What is a Man?

Before I get started, I want to mention that I'm not writing this blog on my computer. Right now I am sitting on my back patio, smoking a cigar, eating cookies, and drinking and orange soda. I've also got a pen in my hand and a pad of paper on my lap. It will just have to be transferred onto the computer later.

Now, why on earth do I feel the need to do something like this? Bizarre behavior for someone who claims to be a normal guy. First of all, who said anything about me being normal? I just said that I'm nothing special, or overly spiritual. I'm just a guy who is just living his life and stumbles across answers and truths. Second of all, I felt it more... personal. More real. more... human.

People have asked me on several occasions why society is in the crapper. Why no one cares about anything but the satisfaction of their own desires, and their own entertainment. Well first of all I want you to admit that, at least to a certain degree, you too are like that. Every single one of us, no matter how altruistic we may be, still has a certain part of ourselves that is exactly as I described above. Well, there's my answer. Because if you take the little part of you that is selfish and whatnot and add it to the 300 million Americans, all those little selfish attitudes add up to one big problem. In addition to that, there is a reason we have been getting more selfish and increasingly consumeristic. The simple answer: convenience.

We now, for the first time in history, genuinely don't have to leave the comfort of our own home if we choose. With Fed Ex, online shopping, and that yellowish truck that looks like an ice cream truck but without the fun song otherwise known as the Schwan's guy. With a simple phone call, you could get a person to come and install a big screen TV, Internet, computer, and a satellite dish bringing you hundreds of channels of televised entertainment, unlimited access to the world of information, and be thrust into artificial community such as Facebook or Myspace.

Now before the heathens reading this start tossing the "H" word at me (hypocrite), I realize that A) I'm posting this on the Internet (though keep in mind that I am writing this on paper) and B) that I currently have a job designing and installing home theaters and other entertainment systems. Let me establish something. There is nothing inherently wrong with any of this stuff. The problem comes when these things are used as a substitute for reality. Secondly, my involvement with these things makes me, at least partially, qualified to comment on them. Lastly, with the proliferation of the Internet and new affordable communication and information technologies, it is becoming more and more popular for companies to encourage their employees to work form home this limiting office/cube space, but at the loss of personal interaction with other people. (By the way, working from home like this is the way that a person can pay for all the above mentioned conveniences without ever actually leaving home).

Have you ever wondered why Facebook, Myspace, Aim, and other such Internet programs are so popular? What about Reality TV? Sitcoms? Simple, because those shows are designed to bring us into the lives of others without exposing us to the risk that comes with personal interaction. We can see into the lives of others without actually having to let them see into ours. The networks, both on TV and the Internet have realized this, created artificial environments for low-risk socialization and then laughed their way to the bank as we bought into their created fantasies.
I realize that I've been seemingly all over the place so far but it all comes down to this: we've lost something as a society. Especially men. Now, I invite you to grab hold of your seat and prepare for the first "Sailing Preacher Rant".


At one time in our history, men were strong and courageous. Hard working and self-sacrificing. Now in this generation, things look quite different. Now, men have taken to seeking first their own entertainment and then those things that are the exact opposite of what we're supposed to be seeking. Our founding fathers are probably rolling over in their graves because of the men of this generation. If anyone wants to see what a real man looks like, instead of turning on your daily sitcom or referring to shows like "Gray's Anatomy" or even to reality TV like "Big Brother 47", watch the 2000 Mel Gibson movie The Patriot.

The main character is a farmer and plantation owner from South Carolina named Benjamin Martin (played by Mel Gibson). Benjamin Martin lives a few miles outside of Charlestown, South Carolina right at the onset of the American Revolution. He's a widower, a father, and a veteran of the French and Indian War. Without giving way too much of the plot for any of yo who have not yet seen it, let me compare Benjamin Martin with the average "man" of the 21st century.

Right away, we learn that Benjamin Martin is hard working. The movie begins with a scene where there is corn growing all over the place and the look of the house and fields is that of a farmer. About twenty minutes into the film, we see Benjamin plowing a field behind a team of oxen. Simply from the look on his face, it's unmistakable that what he's doing is hard work, yet he continues doing it. At the start of the film, we first meet Ben in a workshop, making a chair. Things don't work out so well for him, and he throws his failed attempt at a chair into a large pile of other failed attempts.
Compare this to a man of the 21st century. A man in today's society has an average lawn of about half an acre or less. He then then spends a large sum of money to get someone else to tend to it. Does he then use this extra time to do something productive? Does he work on his car? Does he play with his kids? Does he try and improve the world around him? Sometimes, but more often than not, he sits down in front of a large TV with an intoxicating beverage and tries to ignore everything but the glowing screen in front of him. Or, for the younger guys, he sits down with an XBox controller and escapes into a different kind of fantasy world. If a man of the 21st century actually attempts to make something like a chair, and fails... more often than not, he just gives up and buys one from a furniture company.

Secondly, Benjamin Martin is self sacrificing. As the film opens, a man on a horse rides up to the house and delivers a parcel of mail to Abigail, the house keeper. The man is post-rider. Now, keep in mind that at this time, mail was at most an every few weeks event, not a daily occurrence like it is today. When mail came at this time, it was a huge event. Anyway, at the end of the day, all the kids are in the house waiting for "dad to come back in". Ben walks in the door, over to the table where the parcel is placed, and instead of grabbing the mail, reaches for a glass and walks over to the fireplace. The next words out of his mouth were "So, what was in the mail?" The kids then race up and open the parcel. What Ben did there was comparable to letting someone else open his birthday presents.
Looking at the modern day, men seem only interested in their own selves. They sit in front of the best TV in their house and watch their favorite shows. 21st century men leave their wives and kids to use other TVs and if they are disturbed, it had better be because grandma died, someone just won the lottery, or dinner is ready. Their excuse: "I work hard to support this family, I deserve time to relax." Again I say, if the early Americans knew what men have become they'd kick the crap out of us then rub our noses on our TV screens like little dogs and say "NO!"

The last thing I'm going to compare specifically is the purpose that both men pursue. Benjamin Martin, though a veteran and hero of one war, was dragged into a second. he then leaves his kids with his sister-in-law and sets off to join the cause that would lead to American freedom. He then suffers many hardships, personal losses, and even the death of some of those closest to him, yet he never gives up. This is because he seeks a purpose that is beyond himself. Compare that to the men of the 21st century.
If you were to walk up to a man and ask him why he gets out of bed in the morning, the answer is usually one of three things: A) "So I can make money." B) "So I can enjoy the day" or C) (for single guys) "So I can get laid tonight". Along the same lines, modern college guys go through all that schooling just so they can get a job to achieve "A". It is very rare indeed that you'll ask a guy why he goes through it all and get the response "So I can make a difference."

That's all the comparisons I am going to make for now, but I promise that if you watch the movie and keep in mind what I've said, you'll see many more differences. Differences such as what kids are exposed to, personal glory, and dealing with tragedy. Not to mention courage, innovation, and perseverence to name a few.

Men and women alike should watch this movie, and my hope is that by pointing out some of this, you men will see the need to change a few things and you women will see how your man could be. For you ladies, I ask that you pray for your man and encourage him to live up to his potential. Single ladies, there are men out there that possess many of the same traits as Benjamin Martin, and I suggest that you seek one of them. They WILL treat you right and honor you as a man should.
Finally, Men, I say this knowing full well that I, myself, still have a logn way to go, but I will not stop seeking to become the MAN that I need to be. This, is a promise.

-The Sailing Preacher

Flying into Clairity

Ever since I was a little kid and I first looked up at a bird flying in the sky and thought "Hey, that'd be fun!", I've always loved airplanes. That's why I was really excited about today. My uncle has his pilot's license and the other day told me that he had reserved his flying club's airplane for this morning. He asked if I would like to come along (as if he didn't already know the answer). So, around 11:00 this morning, I found myself pulling up to Creve Coeur Airport in my green Chevy pickup with my brother Clark, and staring at the planes zipping about in the sky overhead. My uncle had been flying for about an hour before so he was already waiting for us near the pilot's lounge. He looked at his watch and said "let's go, we've got the plane til 1:00 and we're gonna make the best of it." So, we hopped in, my brother in the back seat and me in the co-pilot chair. We buckled up, and then let him go over his pre-flight checklist. If anyone has the chance to go flying in a small, 4 seat cessna, I highly recommend doing so because it gives you a whole new perspective on things. You get an idea of how much a pilot has to know before he can fly a plane. You get to know what it's like to be strapped securely into a seat and feel like you can withstand anything. But most of all, you get to see the world from a whole different perspective.

Take it from someone who's been on several large passanger airliners; flying in a small plane is NOTHING like those big behemoths. When my uncle started the plane, taxied to the runway, and began his final takeoff checklist, I could feel the blood pumping through my veins. I had been through this before, and I knew that everything was going to be OK. I knew enough about planes to know that all pilots are anal-retentive about upkeep on their planes, and for good reason. They don't want to be flying along at 4000 feet and all of a sudden have part of their wing fly off. Now, trust me... they're not keeping two because they're greedy, but because you need two wings to stay UP! Anyway, my uncle is a very smart man and there are few people I would rather have as my pilot. He has been flying small planes for 15 years and has a degree in Aeronotical engineering from what is now Missouri School of Science and Technology. He KNOWS what he's doing. So I don't have a single fear in my mind as he revs the engine and we start speeding down the runway.

Something else that you don't get from flying in the big passanger jets is the full view of the world around you. You see the world from a tiny, rectangular window and that's all you get to enjoy. With the cessna, you see EVERYTHING. You see the ground next to you, next to the person on the other side of the aircraft, behind you, and DEFINATELY unlike those big jets, you get to see what's in front of you.

The runway below us sped by as I wondered how long it would take to gain enough speed for liftoff. Right as the thought crossed my mind, I felt the plane suddenly defy gravity and lift off the ground. We climbed higher and higher, and I just stared out the window as the ground was left behind. I can honestly say that though I've been flying with my uncle many times, it never ceases to mystify me, looking down and seeing the ground to which I am bound no longer have hold of me. For the time being, I truly am... free. We climb to an altitude of around 3500 feet and level off. My uncle asks where we'd like to go, and the verdict is: South. We wanted to go see the Meremac River (which had been flooding), and other points of interest to the south. This was especially appealing to me because usually we fly west due to the fact that we live in that direction, and it's always interesting seeing your house from the air. This time, though, would be a change.

Flying south, we quickly left the area that I was familiar with. Travelling between two points completely changes when you're in a plane. You're not held back by roads, or speed limits, or traffic congestion. You have only clear sky and space through which to travel. You're only limited by the size of your engine and aerodynamics of your plane. The plane we were in had a maximum speed of about 170 knots, which was about 200 miles per hour, though they recommend not exceeding 140 knots or 160 miles an hour. Most of the time, we cruised along at about 120 knots or 140 MPH. It was phenominal the things we saw. Farmland, woods, houses, SIX FLAGS OVER MID AMERICA (which I always thought was MUCH bigger), radio towers, and some sort of brush fire. We made it all the way down to Park Hill, MO and St. Joe State Park in 40 minutes or so! By car, that would have been a 2+ hour journey. After flying over the park and watching a bunch of people playing around on their dirt bikes and ATVs, and a couple of wipeouts, we started flying back.

We decided instead of flying back to Creve Coeur, we'd first go by Washington, MO and just see that town from the air. It took us 22 minutes to fly from St. Joe state park in Park Hill to Washington Missouri. Amazing. Looking at the time, however, we realized that time was getting tight, so we made our turn north east and headed home. The way back was a very interesting time because when we were still a ways off, I began seeing the city of St. Louis. Not the skyline, but the people's houses. I mean, I had seen them on the way out, but now I really started paying attention. I remember looking at all of the houses, and thinking about the people living in them. I began thinking about myself and exactly where I was. I realized just then that I was in an airplane, flying over my home city having just covered more distance in two hours than most people would be able to cover in five, and that I had an entire world of possibilties open to me.

We landed safely back at Creve Coeur, and my uncle had to put the plane away. After helping him clean things up a bit, my brother and I thanked him for taking us, then headed home. On our way back, I looked around at the cars beside me on the highway and wondered about the people inside. I wondered if they had ever gotten to experience anything like what we just did. I wondered if they had any dreams that were fulfilled, or which ones they gave up on so they could achieve some temporary happiness. I wondered if their view of the world would always be limited to such a "flat" perspective. I know it sounds cocky, but I pitied them.

When I got home, I sat in my recliner (the one that I sit in when I need to think or when I'm being especially intentional in seeking God) and prayed and reflected. I realized why there are so many people that fail to follow through with their dreams. Ready for this? People don't follow through with their dreams because they get distracted with life. Work, school, family, friends, obligations, medical problems, whatever; they get distracted. I too would have gotten distracted from my dream if it weren't for the absolute clarity of it as well as the inherant intensity of the vision. This dream is a vision of a world filled with people living for and loving thier Creator as well as each other. People seeking only to further His kingdom and not their own glory. How can that not be absolutely compelling? Yet, for some reason, the pull of the world and distractions of those things mentioned above is still very strong. I think that activites like today's airplane ride are absolutely necessary to maintain focus, and regain perspective when you've been distracted for too long.

-The Sailing Preacher