Pastor Luis' Blog

I had the opportunity of driving Erwin McManus to the airport last Saturday with my good friend Rev. David Ramos of Latino Leadership Circle. One of the questions we asked Erwin was what he felt would be the single greatest asset an organization or individual could possess in the future. His answer was simple. He replied, “creativity”. He pointed out what TOMS Shoes is doing, provide shoes for the impoverished children of the world. If you haven’t seen it yet, AT&T features a commercial with this company. This is the offer: for every pair of shoes you buy, TOMS Shoes will give a pair to a child in need. This is not some type of marketing ploy. As a matter of fact TOMS Shoes was founded on a simple premise: “One for One. Using the purchasing power of individuals to benefit the greater good”

This type of social entrepreneurism moved me. Besides becoming a big fan of TOMS shoes, I began to think about ways I can use my God given creative abilities to demonstrate God’s love by meeting a need.

Who ever thought that we could love a child in Mexico by buying a pair of shoes? Who ever thought we could give Jesus a much-needed pair of shoes (Mat. 31:36)

Pastor Luis
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Well, it’s time to show my geek card. Today is Einstein’s birthday.
He was born on March 14, 1879 in Ulm, Germany.
Einstein learned to speak at a late age, he was considered a slow learner as a child, and he showed no particular aptitude for formal schooling. His theory of general relativity (E = mc²⁾ revolutionized science. His name is synonymous with intellectual giftedness.

Interestingly enough this iconic scientific figure firmly believed there was a God and was fascinated by the Historical Jesus. In the following quote he rejects a contemporary author, Emil Ludwig’s view on Jesus. This is portion of an interview with the magazine The Saturday Evening Post, in 1929 :

“To what extent are you influenced by Christianity?”

“As a child I received instruction both in the Bible and in the Talmud. I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.”

“Have you read Emil Ludwig’s book on Jesus?”

“Emil Ludwig’s Jesus is shallow. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrasemongers, however artful. No man can dispose of Christianity with a bon mot.”

“You accept the historical Jesus?”

“Unquestionably! No one can read the Gospels without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life.”1

1. George Sylvester Viereck, “What Life Means to Einstein”, The Saturday Evening Post, 26 October 1929.

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_gel(“staticImg1″).src = _IG_GetImage(“http://charles447.googlepages.com/martin-luther-king.png”).src; “The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood.”

Apparently, new fossils found in Nairobi, Kenya are challenging the traditional notion of evolution. Scientist believe that human evolution occurred in linear succession, Homo habilis to Homo erectus to ourselves, Homo sapiens. This new discovery shows that Homo habilis and Homo Erectus were actually contemporaries. One couldn’t have evolved from another. Interesting stuff…Of course this doesn’t dispose with evolutionary science, but it certainly casts doubt on how we think humans evolved.
Check the article out in the NYU Public Affairs site.

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See the article from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life

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Many are considering Pastor Rick Warren among a growing group of Evangelical Christians Leaders who are rediscovering social responsibility. The New York Times makes a note of this. Check out
New York Times Article