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Jesus asks in Matthew 16:26 (and Mark 8:36); “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world but forfeit his soul?” This season, we could ask the question another way: “What does it gain the church to gain all political power and cultural influence, but lose our virtue?” Next week, the votes in the presidential election will (hopefully) have been tallied, and we will know who will be sworn into office in January. Every presidential election feels as though it carries the weight of the world.

On Sunday I put out the call—some might say with tongue-in-cheek—to join me on Saturday, November 2nd to read through our constitution and suggest changes to it. Of course I know that reviewing a constitution is not everyone’s particular cup of tea. But all kidding aside, I really would love a few to join me for that, and I hope I don’t have to do it alone! It is an important document, as it shapes much of our ministry practice.

I recently read, in a book about sexual addiction called “Freedom Fight,” about several related and fascinating experiments. In the first experiment, researchers put a rat alone in a cage with two bottles. One had normal water, the other morphine-drugged water. The rat invariably chose the morphine water, and drank until it became addicted and eventually died. The experiment purported to show that addictions are primarily chemically-driven.

You may have noticed that we have not made announcements for Trunk or Treat this year, and some have asked about it. The reason is that we are skipping this event, at least for this year. You may wonder why! There are three primary reasons.

At the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, the apostles and elders of the early church convened in Jerusalem to make a crucial decision regarding Gentile inclusion in the church. They affirmed that Gentiles (that is, non-Jewish people) did not need to be circumcised and observe the Old Covenant Law of Moses, in order to be saved. Indeed, we are saved by faith alone.