What do You Believe?

Recently, I attended an excellent service at a church that is serving the Lorton community. The name of the church is the Grace Bible Church. Although in its beginning stages, It has, in my opinion, begun to serve its flock biblical staples of "knowing what you believe and why you believe it..." It is doing this through a series called "Core Values". At the service I attended, the Pastor's sermon included a summary of the core values taught to date. They were:
• Biblical Teaching (the Bible as the foundation)
• Fellowship
• Worship
• Prayer
• Community
• Outreach
At first, I thought this is basic food for the Christian... Ho Hum... But as I contemplated on the lesson, the Holy Sprit pointed out to me the intricate aroma, texture and taste of this gourmet meal... My Christianity must consist of two basic relationships: First, my relationship with God and secondly, and almost as equally important; My relationship with my fellow man. My Christianity is as much about "community" as it is "spirituality"...

Good Men

Last week, I spent the 4th of July with my Son and Daughter-in-Law. It was very enjoyable. One of the activities we participated in was to watch and discuss Tyler Perry's "The House of Payne". This is not a critique of the show; so let me get to the point of the blog post. On the show there are three main adult male characters: (1) Lavan Davis - Curtis Payne (head of the House); (2)Lance Gross- Calvin Payne (Curtis' son); and (3) Allen Payne - CJ Payne (Curtis' nephew ( and to me the most complicate and tragic figure thus far)). Later, as I mused over my visit, I could not help but think about the situations of these three men, their individual issues and their interactions/relationship with each other. A question that nagged the back relms of my mind was; Are these "good" men? This leads be to the point of this blog... How does the Bible define a good man?

One book of the Bible that defines elements of a good man is Proverbs. It not only states what are major components of a "good" man, it devotes more than half of its pages telling us how to attain and maintain these components through respect for God, wisdom, understanding, and obedience. I am interested in your interpretation of what God tells us about being good men.