Brian Olson Community, Family, Political, Theology

An Open Letter to the Boy Scouts of America

A Scout is ReverentAllow me to express the support of me and my entire family in maintaining the Boy Scouts of America’s current policy of a ban on gay scouts and scouters. I believe that the BSA has served for over a century as a great force for character development of young men. The foundational key of this character is Duty to God. Now I realize that some religious organization do embrace homosexuals, but these do not represent all religious beliefs. To ask a person who sees homosexuality as contrary to God’s law to maintain their duty to God while being part of an organization which embraces homosexuals is to put their entire beliefs at odds with their commitment to the organization.

Further, to simply push the policy off on the individual Charter Organization creates a new set of problems. First, the individual Charter Organizations do not have the resources to fight the legal battles, that will come, that the BSA as a national organization does. Second, this will not satisfy those who seek to overturn this policy. They will simply continue the battle until the BSA openly accepts gay scouts and scouters as national policy. Finally, the only clear result of such a move will be the eventual schism between those who accept the new policy and those who choose to maintain the current policy based on their religious convictions.

I have always been proud to be affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America. I currently serve as an Assistant Scoutmaster, and previously served on the committee as the Troop Chaplain. My oldest son is beginning to plan his Eagle project and my youngest son looks forward to someday doing the same. I believe in the commitment of Lord Baden-Powell to develop men for the future and his belief that “No man is much good unless he believes in God and obeys His laws.” (Lord Baden-Powell, Scouting For Boys,1908) As one who clearly believes that Homosexuality is contrary to God’s law, I find myself torn between my love of scouting and my love of God. But in the end, there is no question. love of God does and must always win.

I ask you, on behalf of myself, my family and all those who share my belief in God’s law, please maintain the long held policy of a ban on gay scouts and scouters.

Yours in Scouting,

Brian Olson

__________

Send the BSA your thoughts.

A special number to express your views on the change of policy has been set up by the Boy Scouts of America.  Send your thoughts to:  nationalsupportcenter@scouting.org or call:  972 580 2330.

Brian Olson Community

A Memorial Day thought for 2012

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Arlington Cemetery, July 2015

I am not going to take too much time here.  I simply want to remind you that Memorial Day is here once again.  A day when many celebrate the start of the summer.  A time of picnics and barbeques.  And there is nothing wrong with this, so enjoy your celebration.

But somewhere in the midst, stop and take time to think of those who paid the ultimate price to allow us to enjoy these blessings.  Those who gave their lives for people they never knew.

So let us take a moment of silence to remember those we can never thank.  And let us honor their sacrifice by remembering to thank those we still can, for their service.

Brian Olson Community

Always Remember


It’s been 10 years since everything as we know it changed. We lived in a dream where we were immune to the problems of the world. Terrorism was a hypothetical thing that happened in other countries. This was America, we were strong, we were untouchable, we were safe. . . Then everything changed.

On September 11, 2001, over the course of 1 hour and 17 minutes, four planes crashed, changing our world forever. At 8:46 am (EDT) flight 11 crashed into Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. Then at 9:03 am (EDT) flight 175 crashed into Tower 2 of the World Trade Center. But it was not over, at 9:37 am (EDT) flight 77 crashed into the Pentagon. And finally, at 10:03 am (EDT) flight 93 crashed into a field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. The devastation that followed, was beyond anything we could have imagined in our worst nightmares. The two tower of the World Trade Center, as well as many other surrounding buildings, collapsed to the ground under the intense heat of the fires that burned. A section of the Pentagon was burned and destroyed. But these these losses were nothing. The greatest horror was that nearly 3,000 people died in a matter of a few hours. 3,000 people died! And if this was not horrific enough, it happened on American soil.

Our world had changed. We were in shock! We were angry! We were in tears. We were afraid. If this could happen, was anywhere safe. What were we to do?

Today, ten years have come and gone. Many have moved on with their lives. Many even seem to have forgotten. But can we ever forget? Ask anyone you meet, “Where were you when the towers fell?” My guess is that they will remember.

Alan Jackson ask this question in his song, “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”

I remember the events. I remember where I was. I remember my reaction and the reactions of others. People became swelled with a patriotism as this country had not seen since World War II. People where driven to action through the compassion for those who had been lost and those who sacrificed everything. This was the best of people. But, we are only human, fallen and imperfect. Not all the reactions were good. I knew some individuals who were in United States studying, who wished to show their solidarity with America in the face of this tragedy. But when they went to the store to buy an American flag, they were confronted as foreigners who should go home. It was sad to see that a people who could be driven by so much compassion, could still be driven by so much fear. People became suspicious and fearful of those that were different and those they did not know. This was the worst of people.

So why should we remember? We remember not to relax in knowing it is the past, but to remain always vigilante that it might not happen again. We remember not to live in fear, but to honor the lives of those who put other first when they stopped the fourth plane. We remember not to seek vengeance, but to honor the lives of those who gave theirs to serve others.

As Christians we are called to live our lives in this very way. We are to be always vigilante because, as Peter tells us, our “adversary the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking those he might devour.” We are called to put other first as Paul tells us to “consider others as more important than ourselves.” And we are called to be willing to give our lives for others as Jesus told us, “great love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

God of Our Fathers,

I pray for our nation. I pray for the continued healing of a wound that still seems so fresh. I
pray for true and lasting peace. I pray for the protection of our troops who each day, put their lives on the line to serve. I pray for the families of those who have lost loved ones, not only on September 11, 2001, but also in the subsequent resulting wars. I pray Lord for a nation in need of your healing. I pray Lord that we turn to you as our only true source of peace. I pray that we would call upon your name.

Lord, as we take time to remember, I pray that you comfort those who mourn their losses. I pray that your people rise up to give comfort and to meet the needs of our nation.

I pray Lord, for our leaders, that you would grant them wisdom. I pray that they would seek your guidance as they lead our nation forward.

Lord, I also pray, as you have commanded, for our enemies. I pray that they would know you. I pray not for their destruction, but for their salvation.

This I pray, in the name of your son Jesus Christ and through the power of your Holy Spirit, Amen.

Brian Olson Community

Thank You For Your Service!

The words often seem empty and hollow to me. I don’t want them to be. We have all seen it and many of us have done it. You see someone in a military uniform, you walk up to them and say, “I just wanted to say thank you for your service.” . . . Thank you. . . It can so easily slip out it almost becomes simple reflex. But can these two little words truly communicate the level of gratitude I feel toward those to whom I owe so great a debt.

Last year my family took a spring vacation to Springfield, Illinois. We saw the Lincoln Museum and the capitol building. We even ate at the Cozy Dog. We ended the time in Springfield by visiting Lincoln’s tomb. We finished the tour and were ready to go when I took a small detour in the cemetery. We went to the Veterans Memorials.



We walked around these monuments and I explained to my children what they meant. That these were here to remind us of what had happened and to ensure that we never forget. As I read and talked to them about the many men and women who had given their lives in service, I wondered if they could truly understand. I am sure the answer is no. I am pretty sure I don’t understand.

I should also mention that we had the privilege to visit the Illinois Fire Fighters Memorial and Police Memorial while visiting the capitol building.  A reminder as well of the sacrifices made by these men and women in uniform.


Tonight, as we were watching the National Memorial Day Concert my seven year old daughter asked, “Why did the people have to die?” How do you answer that. I explained that there are evil people in the world. And because of the evil, it is necessary for good people to stand up and fight back against the evil. I told her that sometime when fighting against evil, good people die. They give up their lives to do what is right. This seemed to answer the question for her, but I was left asking myself, “Why did the people have to die?” The answer worked for a seven year old, why not for me.

Tomorrow I will take my children to the Memorial Day ceremonies in town both at the city park and the cemetery. I know for them it often seems long and boring. But can I do any less. Not only to remember and honor those who have given so much, but to demonstrate for and teach my children the importance of doing so.

Perhaps, Thank You isn’t so hollow. Perhaps it is simply the best that can be said when words are not enough.

So to those who have served, to those who were injured, to those who gave their life. To all these and their families, I simply say . . .

THANK YOU.

Brian Olson Community, Family

It All Boils Down to Relationships


I have said for years that everything we do boils down to relationships. Success in business, success in ministry, success in family and success in life in general all come down to successful relationships.

As many of you know, I was recently laid off from a job I had for 20 years. A job, if I might say, I was quite successful at not because of my great knowledge or abilities, but because of my relationships. In my job I had direct supervision and responsibility for a team that was entrusted with the safety of a university campus. Now many of us have images of people in security, safety, law enforcement, etc. People who are tied to the rules. People who are rigid and unwilling to bend. Trust me, I have known and worked with some of them, but as a person who served in this capacity for so many years I assure you that this will only get you so far. In his blog “Relationships – The Key to Successful Leadership” Doug Dickerson refers to Alan Loy McGinnis’ book “Brining out the Best in People.”

“In the simplest terms, the people who like people and who believe that those they lead have the best intentions will get the best from them. On the other hand, the police-type leader, who is constantly on the watch for everyone’s worst side, will find that people get defensive and self-protective and that the doors to their inner possibilities quickly close.”

Policies and rules have a place, and without them productivity of any sort will fall apart. They may at times serve as the starting point so that people know what is expected. And on those unfortunate occasions when necessary to call people to account they may serve as an ending point. But we do not live and work at the beginning or the end. We work and live in the in-between. It is here that relationships develop and grow.

It is through relationships that people get to know each other personally. It is through relationships that people become vulnerable to each other and learn that they can trust each other. It is through relationships that we develop a vested interest in each other’s welfare. It is through relationships that people become committed to each other.

Taken to its ultimate level I am reminded of the quote, “IF THEY FEAR YOU, THEY WILL ONLY FIGHT FOR YOU, BUT IF THEY LOVE YOU, THEY WILL DIE FOR YOU!” (I am having trouble placing the quote.) Do those who work for us love us? Do those we work with love us? Do those we work for love us? More importantly, do we love them?

We were never meant to live and work alone, isolated from others. God intended from the very beginning that we live in relationships.

“Then the LORD said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make him a helper suitable to him.'” Genesis 2:18

Jesus himself did not lead by giving orders and rules, but by living in relationships. Those he chose to minister with him were not servants, but friends.

“. . . I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15

We will not always be perfect. We will not always live up to the standards that have been set. It is only when we have a relationship that we will be able to forgive these lapses.

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8

It all boils down to relationships. This is where we define success. Worldly success can be found apart from relationships, but it is meaningless. But relationships allow us to be successful even if we are a failure in the world’s eyes. I am reminded of the quote found at the end of the movie “It’s A Wonderful Life.” “No Man is a Failure who has friends.”

We need to reach out to others, share with others and love others to truly know success. Success in business, ministry, family and life is found in our relationships.

Brian Olson Community, Political

It’s Not Just a Right, It’s Not Just a Privilege, It’s a Responsibility – Voting

There are many traditions and rules around elections that most of us do not understand. Did you know that the Democratic donkey was originally used as an attack on Andrew Jackson, the Democratic candidate in the 1828 election. Did you know that the Republican elephant was taken from a passing reference in an 1874 cartoon in Harper’s Weekly. Did you know that the elections were set in November because this allowed the harvest to be completed, freeing the mostly agrarian society to vote. Did you know that Tuesday was chosen because Monday was not considered reasonable since it would require many people to begin travel on Sunday, conflicting with Sunday worship. Did you know that the first Tuesday, after the first Monday was chosen to avoid November 1 because 1) it was All Saints Day and 2) many business owners did their books on the fist of the month.

These are all interesting and perhaps even fascinating facts. But on a more serious note, American Citizens have been granted an amazing privilege that is not found everywhere in the world. That privilege is the right to have a voice in deciding our leaders. Historically, however, Americans have not met this challenge as they should. According to the Federal Election Commission, voter turnout for the presidential election years between 1960 & 2004 ranged from 49.1% – 63.1%. This means that two-fifth to one-half of the eligible voters failed to accept this responsibility. Voting is not just a right, it is not just a privilege, it is a responsibility.

“Taken as individuals, we are merely citizens like any other. Taken together as part of the body of the people, we are God’s anointed in this land. The people of this country are chosen out like David was chosen, like Solomon was chosen, to shape the destiny, by God’s providence, of this land. And as they stood before God to answer for their responsibility, so we stand before Him to answer for ours.” Alan Keyes, March 2000

Election Day is November 4. Please take the time to exercise your right and accept the responsibility that you have been given.

VOTE!

Brian Olson Community, Devotional, Servanthood

A Servant’s Heart.

 

Sarah Palin in her acceptance speech as the Vice-Presidential nominee for the Republican party mention that those going to Washington need a servant’s heart. This lead me back to a something I wrote up about a year ago when I was asked to come up with a definition of Servant Leadership as well as to a sermon I preached a couple weeks ago on Philipians 2 entitled “The Attitude of Servanthood.”
Philippians 2: 3 – 8.
3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
12So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; 13for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Here the apostle Paul addresses a self serving attitude that encroached in the church. I fin that he clearly lays out what a servant leader and a servant’s heart looks like. He builds this image for us around the example presented to us by Jesus. After reading through this, I am left with five clear cut criteria for servant leadership.
1) A Servant Leader does not seek his/her own glory (v 3)
– Man is a selfish being and likes to get what he believes he deserves. Most of us are willing to do things for others if it means we will get something in return. We ask ourselves, “What is in it for me?” Even the story of Androcles and the Lion teaches us to do something nice, because we never know when it will come back to us. It is further exemplified in the traditions of Karma where we are told that if we do good things, then it builds up a store that will come back to us in kind. The opposite is also shown that if we do bad things, it also builds a store that will come back to us in kind. The popular TV show “My Name is Earl” is built around this concept. In fact, Karma seems to have replaced the Golden Rule’ “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Now at face value, you may ask, isn’t this teaching the same thing, but they do not. While Karma says do good things so you can get good things back, Jesus never said in the Golden Rule, “Do unto others and they will do the same unto you.” Now I understand that it is our natural desire to get a “return on our investment” whether that is receiving praise, recognition and even reward. The truth is everyone needs a pat on the back once in a while, but the question to ask is, “Does he/she do the job to get the pat on the back?” Jesus told the audience Matthew 6 that we are not to do our acts of righteousness for people to see. When we do, we have already received our reward. A servant leader does not do actions to receive recognition, they do their actions simply because it is what should be and needs to be done.
2) A Servant Leader places the needs of other ahead of his/her own (v 4)
– We have our plans and desire for what we want and want to accomplish. Society tells us to strive for those goals no matter the cost. The Nike slogan, “Just Do It” embrace this self serving, self gratifying desire within us. A servant leader, however, recognizes that sometime their personal goals and the greater mission are in conflict. Sometimes, for the greater good, we must forgo our own pleasures and rewars. A servant leader chooses to seeks the greater mission, even if it means setting aside personal goals to set the goals of someone else as the priority
3) A Servant Leader genuinely cares about other(v 4)
– Sometime, out of misplaced guilt or obligation we may be able to getpast our own selfishness long enough to help a person in need. But are we doing it because we care about that person or simply to give us the feeling that we have done something. Do we put our hearts into our actions or do we simply go through the motions. A Servant leader must have the right attitude with which they serve. Are their actions accompanied by constant grumbling about what they have given up and how little recognition they get? If so the attitude is missing. A servant leader does not place others ahead simply out of obligation, but because he genuinely cares about other people.
4) A Servant Leader does not see himself/herself as being too good for a job (vv 6-7) and is willing to take on the most humble/humiliating of task for the greater mission (v 8)
– We human beings are a prideful lot. We often think more highly of ourselves than we ought. It is very easy for us to see some jobs as being “beneath us.” We say, “I want to serve, but you don’t really expect me to do that?” A servant leaders sees how each part is crucial to the mission and realizes that no job is unimportant.
– Are we willing to take on those jobs that will make us ridiculed or even cause people to avoid us? A servant leader is willing to take on not only jobs that do not bring glory, but those that may cause other to look upon him/her with disdain, for the sake of the greater mission.
5) A Servant Leader find strength through a personal relationship with Christ. (v 13)
-While we can go through the motions and can think of other, it is only through the indwelling of the Spirit and the work of God in our lives that we can truly find the joy and strength to continue in service. An attitude of servant hood grows from a relationship with Christ.
Governor Palin is right. Those who go to Washington, should go with a servant’s heart, not seeking their own glory, but seeking the best for America. So, each of us must approach our lives, not seeking our own glory, but seeking to serve a world in need.