The post below was originally made on Wed Sept 16, 2009 around 9:34 a.m. I had deleted it later in the afternoon after talking with some others and decided that I needed to be more clear as to the subject and keep the wording more family friendly. I have updated this post and am now reposting it.

Wed Sep 16, 2009 9:34 am

When we first moved to this community we were informed that once a week the local pastors met at the Pizza Ranch for a men's prayer breakfast. I asked a man in the community why he didn't go to it and he informed me that he wasn't comfortable eating in a room with two ladies that were not wearing attire.

It didn't take me long to figure out what he was talking about. Anyone who has been in the back room at the Pizza Ranch knows that there is an old bar with the images of two women on it who do not appear to be wearing anything. It dawned on me that here you have male pastors and supposedly male christian leaders meeting every week in a room with these images in it and they pray over their food and talk spiritual matters? Doesn't anyone see a problem with this?

The point I am making here is: Are Christians impacting the community or is the community impacting Christians? The images of the two ladies are the same ones you would see on the back mud flaps of trucks or in the rear windows of some trucks. My point here is that we are talking about pastors. They should have a higher moral value. How are they leading their flocks? I am not discussing what people do personally here. I am discussing people who profess to be Christians. Where are you?

I do not know if they still meet there. I would hope that someone finally spoke up and they got out of there. That also makes me wonder why would the resturant put this in there? There is no reason for those images to be in a public restaurant where families eat.

Another place of business I have encountered this kind of thing is in the Ortonville Independent office. One day we were giving a group of thirty children a tour of the press. We were in the basement and half of the children were escorted into the back room where the papers are sorted. I was shocked to see a large poster of a woman on the wall. There were no clothes in the poster. I immediately positioned myself in front of the poster so that the children couldn't see it. The other mothers in the room with me made a point to keep the attention of the children away from the area that had the poster.

When we came out of the back room I informed a mother who was to lead the next group of children into the back room what they had on the wall. She looked me square in the eye and said, "You tell them to take it down or we aren't coming in." I like her. I went to one of the workers and told him that children were here and that poster was not appropriate and kindly asked him if he would take it down. He did and the tour continued.

What amazed me was that this kind of poster would be in a place of business. It also makes me wonder about other tours? In this case you had mothers taking their children on the tour. They protected them. What happens if the public school takes tours there? Would the teachers say anything or would the children see the picture on the wall? I am also discussing businesses. Is it appropriate for businesses to be having such images for the public to see? Is is appropriate for such images be placed before employees in the workplace?

Where are the Christians in this community? Do they speak out against this? I may as well get this all said in one post and be done with it. There was a group of Christians who were boycotting a local gas station because they sold certain kinds of magazines that were deemed inappropriate. Many christians were avoiding this particular gas station and encouraging their friends to do so also.

One day I needed to use the bathroom at the "favored" gas station that the "Christians" used and was shocked to find a dispenser for a latex item that men can use. Some men may use it for protection. I am 53 years old and do not remember ever encountering one of those in a ladies bathroom. I have heard those kinds of dispensers can be found in some men's bathrooms. Not only that, but it didn't even have a napkin dispenser which is one thing a ladies bathroom could use. I asked the clerk at the register why such a dispenser was in the ladies bathroom and she said the boss had picked it up and didn't have any where else to put it and so put it in there. Oh, really? I would have not wanted to take my young daughters into that bathroom and have them ask me, "What's that mommy?"

I find it hypocritical for Christians to boycott one gas station because of pictures and give all their money to another gas station who has a dispenser in the ladies room that allows the secret purchase of an item not worn by a woman. It should be noted that the bathroom in the boycotted gas station did not have that kind of dispenser.

My point in the above post is to address Christians. Where are they? Are they speaking out in the community? Are they salt? Are they so absorbed in their "missions" around the world that they are blind to their own community? The largest part of Christianity on a personal level is not to preach to the world. It is to become a follower of Christ. A Christian must always be checking to be sure they are following Christ.

Recently I watched a program about a man who kidnapped a young girl, stole her innocence, and held her prisoner for 10 days before she finally escaped. When being interviewed he stated that he came from a normal Christian home. The interviewer asked him if he was Christian. He replied that he was a Baptist. This is the delusion that permeates our society. People call themselves Christian but do not behave like Christians. I have seen people call themselves Christians who use God's name in vain, lie, steal, act immorally, and a host of other actions that are not part of the Christian conduct. And yet these same people will sit in the church pews and hold positions of honor and respect in their churches. Any true Christian who questions their actions is labeled "troublemaker" and is then targeted.

Why don't the pastors address the real problems in their own community. Do they preach against drunkenness? Against immorality? Against gossip? Against gluttony? Against lying? Against coveting?

Right now there is a huge amount of gossip going around this community on several levels. The gossip with the Trojans girls basketball program is hurting many. This website and the leaders behind it are being viscously gossiped about after exposing the actions of some of the leadership in city government. Just because the negative actions of some people are being exposed does not make this website negative. Their actions are negative. Don't blame the messenger for their actions. One of the purposes of this website is to help the community improve. You can't become better if you don't know where the problem is. Now that we can see some problems let's talk about them and see if we can make it better.

When I originally made the decision to delete the above post to edit it at that moment Rodeo Bob came on and made a reply to it. I have sent a PM to Rodeo Bob with a copy of his original post and invited him to reply if he so chooses. This is a delicate subject and I would ask that anyone engaging in this discussion to please follow my lead and keep the wording family appropriate.

I'm not quite sure what I see here. An unusual amount of tolerance or A lack of a spine. It appears the majority of the church leaders as well as it's followers (flock) are very tolerant of it's community businesses, or dont want to make waves in the work place.I'm sure some of the employees,supervisors, or owners attend church so apparently it's OK to profess one's faith at church but once you step over the threshold thats another story. Perhaps one of the local handymen could invent and construct some type of rack so that those who wish to leave they're backbone at church would have a place to hang it.No it's not appropriate in the workplace or at a family dining place. If that is the kind of material you wish to be around there are places just for that.As a owner, boss, or leader you should'nt force your employees or flock to be subjected to this material like it's some kind of test of your faith if you looked or not.Where would you be if the person you pray to had no spine in his day? It would be a much different world.