Nothing (Without You)

Sat Dec 23, 10:48 AM ET

A man used flammable liquid to light himself on fire, apparently to protest a San Joaquin Valley school district’s decision to change the names of winter and spring breaks to Christmas and Easter vacation.
The man, who was not immediately identified, on Friday also set fire to a Christmas tree, an American flag and a revolutionary flag replica, said Fire Captain Garth Milam.
Seeing the flames, Sheriff’s Deputy Lance Ferguson grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the man.
Flames were devouring a Christmas tree next to the Liberty Bell, where public events and demonstrations are common.
Beside the tree the man stood with an American flag draped around his shoulders and a red gas can over his head.
Seeing the deputy, the man poured the liquid over his head. He quickly burst into flames when the fumes from the gas met the flames from the tree.
The deputy ordered the man to drop to the ground as he and a parole agent sprayed him with fire extinguishers.
“The man stood there like this,” the deputy said with his arms across his chest and his head bent down, “Saying no, no, no.”
The man suffered first degree burns on his shoulders and arms, Milam said.
Kern County Sheriff’s Deputy John Leyendecker said the man had a sign that read: “**** the religious establishment and KHSD.”
On Thursday, the Kern High School Board of Trustees voted to use the names Christmas and Easter instead of winter and spring breaks.

Okay…I admit it…I don’t get it. I can understand someone being upset that a school was using terminology that offended him. I can understand a non-Christian being upset over Christian terms. I can even understand someone being compelled to protest such an action. But setting yourself on fire? Really…is that the brightest (no pun intended) way to draw attention to your cause?

I’ve seen the photos of those Buddhist monks lighting themselves on fire in protest of the war in Vietnam. I’ve read stories of others doing the same sort of thing to draw attention to various atrocities. It’s not like setting yourself on fire is unheard of. But…isn’t it a bit extreme to do so because some school called it “Christmas” break instead of Winter break?

I’ll be honest…I’d be kinda ticked if they used other religious terms so I can empathize with those who don’t want Christian names attatched. But…setting yourself on fire?

I don’t know that there is anything I want to protest so badly that I’ll dowse myself in gasoline and flick my Bic. Poverty upsets me. World Hunger upsets me. The world-wide AIDS crisis upsets me. The joke that American politics has become upsets me. There are a LOT of things that tick me off…but I ain’t setting myself on fire for any of them.

How about you guys?

Evidentally I can preach. I’m not saying that to be arrogant, but apparently it is true. I had the opportunity to preach quite a few times before I came back to Bible college and I think I did okay in most of those situations. I can’t say that I really knew what I was doing though. Most of the sermons I preached before this year were thrown together or adapted from sermons I had heard elsewhere.

This semester I took an Into to Preaching class and learned how to structure topical and textual sermons. Over the course of the semester I had to write two sermons (one of each style) and preach them. I think I did fairly well. My instructor told me that both of my sermons were well constructed and organized. I’m not going to lie, that made me feel good. I’ve always wanted to be a writer but have struggled to find my outlet. After taking Public Speaking last year and Intro to Preaching this semester, I think I have found an area that I really enjoy and that I’m pretty good in.

The best thing about it is that I’m not wasting time when I spend it writing sermons. I learn from the research I put into them and others learn and are encouraged when I preach them. I’m learning that I can develop a preaching style of mine own and share Biblical truth in my own way. That’s been fun.

Preaching and writing sermons…fun…who would have ever guessed?

Well…two months have gone by rather quickly and I find myself looking at exams this week. It’s been a good semester for the most part. I stumbled a bit in my American Denominations & Cults class but it was due to laziness on my part. I really need to take the next four weeks and refocus before the next semester starts.

I just started a new ministry at a church near the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It’s quite a bit closer than the church I was working with up in Virginia. I’m excited about being there and my family seems to be pretty happy about the switch too.