SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #146 ---- 10/30/00
Posted by: lifeunlimited <lifeunlimited@...>
As We fight The Good Fight
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER #146 ---- 10/30/00
TITLE: "Living With Spam"
My Dear Kingdom Partner:
We are finally home! ---- for awhile, at least. Following three weeks
and two days of travel and ministry in Bosnia, Croatia, and Austria, Jo
Ann and I finally landed in our own bed in our little cottage in the
woods this past Friday evening ---- exhausted but absolutely thrilled
over the events and results of the trip.
This was our tenth trip to eastern Europe since 1995, and in many ways,
our most productive. It was our joy to minister to local pastors,
missionaries, churches, and para church ministries along the way.
Our primary focus was threefold. First, we had been invited to teach
seminars on two subjects ---- "Forgiveness" and "Personal Witnessing".
This we did in Sarajevo, Tuzla, Novi Travnik, and Konjic. This was our
third trip during which we taught on forgiveness. It will not be our
last.
Second, we went to bring encouragement to the believers and their leaders
in Bosnia and Croatia. What a joy it was to do so, and to watch God
unexpectedly open doors before us to become acquainted with people of
influence, particularly in Tuzla. Then we were particularly blessed to
meet new friends ---- the Tim Gotchey family in Mostar, the Raymond
Jeffcoat family in Zevinica, and others.
Finally, we went to further develop a comprehensive long term financial
support base for the ministry where it all began for us back in 1995 ----
the Life Center International in Croatia. Words fail me to describe the
astounding way in which God moved that process along, even putting
strategic people from Scotland in our paths with whom we would help
develop that base in the United Kingdom.
God is an incredible God!
FIRST TIME TARDY:
You would not believe the challenges we faced trying to communicate via
the Internet. This was by far the most difficult of any trip we have
ever taken anywhere. In Sarajevo we did most of our writing late at
night, but things went fairly smoothly.
However, in Tuzla, also writing late at night and keeping Troy and Mary
Donahoe up past their bedtime on several occasions, we discovered we had
contracted a computer virus that had attached itself to one of our
letters and had been passed on to others. We deeply regret that, but
praise the Lord that we found it quickly.
Our efforts in Mostar and Dubrovnik were minimal simply because of lack
of access to phone lines. So, for nearly a week we were without contact.
Then came the Life Center in Croatia. When I finally logged on, I was
bombarded with 75 messages waiting for me. At the end of five days that
number had grown to over 380 messages. I was literally up until 2:00
a.m. four of the five days trying to handle all those messages on a
computer that was slightly slower than molasses in a freezer.
The greatest disappointment, however, was when I began to suspect this
past Friday that my last "Shoulder To Shoulder" letter probably got to
you late. This was confirmed yesterday by my son-in-law who indicated he
got his he thought on Wednesday.
Now that may not seem a big thing to you, but it is extremely
disappointing to me ---- simply because of the purpose of my letters to
bring quick encouragement to people like you immediately after Sunday
each week. These moments when I share my heart with you are so much like
specified appointments that I feel bound to keep. In some three years I
have never failed to keep that appointment.
You've heard me refer before to "Resurrection Sunday" and then
"Resignation Monday". I really hate to not be available to try to lift
your spirits late Sunday night or first thing Monday morning if you had a
bad day on Sunday.
So ---- please forgive me for not meeting you at the appointed time. I
sent it with plenty of time, but somewhere along the line it got delayed.
There are still many glitches in the systems, particularly in Europe.
Our eldest daughter and son-in-law down in Costa Rica are sometimes
delayed several days in sending and receiving e-mail.
TWO MINISTRY OPPORTUNITIES:
1. "Holiday With A Purpose" ---- How would you like to take a three week
holiday to Vienna, Sarajevo, Tuzla, Mostar, Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian
Coast of Croatia, Ljubljana, Salzburg, and Munich, while at the same time
fellowship with missionaries and other believers in and around those
cities?
Simultaneously exposed to the splendor of the land, the uniqueness of the
culture, and the challenges and needs of ministry, it would be a life
changing adventure. If it interests you, drop me a note. Our next such
trip will begin in mid to late September of 2001.
2. "Mission Plus" ---- If traveling on a sail boat along the Dalmatian
Coast of Croatia is your thing, then consider joining missionary Bill
Steele in late May and June of 2001. You will be involved in "team
building" exercises and servant evangelism among the islands of the
Adriatic Sea. Contact Bill at <[email protected]> for details.
SPAM:
The word "SPAM" is a common word for me. I grew up with the stuff as a
boy. My mother bought cans of it at the local grocery, and Jo Ann and I
continued the tradition throughout our early years of marriage.
I don't think we would have survived seminary without "Spam" and those
nutritionless hot dogs we purchased at four pounds for a dollar. At
least we got some reprieve from the Starkist Tuna at five cans for a
dollar and Campbell's Tomato Soup at ten cans for a dollar.
By the time our children got old enough to eat solid food, those little
loaves of anemic looking meat packed in odd shaped tins and surrounded
with what looked like twice-used flavorless jello were pretty much a
thing of the past. Not because they were no longer available, but simply
because our taste buds had forced us into more expensive purchases for
our own nutritional survival.
Now, of course, that's not the kind of "Spam" I'm really referring to
here. I'm talking about the all capitalized SPAM that comes over the
Internet. I've always had to deal with some of it, but since late
Summer, I've been overwhelmed by the stuff!
Right now I'm getting five to ten SPAM messages every day. It comes from
far and wide. More than half of it clearly comes from foreign countries.
Surprisingly much of the rest comes from people I know ---- in the form
of attachments.
Hang on, now . . . . .
Before you question my last statement, let's define SPAM.
I'm pretty much a total novice when it comes to Internet lingo, and even
more ignorant when it comes to running my computer to begin with. So, I
don't know if SPAM is an acrostic for some special title or phrase, or if
it's just the way some guy who had similar "meaty" experiences to mine
had for trying to identify the "junk mail" he started getting from
friends and strangers.
But, as I understand it SPAM describes promotional material, neither
solicited nor desired on your part, that comes your way trying to get
you to buy something, sell something, or do something that is probably of
no interest to you whatsoever.
Well, my friend, I get gobs of it! And I don't like it!
Every time I get one of those letters that offers me something for
nothing, tries to sell me an oil well in the Bahamas, offers me an off
shore bank account, or questions my love for the Lord by putting the
guilt trip on me to "pass it on to five friends if you really love
Jesus", I have a major reaction. There have been times I've even wanted
to throw my shoe through the computer monitor (or maybe even my Bible!).
What really ticks me off, though, is when I follow the instructions to
unsubscribe and then have my "Remove!" letter come back as undeliverable
because there is no such e-mail address.
Talk about pouring turpentine on an open wound . . . . ! Receiving the
SPAM in the first place was bad enough. But then to cheat me out of
being able to get off their stupid list is beyond insulting!
So . . . . why do I react this way? Just think about it, friend ----
what is it about getting a piece of e-mail which we can quickly delete
from our computers with the touch of a finger upset us so much?
Since I have little else to do, I've thought about that a lot ---- at
least fifteen minutes. And here are some thoughts:
1. SPAM makes me feel betrayed. It is obvious that somebody got my
e-mail address without my permission and decided to use it for his own
gain. It may even be that my address was sold. Worse yet, I have
neither control nor recourse for such betrayal. Frankly, I feel like
someone has secretly invaded my home because someone gave them a key to
my door.
2. SPAM makes me feel dirty and contaminated. I remember years ago a
family in a church I pastored discovered, to their horror, that a hired
man whom they had befriended was pilfering through their belongings while
they were away on vacation.
When the woman discovered this man had gone through her undergarments in
her dresser, and had actually stolen and kept some of them, she, by her
own testimony, felt as if she had been raped. She incurred major
emotional trauma that took months to get over.
I think I understand a bit of what these friends felt. To have my
privacy invaded by a stranger (or a well meaning friend) through
unsolicited and unexpected material about which I have absolutely no
interest makes me feel as if I have been accosted through the Internet.
3. SPAM comes from foreign sources. I have particularly noticed how
much of the SPAM I get is coming from Germany, Japan, Romania, Denmark,
Taiwan, Korea, and the like. They are often sent from places we cannot
touch with the "long arm of the law" ---- it isn't that long.
Because they often come from foreign places, there's no way they can know
my interests. They don't even know my culture. I am a total stranger to
them ---- a foreigner. And they to me. They come from another world in
which I have absolutely no interest.
4. SPAM insults my intelligence. Back in September I got one letter
that started out . . . . "Hi" . . . . as if I knew the writer! Another
one thanked me for my inquiry. Still another indicated I had been
referred to them by a friend.
Duh . . . . . !
Come on; give me a break!
I may not be the most brilliant person in the world, but do those people
think they're writing to a moron?
And then do they actually think I'll buy something over the Internet from
someone I've never heard of, reading a letter filled with grammatical
murder and spelling errors, and asking for my credit card number in a
totally unsecured system?
Don't insult my intelligence like that!
5. SPAM sometimes requires my abandoning good things. As far as I know,
there are only two things I can do about this. One is to write to my
e-mail provider with the hopes that they can put a block on these
letters. However, once your name has been sold on a list, there are too
many, and they come too often.
That, therefore, requires me to abandon a good thing ---- my favorite
e-mail address. Because it has been compromised by some money hungry
idiot somewhere, it is necessary for me to close down that e-mail address
and try to find another. And the replacement never has the same feel as
the original.
You see, <[email protected]> is very special to me. First, it
identifies our ministry. Second, it declares my philosophy. Third, it
articulates my motivation. So, to have to abandon it is like having to
leave a wounded war buddy in the marsh, knowing he may not make it out.
I do have one consolation, though. I get to chuckle when I think of the
guy who starts getting all these "undeliverable" messages back and has to
go through all the work of deleting my e-mail address along with all the
others. I wonder how much he paid for the list, and just how many of
them are of no value to him because a bunch of us changed our e-mail
addresses.
6. SPAM forces me to change my living patterns. I don't know ---- maybe
this is one good thing that might come from SPAM. It is easy to get too
comfortable with the way we live, or to hang on to something (like a
favorite e-mail address) too tightly.
But, if I'm going to have to change my pattern of living, at least when
it comes to e-mail, I'd really prefer to do it by the prompting of the
Holy Spirit and not because somebody with a half fried egg for a brain
got hold of my e-mail address and tried to take advantage of me. If I
need to change the lock on my door, I want to do it because I want to be
more secure, and not because someone found the key.
7. SPAM reminds me of what is of real value. It doesn't take long with
SPAM letters to be confronted with the values of the world. Nearly
everything I get has to do with wealth, secrecy, sensuality, "tabloid"
discoveries, and the like.
Recently I got six e-mails on the very same day offering me a software
program that would let me "know everything you ever wanted to know about
everyone you ever wanted to know everything about".
Friend, it's obvious those people didn't know I was a preacher! I
already know more about some people than I ever wanted to know, and I try
to forget as much of it as I can!
SPAM does indeed remind me of what's really important, and what is just
trash ---- like those SPAM messages.
CHRISTIAN SPAM:
You're right ---- there had to be a spiritual application there
somewhere.
All this just got me to wondering ---- do we ever SPAM each other?
1. Have we ever done or said something to a brother or sister in Christ
that has made them feel betrayed by our conduct?
2. Have we done or said anything that resulted in a fellow believer
feeling dirty or contaminated? Have we introduced them to a concept that
piled loads of guilt on them? Have we set our own standards of
measurement up so that they know they'll never match up?
3. Have you or I come at them from a "foreign" position, something
totally contrary to the servant and compassionate spirit of Jesus? Have
we "invaded" them like a conquering enemy rather than a "son of
encouragement" like Barnabas?
4. Have we ever insulted the spiritual intelligence of a fellow
Christian by insinuating that they must adopt our belief or practice
about something because we know they aren't spiritually mature enough to
understand it themselves?
5. Have we ever done or said something that made it necessary for
another believer to change their ministry function or that made it
impossible for them to fulfill their God given call? Have we forced them
into positions they did not want, doing things for which they were not
spiritually equipped? Have we intimidated them into service by making
them feel guilt if they didn't?
6. Have you or I ever created demands or expectations that forced others
to change their patterns of living just because we insinuated they
should? Even things like changing translations of the Bible because we
didn't think the one they were using was as good as ours.
7. Have we ever placed "foreign currency" before our brothers and
sisters in Christ? Have we ever mixed "mammon" with that which is
"spiritual"? Have we tried to introduce temporal things of the world
into the mix of God's ways of spiritual reality?
SPAM STINKS:
One thing I remember about those cans of Spam ---- they had a unique odor
when you first opened them. It was something in between a juicy
hamburger, raw liver, and a rotten potato. There was something
appealing, and at the same time, sickening.
That's the way it is with Christian SPAM. There is a fragrance that
appeals; but if you take a strong enough whiff, you smell the real thing
---- rottenness to the core.
Friend, not only is there no place for SPAM on the Internet, though it
exists, but there is neither any place for Christian SPAM in the life of
a believer or in the life of a church.
The best thing that can be said about SPAM is that it stinks to high
heaven ---- and to the lowest hell, where it belongs.
So . . . . .
Stop wasting your time reading and entertaining the SPAM that comes in
your life.
And . . . . .
Stop Passing It On!
Life has enough attachments of its own without our adding to them.
Have a wonderful, SPAM-free week, my friend. I pray God's absolutely
best blessings He has for you this week.
In His Bond and In His Grace,
Bob
Bob Tolliver ---- (Rom 1:11-12)
Copyright October, 2000. All rights reserved.
We'd love to hear from you. Drop us a note with reports, observations,
prayer requests, etc.
If this letter has blessed you and you know of someone else who needs to
be encouraged, feel free to forward it in its entirety to all such people
you know.
If you would like a list of past issues which you could receive upon
request, just let us know.
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Hang in there! I'm with you!
-------.oooo0--------------- Ooooo--------
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