SHOULD A BASEBALL CLUBHOUSE BE A GROUND FOR CHRISTIAN MISSIONARYS?

Should a Clubhouse Be a Chapel? (NYT)
The highlight of Josh Miller’s eight-year minor league umpiring career came last June, when he was the plate umpire in Roger Clemens’s final warm-up start before he resumed his major league career with the Yankees.

The lowlight of Miller’s career — besides being released at the end of last season, that is — was the discomfort he experienced throughout his career over participating in baseball chapel services every Sunday morning.

“From Day 1 it was uncomfortable,” Miller, 31, said. “I was in extended spring training, and on Sunday there was a knock on the door. I thought it was a joke. This guy was coming to preach to us in our little locker room. He had two little handouts that said Baseball Chapel and prayer of the week.”

Baseball Chapel, an evangelical group, has existed for 35 years and supplies Sunday morning chapel leaders to all major and minor league teams. “Our purpose is to glorify Jesus Christ!” its Web site, baseballchapel.org, proclaims.

“They preach to you,” Miller said in a telephone interview. “Some are more overbearing than others. At the end they ask if you have anything ‘you want me to pray for.’ The other guys would say ‘our families, safe travel.’ I’d say nothing. Then they would pray. It was very uncomfortable. They’d say Jesus this and Jesus that. At the end they’d say ‘in Jesus’ name.’ ”

In chapel services for the teams, players have the option of attending or not. Umpires may not realistically have that option.

“The players go to a separate room,” Miller said of the chapel services for the team. “For umpires, they always came to our room. They didn’t want to mix players with umpires even though they often mix the teams.”

The Sunday routine left Jewish umpires, like Miller, in a difficult position. With the umpires’ locker room as a setting for Christian prayer, they could not avoid it.

“Minor league locker rooms are small,” Miller said. “It’s not like I could hide.”

The chapel sessions, Miller added, intruded on pregame routines.

“We’d get there an hour before the game,” he related. “I always stretched and got mentally prepared. You have a guy coming in and preaching to you about something you don’t believe in, it throws you off mentally.”

Leaving the locker room was not an option for various reasons, Miller said.

“You don’t want to be rude to them because it might get back to somebody and it could affect your chances,” he said. Citing one umpire evaluator as an example, he added: “He’s a very religious guy, so I was really uncomfortable leaving. He’d ask, ‘Why are you leaving?’ I’d tell him I’m Jewish, and who knows what that would do. It was something I didn’t want to have to deal with.”...

At times, Miller said, he would advise the chaplain he was Jewish.

“Half the time they’d forget and pray in Jesus’ name and pray to Jesus,” he recalled. “One time this guy found out I was Jewish, and he started talking about nonbelievers and looking at me.”

CHRISTIAN LEFT GROUP DENOUNCES ISRAEL AS "CHRIST KILLERS"

Christ killers
A Christian group in Jerusalem is linking its denunciation of Israel with the killing of Christ—a charge that for centuries fueled anti-Jewish hatred and bloodshed. (Boston Globe)

IS BASEBALL PUSHING JESUS?

Is the Nation’s Favorite Pastime Pitching Jesus? (Moment Magazine)
For 35 years an evangelical group has run baseball’s official chapel program. Does this brand of Christianity belong in baseball’s locker rooms?

UPDATED: JOHN MCCAIN: AMERICA A CHRISTIAN NATION TO BE LED BY CHRISTIANS

McCain: I'd Prefer Christian President (Breitbart)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. John McCain said in an interview published Saturday that he would prefer a Christian president over someone of a different faith, calling it "an important part of our qualifications to lead."

In an interview with Beliefnet, a multi-denominational Web site that covers religion and spirituality, the Republican presidential hopeful was asked if a Muslim candidate could be a good president.

"I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... personally, I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith," McCain said. "But that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president."

...AND AS FOR A JEW.....

UPDATE: Jewish Groups Criticize McCain For Saying He Prefers Christian As President...

COPTIC POPE IN ANTI-SEMITIC OUTBURST

Pope Shenouda in anti-Semitic outburst (Religious Intelligence)
THE LEADER of the Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria told Egyptian television last month the Western Churches were wrong to exonerate Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, and criticised recent statements apologising for Christian anti-Semitism.

In an interview with Dream 2 TV broadcast on April 8, Shenouda was asked if the Coptic Church would follow the lead of the Western Christian churches. Shenouda responded that the Christian Churches had “done nothing that warrants an apology,” adding he believed the apologies were being “done for appearance’s sake.”

Asked whether Jews were “Christ-killers”, responsible for the crucifixion, Shenouda stated, “The New Testament says that they are,” and asked rhetorically whether the Vatican was “against the teachings of the New Testament?”

Shenouda stated he had banned Copts from visiting Israel for fear they will “be influenced by the Israeli media, and we will not be able to prevent this. Who knows what ideas they will return with?”

JEWISH CONVERT TO CHRISTIANITY STARTS MARIJUANA SHUL

Reverend ready to defend pot use (Monterey Herald)
HOLLYWOOD - The Rev. Craig X Rubin read aloud a passage from 1 Kings as the sun set and his congregation prepared for the Sabbath. Flicking a lighter to the lone candle atop the podium, Rubin burned a bud of marijuana on the flame. He puffed it out, walked to each of the eight members sitting in the pews and waved the smoldering cannabis around them. This, Rubin proclaims, carries the prayers of Temple 420 to God. That's the God of Isaac and of Jesus, because members are Christians and Jews. That makes the congregation Rubin founded last summer unique.

But what really sets it apart -- and the reason Rubin will be in court Friday -- is the temple's use of marijuana as a religious sacrament. ''I am willing to preach the Bible and go to jail if it means getting my message out there,'' the 41-year-old Panorama City man said. And he knows how strange that sounds.

''I'm a Jewish kid from Beverly Hills who went to UCLA. I could have been a lawyer making $250 an hour like the rest of my friends, or a TV producer. Instead, I'm teaching the Bible, selling weed on Hollywood Boulevard, facing seven years in jail -- of course I'm crazy.''....

Temple 420's tenets stem from Rubin's Jewish childhood, conversion to Christianity and experience taking peyote in American-Indian sweat lodges.

A pro-pot Republican partial to dark suits and red ties, Rubin hangs the American flag behind his podium and gushes about Ronald Reagan. He has been a marijuana activist since his days at UCLA in the early '90s.

MAINE PASTOR RESPONDS

I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING EMAIL FROM THE PASTOR IN MAINE WHOSE PROVOCATIVE SERMON TITLE CAUSED SOME MIS-UNDERSTANDING. (SEE YESTERDAY'S POST HERE). I DECIDED TO RE-PRINT IT IN FULL WITH HIS ATTACHMENTS:

Dear Friends of Israel,

Before you rush to judgment with words like "stupid" for your search engine regarding a provocative sermon title from a Maine pastor, namely me, why not first read the statement for the general public, along with the sermon. You will see that I am with you. What does it take to bring this issue to light in the eyes of the public - a provocative title?

Please know that Friends of Israel and David Project are most supportive of the entire sermon, including the title.

I've attached my works for your review. If you wish to discuss any of the content after your review, I would be honored.

Serving the Lord of Glory as a friend of Israel,

Rev. Phil Andrukaitis, Pastor ~ First Baptist Church of South Portland, Maine

HERE'S THE "RESPONSE TO THE MEDIA":

The First Baptist Church
South Portland, Maine
879 Sawyer Street ~ South Portland, Maine 04106
Office: (207) 799-4565 ~ Fax: (207) 799-5922 ~ Website: www.spfbc.com
Making a Difference in People’s Lives across the Street and Across the Sea
February 5, 2007

Dear friends in the Jewish and Christian community,

Due to the increasing number of calls and emails regarding the sermon title in the Portland Press Herald, (January 3, 2007), I find myself unable to respond individually and personally to each person and therefore I offer this general statement for the public. If you desire further discussion after reading this statement and the attached sermon, I would welcome the opportunity.

Please know that my intentions with the provocative title were to highlight the sermon which is profoundly supportive of the Jewish people and the nation of Israel. Friends, I had no idea that my sermon title would unleash (according to one person) a “firestorm” in the public and media.

On Sunday afternoon, I spoke to Andrew Tarsy, Regional Director for the Anti-Defamation League, and he said, …that given the history of anti-Semitism, the ad may have in fact pushed people beyond their capacity to comprehend where you are going, and it did turn out to alarm several people. Friends, my intentions were to provoke dialogue with the community and to stress the fact that behind God’s sovereign power to fulfill His promises is His heart of mercy. I did not intend to ignite a firestorm or call attention to myself or the church.

Some of you may ask, Well, what led you to title the sermon in this manner? The title was based on the OT book, the Book of Jeremiah, chapter 31, verses 35-37. In summary, God is declaring through His servant that…

• if anyone can change the courses of the sun, moon, and stars,
• if anyone can cause the seas to overrun their boundaries, and
• if anyone can measure the foundations of heaven and earth,

only then will Israel cease to exist! The point that God is making, and that I am simply reiterating is, that there is no one equal to or greater than Almighty God Who created the heavens and the earth. If such a person, government, or terrorist organization were co-equal or greater than God, Israel’s existence would be threatened. The fact remains, there is no power or person on earth or under the earth or in heaven that will succeed in the destruction of Israel. Moreover, God Himself will not renege on His promises to the nation of Israel. Israel will forever remain His chosen people.

The sermon was also an overview of the NT book, the Book of Romans, chapters 9 through 11. It is important to understand that for the last two years, I have expounded on the first eight chapters of Romans. And now, beginning on February 18th, I will begin unfolding Romans chapter 9, answering the question that the apostle Paul anticipated, What are God’s plans for Israel?

Dear friends, please forgive me for causing alarm in your hearts. No doubt, several folks have already jumped to conclusions about me and this church. I ask you to follow Andy Tarsy’s example of patiently listening and carefully reading. Perhaps then, you will arrive at the same conclusion as he did, that I am a friend of the Jewish community – (Boston Globe, February 5, 2007).
Sincerely,
Rev. Phil Andrukaitis, Pastor
First Baptist Church of South Portland, Maine

HERE IS A LINK TO ANOTHER DOCUMENT REV. ANDRUKAITIS SENT ME.

AWARD WINNER FOR WORST SERMON TITLE

Apologies in Maine over Jewish ad (JTA)
The minister at a Maine church apologized for a newspaper ad touting a sermon titled “The only way to destroy the Jewish race.” In a statement Monday, the Rev. Philip Andrukaitis of the South Portland Baptist Church wrote, “Please forgive me for causing alarm in your hearts.”

The sermon actually was about fighting anti-Semitism and supporting Israel and Judaism. “When you read it, it is absolutely pro-Israel and pro-Jewish,” said Emily Sandberg, executive director of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. “It’s the title that is absolutely inappropriate.”

The Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram, which published the ad Saturday, also apologized for what it called an “oversight” and said safeguards had been put in place to avoid a recurrence.

The Portland Reform synagogue Bet Ha’am featured the ad in a Sunday Hebrew school session with 50 middle- and high-school students.

Andrew Tarsy, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said he hoped to meet with Andrukaitis and Jewish community leaders concerning the incident.