Pinocchio

Christian faith & practice

Those familiar with Christianity, and Jubilee's missionary history realize that Christ is the greatest liberator of mankind.

Indeed, God's presence fills the hearts of people wherever Christian faith and practice meet.

Thank you! --for sending us.

Pastor of the sheep

We have 3 churches on our Silicon Valley campus: the JCC main Church, our Spanish Church, and our Vietnam Church. Whoever preaches to the masses on Sunday morning, the prime focus of the worship service is the sermon.

Each of us congregants is expected to encounter Jesus not only in the bread and wine, but in the spoken word. To this observer, the theology of the sermon is the word of God --a declaration of God's will, and it is received as such by those of us in the pews.

Therefore the sermon should not be flippant, or contain half-thoughts, or angry prejudices from one's mind.

It is a frightfully serious thing to mislead the people of God.

Your Pastor's sermons

When the sermons of your Pastor are turned into campaign ads by your opposition --your presidential campaign is on very rocky shoals, in grave danger of running aground.

~

While serving Christ in Vietnam

Imagine my surprise: that while serving Christ in Vietnam, I discovered that Prince Harry was serving his country in Afghanistan.

I couldn't believe it.

While waiting for the Hotel front desk to retrieve my room key, I glanced down at the nearby table and eyed a British newspaper, left by some Brit, apparently, and there was Prince Harry --in all his glory, wearing his distinctive British desert camo fatigues, holding an M-16, (not the later image above). His picture filled the entire first page of that British newspaper!

It was a revelation to this missionary that Prince Harry had been courageously serving in Afghanistan for 3 months. (When the British papers mistakenly released the news of his deployment, Harry had to return to England). Prince Harry should be applauded by all citizens who believe that the war against Islamo-terrorism is vital to our free world.

This is amazing to me. The last time I remember learning of Prince Harry in the news was when he was busted by his father (and the British media) for wearing a Nazi armband to a British nightclub. (Does anyone remember that?)

I can forgive youthful indiscretions. We've all done crazy things in our youth; but this Harry chap is a credit to his nation!

Harry's bravery reminds this grateful American citizen that the Briitish warrior spirit is still alive and well --because, my gosh, he must've been a bullet magnet to terrorists everywhere.

I love the 80s

Hey, --the 1980s are back! -- Sylvester Stallone has prepped another Rambo movie. Not only that, Chuck Norris is an Internet icon and is donating his time for a presidential candidate, (and even Mr. T is doing commercials!)

I loved the decade of the 80s: Faith Bible College for Virginia and me, getting our Great Commission calling from God, Jubilee Christian Center's formative years, --and, stonewashed jeans!

And, think about it, even in the new millennium these tough-guy actors are still as ripped as they were 20 years ago!

Conservative men are cool.

Everytime the wind blows

In the coming weeks Americans will choose only 2 finalists in the job search for the most important CEO position on planet earth. Mrs. O and I believe that leadership/character traits are more important than technical knowledge of, say, foreign policy or economics. But these seem to get all the attention.

These and other things can distract us from the real issue of examining a candidate's fitness.

I remember a long time ago (when Jubilee was across the street in our old sanctuary) Virginia and I were in a Home Fellowship Group leader's meeting, and Pastor and Doug & Danae Roberts called a meeting to invite couples to become "captains" in the H.F.G. During the course of the meeting one of the cell leaders blurted out, "Pastor, I really love you brother, if you were running for President I'd vote for you."

We all chuckled profusely--and it happened to be during a presidential election season--nevertheless everyone in the room instinctively knew that Pastor had this intangible quality to inspire and lead people.

And later, when Pastor asked an older Jubelite (a dentist) to start a Home Fellowship Group, this individual hesitated and told Pastor that he wasn't a Bible scholar. Pastor replied that he wasn't looking for a student of the Bible, --he was looking for a leader to lead a Home Fellowship Group. This was very telling, and I remember this exchange as if it happened yesterday.

If you think about it selecting a President has little to do with their having academic skills. Presidents have to learn a lot on the job, and must surround themselves with advisors much smarter than themselves anyway.

The candidate we want to vote for --has he had some good robust life experiences, personally and professionally? The presidency is a job for a kind of generalist. We never know what crisis or emergency will come calling, nor from what direction it will hit us. A generalist type of President will know the correct actions to take that make sense in whatever context it appears.

Oh, sure, there's something to be said for a candidate's style, grace and charisma, but those things don't take you very far in a showdown...

...How does the presidential candidate view our country? Liberty is America's greatest national asset. Therefore a President must be ruthless in guarding our nation from foreign enemies. Christian citizens should recall how 20-something David of old ruthlessly protected his sheep from lions in the wilderness.

Of all presidential attributes, the American people must see a leader who loves this duty, because if our homeland is threatened or breached --nothing else matters.

They're all colorfull candidates! But would the front-runners make good presidential leaders? Everytime the wind blows can a leader stay the course on his convictions? Lone Wolf Liberties is reminded of two leaders, one in recent memory and one today, unchanged by the direction of continual fierce blowing winds: President Ronald Reagan and President George Bush the Younger.

I hope they still make 'em today.

Reagan; Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! During this Christian season, throughout our fruited plain, men and a woman are presidential candidates to be the Leader of the Free World.

They should stop and listen to America's exponent of the shining city on a hill.

Parabolic encounters

In the spring of 1999 Virginia and I posited an idea that, in nature, the parabola, has correspondence with the gospel of Christ. The idea bears repeating.

The roots of the word parabola can be traced to the Greek word pa-rab-o-le literally meaning, “a comparison or metaphor.”

Curiously, the New Testament word “parable” shares the same Greek meaning: also a comparison! (This was a eureka moment for me, and it occurred when I was coding documents into a database as a temp in a Silicon Valley I.P. law firm, Skjerven Morrill MacPherson Franklin & Friel, just off the 101.)

When a basketball is thrown, it first rises, and then begins to fall. The curve it follows is a parabola. A satellite dish is a parabola. Its curve causes signals to reflect to a central focus. Reflection is a great property of the parabola, and we benefit from it all the time without thinking much about it.

Now, as missionaries, when we transmit faith across a foreign culture we believe that spiritual encounters follow a parabola. It is often problematic sharing Christ in a world dominated by materialism, modernism, mammon and other belief systems, nevertheless...

Each ray in the diagram symbolizes an individual (or possibly even a community of individuals). A ray strikes the parabola and is reflected to the focus.
The parabola is a type of Christian believer. The focus is a type of Christ.I believe that at the point where a ray strikes the parabola, an encounter between the hearer and the missionary has occurred. Even more importantly, at the exact point where the ray is reflected to the focus—the hearer has understood the meaning of Christ.

Salvation may well follow.

Jubilee Vietnam Church

My wife is shown here with her fans--the JVC Youth--and enjoys fellowship and lunch down in the Jubilee galley following the 11:00 AM service.

California's help from Baghdad

After returning from my meeting at Jubilee Christian Center with Fellee, I was happy to learn of a story out of Iraq, --but boycotted by the media.

It seems that a group of Iraqi soldiers in a military camp east of Baghdad collected $1,000.00 last week to send to my neighbors in southern California, affected by the recent wildfires.

Iraqi soldiers risking their lives everyday, --and still find the time to raise money for charity!

These Iraqis have so much class.

Hmm, let's see, how much did the European Union send?

If American soldiers and Marines are washouts and misfits that they have been made out to be by the mainstream media --why would local Iraqis dig into their pockets to assist American civilians?

Iraqis are indeed working with the finest America has to offer.

A huge differential

This year Islam and Judaism's holiest holidays overlapped for 10 days.

But the differential between them was huge: Muslims racked up 397 dead bodies across 10 countries during Ramadan...while the Hebrews quietly worked on their 159th Nobel Prize.

~natural exponent

If mothers ruled the world

While catching up on world events on FOX News, I saw FOX's report on Sally Field's Emmy award acceptance speech. But FOX News had to bleep parts of it!

In her bleeped Emmy acceptance speech Sunday night, Sally Field said:

Let's face it, if mothers ruled the world, there would be no god_ _ _ n wars in the firstplace.

Wow; I could almost see fire coming out of her eyes.

But this is such false premise. Have you ever seen a mother's reaction when someone tries to come between her and her children? War comes to mind.

Natural Exponent would like to remind Sally Field that there have been female heads of state, mothers, who have waged war. This can be found in any High School history book:

Israel's Golda Meir, India's Indira Gandhi, and Britain's Maggie Thatcher. These 3 mothers waged war in defense of their nation's sovereignty.

Battle dogs

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. David Hornsby and his special security dog Lisa are hoisted into a helicopter during a canine-hoist training mission near Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on July 15, 2007.

Lisa is attached to the 101st Air Assault Division.

Dogs - they truly do like us, don't they? I'm trying to imagine how poorer man would be without dogs.

.

An exponent of liberty

Edmund Burke
"I flatter myself that I love a manly, moral, regulated liberty as well as any gentleman... It is one of the gifts of Providence."

Long Live The Queen!

A firestorm has been sweeping across the Muslim world because H.M. Queen Elizabeth knighted the "infidel" Salman Rushdie.

Happily, free speech is a heritage of English-speaking nations.

I think that by knighting Rushdie, the Queen is honoring the freedom of conscience (and speech) that English-speaking nations love. That makes her a symbol of free thought. Indeed this is how one comes to Christ --through the free-speech efforts of the evangelist.

Long live the Queen!

The Genuine Article II

Ho Chi Minh City: A pastor explains to me that his friend (at right, with his wife) has been jailed 6 times because of his Christian faith.

This underscored a hard reality to me: I do not know what it means to be a Christian, --and suffer its consequences. (He is the genuine article.)

(J-Team Vietnam::May 2007)

Solution to Illegal Immigration

If illegal aliens are here to do the jobs Americans won't do, maybe more could come to Jubilee Christian Center --George & Virginia could use more missionary candidates.

The Genuine Article

What does it mean to be a Christian?

Mrs. Obregon with a woman (left) who lives somewhere in the 10/40 drop zone.

This woman has had to live without her husband for 15 years—that’s how long he’s been imprisoned for his Christian faith. She sells cloth to make a living.

“I am uneducated, but God uses me,” she informs Virginia and me.

She goes on to inform us of the most astonishing fact—150 people worship at her house each Sunday. This woman has also seen minority tribesmen come to Christ in her country.

Her husband’s previous evangelistic efforts have resulted in 21 churches planted throughout her area.

(She is the genuine article.)

Two Orchids of Vietnam

Above, First Lady Mrs. Lan Bui and First Lady Mrs. Virginia Obregon of J-Team, relax before our hectic back-to-back Prophetic Seminars in Ho Chi Minh City.

Our 5-man J-Team was composed of all Jubelites from Jubilee Christian Center, rare, since Virginia and I have always deployed to Vietnam with missionaries from different churches.