Take The Real Man Challenge!

Let’s just be honest, many men don’t truly value their wives.  Let me be more honest, I have not always valued my wife the way God expects me to.  For that,  I am eternally in debt to my amazing wife.

My guess is that most of you who read this blog have probably heard a song by Bruno Mars called, “Just The Way Your Are.”  I’m not necessarily a fan of Bruno Mars personally, but I truly enjoy this song and wish that all men felt this way about their wives.

I want to challenge every man out there who has a spouse, is engaged or who would like to be married some day; when you have a wife, cherish her, love her, sacrifice for her, die on the side of a mountain for her.  It doesn’t matter to me if you are on to your second or third marriage (or more), but if you will love your wife the way God intends, you will see your marriage bloom into something amazing.

Ephesians 5 offers some guiding principles.  Some people take offense to them.  Men believe they can never live up to them.  But let me tell you where God stands on your marriage.  God says this in Ephesians 5:25-27 (Message)…

Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church-a love marked by giving, not getting. Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness.

Your love for your wife should reflect the love Jesus has for the church.  Jesus died for the church!

Your love for your wife should make her whole and complete.  Does your love for her leave her feeling as if she is whole and complete?  Or does she feel like something is missing?

Your love for your wife should bring out her best to your family and the world.  How do you speak about your wife to your friends,  neighbors and co-workers?  Is she the “old ball and chain?”  Or is she so much more than that to you?

Your love for your wife should bring out the best in her.  If something isn’t right, don’t blame her first.  Look at yourself and ask if you’re doing everything in your power to bring out the best in her or are you putting her in no-win situations.

Your love for your wife should have her looking holy, blameless and radiant to everyone on the planet.  Can you say that you do that for your wife?

This passage is a great challenge.  I believe that if men took it on fully, they would find the most satisfying and rewarding relationship with their wives.  Everything would change if men would follow through on their role in the family.  I wish I could say that I have lived this perfectly.  I strive for this standard, but often I fall miserably short.

I mentioned Bruno Mars because I think that men (and women) go into a marriage or relationship thinking the other person will change.  We often view the other as a project or someone we can fix.  And when that philosophy doesn’t pan out, we give up.  The relationship ends.  And in many cases, the lives of those involved will never be the same.

So I’m posting the Bruno Mars song (I can’t vouch for comments on YouTube nor can I vouch for the ads).  You should listen to it.  Bruno isn’t perfect either I’m sure, but the words say a lot about how men should look at their wives (not other women walking by, by the way).  And at the risk of sounding sacrilegious, I have even imagined Jesus singing this song to the church.  When the church is on its game, smiling like Jesus knows we can, the whole world takes notice.

God has given you a helper, men.  And when you treat her the way God expects, you will not experience a better relationship with anyone, ever, on this planet.  So get out there and love your wife like you’re supposed to.  Sacrifice for her.  Bring out the best in her.  Never leave her.

Stan Rodda – Haymarket Guy

The Girl in the Purple Shirt

I was standing there manning the castle moon bounce when all of a sudden she broke into my world. In the eyes of the world she is insignificant. She is tiny, she is innocent of the ways of the world, she is impolite, but at that moment, the precise moment that she came into my life, the Creator allowed me to see her God label (her value in God’s eyes). All she wanted was for someone to say she was beautiful. Too often little girls in purple shirts, and little boys in green shirts, are looked over…they are invisible but hurting nonetheless. We have all felt like this little girl and isn’t it great when someone takes the time see you for who you really are. That means that no matter who you are God has called you to go on a great adventure. If you are new at New Life you will have a chance to take a first step in a low risk environment and make some new friends.

Everywhere Jesus went he shared good news! So the staff here at New Life wanted to come up with a way for you to share this good news. That’s the whole point of the Block Party…it’s to find the girl in the purple shirt and say “Hey, we love you just for being you!” It’s to bring the community into our space and show them firsthand ALL that we have to offer. And let’s be honest, we have a TON to offer. I want to encourage, no implore you, to take a major part in this Block Party. Jesus sets a great example for all of us to follow, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matt 9:35-38, NIV) We are praying that the Lord of the harvest will send His workers. Not for our benefit, or because we don’t want to work (trust us we will be working, too) but because the harvest is so plentiful.

So, maybe you’re saying, “I don’t have anything to offer,” or “I don’t feel comfortable talking to people I don’t know.” This is the perfect opportunity to learn how. We have tons of games, food, music, and more to help you connect with the people who walk in the door. We will also have seasoned veterans (don’t lick them though, Tim Jones tried and some people got really offended plus he said they didn’t taste good) who will be there to help get you started.

Come on, sign up to work a game, or make sno-balls, or even help people find a place to park. You never know, you might be the one that begins to change their view of eternity.

Anne Evans

Outreach Resident

From CIA to pulpit – Mclean Pastor was anti-terror analyst before ministry.


Credo: Dwaine Darrah
By: Leah Fabel
Examiner Staff Writer
August 20, 2010
(Andrew Harnik/Examiner)

Dwaine Darrah, 58, has spent a long career seeking out troublemakers – from rooting out terrorist groups as a CIA analyst to redirecting lost souls as pastor of New Life Christian Church’s campus in McLean. Darrah took up the ministry upon his retirement from the CIA in 2008, responding to a call he had felt for 25 years. He sat down with The Washington Examiner to share thoughts on his faith, and God’s invitation to joy.

Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?

I’m an evangelical Christian. What I find distinct about real Christianity is that it’s not about us trying to be good enough, or appeasing an angry God who’s trying to zap us, but it’s God wooing us and romancing us into a love relationship with Him. He has won me over by His love for me that keeps being poured out.

What attitudes or beliefs prevalent in today’s American society are most at odds with your vision of a Christian life?

There are tons of behaviors that are at odds with how God tells us to live, but that’s not at the heart of it. At the heart of it, I think, is that God makes all of this stuff that we see — as it says in Romans, everything that we see yells and screams that there’s a Creator. What we tend to do is to say, “God, I don’t really want you, I just want your stuff.” When in reality, everything we see should draw us into a relationship with God. Instead, we say give me your stuff — I’m going to worship that — sex, money, whatever. And I’m going to ignore God, when in reality it was all designed to draw our attention to God. When you eat great food, for example, or when you see a beautiful color — what does it say about a god who created that color for you? And what a neat god who made such delicious flavors of food for you! Ignoring that leads us to a whole host of behaviors that are idolatrous — and those behaviors lead us to all kinds of harm.

You’ve expressed disdain for “religion” as opposed to a true Christian life. What do you mean by that?

George Barna is a pollster who studies the sentiments of the religious, and sentiments about the religious by those who aren’t. He has found that 80 percent of people who call themselves Christian can’t recall the last time they had a meaningful conversation or experience with God. They’re walking in and out of church without that ongoing, deepening love affair with Christ. They’re going through the motions of religious rituals and actions — trading that for this deepening relationship with Jesus that will lead them to proper behaviors.

Sunday Communion, for example, is a shadow of what Christ actually did. If the reality of Christ isn’t meaningful, the ritual doesn’t mean a thing.

Much of your career was spent working to rid the world of Islamic terrorist groups. How did that affect your perspective of Islam, or of your own faith?

One of the neat things about what I did was dealing with people very passionate about their religion. Just like there are a lot of liberal Christians, there are the same among Muslims. But in my work, we were dealing with the truly passionate, and there’s a certain respect that comes with that. I don’t agree with them, but I honor their passion.

My job was to identify terrorists, but I never rejoiced over their death or capture. As a Christian, you’re aware of the eternal perspective and you know things won’t be going well for those folks, eternally.

At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?

I believe that God, through Jesus Christ, wants us to live the absolute fullest life possible — the most exciting life possible, the most rewarding life possible. It doesn’t always mean that everything is going to go my way, but when I’m 80 years old I don’t want to look back and ask myself what life would’ve been like had I actually followed Him. God is offering us the most exciting life, the most joyful life possible — and it’s a challenge every day to test Him and see if that’s true.

- Leah Fabel

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/local/Dwaine-Darrah-533493-101177409.html#ixzz0xWpOtHqn

I’m Really Proud!

Vince Antonnuci returned to our Westfield campus Sunday like a grown son who’s been serving on the mission field for 12 years. After spending time with extended New Life family at Restore Church’s service, Laura and I drove to Westfield HS and snuck into the back at second service.

Listening to Vince speak made me wonder, “Who’s the next Vince, sitting in this room right now?” Laura and I met Vince just six months after he became a Christ-follower. (Driving him to the airport, Vince reminded me that our small group in Alexandria was the first he ever attended– poor guy.) Through the years, we’ve watched Vince follow hard after God and become a nationally respected speaker, church planter and writer. However, that first day Vince showed up in our small group, we didn’t see a kid who would have such huge impact on our generation. We just saw another new believer who was showing up at small group.

Who’s the next Vince?

We ended second service with a special prayer for Vince, his wife, Jennifer, and their work on The Strip in Las Vegas (btw, whenever you hear the words, “Las Vegas”, remember to shoot up a prayer for their work). I made a quick appeal that someone could bless them with some lunch money. Your response was overwhelming! So many people responded giving Vince $20 or $30, that Pat Furgerson jokingly asked me to make that appeal for him sometime!

Hey New Life, you are generous people! Vince felt embarrassed by your personal support. I felt proud that you responded so generously. It was a great homecoming! That’s how family ought to love! You do love like family!

Brett Andrews, Lead Guy

Way Beyond Update 1

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“I would go to a church like that!”  Those were the words of a couple community leaders last week who discovered New Life’s plans for the nZone. Each week, we continue to experience God’s confirmation in our Way Beyond project.  We have more to share than you have time to read; so, our goal in this first update is simply to encourage and to bring everyone up to speed with our building developments.  Thanks for reading.

Partner Update

Sacrifice means giving up something we want for something we want more. One of the most encouraging pieces to this project are the stories we hear of New Lifers sacrificing to honor God and make a greater impact on our communities.

You may have heard the story of the New Life family who sold their house and moved into a more modest home.  This was, in part, to be able to give more to Way Beyond.  Not all stories are that dramatic, but each honors God just as much.

Did you know the kids in KidZone gave over one thousand dollars to the campaign?

Did you hear about the six year-old boy who overheard his parents talking about Way Beyond and decided he wanted to be a part?  He went to his room, cracked his piggy bank and brought back his only two-dollar bill.  Even after he was reminded just how special the bill was, he simply said, “I want to help too.”  That’s just great stuff.

Recently, we received this email from another New Lifer…

Within days of emailing our commitment, I got a promotion! I won’t bore you with all of the details but it’s pretty phenomenal because I had just had my review a month earlier and received a raise at that point. My company has a promotion freeze so it was truly an unexpected surprise! Isn’t it amazing how God works?

God is good.

What’s your story? We’d like to hear it! How has God moved you through Way Beyond?  It doesn’t have to be dramatic and fancy. How have you seen God at work since you made a commitment?  Let us know.

Zoning Update

Fairfax County has approved our parking plan.  This is a great victory! This  approval allows the changes to the landscaping and curbs to improve traffic flow and provide 231 parking spaces.  Just as importantly, we are now able to move forward with many other steps toward developing the nZone.

Unfortunately, the county took 90 days longer than we’d previously been led to expect, but we still plan for an early summer 2011 opening.

Architectural Update

We have great architects!  They’re working diligently to create space for children’s ministry, student ministry, a fitness room, as well as much needed storage space!

Our builder is also currently crunching the numbers to help us determine what improvements we can and cannot afford.

Our designer describes our preliminary interior color scheme & design  as “Jetsonian Urban”.   It begins with the 60′s sitcom (retro modern) and overlays a more contemporary, urban feel.  We think it will generate a great “Wow” factor.  In other words, it will make you say, “This is sooo ‘New Life’”. We can’t wait for everyone to see it!

Financial Update

Less than two months since we started receiving Way Beyond gifts things are looking great.  We currently have 273 commitments totaling $1,832,691 with $190,189 already received!  We prayed for commitments from 80% of New Lifers and are currently at 67%.  We cannot overstate how thrilled we are with this.  Most campaigns have participation numbers in the 20%-30% range. To have more than twice that amount is God’s blessing.  Thank you for being a part.

One way you could help us keep accurate records of your gifts is to include  ”Way Beyond” in the memo field of any checks.  If you haven’t been designating Way Beyond gifts as such, please contact Mark Scheyder (703-222-8836 or marks@newlife4me.com) to update your records.  We also appreciate all of you who have continued to support our “day to day” expenses through your continued generosity this Summer.

Now You Know…

So that’s whats currently going on with Way Beyond.  Remember to email us info@newlife4me.com) if you have any great stories to tell.  And finally, to quote a great series of commercials from the ‘80s, ‘Thank you for your support.”

Patrick Furgerson

Why does New Life practice baptism by immersion?

If someone wants to start a new, right relationship with God, the Bible teaches that is only possible because of one thing: Grace.  People are saved because Jesus makes forgiveness possible by dying on the cross to pay the price for our sins.

Then, by His grace, Jesus gave us steps to respond to grace—not because He needs it; but because we do.  Believe (Mark 16:16). Confess (Acts 2:21). Repent & be baptized (Acts 2:38).

Many churches practice various modes of baptism.  Why does NL practice immersion?  Well, there are many reasons. Here is just one: baptism means “immerse”.

The New Testament was written in Greek. When the word “baptize” was used during the writing of the Bible, everyone understood that there was only one meaning: immerse.

Below, you will find what I’ve just said in more scholarly words.  I share it to clarify, not to start an argument.  New Life does not condemn people who are not immersed (in fact, I’m confident that one day in heaven, we will discover not a few places where our understanding of Scripture was less than perfect.). We practice baptism in this mode because we believe it is the most faithful to Scripture.

The word baptism is a transliteration of the Greek word baptidzo. Transliteration simply means that the original Greek letters were converted into English letters to make a new word. Regarding the meaning of baptidzo, the majority of accepted scholars and lexicons agree that it always means immersion, or to submerge. Moses Lard has boldly stated,

“In not one instance where the word (baptidzo, BB) occurs, in all Greek literature, does it necessarily mean to sprinkle or pour… On the contrary, the word occurs in thousands of cases and combinations where it must of necessity be translated immerse…” (198). Lexicons, etymologists and the majority of accepted linguistic scholars back Lard’s forthright statement. Nowhere in the Greek language will you find the word baptidzo to mean anything but immerse. For example, the Arndt and Gingrich Greek Lexicon, which is the most scholarly and widely accepted Greek lexicon, defines baptidzo as to “dip, immerse, dip oneself…in Non-Christian lit… plunge, sink, drench, overwhelm” (Lard 131).

Henry Thayer, prominent Greek scholar and Professor of New Testament Criticism at Harvard University, also defines baptidzo as “to dip repeatedly, to immerge, or to submerge” (Thayer 94). The one thing that both of these lexical authorities emphasize is that baptidzo, in its original first century definition, meant to immerse, submerge, or completely cover. If we claim to be like the New Testament Christians, shouldn’t we understand the meaning of baptism the way they did?  Greek Scholar Marvin Vincent, D. D., notes,

“in Classical Greek the primary meaning is ‘to immerse.’ Thus, Polybius (i., 51, 6), describing a naval battle of the Romans and Carthaginians, says, ‘They SANK ebaptizon many of the ships’” (Vincent 238).

Vincent’s research gives us a perfect illustration of what the Greek word baptidzo originally meant. Envision in your mind a ship sinking. What do you see? Do you see a vessel going fully under the water, or do you see a rain shower sinking a ship? The latter picture would be ridiculous to our minds. Likewise, the possibility of baptism meaning a sprinkling or pouring is both foreign and impossible in the Greek language. Greek Scholar W. E. Vine’s says baptidzo “was used among the Greeks to signify the dying of a garment, or the drawing of water by dipping a vessel into another, etc. Plutarchus uses it of the drawing of wine by dipping the cup into the bowl” (pg. 50).

Expounding upon Vine’s definition, one can see that just as a cup is dipped into a bowl and is submerged in the liquid, so the human body must be submerged in water to be baptized properly.

Most eminent linguistic scholars and prominent lexicographers agree that baptidzo means to immerse. These scholars would be A. T. Robertson’s, Word Pictures in the New Testament (322), Gernhardt Kittel’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (529), Lidell & Scott’s Greek-English Lexicon (260), G. W. Lampe’s A Patristic Greek Lexicon (238), Colin Brown’s New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (143), and William D. Mounce’s Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (112). All of this lexical and scholarly evidence shouts out to us that the original meaning of baptism in the first century was to immerse, dip, engulf, submerge, etc. Nowhere will a person find any evidence from the original language to show that baptidzo means to sprinkle. The Greeks had a word for sprinkle, which was rhantidzo. This word is used several times in the New Testament to convey the idea of sprinkling, but never is it associated with baptism (Heb. 9:13,19, 10:22). If the Greeks had a word for sprinkling, and the New Testament writers chose to use the distinct word for immersion, how can anyone say there is biblical authority for sprinkling? The fact is a person must go beyond the authority of the New Testament and make up doctrines and sacraments to say sprinkling is correct. In an article on the mode of baptism, Catholic scholars confess, “Fundamentalists are correct when they point out that the Greek word used in the New Testament for baptism is baptizo, and that this means immersion (dunking) only” (Catholic Answers Network URL, emp. mine). If even the proponents of sprinkling recognize that baptism means immersion only, that should be the only thing we practice. We need to be reminded of the words of Paul. “Do not go beyond the doctrine of Christ” (1 Cor. 4:6).

(from The Proper Mode of Baptism, Ben Bailey. http://www.thebible.net/ISBS/journal/archives/0804/X0005_propermode-bb.html)

Brett Andrews, Lead Guy

How can you tell if a church is dying?

I think James Emery White is clued in.

Read this: http://www.churchandculture.org/Blog.asp?ID=122.

What do you think?

Brett Andrews,  Lead Guy

A Great Result!

1 Corinthians 12:9, [The Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you…”

List the things you can be absolutely certain of.  Short list, isn’t it?  We can’t trust the economy or the government. Best friends and closest family can let us down. Our next breath isn’t assured.

Isn’t that why peace eludes most people?

Those who are close to God know a peace and joy that transcends human understanding because we know that God is always on His throne.  Nothing ever surprises Him.  He is for us more than we are for ourselves.  Whatever He provides is always sufficient.

Commitment cards are still coming in.  Counts are being done.  So, I don’t know what the final numbers will be.  Yet, we can be confident that whatever the results, it’s going to be great!

Am I being optimistic?  No. I’m certain of the most important matters.

1) God is building NL.  The NL story is the story of God’s leading and blessing.  He has brought us to this point.

God has not brought us to this point to abandon us.  He’s led us to make His Name Great!

The question is not whether or not God’s Name will be made great.  The only question is what part will we have in allowing God to make His name great through us.

2) God is in His people.  As I talk with people, I hear an enthusiasm about God.  I can sense the energy that God is giving you for His honor.

Over the last 3 years, God has created the largest energetic core that we’ve ever had.  God is developing a new core for a new era!

3) I’m not sure we’ll hit our target of 80% involvement (that would be 325 individuals and families).  Please pray for a miracle, because 80% saying, “Yes, we’ll pick up a brick,” would be near miraculous.  And, God (and you) can still do that.

However, I am confident that whatever the results, significantly more people will make formally say, I’m in! That’s huge because everyone matters in the body!

I understand Paul’s feelings when, after being overwhelmed by God’s grace, he writes,

Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out.

Is there anyone around who can explain God?
Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do?
Anyone who has done him such a huge favor
that God has to ask his advice?

Everything comes from him;
Everything happens through him;
Everything ends up in him.
Always glory! Always praise!
Yes. Yes. Yes.

(Romans 11:33-36. The Message)

Brett Andrews,  Lead Guy

Cleaning Up Poo!

It’s fun to watch some of the people in our neighborhood walk their dogs.  It’s early in the morning and they are enjoying a nice, peaceful walk.  In one hand is the leash and in the other is a plastic bag.  This is about the time the dog stops to take care of his business in the neighbor’s yard.  When the dog is finished, the owner takes the plastic bag, bends over (very funny considering some of the people who live around here) and picks up their dog’s leftovers.

While it isn’t the best representation, this is very much what our relationship with Jesus is like.  We walk around and make messes, He is there to clean it up.

Remember Mark 9?  Jesus and His closest disciples, Peter, James and John, are coming down the mountain right after the transfiguration.  They encounter a huge group of people.  He finds that His other disciples have tried to cast out a demon but were unable to.  The father of the child is frustrated about the situation.  Jesus cleans up the mess.

Remember John 18?  Jesus is in the process of being betrayed by Judas.  Soldiers have stepped forward to arrest Christ.  Peter has just told Jesus he will die for Him and he begins to put those words into action.  He draws his sword and cuts of the ear of the High Priest’s servant, Malchus.  Jesus halts the madness, bends down, grabs the severed ear off the ground and heals the servant.  Jesus cleans up the mess.

As we grow in discipleship, one of the lessons we will learn is that we can’t do this alone.  Ultimately, we aren’t good enough to clean up our own messes.  There is nothing we can do that is good enough that will clean up the mess of sin that we have made.

In Jesus’ greatest act on earth of “cleaning up the mess,” He died on a cross to become the ultimate payment for all of our messes.  He came to earth to show us His love and to offer His grace and forgiveness.  When it comes to discipleship, we will never be perfect.  Humans will almost always find a way to mess things up.  That’s why I’m so thankful for Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to take that mess away from me.

Thanks be to Jesus Christ for His amazing love.

Thank You Jesus, for cleaning up after me when I continually find a way to screw things up.

Thank You Jesus, for your grace that overlooks the many messes I have made.

Thank You Jesus, for making me right with God even when I didn’t deserve it.

What do you think?  Hoping to hear from you on this one.

Stan Rodda,  Haymarket Guy

Jesus spoke in parables in much of his teaching. We learn a great deal about ourselves as we read or hear them. Below is a modern day parable from Alan Hirsch’s new book, Untamed:

One day long ago, over the hot sands of a Middle Eastern country, a white skylark flew in joyous loops about the sky.  As she swooped near the earth, she heard a merchant cry out, “Worms!  Worms!  Worms for feathers!  Delicious Worms!”  The skylark circled about the merchant, hungry at the mention of worms, but puzzled about what the merchant meant.  Little did the skylark know that the merchant was the devil.  And seeing the skylark was interested, the devil motioned her nearer.  “Come here, my little friend.  Come!  See the lovely worms I have!”

Cautiously, the skylark landed and cocked her head to the merchant.  “Come!  Taste the juicy worms!”  The skylark became aware that she was, indeed, quite hungry.  And these worms looked bigger and tastier than any she had ever dug for herself out of the hardscrabble ground of the desert.  The skylark hopped closer and put her beak close to the worm.  “Two worms for a feather, my friend.  Two worms for merely one!”

The skylark was unable to resist.  And she had, after all, so many feathers.  So, with the swift motion she pulled out a feather – just a small one – from beneath her wing and gave it to the merchant.  “Take your pick, my little friend…any two, your heart’s desire!”  The skylark quickly snatched up two of the plumpest worms and swallowed her meal with delight.  Never before had she tasted such wonderful worms.  With a loud chirp, she leapt into the air and resumed her joyful flight.
Day after day the skylark returned.  And always the merchant had wonderful worms to offer:  black ones and blue ones, red ones and green one, all fat and shiny and iridescent.  But one day, after eating her fill, the skylark leapt again into the air – and to her horror, she fell to the ground with a thud.  She was unable to fly!

All at once with a shock she realized what had happened.  From eating the delicious worms she had grown fatter and fatter; and she had plucked her feathers one by one, first her body, then her tail, and finally her very wings had grown balder and balder.  Horrified, she remembered how slowly, imperceptibly, day by day, it had been getting harder and harder to fly, and how she had told herself it was no matter.  She could always stop before it was too late.  Now suddenly, here she was, trapped on the ground.  She looked up and saw the merchant looking at her.  Was that a small, sly grin spreading across his face?  He grabbed the now helpless bird, put her in a cage, and walked away laughing.

“Tragically, like the formerly wild skylark, little by little we give up our freedoms in Christ, only to end up in a cage made of a thousand little compromises. This of course need not be so” (Hirsch, Untamed, page 22)

Creed Branson,Executive Guy