no right to stop her.

People showing up for the event probably knew it was a "church" putting it on...don't you think they may have expected to receive a little Christianity when they showed up? Maybe some of them were even hoping for it. This girl's accounts include people who asked for additional tracts so they could send them to others, as well as kids who were truly convicted by what she had to say. Some Christian kids there were enthusiastic about what she was doing. So for anyone to imply that witnessing at this event would be "forcing religion" on the public is a cop-out.

This isn't a one-church-vs-another argument. I'm not making this about the so-called "Christian Rock" concert. And I'm certainly no model witness for Jesus either --it's been two weeks or more since I last handed out any gospel tracts -- so I don't think I'm any better than anyone else, especially with kids like this going out on the Lord's behalf. I'm just trying to exhort a church purporting to represent Christ but which seems to want to keep him out of sight in their public "ministry." When was the last time any of you organizers of this event cried for the lost people who might attend?

I'm sorry to have to say it, New Song, but your event was pathetic. What does it take for you to see that any outreach you have should be Christ-centered? Do you really not take the Bible at face value when God says that His word "shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."?

How long ago did you forsake the Great Commission to preach the gospel? There are plenty of places to provide the community with free entertainment; but you have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ to give to them, and you try to hide it as if it's an embarrassment! Perhaps you're afraid it might offend people as badly as letting one lone girl try to do the work that an entire church set out not to do.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080827-231603 2008-08-28T00:00:00Z 2008-08-28T00:00:00Z
Not much can be easily found with merely a cursory Google search, but there are those souls on the Internet that love chasing down such details. I was tipped off to this by a blog I frequent, Strange Maps.

Apparently a few disgruntled folks were looking to make a state of their own back in the 1930s, borrowing bits from Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota. "Absaroka" would have been the 49th state, cutting in line ahead of Hawaii (1958) and Alaska, a.k.a. "Seward's Folly" (1959).

The name Absaroka is tied to the Crow Nation, according to this article from the New York Times. (Of course, we know how reliable THEY are...I'd rather trust a blogger!)


Apparently these folks were quite serious, even to the point of printing up state license plates (as pictured above), and even a Ms. Absaroka contest (as pictured below).


I wonder what Montana, Wyoming, and "the other Dakota" would have thought about losing a big chunk of their territory to this new state? I can hardly imagine they'd be thrilled. And of what serious offense would the instigators of this movement be guilty? Not secession, at least on a national level. In any case, it must have fizzled out. The last time I headed south of Belfield, the signs said South Dakota.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080825-191345 2008-08-26T00:00:00Z 2008-08-26T00:00:00Z
Yeah, I know. Perhaps the worst, corniest music reference title I've come up with yet. Hopefully these little dove chicks don't have to cry, though...despite a rocky start to their weekend. Saturday morning I discovered these two huddling in the grass, shivering and scared. I'm pretty sure they got knocked out of a tree on Friday, with all the wind that came through.

I grabbed a space heater and extension cord and got them warmed up pretty well. They seemed to really like the warmth, and quit shivering as well. I'm sure the sprinklers didn't help that morning, either! Once we got them warmed up, we tried to figure out what to do with them. That's when we looked up.



Their mom had arrived and was watching us nervously from above, sitting absolutely motionless. With the little birds' temperature stabilized, we quickly packed up the heater and retreated.



A short while later, I ventured out into the yard and found mama bird cuddling her babies, still in the little divot in our yard. I picked up some wild bird food and placed a paper plate of it nearby, so she can grab some chow, and hoped for the best.



We've checked on them off and on throughout the weekend, and the mother bird seems intent on sticking by her little babies. They're not that little, actually, which gives me hope that they'll actually pull through. With the help of their attentive mama, they at least stand a chance. The countenance of these little birds has sure changed from when we found them huddling and scared in the grass.



They're content to stay in that little divot, but now they've got their mom and the warmth and food she provides. She does venture away on occasion, but so far has returned every time. I looked after dark tonight to find her settled in atop her babies, wings spread to provide good cover. Hopefully this story will have a happy end, with the baby birds able to take off with their mommy soon. Maybe Prince would like to adopt them!]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080825-001642 2008-08-25T00:00:00Z 2008-08-25T00:00:00Z
I don't think the Bangles will mind me mangling the title of one of their biggest hits to suit my purpose. I could also say, "If you can't beat 'em - join 'em" in reference to the ubiquitous power lines.

North Dakota, especially the "energy corridor" in which our fair cities reside, provides electricity for a very large area. Although lignite coal isn't necessarily the "best" coal, the people in charge of converting it to electricity continue to strive to extract the most out of it in as clean a fashion as possible. Since we need wires to get all that electricity somewhere, there are power lines wherever a hopeful photographer may point his camera. And there still aren't enough, by the way.

That's why somewhere along the line I fell in love with power line towers. Perhaps it's because I know what they mean to our state. Maybe it's the way they stand fast across the rugged prairie, or what they deliver to thousands, if not millions, of hopeful customers. In any case, I've got LOTS of power line tower photos.

This particular morning, from about a week or so ago, was quite hazy due to the humidity. That same haze was giving me a rough time in my quest to spot Perseid meteors, so I was happy to be able to at least use it to my advantage. I was getting ready for an all-day video shoot, so I ran to work early. Along the way I spotted these towers, and dashed out for a quick click of the shutter.

The electrons whizzing over my head probably heated up some Minnesotan's breakfast that morning, or kept some little kid's life support machine running in a hospital. Maybe it powered someone's computer so they could read my blog!]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080822-202852 2008-08-23T00:00:00Z 2008-08-23T00:00:00Z
As a current city employee and a former state DOT employee, I'm entitled to make jokes about government work. That's why I feel free--no, compelled to say that the ratio of supervisors to workers here is completely opposite of a government scenario. Jokingly, of course!

It doesn't look like supervising this operation is a really keen job, either; it involves staring at four little duck butts! They are pretty cute, though. My little boy PJ was excited to see the ducks. We watched them eat for a little while, then moved on.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080821-224410 2008-08-22T00:00:00Z 2008-08-22T00:00:00Z
Just in case you were wondering where your dial tone went! This pole, and the end of the wire which wraps around it, sit aside a gravel road north of Bismarck. Maybe they've gone wireless up that way!

Actually, according to this press release from the ND Public Service Commission (PDF format) there are more wireless phones than land lines in North Dakota, and have been for a couple of years now. We ditched the land line (and all the ridiculous surcharges) in our house long ago, and so have many of our friends. Apparently many North Dakotans are doing the same. Especially the folks at the other end of the wire pictured above, I presume!]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080820-211149 2008-08-21T00:00:00Z 2008-08-21T00:00:00Z
My friend Petey often says, and I've adopted this as my personal motto, "Some days it's better to be lucky than good." Luck accounts for a great number of the finest photographs out there, since the one element completely out of the photographer's control is the convergence of time and place to formulate the perfect moment. The photo above is one of those moments.

I'm sure many of you have noticed that magnificent full moon we have had the past few nights (Brucellosis, I'm talking about YOU). It's a fun photographic subject, but without a telescope or a very expensive lens it's hard to get any really impressive photographs of it. The true beauty of such a moon, however, lies in its relationship to objects below.

I was bummed about missing Sunday night's sunset by only a short moment. As I came up south Washington Street, I noticed the moon rising in the east, and it looked quite cool. I bolted up to a hill in northwest Bismarck, and caught that nice moon in a nice relationship to the state capitol building!

It ain't easy getting a shot like this. Monday night I tried to better it, hoping to get a photo of the moon right beside the capitol, and was unable to do so. I realized that without roof access somewhere, it's nearly impossible to get such a shot. The reason is that one has to be far enough away from the capitol to make it appear small in the shot, having a good relationship with the moon, but also be positioned in the correct angle. Frankly, there aren't many positions in Bismarck that fit the bill. Either there's a power line, tree or building in the way, or the angle is just plain wrong. As it turns out, Sunday night I was lucky. Good.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080819-205200 2008-08-20T00:00:00Z 2008-08-20T00:00:00Z
This is the view from one of the cooler parts of the new cat exhibit at the Dakota Zoo here in Bismarck. The tiger exhibit is finished, the tigers are laying around like cats do, and one of them decided to soak up the sun from atop the glass viewing portal.

This enclosure is cool in that you can look all around, and you have to duck to walk through a kiddie-sized tunnel to get to it. Naturally the kids love it, at least mine do. It's just tall enough to push our stroller through without scraping my knuckles. If the cats aren't doing anything exciting (let's face, it...they're CATS) the kids will probably like dashing around in the tunnels.

The snow leopard part of the "big cat" exhibit is still under construction, part of a campaign of expansion and enhancement at the zoo.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080818-222520 2008-08-19T00:00:00Z 2008-08-19T00:00:00Z
I don't expect anyone to guess the church beneath this steeple, since it's not in Bismarck-Mandan. I took my little boy up to Lake Sakakawea this weekend. I had three objectives: check out our place and see how tall the grass was (and if my new key works), see how 18-month old PJ does with spending the night in a tent, and run around the area to let my boy see the lake, the dam, the fish, the birds, and any other sights we could find.

Not only did I succeed on all counts, but PJ loved the tent and my new key works in the lock. We also have a lot more water up there than we did the last time I ventured north. I'm told that the big lake has been coming up at a fantastic pace recently.

I also had the chance to do some photography in the area, so this is the steeple of the little lutheran church southwest of Pick City. When I took it, PJ was in the passenger seat of my truck saying "Happy!" over and over. I think he likes camping.]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080817-135847 2008-08-17T00:00:00Z 2008-08-17T00:00:00Z
This is a great time of year to hit any small body of water and check out the dragonflies. I'm sure they love all those little annoying bugs that do so well in this type of weather. I think they eat mosquitoes...if that's the case, they've got plenty of food available!

This year hasn't been so good as 2006. That year I saw so many different types and colors of dragonflies and damselflies, it was amazing. Hopefully they come back in equal numbers sometimes soon; they're pretty interesting to watch!]]> http://bismarckmandanblog.com/index.php?entry=entry080813-203425 2008-08-14T00:00:00Z 2008-08-14T00:00:00Z