'Encouragement' from the Social Security Administration

Yesterday Megan got her yearly social security statement in the mail. It updated her on her current projected savings by retirement and described all of the wonderful benefits of the social security program. One heading in particular caught my eyes: "Will Social Security still be around when I retire?" It seems to be that by even asking the question they are letting on that there is in fact some reason to be worried about this. After reading their explanation I'm having a hard time understanding why I should be encouraged.

Most people know how SS has been working for quite some time now. We all give a portion of our paychecks to social security - in effect, the government is requiring us to save for retirement. But, they don't just store our money away some where so that we can retrieve it when we retire. Rather, they use the money that they receive from SS for other budgetary needs, hoping that there will be enough left when you and I retire to actually give us our money back.

Here's the ss administration's encouragement for us as we wonder if we will ever see this money:
"Even if modifications to the program are not made, there would still be enough funds in 2041 from taxes paid by workers to pay $780 for every $1000 in benefits scheduled." So, we can count on getting 78% of what we pay in ss? And that's if things don't get any worse. So basically, whatever I pay to ss every two weeks from my paycheck, I can take 22% of that and just consider it to be part of my income tax. Unless I'm missing something, that's a pretty bad deal.

Different (Baptist) takes on when to baptize children

This week and last week we've been talking about baptism in our Sunday school class. One of the questions that has received a lot of attention is this"

When is it ok to baptize a child who professes belief? When is it wise to hold off?

The situation that the elders of our church and that many of us in the class want to avoid is the one displayed in this all-too-common testimony: "I was raised in a Christian home and professed belief at age 5. I was baptized at age 6 and continued going to church with my family. But I went through a long rebellious period in my teens where I turned from the Lord. Now I've come back to the faith, and I want to join a church. Have I been baptized? Or do I need to be baptized (again)?"

Confusion over one's state of salvation is epidemic in America, and poor baptizing methods have certainly added to the problem. Too many unsaved adults look back to their childhood baptism to give them comfort over the state of their souls. False hope and false comfort of salvation are barriers that keep people from sensing their need for Christ.

The elder who was teaching our Sunday school class summed up the attitude of another large and prominent Baptist church toward baptizing children in this way:

• Children are easily decieved.
• Children of Christian parents desperately want to please their parents in the things that their parents consider to be important.
  
• Therefore, it is easy for the child of Christian parents to be confused about whether or not he actually believes. For this reason, it is best to wait to baptize such a child until a time when they are out from the under the authority of their parents and have begun to experience the weight of the world. After this time, it will be more clear whether or not the child's (now an adult) faith is genuine.
  
• There would be possible exceptions in cases of children who attend the church but do not have Christian parents, or in the case of a child who begins to work outside the home at a relatively young age and interacts with the world, where the fruit of his or her faith is more visible.
  

Our ss teacher gave two reasons why he does not hold to this position:

• We should not be surprised when a child of Christian parents professes faith. God uses means to save people, particularly, the hearing of the gospel and the reading of the Word. When a child is raised in a context where she regularly hears the gospel and sees it lived out in her parents' lives, then we should not be surprised when she professes faith.
  
• The above position (of the other church) has the tendency to make a child think that he must prove his salvation by good works. The idea is that the church desires to see evidence of salvation before it is willing to baptize. If you say to a child, "we won't baptize you now, but once we see evidence of salvation in your life then we will," they will most certainly understand this to mean, "you may not be saved. Once you begin to do things to show that you are, then we will believe you." This may possible result is an anxious child who begins to try to 'earn' his salvation by good works.
  

The whole issue is very interesting and definitely not easy. It's common practice in many European Baptist churches not to baptize any children, hands down. Even for Presbyterians, who would disregard the validity of the entire issue, there's still the question of when do you admit a child into membership? All of the same questions apply. This is something I hope to understand better as I have my own children, as I begin to see the life of a child on a day to day basis.

Is this a big decision?

We recently gave up an opportunity to move into a larger, slightly cheaper apartment just down the street from the seminary. We'd been looking for a new apartment for several weeks, and finally this seemingly perfect apartment came available. Then, after talking and praying about it for a few days, we decided that the wisest decision would be to stay in the complex we are in but move into a larger apartment. We have a lot of friends in the neighborhood here who we wouldn't see very often if we moved out. Plus the outdoor area is great for kids (as the picture shows), and for walking and being outside. Also, there are quite a few people around here who need to hear the gospel, including many different nationalities. So, all in all, we feel good about the decision we made. But it wasn't easy.

Last week we were talking about the whole thing in the car, and I said to Megan, "Why was it so hard for us to make such a small decision? It's just an apartment, it should be that difficult!" And then it hit me, who am I to decide whether or not this is a big decision? Only God knows the outcome of making one decision or the other, and if he put it on our hearts to earnestly seek him for wisdom, then it was a big decision!

Every day, millions of people the world over make massive, life changing decisions in flippant and careless ways. A man accepts a job because it seems perfect for him. Several months later his marriage is seriously strained because his boss expects him to work 6o hours a week and he never sees his wife. A couple quickly snatches up beautiful house that is slightly outside their price range. Within a year or so they feel more like the house owns them. The time and money that are required to keep the house up and to pay their mortgage has change their lives beyond their expectations. The biggest decisions are the ones that reverberate into other areas of life.

I'm a quick decision maker. I don't like to take a lot of time to consider every possible outcome of a decision that lies before me. But several times over the past few years God has refused my inclinations toward making a quick decision. Now, I'm much more likely to ask, "God, is this a big decision?" And I've found that his purposes in putting the two of us through difficult periods of decision making are far more reaching than I could understand.

July 4th in Bluefield

So our Blog updating has been pretty lame lately. Blogging is more work than i imagined it might be. Anyway, here are some photos from last weekend with the Mullennex's in bluefield.


We ate lunch together at a park after canoeing and paddle boating for a few hours. There are some interesting faces being made in this picture if you look carefully.

Megan and Rory decided to lay down on the hill and compare belly sizes. It was close, but I think Megan won



Megan's pregnant belly is finally visible! Though still not very big at all :)