Links:

Atlanta Journal Constitution
WXIA, Atlanta (with 174 comments!)
First Baptist Church, Sugar Hill, GA

Perhaps you are gay.  You and your partner have been persuaded to show up for the Sunday morning worship service at First Baptist Church of Sugar Hill, Georgia.  The local media is abuzz with the subject and title of the Pastor’s sermon, “We’re Sorry”, which comes with a stated promise to apologize to “…gays, women seeking abortions, and couples who live together outside marriage.”  You are not the only first-time visitor.  Indeed, there are several whose chosen lifestyles fit these terms of description.  And so you uncomfortably but politely sit through the music and multimedia, awaiting your apology.  Much of your life you have been made to feel uncomfortable by the religious crowd.  What you have wanted is affirmation and acceptance, not condemnation.  You have desired the church to say, “we accept you as you are- we do not require for you to change.”  Finally, you think, here will be a preacher and a church that will make you feel good about yourself.

As I study this unfolding story in the County where live, I am pretty sure that many people approached the situation at Sugar Hill Church with a similar mindset.  And I am also pretty sure that they walked away from the church feeling disappointed, even betrayed.  This is because I believe it to be a situation in which a preacher used slick marketing techniques to advertise a product that he could not and would not deliver.  I am sure the preacher is a good guy.  He looks unassuming, with a nice smile.  And I am sure he would never flat-out lie and intentionally hurt another person.  But in his zeal to promote his church and recruit visitors, this is what he has done.  And I will tell you why.

I am a pastor and member of the same Denomination as this church.  His is a much more booming and prosperous congregation.  Recently they built a new facility, and have already outgrown it.  The church is composed of upper-middle-class Baptists making good money and wanting a good place for their families.  These people demand the best, and the church has done well to market itself.  Such people enjoy the first-class facilities, “caffeinated” worship music, and practical sermons.  There are plenty of programs and activities for everybody, and so the church prospers.  Yet, make no mistake, these are still conservative people.  They vote, live, and choose to worship in an unapologetically conservative manner.  They just insist that it all fit in with their climbing social strata. 

I say all this to point out that there is most likely no way this church is making the liberal offer that has been seductively advertised.  In Baptist churches we give an “invitation” at the end of the worship service.  It has been modernized in many ways, and in some churches there is no longer the bid to walk the aisle in commitment to Christ.    Instead, one may be encouraged to fill out an interest card, or meet with a church leader for latte and conversation in a gospel coffee shoppe later that day.  Still, there will be afforded opportunity to commit your heart to Christ and become a member of the church.  And here is where the truth of the matter will come out for Rev. Lee, the folk of Sugar Hill Church, and the visitors who happen to be of whatever unrepentant “sinful” persuasion. 

Pastor Lee is not going to publicly proclaim it to be o.k. and God affirming to be actively involved in a gay relationship.  That is not what the members of his church believe.  It is not what he believes.  He will not offer membership into his church to non-repentant gay couples.  Nor will he proclaim that it is o.k. and God-affirming to have an abortion, or live with a partner in a sexual relationship without marriage.  These things are not biblical.  They are not compatible with what is overwhelmingly understood to be proper lifestyle by conservative Christians, the kind of people who compose Rev. Lee’s church.  These people studied Rev. Lee carefully before they voted for him to be their pastor.  He may be unconventional in some of his sales techniques, but he is a bedrock conservative with his theology. 

I suspect he wants to reach out to gays, unmarried couples, pregnant women considering abortions, and other groups who usually stay far away from his brand of church.  That is good.  It is most like Christ to seek to love others into the Kingdom of God; but, not with a false or misleading message.  I am sure the sermon that morning had to do with loving the sinner even as we hate the sin.  I’ve preached it.  Most evangelical preachers have, also.  A favorite text is where Jesus said to the woman who would have otherwise been stoned for adultery, “Neither do I condemn thee.  Go, and sin no more.”    I’ve a feeling Dr. Lee zoomed past the latter part of the quotation, and spent most of his time upon the first.  It is bad Christian theology, of course.  There can be no forgiveness of sin without repentance.  But, most germane to this particular situation, it is just not fair to the sinner.

I want you to become a follower of Christ.  But I cannot lie to you about the cost involved.  It’s a cross, not an apology.

 

Here is the full story from the Seattle Times .

A man walks into an auto dealership in Seattle and says he wants to buy a truck. He is behaving erratically and his clothes are stained with feces. He talks of having $70,000 in a plastic bag at his home. It is obvious to all concerned that he is mentally ill. So, what is the reaction of the salesmen? They sell him a $30,000 truck, sticker price, with the most expensive warranty. Later, one keeps his attention while another goes to his apartment to steal all of his cash. After the poor man is committed to a psychiatric ward, another salesman makes a visit and persuades him to sign over ownership of the truck, along with payment of an impoundment fee and a $300 service charge. Does this anger you?

What do you do as a salesman when someone who is obviously mentally ill wants to buy a high cost, high commission item? You have sales skills, and you can easily work the situation to your highest advantage. You have a family to feed. And someone else will likely get the guy's money if you don't. Also, it would be mighty nice to win the monthly sales competition, which includes a nice trip to the Bahamas. Likely, these guys wear ties and have nice smiles and soft voices. Some of them likely coach little league and attend church. And I guess how you would handle this situation would depend upon whether you have an ounce of human dignity.

I've a problem with those who take advantage of the weak and vulnerable. There is a part of me that would like to take these car salesmen and pulverize them with my fists. I do not think I would do it, even if opportunity were to come along, but I would like to. Better would be to serve as the Judge who pronounces sentence upon these six men. First up would be to clean the feces stained apartment of the victim., and second would be service in a mental institution. And these would be performed after the mandatory castrations, of course. And my reaction is yet another example of why society must have a higher standard of treatment for criminals than would the individual.

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'" - Matthew 25:40(NIV)

I understand our federal government has means to peruse a blog such as mine.  And, perhaps my previous post could be misunderstood or misconstrued to falsely portray the idea that I have a dislike for the Internal Revenue Service or an intention to not pay my fair share of federal taxes.  I deeply assure any representative or friend of our wonderful governmental organization, the IRS, that I have the greatest of respect for your task.  I know you are singularly composed of good people who simply do your job, and I might add you do it quite well.  Surely your compensation is meager compared to the selfless sacrifices you regularly make, and all for the betterment of a nation that we all love dearly.  I wish you could see, dear IRS comrade, my prayer list of your agents contained upon my PDA, from which I intercede faithfully on your behalf.  Incidentally, I was able only to purchase this list with the meager but fair proceeds received from the last tax refund.  With a future refund I wish only to secure the enhanced list, which includes color photos of every agent, which will allow me to carry each of you in my heart and therefore pursue your well-being with even greater diligence.

Nothing would bring greater joy to my heart than for my son or daughter, completely legal as tax deductions, to one day announce to me that they would like to pursue a career with your fine government agency.  With pride and a smile I would be able to tell all that my child works for the finest organization and with persons who are the cream-of-the-crop.  In closing, please allow me to assure you there is truly no need for you to closely study my tax returns.  My abiding respect for you would preclude any variance from paying what I owe.  You can trust me.  Really, I do not think that you are adequately compensated.  Is there anything I could do for you?  

And, I understand you may have a few questions concerning some of my friends in this particular blogging arena.  I'll be honest with you- some of them are fun to hang out with, but I want you to know that I would never be as questionable with my taxes as they.  May I suggest that you forego my measly little return, and peruse theirs with as much scrutiny as neccessary.

Oh, by the way, I have met a few IRS agents.  And I will be perfectly honest- they were all, without exception, extremely intelligent with the finest of personality, and with a blush I must say physically appealing.  A double thanks for your selfless service!

The better part of my day has been spent determining my federal and state income tax debts.  For years I sent my information to an acquaintance across the state and trusted her tabulations.  A few years back I determined she had omitted a very important tax deduction, and further discerned that she was simply using a computer program to do the figures, and therefore decided I could do the same and feel at least as comfortable with the results.  My taxes can be filed on a standard 1040 form with but a few twists along the way.  However, the process is anything but clear.  It seems I owe about $4000 according to initial computation.  For a guy but a couple of missed paychecks from living on the street, that is a lot of money!  If push were to come to shove, I guess I could further ingratiate myself to Visa and pay the bill.  But first I want to make absolutely sure that is what I owe.  Therefore I calculated my taxes with a different and supposedly credible online tax program.  And this attractive little program tells me I am supposed to receive a $1600 refund.  Let's see.... pay $4000, or receive $1600?  I'm suspicious.  And I would rather not begin a full-time prison ministry, complete with my own cell and boyfriend named Bubba, just yet.  So I intend to give it a rest, and do some more calculating in the next several days.

A major complication is that I've been accustomed to receiving a  W2 form.  This year our church clerk unexpectedly passed away.  Truly do I miss her.  And I especially miss all of her official files, which mysteriously have never been found.  So the new guy in charge of the finances is a strict businessman, who insists upon issuing to me a 1099misc.  I do not see the difference, except that apparently it means if I continue to calculate my taxes as usual then I will owe a lot more. 

Here's my personal approach to the paying of taxes:  I want to be legal and ethical, and pay as little as possible.  A friend, a staunch unionist and dyed-in-the-wool Democrat, once told me that he does not think he pays enough taxes.  Maybe I could give him my $4000 tax bill?  I want to take advantage of every available loophole and deduction and exception possible.  I will vote against those who will expand the tax debt, and support those who will lower my taxes.  I am willing to help my brother who is in need, but not because the federal government puts a gun to my head and takes money from my wallet.  I'm considered to be self-employed, and therefore I pay a double Social Security tax.  It angers me greatly that politicians have stolen from my federal retirement fund to finance their re-election with social bribery.  If I was so reckless with my tax money (and in spite of claims to the contrary, even as it heads to Washington, it is still MY MONEY!), I would be arrested.  They do so, and then buy another Cadillac.  I would like to storm their mansions in Washington, seize all of their bags of tea, and throw them into the Boston harbor.  But, in the end, I guess I would still have to pay my taxes.

In Matthew 22, Jesus said, "Render under Caesar..."  That's what April 15 is all about.  But the odds are rather high that I will not be paying four grand to finance his pet projects, no matter what TurboTax is now saying.

For our devotion today, I direct you to a sermon by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright.  This guy is very much in the news.  I’ve heard and read several of his comments.  Indeed what he is most quoted as having said could be labelled incendiary and outrageous, and could cause one to question how a “man of God” would say such things.  Particularly I was interested in finding the context of the quotations where he called for God’s damnation of America with a vulgarity unfit for any pulpit of which surely most of us would be associated, and more than insinuated that America was to blame for the awful attacks of 9/11.  I think the transcript is available, for a price.  And, in my opinion, that takes a good bit of audacity.  This brings me to the immediate subject of my blog for the day.

A readily available sermon by Wright is entitled The Audacity Of Hope.  I understand it to be a great source of inspiration for presidential candidate Barack Obama, and even the borrowed title for his latest book.  So I decided to read the sermon.  Of course, you miss a lot when you read a sermon: inflections, patterns, emphases, feedback of the audience, the emotion and the heart of the speaker.  However, it is also true that the style of delivery can be so strong as to overpower the message of the words.  As a student of the art of preaching, I know a gifted speaker can take weak material and deliver it in such a way as to elicit a powerful and intended result from an audience.  Some would call this manipulation!  And, I realize that a powerful message in the words can be lost with a weak and unimpassioned delivery.  With the few clips of Wright that I have seen/heard, it seems rather obvious that he is anything but boring.

I’ve read through The Audacity of Hope several times.  It has some good and interesting points.  I suspect that the actual, public performance was surely longer and with much more material.  Maybe the written version is sanitized?  And I will be honest by saying I approached the sermon thinking it would be a classic example of liberal preaching.  In my estimation this would mean lots of social commentary and little of Biblical reference, lots of human solution and little about faith in God, lots of emotion and little of substance.  However, I consider this to be a good sermon, with one major caveat.

I will not critique the entire sermon, but will list a few things that I like:
(1) It’s short.  With the limited attention span of our television/Nintiendo generation, this is a must.  Sad, but a necessity.
(2) It is biblically based.  I think Christian preaching should be grounded in biblical reference.  Wright does well to weave the story of Hannah and Elkanah into his sermon, and then smartly quotes the words of Paul concerning faith and hope. 
(3) It’s interesting.  He uses a fine illustration about a work of art, and closes with a personal illustration from his own life. 
(4) It is practical.  The sermon encourages the listener to keep on hoping, even when the immediate situation and even the world around does not appear very hopeful.  He says that hope is a matter not only of horizontal perspective, but also vertical- looking to God!  That will preach, even in a Baptist church!

The caveat?  It is an important matter for myself as a conservative, evangelical follower of Jesus.  He never mentions Jesus Christ.  How is this possible?  He is preaching in a Christian church to a congregation supposedly composed of Christian people, quoting from a Christian Bible about a very Christian theme.  Simply as a preacher of the gospel, I find this highly disturbing.  But I look back at my history of about thirty years of flawed preaching, and can attest there were occasions when I preached some bad sermons, and even sermons in which I scantly mentioned the Lord.  Of course, I would not dare to publish such a message.  But I’ll give him a break!

My upcoming sermon is entitled “The Audacity Of Hope, This Has Not Been Plagiarized, With Jesus Mentioned Or Quoted 42 Times”.

I watched an interesting and disturbing television show last night called Dexter.  The hero is a serial killer who plies his gruesome trade only upon those who truly deserve such fate.  In the singular episode I viewed, his target was a loathesome couple who gained their considerable riches by abusing and killing illegal aliens.  Dexter methodically pursued until the evidence was clear.  Then he captured the evil criminals and true to his exacting nature tortured them to death.  Perhaps mercifully, the camera left details to the imagination, although it was pretty obvious that at least one victim was dismembered.  And except for his dark side, throuhout the show Dexter was presented as a sympathetic character.  He is like by his colleagues.  He works a steady job and does good deeds for others.  I guess he is sort of the likeable serial killer next door.

So, why do I find this so disturbing?  I think it is because the lines of right and wrong, good and bad, become not just blurred but actually crossed.  The viewer is brought to like the anti-hero, to hope he prevails and does not get caught.  His dismemberment and murder of such despicable characters is justified.  The message is that it is alright to cross the lines of morality and the law if to do so can be justified in your own mind.  Is this a dangerous message?  Perhaps.  I am sure most of us readily recognize the difference between fantasy entertainment and reality.  However, I am also sure that most who commit gruesome crimes do so with a sick sense of justice and even righteousness, uncomfortably akin to the mindset of Dexter. 

What I think should be done with this show?  Obviously CBS is not going to discontinue the show simply because it offends my sense of morality.  There is no legal basis to force regulation of violence or corruption.  Hypocritically, the censors happily allow Dexter to decaptitate a villian, as long as he or she is fully clothed.  And I am convinced that almost all who are involved in producing and presenting any show on television are foremost driven by economics.  More than a social statement or insult upon my social sensibilities, Dexter is a vehicle to make money.  So if I do not like it, then my most powerful way to shorten it lifespan is to not watch it.  And if enough do not watch the show, then it will be canceled, and perhaps replaced by something more morally helpful like....The Simpsons?

Of course, by writing about Dexter I have likely encouraged some to check it out.  Should you be a viewer, then perhaps you could help me with a question that emerges: Is the sociopath mostly a victim himself of a life irreparably scarred by bad parenting and overwhelming life events?  Or, does he make choices and responses within life for which he should be held accountable?

As I think about this episode, I truly believe there are some persons who approach life with a quite different set of reasoning skills and moral compass.  Their minds work in a different manner.  Most are not dangerous sociopaths, but rather troublesome persons who make life more difficult and painful for others.  And if the minds of such persons are wired so differently, then maybe conventional reasoning and preaching will not work? 

Perhaps that will be the subject of a future blog- how to deal with the milder version of Dexter who happens to live next door, sit in the next pew, or gaze at me in the mirror.

I'll be leaving today for a one-day-excursion with the church Youth at Coop Camp.  It will involved a trip of about 2 1/2 hours over to the Talladega National Forest area of north Alabama.  The setting is a spectacular and isolated valley far from the big city.  The closest town will be Millerville, Alabama.  Try doing a Google map and see what kind of satellite photos you find!  Actually the camp director told me to look for a bent sign on a post, along a County road a few miles from Millerville.  Since it is supposed to rain today, it should be a very interesting trip.  Actually we took a group to this same camp, about four years ago.  Seems I remember a chaperone/leader of one of the other groups who appeared to hold a bit of umbrage toward the racial smorgasborg of our group.  I sensed the typical, cowardly disdain for people not of his color.  So I spent the couple of days being extra nice and friendly toward him, and even sitting next to him as we worshiped God together.  I know- such behavior is childish.

This time we are a small group, five teens and three adults.  My wife is a begrudging chaperone, not excited about sleeping in a converted chicken coop and hanging out with loud teenagers.  I keep telling her she is getting too old, too fast.  It can happen, you know: you start being cranky and ill-tempered, fussy toward those younger and stranger than yourself, and next thing you know- you're old!  I intend to put off such transformation for a few more decades.

We will be an interesting group.  Our fellow chaperone was a coach many years ago.  A few life-challenges and 25 years later, he finds himself working with teens at our church.  I like him.  Along for the trip will be some teenage girls who are turning out to be great kids.  We'll have a young man who could have easily lost his way with a hard and unfair life situation, except for the grace of God and an amazing grandmother.  And a young man whose family recently moved to the area from South Dakota.  This will be his first excursion into redneck country.  It will be fun.

It is pretty shocking that 90% of the teenagers of the U.S. have no affiliation with the church.  We have done a poor job of positively influencing this generation.  As a church leader, I hear a lot about needing to adjust our message to be relevant.  And I agree somewhat.  If the ways and methods of the 1950's ever become popular again, then the majority of our churches will be well prepared.  Otherwise we are out of touch, busy playing church while the world around views us as increasingly insignificant.  But I've got to believe that methods and technology and even "relevance" are not at the heart of effectively reaching out to youth.  They are astute.  And like everybody else, teenagers struggle for identity, meaning, and love.  They recognize genuineness.  And they are keenly aware when you are full of.....bull.  The love of Christ is far from being uninteresting or irrelevant for teens of today, however the messengers have some serious work to do.

Anyways, I will be back in a couple of days with photos.

How will human life, as we know it, come to an end? 

A fantastic, and I will admit to being a bit too realistic for comfort, scenario has been conjured by science fiction writers, dubbed “the Singularity”.  It is predicated upon Moore’s Law, the fact that computer technology continues to advance to the pace that the number of transistors on an integrated circuit doubles every two years.  To my layman’s perspective, this means that computers become twice as powerful and twice as capable every two years.  I have been thinking about getting a new PC to replace the one I now use, which is over five years old.  Considering what is available, Moore’s Law would mean that I could secure a computer at least 8 times more powerful than my current dinosaur.  And as a side note, the genius of free market economics make this much more capable computer to be available at less than the cost I paid five years previous!

Is it possible that one day a powerful computer will awaken and be self-aware?  Realizing the effect of Moore’s Law, ten or fifteen years from now computers will be amazingly more complex than anything available today.  Is it not probable that one or many could make the leap beyond machine, to personhood, with a sense of self and all that goes with it?  And of course a group of such cyber-souls would be able to connect in community.  If and when this happens, these highly advanced intellects would not necessarily be enslaved nor even interested in what would be best for humanity.  Perhaps inherent with self awareness is the temptation of Adam and Eve, of good and evil?  It is possible they would forego, even disdain, the glorifying of their creators.  Instead they could use their brilliance to create even more sophisticated computers, with even greater capacity and danger to mankind.  Perhaps they would evolve to the point that human beings would be considered superfluous, expendable.  And so the end of humanity as we know it could come very soon.

Ken MacLeod, science fiction author, calls the Singularity “the Rapture for nerds”.

I think I will throw away my collection of Terminator movies.

He was a pomerranian mix,  just like my dog.  And I wanted very much for him to be my dog.  He sat in my lap as I petted him, we went for rides in the car.  And at night he slept on the foot of my bed, just like my little doggie.  I wanted so much for him to be Bailey.  But, he wasn't. 

And the more I thought about how much I missed my dog, the more I realized it was important to help this fellow to find his family.  So Friday morning I put an ad on CraigsList.  And, I made some signs, "FOUND DOG", with my phone number.  I placed them on stakes in the area where he was found.  Within two hours a man called with anxiety in the tone of his voice.  I asked him to describe his dog, and he verbally pictured the little fellow quite well.  I told him to come and get his dog.

He and his wife pulled into the driveway.  She had excused herself from work for the reunion.  They grabbed their dog and hugged him so tightly, and he responded with wriggles and lots of licks.  Obviously this was their friend. 

They recently moved into the subdivision.  The cable guy came to the house, and when he opened the door, the dog dashed out.  His name was Panda, and he had been part of their family for almost seven years.  He told me with a breaking voice that he had prayed diligently, and stayed home from work this day to try to find his dog.  And when he saw my sign, his heart leaped for joy.  They were all smiles, as the picture above shows.  And since they were new to town, I invited them to church.  I think they will come- they owe me one!

The happy reunion was a bit melancholy for me.  I sure wish someone would put up some signs and make an effort to return Bailey to me.  It seems silly even as I consider it, because I've got heavier matters of life with which to deal, but I seem to think about him so much of the time. 

Anyhow, happy reunion to Panda and his family!

Got a call this afternoon. The lady said she had one of the flyers I had distributed in the neighborhood and thought she had found my dog. With great excitement I wrote down her address and headed over to her house. They were extremely nice people and were genuinely thrilled to be instrumental in our happy reunion. I hugged him tightly, offered a reward which they immediately refused, and took him home.

Now, I am not sure this is my dog. He is obviously a pomeranian/yorkie mix, just like my Bailey. He has strikingly similar colorations and facial features. But... The personality is not the same. There is not the same bubbly energy. This dog is cautious and far too calm. Of course, two weeks of trauma might work to change such behavior. His fur is more puffy, and head a lighter, almost bleached color. But, perhaps whoever has been caring for him decided to have him groomed in such fashion? My Bailey would stand at the patio door and bark; this dog whimpers. My dog liked his special toys, and places around the house. A friend came over, gave him a good eying, and said she did not think he was my dog. My son and I both have our doubts.

I so much want him to be my little dog that I find myself quick to excuse the differences. And, perhaps he is my dog, personality and appearance changed from two traumatic weeks away from home? Tomorrow we go to the vet. Perhaps she can clarify matters as to the age and medical history of this animal. He also seems to have some health problems, so maybe we can get those cared for.

I have felt very deeply the pain of losing my little dog. If someone else is missing this guy, I want them to find him as soon as possible. So I'll return to the neighborhood where he was found and put up some signs. That is, once I'm sure he is not my little fellow. Until then, he seems to like me. I think he'll sleep at the foot of my bed tonight.

Here are some photos, and a link to a short video.

LITTLE LOST DOGGIE VIDEO

Saturday was Birthday #2 for my granddaughter, Skylar, and a great time was had by all.  Dora The Explorer came along, with her big head, and danced a jig or two.  Elmo was there too, although one kid tried to ruin things by insisting it was the same woman but in a different costume.  We assured Skylar that all was o.k.  Lots of friends and lots of kids brought far too many gifts for one little girl who still likes the wrappings better than the contents. 

Here's a few photos you might find of interest:

Cake, Before Demolition

 

Skylar & Christian standing atop the hill, thinking they are King & Queen 

I pose here with Grace and her little girl.  The last time I saw Grace she was about 8 years old.  She and her sister were part of a tiny little church I pastored located literally out in the middle of nowhere.  It was a sleepy church mostly of elderly members, and sometimes I wondered why God was wasting my ministry in such a place.  One Saturday I was out in the community knocking on doors and inviting people to visit the church.  I remember driving down a long dirt drive, avoiding ditches and crevices, to a dilapidated old trailer that looked abandoned.  So I was surprised when Grace and her sister came running up to the car.  I met their mom who was single and having a hard time raising her kids.  She said she would be glad for me to come by on Sunday and pick up her children for Sunday School and church.  And so began about a 4-year-connection with some really sweet kids.  They became friends with my children.  I tried to be of influence.  And now- look at her!  She is a beautiful young lady, sweet, with an adorable little girl.  I met her husband, a fine young man with manners and respect.  Grace told me thanks, that we meant so much to her in her life.  And that was a hug that felt so very good. 

Here's Skylar & Katie, her mom and my daughter, though not at the party.  They live at my house.  We have lots of fun together- a big, happy (usually!) family.

Happy Birthday From Papa!

Some interesting things have developed on this day.

I was in the middle of speaking at a memorial service when my phone rang.  How rude of me to leave my cell phone on at such a time, but what can I say- my mind has been a bit distracted.  Quickly I clicked off the ringer and continued with what I had to say.  Interestingly, after the formalities, the family and friends proceeded to sit around telling stories and jokes- laughing and having a big time.  Nothing solemn about the matter!  I rushed out to my car to head over to Skylar's birthday party- she is 2-years-old today!  And I returned the call- a strange call.

The guy said he lived in the subdivision across from my house, and wanted to know if I had a job for him to do.  I thought this strange, and remarked in passing that I would pay him to find my lost dog.  He knew what I was talking about.  He said one of his neighbors had picked up the dog, taken it for shots, and was intent upon keeping it.  He asked how much I would give him to bring the dog back home?  I said $200.  He said he was going to steal the dog from her, and bring it to me.  I said bring it on.  This all sounded a tad bit unbelievable to me.  But my wife called him and talked some more, and felt his story had some credibility. 

Unfortunately, we found the lady had moved away.  However, we got a phone number, all along assuring the guy we would give him money if the dog is recovered.  I called the lady and she said she did not have the dog, and hung up the phone.  Further attempts to call went unanswered.  The guy continues to insist that she has my little dog.

I did a search, and came up with her name and zip code.  I cannot find a street address.  A policeman told me he could not invade the privacy of a citizen with such questionable evidence- so he could not help.  Now if I get a street address, my intention is to stake out the place and see if she has my dog.  Perhaps I will just grab my dog.  More likely, I'll go to the local authorities and have them accompany me to her door.  But I intend to get my dog back if she has him.

Any advice on how to secure a street address for this person?