Andrew Forrest 11/5/24 Andrew Forrest 11/5/24

My Election Prediction

Dear reader: I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. Below is a copy of an email I’m sending to my church this evening, and I thought I would share it more broadly here as well. Hope it’s helpful to you.
P.S. The photo above I took outside my polling place this afternoon.

Dear Asbury,

I know what’s going to happen in today’s election.

No, I don’t know who is going to win any particular race. More than that, I have no idea how things will shake out over the next days, weeks, and months. The future is inherently unknown and unknowable, and life is endlessly surprising. So, anything is possible.

But nevertheless, I know what’s going to happen:

God is going to work all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. [Romans 8:28]

I’ve noticed some anxiety in our congregation over the outcomes of this election. I’m not going to play Pollyanna and tell you that everything you think should happen will happen—that it’s all going to be fine—since of course I have no idea.

Nevertheless, it’s important to remember that it’s impossible to discern exactly what God is up to from looking at the headlines.

After all, Jesus was crucified. On Friday, it looked like defeat.

But on Sunday it turned into victory!

So, don’t allow yourself to be drawn into the rip currents of either anxiety or certainty—you don’t know enough to be either anxious or smugly certain.

If what you want to happen happens, a victory now may turn out to defeat later.

If what you don’t want to happen happens, a defeat now may lead to a victory later.

Or, maybe not. Who knows?

I waited at my polling place for 50 minutes. Everyone was courteous and friendly, and the whole process was smooth. (This has always been my experience in voting.)

In line I finished reading a memoir by my favorite biblical scholar, Richard Bauckham. It’s called The Blurred Cross: A Writer's Difficult Journey With God, and in it Dr. Bauckham writes of his experience losing and then partially regaining his sight during the pandemic.

As I stood in line, I was struck by this passage near the end of the book:

But can we be thankful for everything? For God’s part in it all, we can, for God has intended nothing but our good. The advantage of the vantage point that old age gives us is that we can see that we were often wrong about what we thought was good for us. We can see how what turned out was really better for us than what we wanted. We can also see how God brought good out of things that went wrong, whether through our own foolishness or fault or otherwise. Undoubtedly things did go wrong, often seriously wrong, but by God’s grace the outcomes were better than they might have been. If that is not always the case, it is probably true more often than we recognize. God redeems our sins by making less of them than they had the potential to be, just as he enhances the good things we do by making more of them than we could do ourselves. All this is involved in tracing the hand of God in our lives and adding the seal of thankfulness and thanksgiving to all these experiences. [Emphasis added.]

There is a lot of wisdom in those words, isn’t there? "The advantage of the vantage point that old age gives us is that we can see that we were often wrong about what we thought was good for us. We can see how what turned out was really better for us than what we wanted. We can also see how God brought good out of things that went wrong, whether through our own foolishness or fault or otherwise.”

Yes. Exactly.

In the magnificent eighth chapter of his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul isn’t offering easy, empty platitudes to the Roman Christians along the lines of “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

No. In fact, much of the chapter is about how suffering and difficulty is an inevitable part of a Christian’s life, and more than that, a crucial part of God’s plan to shape every Christian to become more like Christ.

But Paul’s acknowledgement that things don’t always occur in the way we would prefer is what makes his famous statement in verse 28 all the more powerful (and relevant):

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Yes. EXACTLY.

This means that whatever the outcome of this election, God is at work weaving all things together for our good and his glory.

Of course we need to work and vote and pray for what we discern is right—we have a responsibility to do so, and we will be held accountable for how we discharge our responsibilities.

But, when evening comes and our work is done (this day and every day), we also rest and rejoice in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is working all things together for good.

Amen.

See you Sunday. Christ is Risen!

Andrew

Andrew Forrest 7/4/22 Andrew Forrest 7/4/22

A Prayer For Our Nation

[Photo taken by yours truly, Sunday evening, July 3, 2022. Colington Island, North Carolina.]

For Our Nation
Almighty God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage: We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favor and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honorable industry, sound learning, and pure conduct. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom, in thy Name, we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all of which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
—from The Book of Common Prayer

Happy Independence Day, everyone.

Andrew Forrest 11/1/20 Andrew Forrest 11/1/20

Election Day 2020: 3 Truths

If you are a Christian, here are three truths to keep in mind this Election Day 2020.

Being Right Is Less Important Than Loving the People Who Are Wrong

Politics matters. It’s because of politics that we have hot water at the tap, paved airport runways, and a court system. Politics is how we live together in peace. Civilization is not inevitable, and it is politics that makes it possible.

Politics is important, which means argument and persuasion and ideas are also important.

Good ideas will lead to human flourishing; bad ideas will lead to human misery. Ideas matter! It’s important that we have the right ideas.

BUT

As a Christian, I know that being right is less important than loving people who are wrong. Don’t give up your ideas, but also don’t let them tempt you into hatred, contempt, or condescension.

So, this election don’t be so consumed with having the right political ideas that you forget to love—i.e., to actively will the good—of the people who are wrong. Even the ones who are voting the wrong way!

Sometimes Losing Is Winning

There is a tremendous temptation to give way to despair if your side or issue or candidate doesn’t win. Resist that temptation!

Life is inherently unpredictable; each of us knows countless examples of things that seemed like setbacks at the time only to later turn out for the best.

On Good Friday, it looked like Jesus had been defeated, but on Easter Sunday it was clear he had actually won—through losing!

If your candidate or issue or side loses this Election Day, why not ask the Lord to use the apparent defeat to set up a future victory?

It’s Possible to be Happy Even In Difficult Circumstances

Don’t believe the lie that it’s not possible to be happy if your circumstances (political or otherwise) are imperfect.

Happiness comes from finding the goodness of God in your everyday circumstances right now.

Let’s try it.

Andrew Forrest 6/1/20 Andrew Forrest 6/1/20

"In the Day of Trouble"

For Our Country

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us this good land for our heritage; We humbly beseech thee that we may always prove ourselves a people mindful of thy favour and glad to do thy will. Bless our land with honourable industry, sound learning, and pure manners. Save us from violence, discord, and confusion; from pride and arrogancy, and from every evil way. Defend our liberties, and fashion into one united people the multitudes brought hither out of many kindreds and tongues. Endue with the spirit of wisdom those to whom in thy Name we entrust the authority of government, that there may be justice and peace at home, and that, through obedience to thy law, we may show forth thy praise among the nations of the earth. In the time of prosperity, fill our hearts with thankfulness, and in the day of trouble, suffer not our trust in thee to fail; all which we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

—from The Book of Common Prayer (1928). [credit: Alan Jacobs]

Andrew Forrest 4/2/19 Andrew Forrest 4/2/19

Harvey Weinstein, Lori Loughlin, and the Grace of God

I got an email at 12:45 AM Christmas morning from someone who was very angry with my Christmas Eve sermon. (You can watch that sermon here.) In my sermon, I wondered aloud if we are becoming a culture without mercy--once people have sinned, can they ever find redemption?

I cited the extreme example of Harvey Weinstein and asked if even he can receive mercy. The person who sent me the angry email felt that I was excusing Mr. Weinstein's many sins that have caused harm to so many people. It shouldn't have to be said, but let me say it anyway: but I do not excuse, condone, or approve of any of the things Mr. Weinstein is said to have done. In fact, the very reason I used him as an example is precisely because his sins seem so particularly ugly.

Which brings me back to the question I was asking: Can Harvey Weinstein receive mercy? Can he receive redemption?

Our actions have consequences, and justice requires that people face those consequences. I don't think mercy and consequences are mutually exclusive; Mr. Weinstein should be prosecuted for his crimes and if he is found guilty, he should be sentenced accordingly. And, there should be boundaries in place that make it very difficult for him to hurt anyone ever again.

But what happens after that? If he repents, can he be redeemed?

I've been asking that same question recently with regard to Lori Loughlin and the other celebrities caught up in the college admissions cheating scandal.

What they did was wrong and they need to face the consequences.

But what happens after that?

It strikes me that it's when people are guilty and ashamed and despised--that that is exactly the time when they need to be welcomed at church. I have no idea if Lori Loughlin and her family have a church family, but I'd guess that they don't. Is there any church near them who will reach out? If they were to show up at a church, would they be gawked at? Would folks pull out their phones and post pics to social media?

It strikes me that it's when people are guilty and ashamed and despised--that that is exactly the time when they need to be welcomed at church. I have no idea if Lori Loughlin and her family have a church family, but I'd guess that they don't. Is there any church near them who will reach out? If they were to show up at a church, would they be gawked at? Would folks pull out their phones and post pics to social media?

Most of us are able to hide our sins or explain them away. We maintain plausible deniability and pretend.

But sometimes there is no hiding. Sometimes we are totally exposed. Sometimes the whole world knows.

It shouldn't need to be said, but let me say it anyway:

Jesus died for sinners. Not the respectable sinners only, but also the shameful, wicked, public ones. Jesus died for Harvey Weinstein. Jesus died for Lori Loughlin.

Is there anyone around them who will tell them?

Is there a church family who can teach them?

Is there a place they can go on Easter Sunday to hear the Good News?

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Andrew Forrest 12/10/18 Andrew Forrest 12/10/18

George H.W. Bush & Ourselves

Although I vividly remember the 1992 Presidential Election, I was really too young to understand it or have an informed opinion about it, but the occasion of the death last week of 94 year-old President George H.W. Bush and the subsequent media commentary and coverage about the life and times of that first President Bush has been clarifying to me. Not so much about then, as about now. Three observations about our culture that the death of George H.W. Bush have made clear to me, and what I am going to do about it.

We Delight in Tearing Down; We Hold Others to an Impossible Standard

I found it ridiculous how many of the death announcements of President Bush began with some note about how he "only" was president for one term. Here's a representative example from the lede in The New York Times obituary:

George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs but was denied a second term after support for his presidency collapsed under the weight of an economic downturn and his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died on Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94. [my emphasis]

Note: President Bush was "denied a second term." As if being elected to two terms is someone's birthright, and as if being elected president of these United States only once is not good enough!? Think how easily that opening sentence might have read

George Bush, the 41st president of the United States and the father of the 43rd, who, after a long career in public service, was elected to the presidency, from which office he steered the nation through a tumultuous period in world affairs and faced the challenge of an economic downturn and the public perception of his seeming inattention to domestic affairs, died on Friday night at his home in Houston. He was 94.

I'll admit it's not a very elegant sentence, but that's because I was trying to preserve as much of the obit's original language as possible, but you get the point: to imply that being elected president once is somehow falling short is outrageous. The first sentence of the obituary shows that we delight in tearing down and pointing out how other people fail to meet the impossible standards of success we set for them. Examples are everywhere.Some sports examples: Aaron Rodgers has "only" won one Super Bowl; LeBron should have one more NBA Championships with Cleveland; Peyton Manning "only" won two Super Bowls. Etc. It used to frustrate me when Tony Romo played for the Cowboys how some fans used to talk about how he wasn't good enough. Here's a guy who was undrafted when he signed with the Cowboys, and then went on to start at quarterback from 2006-2015. He played at a level that only a few dozen people who have ever lived could have played at, for multiple years, and yet he's a failure in many peoples' opinions, because he didn't win enough.We set an impossible standard for other people--he didn't do enough, she didn't win enough, etc.--and we make sure to emphasize where other people fell short, rather than drawing attention to all that they did achieve. I hate this tendency in our culture.President Bush "only" served one term as president, "was denied a second term." ARE YOU KIDDING ME?So, what I am going to do about it? I am going to work hard to talk about the positive achievements of others first.

Our Media Commentators Are Totally Unaccountable

To his credit, Evan Thomas today regrets his editorial decision to imply, on the cover of Newsweek in October 1987, that George H.W. Bush was a "wimp". I find it amazing that someone would call a man who was shot down in the Pacific Ocean at age 20 as other men were trying to kill him a "wimp". But, there you are. Taking our pervasive tendency to tear down (see above) and then publicizing it, our media does this kind of stuff all the time, and the mainly faceless and nameless hacks who do this kind of thing are seemingly immune from accountability. To take a more recent example: on the same night that he won the Heisman Trophy as the best college football player in the country, Oklahoma's Kyler Murray had to apologize for what the USA Today called "several homophobic tweets more than six years old."Get this: Kyler Murray is currently 21 years-old, which means he posted the offending statements on Twitter when he was 15(!). Other than yet more evidence that no teenagers should be on social media at all (I am not exaggerating), note the outrageous passive voice in the original USA Today story which "broke" the news:

Heisman Trophy winner Kyler Murray had a Saturday to remember. But the Oklahoma quarterback's memorable night also helped resurface social media's memory of several homophobic tweets more than six years old. [my emphasis]

When Murray was 15 years old, he tweeted at his friends (via his since-verified Twitter account) using an anti-gay slur to defame them. Four offensive tweets remained active on his account late Saturday night but were eventually deleted by Sunday morning — when Murray apologized for his insensitive language in a tweet.

His "memorable night also helped resurface social media's memory"? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? These tweets did not "resurface" like a corpse washing ashore after a shipwreck several weeks before. Tweets don't "resurface"--they have no agency. Instead, some nameless "reporters" at USA Today were running through a child's tweets from 6 years ago, and then they publicized the results at exactly the moment that would cause a 21 year-old young man the most embarrassment and discomfort. Instead of being able to celebrate one of the great nights of his life with his family and teammates, Kyler Murray had to enact a familiar routine: the humiliating public apology we have all come to accept. Let me be clear: I do not approve of Mr. Murray's comments. But, it seems to me that the USA Today reporters were more interested in tearing down a public figure than they were in drawing attention to the casual way teenagers bully and humiliate others.It's bad enough that the Internet means that any fool can say anything about anyone else and have other people listen to him; it's that much worse that people in media can do the same thing and then use the amazing power of mass media to get millions of people to listen to them.There are many many many more examples I could list of unaccountable media commentators doing this sort of thing, and precious few examples of those people ever being held accountable for what they say. Burns me up.So, what I am going to do about it? If I have something difficult or controversial to say, whether publicly or in private relationship, I will put my name to it and stand by what I have said. If I later change my mind, I'll own that, too.

We Don't Like to Acknowledge the Sufferings of the Rich & Famous

By any standard, George H.W. Bush was born into extreme privilege. There is no question that his life was made easier because of wealth and connections, and that the things he achieved may have been impossible to someone with neither wealth nor connections. However, one of the tendencies we have to is downplay the sufferings of wealthy people. See, wealthy people suffer like the rest of us. George Bush, for example, had to watch his 3 year-old daughter Robin die from leukemia. Here's a question for you: would you rather be rich and lose your little girl, or poor? Trick question. It doesn't matter--losing a child will break your heart no matter how much money you have in the bank. Sheryl Sandberg, billionaire and COO of Facebook, lost her husband from an undiagnosed heart condition; he was 47. All the money in the world won't bring him back. Joe Biden has lost a wife, a daughter, and now a son.You may dislike those peoples' politics or positions, but you have to acknowledge that they have suffered. I can tell you from personal experience that people with lots of money and power experience loss in the same way as the rest of us.So, what I am going to do about it? I want to be someone who is aware and acknowledges the sufferings of others, particularly the people I disagree with. They are human, like me. I said I had 3 observations, but here's a fourth:

P.S. It Was a Memorial Service For All of Us

This is totally unoriginal with me, but one of the striking things about the funeral services for President Bush was how it illustrated how far we've come from a national faith. There was a time when most Americans would have had passing knowledge of the hymns, readings, and creeds that were part of President Bush's services. Today, I doubt that's the case. In some ways, the elements of the funeral service were as far removed from modern America as the elements of a royal wedding or the Queen's coronation. I found it interesting to see the living presidents all reciting The Apostles Creed together, with President Trump not taking part. I doubt if Mr. Trump's silence during the creed means anything at all, and I don't really care, but I did find the moment symbolic: we modern Americans have less and less in common with our cultural past. It's very hard for a people to stay together when they don't share the same fundamental beliefs about Reality. I wonder how much longer we can sustain the American Experiment, now that we no longer believe the same things. I hope I'm wrong.

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Andrew Forrest 10/2/17 Andrew Forrest 10/2/17

"The Media and the Massacre"

I don't know what to say about the massacre overnight in Las Vegas. Probably the best thing is to say nothing, to resist the urge to explain, to sit in silence and actually pray, rather than just tweeting that worse-than-useless phrase "thoughts and prayers." This morning, however, I came across a brief essay that I actually found helpful in light of today's evil news, an essay that Andy Crouch wrote in 2012 after the Newtown massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary called?"The Media and the Massacre":

The most basic lesson for those who would comfort the victims of tragedy is that the first, best response to tragedy is presence, and often the best form of presence is silence. The grieving, the sick, and the dying sometimes need our words, sometimes need our touch, but almost always they need our presence. And there is no contradiction between presence and silence in the embodied life for which we were all created, to which we are all called, into which God himself entered. Bodies can be present without a word. That is the beauty of bodies.

He goes on to comment on our inability to keep silent in the face of these sorts of events, how the social media have caused us all to feel as if our voice needs to be heard:

And while there was a time when you could count the number of broadcasters on one hand, we are all broadcasters now. A tragedy like the Newtown massacre becomes not just a media event, but also a social media event. As the journalist Alex Massie pointed out in his trenchant essay this week, silence is not an option in social media. Not to tweet or post or blog is not to be silently present?it is to be mutely absent. He suggested, fully aware of the futility of his suggestion, that perhaps we all could have simply posted one-word tweets on Friday, using the hashtag #silent, and left it at that. But we didn't, nor are we likely to during the next tragedy. #silent will never be a trending topic on Twitter. All that any of us who do not live in Newtown, Connecticut, truly needed to know?possibly more than we needed to know?appeared in a 12-word news alert on my phone Friday afternoon. Almost everything else, I believe, was a distraction from the only thing that we who are not first responders, pastors, or parents in that community needed to do at that moment: to pray, which is to say, to put ourselves at the mercy of God and hold those who harmed and those who were harmed before the mercy of God.

Why must we say?anything? Perhaps it's because we'd rather not actually face the brutal facts: that we are not in control, and that there is inexplicable evil in the world:

The quest for more talk, more images, more footage (none of which would ever satisfy our lust for understanding, no matter how graphic police and producers allowed them to become) is rarely about the quest to more deeply contemplate the brokenness of the world?it is the quest to not contemplate it. Because if we were simply to contemplate those 12 words, we would be brought all too soon to the terrifying precipice of our own inadequacy, our own vulnerability and dependence, and even (so the saints testify) our own culpability, our nearness in spirit to even the most deranged and destructive.... Terrible things happen every day. One day, one will probably happen to you, if it has not already happened. Surely it is our suppressed awareness that tragedy is coming our way, too, our unwillingness to be silent and contemplate our own need for mercy, that turns compassion into compulsion, turns our God-breathed impulse to stop for the wounded traveler into the gawking slowdown on the other side of the highway.

Please read the whole thing, especially his piercing final sentence.

Andrew Forrest 9/28/17 Andrew Forrest 9/28/17

5 Reasons to Love the State Fair of Texas

The 2017 State Fair of Texas opens tomorrow and I am fired up! I look forward to seeing Big Tex each fall and each year he doesn't disappoint. Here are 5 reasons to love the State Fair of Texas. [To my 2018 readers: I originally published this on 9/25/15 and then republished it on 9/28/17, but hey!--like Big Tex himself, it's perennially relevant.]

Everybody's There and Everybody's Happy

The State Fair is one of the few places in Dallas where everybody comes together: rich folks, poor folks, city slickers, small town farmers; black folks, white folks, hispanic folks; folks from Highland Park and folks from Fair Park: everybody is at the State Fair. And, everybody is happy to be there.If there is a better place to people watch, I haven't found it.

The Food is all Fried

ttp://andrewforrest.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/state-fair-of-texas-2011-10-19-018.jpg"> (http://antoniorambles.com)Fletcher's corny dogs, fried Thanksgiving dinner, even fried beer.At the State Fair, all the food groups are covered...in batter.

The Car Show is Texas-Sized

drewforrest.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/as_wide.jpg"> (bigtex.com)I love browsing the 2 huge car pavilions. It's fun to sit in the drivers seats and pop the trunks of dozens of cars that I would never ever consider buying. (Although, be warned: I've actually bought?two cars over the years after first sitting in them at the Fair's Auto Show.)

The Demonstrations are Mesmerizing

In several of the exhibit halls, informercial pros demonstrate knives and blenders and shower heads and mops and vacuums and ladders. These guys are good. I mean, can your blender make soup?

The Farm Children are Inspiring

It does my heart good to see the little boys from Texas farms tend their donkeys and cows and pigs and goats and sheep. Little boys with blue jeans and flannel shirts and cowboy hats who look exactly like their tall fathers beside them. I'm glad that world still exists and seeing those farm families makes me proud to be an American. Really.

What About You?

If you've been thinking about visiting Dallas, you should plan a visit during the Texas State Fair, which runs for 3 weeks every September and October. The weather will be gorgeous and the whole experience is can't miss.If you do visit, Big Tex and I will be waiting for you.

Andrew Forrest 1/19/17 Andrew Forrest 1/19/17

What NOT To Do For Your Country

Tomorrow, a new president will take the oath of office. Whether you voted for President Trump or not, there are lots of people who are telling you what you should be doing for your country, either in support of his policies or in opposition to them: folks are telling you to register voters or call congress or attend a protest or donate to a cause or pray for a candidate. All of those actions might be important, but they are not most important. In fact, I believe the most important thing you can do for your country is not to do anything. Let me explain.

Character is Destiny

The ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus believed that character is destiny. What he meant is that who you are will inevitably determine what you do. A brave man will act bravely, a dishonest man will act dishonestly, etc.Jesus said the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount: Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit? (Matthew 7:16-18).The English word character has roots in the Greek word for engraving. You might say that character is etched into a person; it is something foundational to who the person is.

Formation vs. Education

In our culture, we tend to overlook the slow importance of character formation and instead prefer the quicker and easier work of intellectual education. Our leaders talk about improving education and argue about how best to do that, but I cannot recall a public figure who has recently been talking about the best way to form character in our children. Education is important, but education without character will be useless at best and dangerous at worst. Character matters.One of the major themes of the New Testament is about how a follower of Jesus can become Christlike in character. The reason the New Testament is so concerned with character change is because the early Christians knew that you can‘t actually live like Jesus unless you are being changed like Jesus from the inside out. Only then?with a mind transformed and renewed? (Romans 12:1-2)?is Christlike living possible. It is not possible to love your enemies, e.g., without first becoming the kind of person who loves her enemies.The moralistic instruction that we are constantly given?be more civicly engaged, reach out to your neighbor, call your congressman, pray for your senator, start a movement?is all good advice, but it is given out of order. Before you start a movement, you first need to be the kind of person who starts a movement; before you pray for your senator, you first need to become the kind of person who prays for her senator. Character matters. Good trees produce good fruit.This is why I believe the most important thing you can do for America as our new president assumes office is not to do anything. Rather, you should focus on becoming.So, how is character formed?? How can we become the kind of people who do good things, or to use Jesus? metaphor, the kind of trees that produce good fruit?

Silence and Scripture

I believe the most effective way to become more like Jesus is to spend the first 15 minutes every morning in silence and scripture. Before you reach for your phone or check your Instagram feed or see who won the late game, you need to just sit and be still and read a bit of Scripture. Taken by itself, the principle of the #First15 seems useless: how does sitting in silence result in any new voters registered or any new movements funded or any congresswomen prayed for?? But becoming the right type of person will result in your doing the right type of actions, and on a daily basis nothing will be more formative to your character than the #First15.Character is destiny: good trees produce good fruit, and bad trees produce bad fruit. Who you are determines what you do. There is a lot that needs doing in America, but doing comes after being. If you become more like Jesus, you?ll inevitably act like him. (In fact, the more you become like Jesus, the more Christlike actions will be second nature to you.)? This is what the early Christians meant by discipleship.It was fifty-six years ago that President Kennedy delivered that thrilling conclusion to his Inaugural Address: Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.? As a new President assumes office, I believe that what‘s most important for you to do for your country is to be a certain sort of person: someone who thinks and acts like Jesus.

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Andrew Forrest 11/9/16 Andrew Forrest 11/9/16

Early Thoughts on the Election

I went to bed early last night and woke up really early this morning, and even though I like to remind myself that no one knows the future, I was still surprised by the election result. Here are some early thoughts, in no particular order. Donald Trump's victory reminds us once again: no one knows the future. I wrote last year about how the experts always want us to believe that they can predict the future, but that they are?always wrong. None of the experts predicted Mr. Trump's victory in the primaries, and none of the experts predicted his victory last night. I'll say it again:?No one knows the future. Though the inherent obscurity of the future could seem terrifying, I tend to find this truth strangely comforting: it means that there is potential in every situation for the grace of God to be at work.The reason our politics is so bitter is because we don't?believe in the transcendent and the eternal. If naked political power is all there is, then you have to fight tooth and claw to achieve it. Since we've killed off God in the West, we have nothing else to live for.We should pray for Barron Trump. A ten year-old little boy, thrust into the spotlight.I cannot imagine what Hillary Clinton must be feeling this morning. As with any celebrity, it's easy to forget that Mrs. Clinton is a real person. She's been reaching for the presidency for much of her life; the bitterness of her loss this morning must be overwhelming.This election proves how distant the elites that run our country are from millions of ordinary people.? The establishment--including the conservative establishment--was opposed to Donald Trump's candidacy. And yet he won anyway. It cannot be good for America in the long term for the people with power--in the media, in academia, in business, and in government--to be so different from the people without it.We have no shared purpose as a people. I think Rod Dreher's metaphor is helpful:

Here‘s the problem, as I see it. Is the American nation (or any nation) more like:

The diverse crowd that gathers at the shopping mall on Saturday afternoon, or

The diverse crowd that gathers at the football stadium on Saturday night?

The difference is that the only thing the first crowd shares is little more than a geographical space, but the second crowd shares not only a geographical space, but a purpose.Our problem is that we want the solidarity and sense of purpose that the football stadium crowd possesses, but without its shared sense of a mission greater than the individuals engaged in it. I don‘t think this is a problem that politics can solve, but it is certainly a problem that politics can exacerbate. As the next four years will demonstrate.Instead of the Stadium as a symbol, I might have used the Cathedral, but of course America, as a foundationally secular nation, is better represented by a stadium. Plus, these days, Cathedrals function more like Malls, in the sense I mean in this post. There‘s?not much shared sense of purpose there, only a diverse group of people gathered in a particular geographical space to pursue private ends. The Mall really is the symbol of our place in this time.

I suspect the Bradley Effect?was in effect yesterday. I wrote about the Bradley effect in yesterday's post.Politics exposes our idols. Millions of people would be in despair this morning had Mrs. Clinton won. Millions of people are despairing because Mr. Trump?has won. Ravi Zacharias has it right: "The loneliest moment is life is when you have just experienced that which you thought would deliver the ultimate and it has just let you down."I'm glad the?Church is "of no party or clique." My job is to be a pastor, a shepherd of people. That responsibility?does not depend on the fortunes of any party or clique, and my calling is to people, regardless of how they vote. I'm glad of that, this morning.As my friend Matt Judkins, a pastor in Oklahoma, puts it:[embed]https://twitter.com/matt_judkins/status/796339315336941568[/embed]

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Andrew Forrest 11/8/16 Andrew Forrest 11/8/16

Brief Thoughts on Voting

I was at my polling place (a beautiful old church in East Dallas) 10 minutes before the polls opened this morning, and there were already 10 people in front of me. Voting always makes me?reflective, and here are some of my thoughts and reminiscences, in no particular order. The sacred solemnity of peaceful voting always strikes me. There is just something about being surrounded by my fellow citizens, who may or may not share my beliefs, as we all line up peacefully and patiently to cast our votes. There is just something sacred about walking into the voting booth as a free man. I think voting represents America much better than fighter jet flyovers at NFL games--that's just a show of power: our real power lies in the peaceful ritual of?Election Day.Nothing is more important than the peaceful transfer of power. There are lots of issues I feel very strongly about, issues I believe matter to God. But I don't think anything matters more than the peaceful transfer of power. This 229 year-old experiment we have with our Constitution is exceeding rare in human history, and unless we are governed by laws with a peaceful transfer of power, nothing else is possible. I lived in West Africa as a small boy, and I distinctly remember watching from the verandah of our house, which was perched on the side of a small mountain, and looking down at the capital city below as the sirens sounded and soldiers shouted: there had been a coup attempt. Nothing is more destructive than chaos. May our system continue long into the future.God bless the election volunteers. I remember the first time I voted (must have been November, 1998). I was home from college and I went with my dad up to our polling place, which was a school I'd attended. In the 1950s era gymnasium/auditorium/cafeteria, we checked in with the volunteers and I was surprised to see I knew all of them--they were ladies from our church. I was impressed then with their civic commitment, and I have been impressed with election volunteers ever since. These people make our freedom possible.The longest line I ever waited in to vote was in 2004. I was living in Richmond, Virginia, off of Monument Avenue. I went to vote around midday, and the line wrapped around the city block. No one complained.It is shameful that I don't know more about the down ballot races and propositions. I am an educated guy. I read the newspaper every day. I care about local issues. And yet there were a few races on my ballot this morning that I knew nothing about. There was also a long and complicated proposition having to do with the pension fund for civilian city employees. I was mortified to read it and realize?I didn't know what I should do. I left it blank. That is unacceptable. I never want to be in that position again. It is my responsibility to be?more informed.But it is also shameful how our media don't prepare us for these important races and issues. I have a good memory and a varied media diet, and yet I walked into the voting booth knowing very little about issues beyond the headlines involving our leading presidential candidates. I know that there may not be a market for journalism devoted to issues, particularly down ballot issues, but I still think it's shameful how little space our media devotes to anything other than the presidential horse race.I wonder if a variation of the "Bradley Effect" will play a role in this election. The Bradley effect derives its name from the 1982 candidacy of Tom Bradley for governor of California. Mr. Bradley, a black politician, was ahead in the polling before the election, but lost the actual election. Why? Political scientists concluded that potential voters were not?honest with pollsters, telling the pollsters that they were going to vote for a black man (the socially acceptable answer), while not actually doing so in the privacy of the voting booth. I wonder if the same thing might happen today with regard to Mr. Trump--are there people who will privately vote for him, even though they'd be embarrassed to say so publicly?I don't know why cell phones are banned at polling places, but I'm glad they are. In Texas, cell phones and other "electronic communications devices" are banned within 100 feet of voting stations. I don't really see the problem with a ballot selfie, but I'm not complaining.Finally, the Presidency isn't going to save us, and our future will not depend on tonight's results. I believe it matters whom we elect--I want good people serving in office, from dog catcher on up to President of the United States. But, our ultimate hopes do not lie with our politicians, and the church does not depend on politics to carry out its mission; our hopes lie with God, and the church depends on him.In other words, Jesus is Lord, today, tomorrow, and forever.

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Andrew Forrest 11/7/16 Andrew Forrest 11/7/16

Does Public Polling Hurt Democracy?

Tomorrow is election day, and all the media organizations are poring over the polls, eager to tell us who's up and who's down and who's going to be the next President of the United States. I'm curious what tomorrow will bring, too, but I worry that our modern obsession with polling presents a problem for our republic. Here's why.

Public Polls are Self-Fulfilling

"Don't throw your vote away." This is the advice we're constantly given. If we vote for the candidate whom the polls say has no chance of winning, we feel as if we're wasting our vote. People want to back a winner. So, when the media tell us that this or that candidate is definitely going to lose, it makes us less likely to vote for the candidate who is behind, thereby reinforcing the polling results. Many American political campaigns are based less on ideas than on the "inevitability" of this or that candidate. I'd argue that inevitability was the main argument of George W. Bush's candidacy in the Republican primaries of 2000 and Hillary Clinton's candidacy in the Democratic primaries this year.

Public Polls Prop-up Our Current 2 Party System

Because the polls tell us that voting for a 3rd party candidate is a futile exercise, many of us reluctantly support the 2 main parties in elections. Unfortunately, this means there are significant parts of the electorate and significant ideas that are not given a hearing. It is telling that so many people appreciated Bernie Sanders's message of economic populism, a message that was relatively unheard in previous Democratic primary campaigns, even though it's clear now there's been an electorate eager to hear it. It is also telling that Donald Trump was the first Republican candidate that I know of to explicitly call the Iraq War a mistake. What if there was another party on the left that was able to make the arguments the Democrats refuse to make, or another party on the right that was able to make the arguments that the Republicans refuse to make? The point is that if alternative political movements and parties were able to gain traction in our system, new ideas would gain traction as well. Competition is good in the public square: it makes each of us refine our ideas and our arguments. Rival parties would make Republicans and Democrats better, which would make our republic better.

Public Polling Perpetuates the Red/Blue Divide

It doesn't seem as if Texas is going to turn blue any time soon, any more than it seems that California will turn red, and I think public polling perpetuates this divide. If people in the minority party in various states weren't convinced that their votes "wouldn't count," then perhaps they'd be more likely to vote, which in turn would require politicians and parties to make more effective arguments in so-called safe districts and spaces, taking no votes for granted.

Public Polling Encourages the Media to Focus on the Horse Race

I've written before (and it's not an argument unique to me) how the media obsession with who is ahead and who is behind--the "horse race"--is bad for democracy. Public polling encourages the media to make every story about how this or that development will hurt or help a candidate, and discourages the media from telling the electorate what ideas the candidate supports, and how those ideas will play out in government. This unhealthy obsession with the political horse race means that we begin to assume that the only thing that matters is winning, and politics becomes a permanent campaign, with actual governing an afterthought.

Okay, Smart Guy, What Should We?Do?

I think there are 2 actions we could take that would begin to undue the malign influence public polling has on our republic. (Note that in this post I've been talking about public polling. I see no problem with candidates and parties conducting polls for their own purposes, as long as they don't make those polls public. And,?I can certainly see the value of exit-polling, because that kind of polling doesn't influence elections results, but rather gives us more insight into the electorate.)First, I think Americans should be encouraged to vote for the candidate we like most. Rather than voting for whom seems most likely to win, or whom we dislike least, if we each began to vote our beliefs, our republic would be better served.Second, I think we should consider legal and Constitutional limits on the publicizing of polling results before elections.? The First Amendment would seem to prohibit any restrictions on the press. I believe strongly in the importance of a free press, but perhaps there might be narrow laws or even Constitutional amendments that?could be passed that would appropriate. (For example, the Supreme Court has ruled that the press does not have the right to publish child pornography.) I'm not sure what the answer is here, but I think it's at least worth exploring, and it might be the case that the Fourteenth Amendment ("equal protection of the laws") could have some bearing on the issue.

Am I Missing Something?

I'm worried about the negative effects of public polling. Am I missing something? Is there a greater public good I'm overlooking? Let me know what you think. (If you'd like to read more on this issue, Jill Lepore had an interesting essay that looks at the historical development of opinion polls in the November 16, 2015 issue of?The New Yorker called "Are Polls Ruining Democracy?"? She was also a guest on?Fresh Air in February 2016. The BBC explored the polling and whether it should be banned before elections here.)

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Andrew Forrest 7/7/16 Andrew Forrest 7/7/16

General McChrystal and the Butterfly Effect

In fall 2003, General Stanley McChrystal?was appointed the commander of the Joint Special Operations Command, giving him authority over what were the best-trained, best-equipped, and most-lethal special operators in the history of the world. And yet, these elite soldiers (Navy Seals, Delta Force commandos, etc.) were unable to stop impoverished jihadists from using the most basic technology to create mass murder in Iraq. Why? McChrystal's answers have a lot to do with the realities of leadership in the 21st century.

Stan McChrystal

Like most Americans, I'd heard of General Stanley McChrystal from his time in the headlines during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'd seen a TED talk he'd given on leadership, but a few months ago I stumbled across a couple of interviews with General McChrystal on the Tim Ferris podcast that made me think: "This guy is impressive." (You can find the long interview here and the much shorter follow-up here. Recommended.) On the podcast, General McChrystal and his former aide-de-camp Chris Fussell mention a book they'd written called?Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World. I read the book, which confirmed my impression: these are?impressive guys.

The Problem with Al-Queda

When General McChrystal became commander of the JSOC in 2003, he was frustrated by his force's apparent inability to defeat Al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), led by?Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. McChrystal may have had enormous resources at his fingertips, but his special operators always seemed one step behind AQI's terrorists, and the result was a bloodbath in Iraq, exemplified by the September 30, 2004 bombing of an opening ceremony at a brand new water treatment plant in Baghdad that killed 41 people, including?35 children.The U.S. military easily defeated Saddam Hussein's army during the invasion, but, in the occupation, a small number of impoverished terrorists were literally destroying the country. How?The answer, General McChrystal learned, had to do with complexity.

Complexity and the Butterfly Effect

In everyday usage, we tend to use the words?complicated and complex interchangeably, but in?Team of Teams General McChrystal points out that in chaos‘theory?complex refers to situations that are made up of innumerable possible causes and effects such that correctly forecasting or planning for an outcome is literally impossible. Weather, for example, is an example of a complex system.The famous butterfly effect refers to the idea that, in a complex system, a very small change in input can produce a great difference in output: the flap of a butterfly's wings in Africa might?(but not necessarily) result in a hurricane in Brazil. The weather man can forecast the next hour's weather with relative accuracy, but forecasting weather a week from now is just a guessing game, because weather is a complex system: there are just too many variables.The modern world is a complex world, which means that small inputs can make a great difference. The problem for McChrystal and the U.S. was that AQI was set up to thrive in a complexity, whereas JSOC, for all its power and wealth of resources, was not.

Team of Teams

On the small level, the individual SEAL and Delta Force and intelligence teams at McChrystal's disposal were excellent, but the organization of JSOC itself hindered cooperation and made adaptability impossible. The main strategic advantage of?AQI, on the other hand, was precisely in its ability to adapt. McChrystal's insight was that if JSOC was going to defeat AQI, it would have to become as adaptable as its enemy.The individual SEAL and Delta Force and intelligence teams were already capable of adaptability, which is why there were so effective; McChrystal's reform was to get them working together as a team of teams. He did this by constantly pushing authority?down the chain of command, even when that meant relatively junior officers were making decisions with huge national security implications. He required each of the various groups in his command to send one elite operator to work with the other groups, so that trust began to be built between teams. He conveyed a daily briefing that involved hundreds of participants (via video) from all over the world so that information could be shared as widely as possible. Over time, these and other reforms began to enable the JSOC to effectively adapt to AQI's tactics, and one of the stories McChrystal tells in the book is how these reforms enabled JSOC to track and kill Zarqawi in 2006.

Conclusion

Team of Teams is an interesting, thorough book (I've only referenced a very small part of its content here), but I'm not totally convinced by its argument. General McChrystal and his co-authors argue that in our complex world, a?great team or team of teams is a greater strategic advantage than a great leader. I agree with that, as far as it goes, and I think the insights in the book about how to create an organizational culture that is adaptable and resilient are helpful. But, I can't help thinking that part of the story of the book is also that it takes a great leader to create that kind of organizational culture. Maybe the kind of leader who could lead that kind of change would end up thriving in any situation, complex or not. The Admiral Nelsons of the world might just make any team successful. A team is important, but a team requires a leader. As Bill Hybels likes to say, "Everything rises and falls on leadership." As I said, the more I read General McChrystal's book, the more I thought,?"This guy is?impressive." Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World,?by General Stanley McChrystal, Tantum Collins, David Silverman, and Chris Fussell???? worth reading

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Andrew Forrest 7/3/16 Andrew Forrest 7/3/16

"If You Can Keep It"

As Benjamin Franklin left the deliberations at the end of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, a Mrs. Powell of Philadelphia stopped and asked the old man: "Well, doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?" To which Franklin replied, "A republic, madam--if you can keep it." This republic that Franklin and the other founders gave us isn't inevitable: it is a precious gift that must be tended and cultivated, like a garden. On this Fourth of July, I'm thinking about the gift I've received to be a citizen of this republic and the stewardship?of the people who passed that gift on to me, and I'm thinking about my responsibility in turn to pass it on to the children?who will come after me.A sacred responsibility.

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Andrew Forrest 6/17/16 Andrew Forrest 6/17/16

Is God Tolerant?

Tolerance is not just what we need to live peaceably together in an increasingly diverse society (though that's true): tolerance is much more important than that. In fact,?I think it's fair to say that life itself depends on tolerance, as does the fate of the entire world.

False Tolerance

Tolerance is not, despite how‘the word is often employed, a vague sense‘that all beliefs and all religions are basically the same. This is a false idea, and this is a false definition of tolerance. In fact, it's the?exact opposite of what tolerance actually implies.

True Tolerance

Tolerance is about recognizing that all beliefs and all religions are?not basically the same. In fact, tolerance recognizes that many beliefs and religions are inherently contradictory, and no amount of hand-holding and attendance at diversity seminars will make inherently contradictory beliefs the same.Rather, tolerance is about making space for irreconcilable differences. Tolerance is not about agreement, but about?tolerating viewpoints with which you vehemently disagree.

Limits of Tolerance

It should be said that the one thing that we cannot tolerate is violence (which is not‘the same thing as speech, however ugly and hateful that speech might be), because violence makes tolerance itself impossible. But, with the exception of violence, tolerance makes room for all other actions and choices and beliefs.

A Theology of Tolerance

One of the main expressions of tolerance in the American Constitution is in our First Amendment: our right to religious freedom. (The First Amendment literally says that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.") But religious freedom is not just a nice idea, codified into law. Rather, religious freedom is a principle built on the bedrock of reality, because it's a principle that is obviously true: all people are free to believe whatever they want to believe. You cannot force anyone to believe anything. God created us as completely free creatures, and we can use that freedom in whatever way we want. We are even free to believe ugly things and free to act in ugly ways, free even to reject God himself. And God permits this freedom.God, you might say, is tolerant.In fact, I‘think that the Lord is far more tolerant than I would be, were I in his place:?I'd never have allowed that evil man to massacre all those people in that Orlando nightclub.But then again, neither would?I have so loved the world that I would have given my only son for the world, knowing that the world (which I created) would reject and kill him. God's tolerance, you might say, made the Crucifixion possible.Which means God's tolerance also made the Resurrection possible.Which means that tolerance is part of God's plan to save the world.

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Andrew Forrest 6/15/16 Andrew Forrest 6/15/16

My Friend's Orlando Thoughts

I haven't yet come up with anything interesting or helpful to say about the murders in Orlando, so I haven't written anything. But I read something my friend Jacob Sahms wrote that struck me, and I share it below.

Reading and hearing the responses to the violence in Orlando, I'm struck by the outrage - and the way fingers start pointing at anyone but ourselves. If we're going to be the peacemakers who are called the children of God, then the solutions all start with us.Do we talk and act peacefully? (Yes, that includes driving.) Do we recognize that we're all children of God, even the people we don't agree with/like? Do our dollars and our votes endorse peace? Do we teach our children peace and love for all? We can pray all we want for peace, but if we're not part of being peace, then "thy kingdom come" isn't actually something we're part of.
-Jacob Sahms

He's totally right: "the way fingers start pointing at anyone but ourselves." Certainly true about me, and I don't like it.Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace....

Andrew Forrest 3/1/16 Andrew Forrest 3/1/16

2 Brief Thoughts on Elections

Christians make two mistakes when it comes to elections. Either we are triumphalist, thinking that because our candidate won, all will be well, or we are defeatist and despairing, thinking that because our candidate lost, all will be lost. Both reactions are mistaken.

Elections Are Important

Don't get me wrong--politics matters. I voted yesterday, and I think it matters who is elected, from dog catcher to president, and I want our leaders to lead and our government to run well. It matters whether the trains run on time and the roads are paved and the trash picked up. But as important as all that is, politics is not ultimate, and political power is not most important. There is something more important than politics, and therefore Christians shouldn't make the mistake of believing that our hope depends on how the election returns come in.

But Political Power is Not Most Important

Faithfulness is more important than politics and election results. David Watson is the Dean of United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, and he wrote a blog post yesterday about the temptation the church faces to value political power over faithfulness. Professor Watson's article is worth quoting from at length (though you should read the whole thing):

My fellow evangelicals, let me state this clearly: the ‘system? will never serve us, because the ‘system? is not of Christ. The ‘system? is a political machine beholden to special interests, lobbying groups, large corporations, financial contributors, and other entities, many of which are not the least bit concerned with anything remotely resembling Christian values. The idea that you can tear down the ‘system? and reshape it to serve you is, and always has been, a lie. It has been a lie since the time of Constantine. The ‘system? is about power, but Christ‘s power is the power of the cross, and God‘s power is made perfect in weakness. Christians must always stand outside the ‘system,? even when it is ostensibly Christian. As Christ taught us, No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other? (Matthew 6:24). Christians willing to compromise core tenets of the faith in order to bend the political process‘to their will may win in the short term, but it will be a pyrrhic victory. In the end, they will lose far more than they gain. For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life?? (Mark 8:36). It‘s not worth it. It‘s?not even close....

His ending makes our choice clear:

Who will we follow? Will we follow Christ and rightly understand ourselves as a countercultural family of faith, or will we baptize an idol of crass?materialism, place a crown on its?head, and call it?Jesus?

Good stuff.

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Andrew Forrest 1/8/16 Andrew Forrest 1/8/16

Who Cares if Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? Lots of folks are asking that question these days, and though it is an important question (and one that I will not be answering in this post), I don't think the question is as helpful as other people seem to think.

Do Christians and Muslims Worship the Same God?

Some people say yes, and these people imply that Christians are therefore under obligation to show compassion to Muslims because of their theological commonalities. After all, aren't Christians and Jews and Muslims all "people of the book?" (That phrase comes from the Qu'ran.) And, since we are all people of the book, shouldn't Christians treat Muslims with compassion?I do not agree with this implication.

The Problem With Saying Yes

As Mark Tooley points out in Newsweek, if you stress that Christians are obligated to show compassion to Muslims because they are theological cousins, you are inadvertently implying that Christians are not under the same obligation to show compassion to other peoples with whom they don't have any theological commonalities. Hindus, for example, are not "people of the book," and yet that fact should not affect Christian treatment of Hindus (or Sikhs or Jains or Buddhists or atheist communists, etc.)A Christian's compassion for another does not depend on that other's theological commitments. Whether or not Christians and Muslims worship the same God is completely irrelevant to the issue of whether a Christian should show compassion towards his Muslim neighbor.Do Christians and Muslims worship the same God? What if the answer is no--should‘that change how a Christian treats her Muslim neighbor?

Love Isn't Conditional

Christians are not required to only love people with whom we agree (or partially agree).Jesus, after all, told his followers to love their enemies.

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Andrew Forrest 9/24/15 Andrew Forrest 9/24/15

5 Reasons to Love the State Fair of Texas

The 2015 State Fair of Texas opens today and I am fired up! I look forward to seeing Big Tex each fall and each year he doesn't disappoint. Here are 5 reasons to love the State Fair of Texas. $(Kevin Brown/State Fair of Texas)$