March 06, 2009
Shovel Ready
One of the key elements in qualifying to some of the stimulus money is to have projects that are ‘shovel ready’ – projects than can begin within 120 to 180 days. This means that all the work such as environmental impacts, feasibility studies and designs have been completed and you’re ready to hit the ground running with your roads and sewer projects. It sort of reminds me of preparing for the old time revivals many churches once held. We’d spend weeks working on our unsaved friends and relatives so we could have them shovel ready for salvation when the preacher came to town.
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Gail;
-----That sounds like what the mega-churches advocate. XYZ Church hung signs over the exit doorways reading, “Go make a difference.” They could just as well have hung signs saying, “Go get your neighbors shovel ready.” That bothered me a lot, but the preparation for the old time revival didn’t. What’s the difference? Ten, twenty, thirty years ago, seeing a sewer or road project in the neighborhood made me feel like we were pushing back the boundaries of the wild, building infrastructure for the community. But every time I think about Obama’s New Deal projects I get chills down my spine. What’s the difference?
-----The difference is in the motive. I have always been attuned to motive. Motive is important to know in order to properly make decisions, set goals, and develop plans. You may still go into the community with the gospel on your lips, but the motive of your church is going to effect the subtleties of your delivery. A billboard I saw high above the I-70 Businees Loop in the early 70's, having on it a giant Jesus and some becoming quip about Him, is to this day one of my key memories. It caught my eye from afar and held my attention as I approached. The closer I got the more I noticed it was about Jesus. I liked that a lot. Most religious billboards are about some church somewhere. But as I continued closer I was becoming greatly impressed that finally I found a message to the community about just Jesus, until I was right upon it. There it was! The fine print across the bottom! “Come to MY church!” Yah! Right! Their church! I thought they were just saying Jesus should be big. Their ulterior motive was in the fine print.
-----When I talk to people about Jesus, I don’t talk to them about going to a church. I talk to them about coming to the Lord. That’s what’s important, their relationship with Him. So when the conversation turns to church, I generally have enough feel for their personality that I might suggest they try a Pentecostal church, or XYZ Church, if emotion is big to them. Or if they are very staunch, certain, and intellectual, then maybe a Church of Christ, or a good old Baptist Church. And we’ll talk about different churches. But come to my church? No, not automatically. Only if it fits them. Because, you see, that’s what love is about, your brother and what he needs. It isn’t about him being fodder for my preacher.
-----And these shovel ready projects. I tell you, this whole scam breaks my heart. Everyone everywhere has a project. Great! Every citizen you pass on the street has some idea of how much better the city might be if this were there, or that were here, or if we had one of those somewhere. Everybody’s got a project! But we’ve been convinced our economy has been destroyed, our bridges are falling down, our schools are crumbling on our children’s heads, and we are all going to go to bed without our daily bean! Now, here comes Daddy Obama in his big black boots carrying the bucket of chicken feed! Oh Boy! Oh Boy! Look whose gunna feed us! Look whose gunna make my bridge! Build your road! Daddy Obama is commin’ to town! And you’d better be nice! You’d better not pout! ‘Cause he’s going to use his ill gained popularity to legislate all around you! As he enters your town from the East, your freedom flees to the West. It’s an old socialist bait and switch game, folks. Everybody is shovel ready for the bait. Most of them won’t even notice the switch.
-----Motive is important. Always examine motive. It is hard living in a society unencumbered with any curiosity whatsoever about motive. They vote like fools. They vote in fools. Then we all have to live in foolishness. Keep your chins up anyway. Jesus is the end of theirs. He’s the beginning of ours. And ours has no end.
Love you all,
Steve Corey
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