More on Economics . . . and . . . Ludwig von Mises Institute Presents: Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve
Yesterday evening I attended a gathering of concerned citizens in Franklin, TN, for an insightful lecture by Nashville management consultant Carlos Lara. Mr. Lara, a fine Christian gentleman who said he subordinates his study of economics to his first love, theology, has studied money and banking for years, and he has boldly spoken the truth on these matter even since before our economy visibly entered this depression. As with Ron Paul, Peter Schiff, and others who have for years spoken the truth as voices in the wilderness of economic ignorance, people who once scoffed Mr. Lara are now starting to listen intently to his explanations, warnings, and solutions.
Three honored guests at the gathering, all Ph.D.s, all Austrian economists, and all Christians (one was a Presbyterian elder), presented a Q&A session on a variety of economics-related questions. One of them was Dr. Bob Murphy, and I enjoyed interacting with him again after first meeting him at Tuesday's Vanderbilt meeting. Check out his book, which he claims is the Best Economics Book Ever (see sidebar). And don't be envious please, but I now have an autographed copy. He told me he's about to send the manuscript for The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression to the publisher. Great timing, I say.
I took abundant notes at the gathering, and if I have time in coming days, I might share some of them on my blog. For now, please watch this video that I watched when I got back to Centerville last night after the meeting: Money, Banking, and the Federal Reserve. I had an economics teacher about six years ago at the community college who was an Austrian economist, and he showed the class this video. It was quite eye-opening then, and it is more pertinent now than ever. Grab some popcorn and enjoy!
Gerald Celente Forecasts 2009 on Lew Rockwell's Podcast: The Year of the Greatest Depression
In his latest podcast, Lew Rockwell interviewed Gerald Celente of the Trends Research Institute. The interview is an excellent listen, a tremendous investment of 13 minutes and 39 seconds. If you prefer to read a summary instead of (or in addition to) listening to the podcast, I give this to you now:
Lew Rockwell (LR) asks how bad things will get? Gerald Celente (GC) says that current events form future trends. The headlines say that 75,000 workers were laid-off in one day, and there are more layoffs to come.
Last year was the panic of '08 in the financial sector. This year we will see the collapse of '09 throughout the economy. What we have seen so far is just the beginning.
The crisis has already spilled into retail, as we saw closings of Circuit City, Linens 'n Things, KB Toys, and other familiar chains. By mid-February or March, we will see other big name failures.
The big collapse in 2009, which will dwarf the subprime meltdown, will be commercial real estate. Who will take the empty spaces when all the retail stores close, not to mention the banks and financial institutions?
LR correlates Hoover and FDR with our day's powers that be in Bush and now Obama. As with the Great Depression of the 1930's and 1940's, from which our country took 17 years to recover, the government is directly making the crisis worse by subsidizing losers and penalizing producers.
GC discusses the buildup and plight of Citi Group and calls it a giant protected by Washington rather than a "too big to fail" institution. Wall Street has hijacked Washington and gained control. For example, the new Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, is former President of the NY Fed.
LR and GC agree that Washington cannot actually save the banks like Citi. The government is just draining money from the producers and letting the failed banks simply reinvent themselves. LR says that the losing banks are "too big to succeed."
Wall Street has now completely taken over the Treasury, which used to represent industry as well as finance. Now, Treasury is ripping off the producers and making all of us much poorer to enrich the losing financial institutions.
And there is no end in sight, says GC.
There will be a revolt. This is a clear trend they are forecasting. The government knows this. It is building detention centers and training the military for riot control. States are training their police forces to deal with riots as a fallout from economic calamity.
GC describes himself as a "political atheist," meaning he does not want to get caught up in anyone's "political religion." So, his forecast is not a knock against Obama per se, but he does believe that Obama will instigate a draconion measure such as a bank holiday, which will freeze all assets in banks, or a gold confiscation. The draconion move(s) will severely hurt the "little guy" and enrich the "too big to fails." The powers that be will justify these moves as a necessity during dire times.
LR says that Bush gave us a tremendous increase in the U.S. police state and fascism (government and corporate collusion to control the economy); Obama is giving us even bigger government, more spying, and so forth.
The last Great Depression took 17 years to overcome, and we are now on an even worse footing.
GC says that we need something to emerge like an amazing alternative energy source -- on the level of discovering fire or inventing the wheel -- that we invent, own, produce, and maintain ourselves in the U.S. Short of a productive capacity such as the U.S. dominance in engineering and manufacturing after WWII or the emerging internet in 1993, we will be living in the worst conditions ever.
GC is not an investment advisor, but he says he just buys gold. The governments of the world are just printing money and using old economic paradigms in this global economic meltdown. Buy gold to protect yourself. (In this podcast, GC predicts gold will reach $2,000.)
GC also recommends firearms to protect yourself, your family, and your assets from off-the-charts crime rates.
People are and will be increasingly out of their minds. Petty thievery, not to mention greater and more violent crimes, will be drastically on the increase. We have a growing underclass that we did not have during the Great Depression when we were a nation in ascendancy. Now, the large cities only turn out about 50% of students as high school graduates.
GC is not a "survivalist" in the crazy sense, just a close-combat practitioner. He has dried fruits and water that would last two weeks. He had an escape plan during 9/11 and has one now in case something really, really extraordinary happens. It will be hard to get money out of banks and even harder to redeem CDs, which are financial instruments.
Take protective measures, be alert, and be prepared to preserve your wealth.
LR agrees that gold, guns, and cash outside the banking system are wonderful to have in possession for these dire times.
Although he is certainly a fallible man, Mr. Celente has a remarkable track-record for analyzing and predicting trends and events. "A prudent man forseeth the evil and hideth himself," says Proverbs 22:3. Accordingly, let the reader beware and wisely judge what he should do to protect his family, his capital, and himself. This is a duty, not an option.
Austrian Economist Walter Block on the Financial Crisis
I had the opportunity today to meet and hear a lecture from Dr. Walter Block, Professor of Economics at Loyola University in New Orleans and Senior Fellow with the Ludwig von Mises Institute in Auburn, Alabama. The occasion was a gathering of the Vanderbilt University Law School Federalist Society in Nashville, part of Dr. Block's lecture tour through Tennessee, Mississippi, and Arkansas. Although I am not a law student or a member of the Federalist Society, I got in touch with the organization's president who kindly extended an offer for me to attend. So, I made the hour-and-twenty-minute trek from Centerville to Nashville to drink in Dr. Block's insights.
Prior to his lecture, Dr. Block introduced us to his fellow Austrian economist, Dr. Robert Murphy, who happens to live in Nashville. I enjoyed meeting Dr. Block and Dr. Murphy, from whose economic insights I have gleaned much over the years. Here are some of my notes from Dr. Block's lecture explaining our economic depression:
Austrian economics has nothing to do with the economics of the country of Austria, anymore than Chicago economics has to do with the economics of the city of Chicago. Rather, the progenitors of Austrian economics were from Austria -- men such as Menger, Böhm-Bawerk, and Mises. Austrian economics is considered a "cult"* by the mainstream because it is not empirical. Austrians view economics as a branch of logic, believing that we cannot verify economic truth through experimentation. We can observe quasi-controlled experiments in North Korea vs. South Korea and East Germany vs. West Germany that might be said to "prove" the utility of relatively-free market systems as against communism, for example. But even these observations do not yield economic truth because not all factors can be controlled as in a true empirical scientific experiment.
Dr. Block summarized his political philosophy: "If it moves, privatize it. If it doesn't move, privatize it." He describes himself and was introduced as an "anarcho-capitalist," which he admitted was a little radical.
Dr. Block cited NY Times headlines regarding layoffs and asked why we are in an economic crisis and how we can get out of it? He said that Obama is the new FDR and that the government has created all the problems.
The mainstream is all Keynesian now, meaning most economists believe the solution is to spend our way out of the downturn. Samuelson, on the left, once said that "we are all Keynesians now." Dr. Block asked Milton Friedman if this was true, and Dr. Friedman said that his policy recommendations were different from leftist Samuelson's, but their tools of analysis were the same. Dr. Block pointed out that policy recommendations flow directly from analysis, which in turn is reliant on tools. Thus, Dr. Block's assertion that all of the mainstream is Keynesian.
The mainstream believes the market cannot be trusted to self-regulate. Dr. Block, however, asserted that Adam Smith's concept of self-serving cooperation among members of a free economy leads to a self-regulating economy.
The only difference between the Monetarists (Friedmanites) and Keynesians is their recommendations of monetary vs. fiscal policy as the remedy for economic crises. They both have government intervention in common, yet government is always the problem. Not to mention, statist action is coercive. The state is nothing more than a robber gang with good PR, using the tyranny of the majority through "democracy" and so forth, according to Dr. Block.
Dr. Block drew a diagram with a triangle widening from left to right with time on the X-axis (horizontal) and money on the Y-axis (vertical). From left to right on the time horizon, a complex economy undertakes activities such as the following: mining, producing basic goods and infrastructure, manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing, and consumption. As goods make their way through these stages and value is added, the money value increases. A complex economy requires capital goods for such "round-about" methods of production.
Austrians point out that capital goods toward the beginning of the stages of production must correlate with the products that will come out of the system as consumable finished goods. The mainstream, on the other hand, lumps all capital goods into the "k" variable of their formulas and assumes that capital is malleable. In contradistinction, Austrians assert that capital is heterogeneous rather than homogenous, so wise capital investments must be chosen and undertaken among various alternative uses of capital long before finished goods can be produced in the "round-about" method of production.
The low capital-intensive economy can be described with the following words: impatient, high interest rate, 6-year-old economy (e.g., preference for one chocolate bar today rather than ten chocolate bars tomorrow), consumption now, and no saving. Because few are willing to save and lend but many wish to borrow, interest rates are naturally high. In such an economy, long-term investment is hard to justify because the high interest rate requires a higher discount rate for time value calculations and leads to a lower PDV (present discounted value) of potential capital investment projects.
In an environment with lower interest rates, which arises naturally when savings rates are high, long-term capital projects are discounted at a lower rate, which encourages capital investment in long-term projects.
This is where Greenspan and Bernanke come into play. Greenspan, France's Sarkozy, Germany's Steinberg, and many others think that laissez faire economic policy is dead and that it was the problem all-along. But they must be on a different planet because we have a Fed and fiat money. We have not had laissez faire for quite some time.
In laissez faire (free market economics), we have real money because of the problem of double coincidence of wants. Bartering is difficult because the person with whom you trade must want what you have. But if we did not trade, we would have to be self-sufficient, could not specialize, and would be much less efficient -- a recipe for death for much of the world's population. Money comes about spontaneously in a free economy as an intermediary or facilitator of trade. Gold has emerged throughout history as the preferred commodity for money, as well as silver and copper for smaller trades. Gold as money handcuffs the rascals in the state because government can only finance itself through 1) taxation, 2) borrowing, or 3) inflation. With fiat money, it can inflate and blame rising prices on the unions or the "greedy capitalist pigs." But with gold as money, the state must resort to taxation -- and it hasn't yet figured out how to blame taxation on the market -- or to borrowing, which just displaces private borrowing.
When Bernanke and Greenspan artificially lowered the interest rates, the economy changed such that there was too much investment in heavy industry and other capital goods on the left side of the triangle. But the government could not keep inflating (increasing the money supply) without creating German or Zimbabwean-style hyperinflation in a crack-up boom. So, the Fed shut off the easy money, which caused companies such as Microsoft, Catepillar, Home Depot, home builders, and others in long-term, capital-intensive industries, to suffer.
Our present crisis was caused by previous government intervention, specifically easy monetary policies under Greenspan followed by tightening under Bernanke to prevent a crack-up hyperinflationary boom. All of the malinvestments under easy money are now coming to light. The crisis is not specifically Bush or Obama's fault, as the politicians in power are all just the same -- they all go along with the system that creates fiat money, artificially low interest rates, malinvestments, bubbles, and depressions.
There are many parallels between now and 1929-1946 (the Great Depression actually ended after WWII, according to some economists' research). FDR lengthened and increased the severity of the Depression. After the Fed began in 1913, economic cycles oscillated more wildly than before the Fed. Even now, looking at charts of the money supply and interest rates causes us to conclude that these factors are controlled by drunkards.
In the 1930s, the government tried to keep wages up, but of course, this only kept unemployment high. In addition, the government cut off foreign trade through the Smoot-Hawley tariff. Obama wants to repeat these errors because he wants us to be "self-sufficient" as a country, which will lead to trade barriers.
The Community Reinvestment Act was brought to us by the evil Boston Fed, which observed that blacks were getting fewer loans. NINJAA (no income, no job, address, or assets) loans were not popular, and for various reasons, whites were getting more loans. There was also red-lining among banks, a practice of refusing to extend loans to home buyers in certain neighborhoods notorious for deliquency in repayment. The Boston Fed wanted to end this, so it required banks to make NINJAA loans in order to renew banking licenses.
The new lexicon became: liar loans, zero down-payment loans, ATM loans, etc. Much more housing came about in this environment than otherwise would have come about. Now, the government is in the process of simply bailing out the mistakes they encouraged long ago.
The "Mediocre 3" in the rust belt (Detroit's automakers) are in trouble because they are not satisfying consumers. There is an automatic feedback mechanism in the market, but propping up failures is like subsidizing unemployment. It leads to economic depredation.
Obama wants to just continue Bush's bailouts, as all these Keynesians think we can get out of the depression simply by spending. But if you could pick members of your economy and chose between slugs who could only consume vs. producers, which would you choose? You cannot consume your way out of a depression, so we must encourage savings.
Government is the bad guy morally and economically. It caused the Great Depression and our current economic crisis. We must embrace laissez faire capitalism.
During Q&A, Dr. Block answered questions about monopoly, bailouts, fractional reserve banking (I asked him to explain the moral and economic problems with fractional reserve banking), the fate of the economy if the Fed and state did not intervene, and how we can promote liberty and free markets. I was very glad to be at Dr. Block's well-attended lecture and to talk with him a little before and after his lecture. His insights were certainly outside the mainstream and shed great lights from a free-market perspective on the present economic crisis.
*Dr. Block, however, assured us that he is not into polygamy and would not make us drink kool-aid.
In light of a recent message at church, some discussions, and newspaper headlines, here are some thoughts regarding our culture's moral and economic disorder:
Moral anarchism -- man's lust to be cosmic god and lawgiver, autonomously setting his own standards for right and wrong -- leads to breakdown of cultural order. Closely following this breakdown comes political totalitarianism, which enslaves the weak and cowardly populace that demands salvation through the state. Political totalitarians deliberately, skillfully, and wickedly use the tools of moral anarchism -- appealing to man's lust for instant, painless gratification -- to destroy cultures and enslave peoples.
A populace with larcenous hearts, requiring "something for nothing," lusts after unjust weights and measures. Such a populace demands slavery through debt provided by fractional reserve banking, as well as inflation through debased, statist-issued fiat money.
A principal barometer for measuring a culture's moral state (addressed in bullet point #1) is to observe its monetary and banking systems (addressed in bullet point #2). An immoral culture yearns to escape God's moral and economic law-order in favor of an autonomous, lawless existence. Forsaking the boundaries of God's moral and economic laws, a morally anarchic people lusts for unrighteous money and banking policies that are birthed, sanctioned, regulated, and "bailed out" by an increasingly totalitarian political machine.
In short, morality and money are, at root, profoundly theological matters. Do we want the Lord's moral and economic order -- requiring righteous, law-abiding conduct, as well as just weights and measures -- or do we yearn for autonomous morality and money? Immorality and debased money are intimately tied together, and they lead to cultural and economic collapse, coupled with political totalitarianism and slavery for a weak and cowardly people.
The core issue is the state of men's hearts, specifically the hearts of God's people. Do we embrace God as Lord over our lives, and do we work toward a righteous economic order? Or, do we wish to set our own standards for good and evil? Do we have larceny in our hearts -- a yearning to get something for nothing? If the latter, we will get nothing for something, we will contribute to cultural and economic collapse, and we will see political totalitarianism following closely on its heels -- regardless of whether we voted for the man with the "R," the "D," the "L," or the "C" behind his name!
The entrepreneur is a discoverer. His knowledge is incomplete. He faces a world of uncertainty. This means that every move he makes is risky. He might fail. His calculations and analysis might prove to be errant.
So, the entrepreneur must experiment.
These are the lessons I have learned over the last several weeks as I have journeyed away from life in the college/corporate/career establishment. I am certainly not a bona fide entrepreneur at this point -- perhaps merely an entrepreneur in the making, I hope and pray. But the journey and process of discovery are exhilarating.
One key lesson I learned in my corporate job at one of the world's largest commodity trading businesses was the importance of hedging and risk-management. The corporate culture was quite entrepreneurial (as far as corporate cultures go), so risk and discovery were prized, encouraged, and rewarded. However, at the end of the day, risks were to be appropriately managed through various means such as the following:
Calculation.
Analysis.
Small initial bets.
Diversification.
Hedging.
These were keys in the process of discovery and experimentation. And so it is for me, at this time in my life, on a far smaller scale. I conversed just yesterday with one of my mentors who said he is glad to be witnessing my gradual shift away from an "employee mindset" to an entrepreneurial perspective. Instead of "putting all my eggs in one basket," I have been encouraged to diversify -- to have "multiple irons in the fire." Moreover, I have come to understand the importance of thinking like an owner rather than embracing the entitlement mentality of a typical hireling.
From a practical standpoint, I am splitting up my time providing accounting and finance services, marketing and sales services, and developing intellectual property assets through research and writing. God has opened these doors for me in the last few weeks through a variety of circumstances with very little deliberate planning or effort on my part. In fact, I can say, with sincere gratitude and trust in God's sovereign providence, that He has taken all of my plans (whether careful and deliberate, or not) and turned them upside down and around. So, now I must be diligent to pursue with excellence and skill the tremendous opportunities He has given me.
This present course in my life potentially serves several beneficial purposes: 1) it allows me to expose myself to various risks and opportunities in several business areas, with varying levels of cash flow and upside potential over a range of time horizons; 2) it enables me to develop knowledge and skill sets, through work experience and mentoring opportunities, in a variety of areas rather than hyper-specializing, which seems more conducive long-term to an entrepreneurial lifestyle; 3) it allows me to experiment and potentially ramp-up one or more areas that prosper down the road, while ramping down still-fledgling endeavors; 4) it enables me to network, gain credibility, and do business with like-minded men who share a vision to advance the Kingdom directly in dominion endeavors through business; and 5) it provides me an appealing level of scheduling flexibility and lifestyle independence in this season of life as I seek the Lord's will and direction.
I have been warned and reminded that my endeavors could fall flat. And I have seen and heard of opportunities shutting down in short-order, particularly in the midst of this worldwide economic depression (yes, that dreaded d-word) we are experiencing. Hard as we may try, diligent as we may be, analytical and risk-managing as we are; at the end of the day, God must providentially choose to bless, sanctify, discipline, and develop His people through all the thorns and thistles they encounter within their business endeavors.
I eschew presumption, for I read in James 4:13-16, "Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil."
God has sanctified my outlook and will continue to do so, I pray, through the challenges He sends my way. Several times in the not-distant past I have made my own plans to do "this or that" in such and such place within a given time-frame. I have formulated my vision, set my goals, pursued my course with gusto . . .
. . . and all for naught, as God has thought better. He has forced me to adjust my expectations, which is often a challenging process -- emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. He has taught me the lesson from James 4, borne out in practical, real-life experience: do not presume what will happen tomorrow. Wisely use your time. Realize your next breath might be your last. Always hedge your well-crafted, compellingly articulated plans with Deo volente: "Lord willing . . ."
And so I plow forward in the process of discovery. I experiment. I take risks -- small ones at first and then, having gained confidence and competence, larger ones down the road, Lord willing. A fledgling entrepreneur I may be -- "self-employment" would be a better description for this stage of life -- but I am grateful for the opportunity to step out for a season of experimentation, discovery, learning, and building for the future, Lord willing.
Commemorating Thomas Jonathan "Stonewall" Jackson's 185th Birthday
Stonewall Jackson is near the top of my list of all-time greatest heroes of history. Today, January 21, 2009, marks the 185th year since his birth in 1824.
Watch this marvelous excerpt from Gods and Generals of General Jackson commending his First Brigade:
Some well-meaning Christians have lacked precision and clarity in their thinking on this particular issue. For example, a recent CBN news story cites Jordan Lorence as a defender of the traditional "so help me God" in the oath: "This has been common for hundreds of years, even before in England, as a way of affirming that the person was indeed serious about doing what he was promising to do, because he was swearing before God."
Hold it right there. Assuming this assertion is correct (and we have no reason to doubt its veracity), let us ponder the larger issue: using God's name, particularly in an oath.
One of the trustier resources to which we may turn regarding God's name is the Westminster Shorter Catechism's answer to question 54: "What is required in the third commandment?" As a refresher, here is the Third Commandment, found in Exodus 20:7, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. "
And the answer to WSC question 54: "The third commandment requireth the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, Word, and works."
Holy and reverent. Note those key words. Whenever we invoke the name of God, we must do so in a holy and reverent way, not in a light, vain, or flippant way. If we swear an oath and invoke God's name, we call down a curse upon ourselves if we fail to uphold it.
Jesus says in Matthew 5:33-37, "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."
We must takes oaths and swearing very, very seriously. God is sovereign over heaven and earth, over all places and persons. When we swear by His name or by those entities over which He alone is sovereign, we risk presumption and arrogation of sovereignty to ourselves over factors outside our actual control. Better to say "yes" or "no" than to swear by those places or persons over whom God alone is sovereign.
Psalm 15:4 commends the man who "swears to his own hurt and changes not." When we vow a vow, according to Numbers 30, we must not break our word.
Having briefly cited some passages regarding the use of God's name and oaths, let us ask these questions:
1) Do we expect Obama to uphold his oath to ". . . faithfully execute the office of president of the United States and . . . preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States"? This would include such agenda items as getting the federal government out of education, ending all gun control at the federal level, outlawing abortion, ending unconstitutional wars, and getting rid of 99% of the federal bureaucracy.
2) Even if we answer yes to the above question, do we believe Obama will sincerely, reverently, and, in a holy manner, invoke God's name in the presidential oath? This would require him to humbly bow before God and from the heart acknowledge Christ's sovereign dominion over all men and nations.
3) If the answer to either or both of the above questions is no, do the "traditionalist" Christians want God's name to be invoked in a serious, reverent, and holy manner; or will His name be used simply to make a statement of traditional, historical significance as a supposed jab against modernists?
4) If the "traditionalist" Christians want God's name to be used along the lines of "historical significance" (e.g., "Presidents since Washington have done this for years . . ."), are they condoning the use of God's name in an other-than holy and reverent manner?
I wrote an article around Christmas-time in 2005 regarding the use of "Season's Greetings" rather than "Christmas." I asserted that Christians should not try to compel ungodly, profit-seeking businesses to invoke the name of "Christ," as in "Christmas," because this is nothing more than a reward for violating the Third Commandment. If the businesses want to sincerely, reverently, and in a holy manner acknowledge Christ, well and fine. (By the way, this would require something other than a financial profit motive for using His name.) But the simplistic Christians count it a victory when a store officially says "Merry Christmas" in a flippant manner, just as they rejoice when Obama says "so help me God" after reciting the oath he will regrettably break from day one.
In my article, I cited Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore's principled stance against using God's name as a mere "historical reminder" of the beliefs of our founding fathers. He correctly asserted that this is a violation of the Third Commandment and a modern application of Christ's condemnation of the Pharisees: "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me" (Matthew 15:8).
I assert that Christians should not stand in defense of Obama's vain use of God's name in his presidential inauguration oath today. We should certainly call him to task every time he violates his oath of office by signing unconstitutional legislation, issuing unconstitutional executive orders, and posturing himself as a holder of power never envisioned by the Bible, the founders, or the Constitution. However, we should not commend his unholy, irreverent, vain, and flippant use of God's name.
We should not be appeased in our consciences or warmed in our hearts that the new president is vainly, irreverently, and in an unholy manner, using God's name in his oath. Rather, we should be fearful of God's judgment upon a land that draws nigh with its mouth but its heart is far from Him. Never will we see better examples of judgment-seeking activity than the oath of our elected leader that we shall witness today and, more importantly, the vain arguments from God's own people that support a vain use of His holy name.
2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), Part 3 of 3: Movie Makers, Presenters, & Other Notables
I was encouraged after attending the 2009 SAICFF: the film quality has advanced tremendously, the filmmakers are maturing in their theological understanding and technical competence, and the independent Christian film industry is steadily becoming ever more viable. The world is taking notice of films such as the remarkable Fireproof, which was the top grossing independent film of 2008. More importantly, God is glorified as Christians bear fruit in endeavors to exalt Christ and to advance a Gospel-centered vision for family and cultural reformation through filmmaking. Dean Jones presented a testimony of working in Hollywood and coming to Christ later in life. He encouraged independent Christian filmmakers in their vision and endeavors to glorify Christ with a distinctly Christian filmmaking industry to replace Hollywood. I enjoyed the three short films in which he starred, which depicted Abraham and Issac on Mount Moriah, Elisha and the widow's oil, and Lazarus and the rich man. Be sure to read the VF coverage about his appearance and award at the festival.
Many of us who attend the SAICFF on a regular basis have come to anticipate and enjoy the rich baritone songs and ballads of Charlie Zahm. As I write this, I am listening to his rendition of Sweet Sunny South and Dixie's Land from a CD I purchased at the event.
Another enjoyable frequent performer at the SAICFF is George Sarris who dramatizes Scripture accounts such as Elijah and the prophets of Baal.
The Von Trapp Family Singers, direct descendants of Captain and Maria von Trapp of Sound of Music fame, serenaded the crowd.
The amazing Dugger Family, with their 18 children and daughter-in-law, attended the festival and presented a Jubilee Award for the Best Biblical Family film. I enjoyed meeting some of their family members at a gathering on Sunday afternoon. Congratulations to my friends from Franklin Films on their Best Documentary Jubilee Award for their submission, The Terri Schiavo Story. Ken Carpenter received the award and addressed the crowd, as Rod Carpenter, Mark Stubblefield, and Nathan Bollinger looked on, flanked by Kevin Swanson and Josh Phillips.
I was so glad to meet Martin Selbrede, Vice President of Chalcedon, in the vendor hall at the festival. I told him about the wonderful impact Rushdoony and Chalcedon have had on my life and thinking. In this photo, Mr. Selbrede stands beside Brantley Disharoon, a VF intern. (Thanks to Mr. Selbrede for the photo and for permission to use it here.) I snapped this pic of Colin Gunn and his daughter after coming out of the screening of the HeuMoore film, The Widow's Might. Colin was wearing part of his costume from his acting debut, in which one of his lines included (paraphrase), "I'm not much of a documentary guy, myself." Many of us laughed out loud when we heard him say that in the film. On a serious note, his performance was spectacular, and the movie was outstanding . . . . . . so outstanding, in fact, that it won the $101,000 grand prize for the Best of Festival. John Moore and his crew from The Widow's Might came to the stage to collect the Jubilee Award and check, as well as to address the audience that gave them a roaring, standing ovation.
Doug Phillips brought his family on stage at the conclusion of the 2009 SAICFF.
To reaffirm, the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival was by far the best festival ever. Many attendees were encouraged, inspired, and envisioned to press forward Christ's Crown Rights in every area of life, including film and other cultural endeavors.
God in His providence recently opened the opportunity for me to relocate for a season of life to Centerville, TN. I am undertaking some new endeavors, and one opportunity I am excited about is working with Wade Myers to coordinate Venture Academy, hosted by New Venture Lab. I met with Mr. Myers yesterday morning and agreed to work on projects for the event that will be held in Middle Tennessee, March 23-28, 2009.
I can personally attest to the blessing of working with and learning from Wade Myers. Our family hosted the Christian Family Entrepreneurship Seminar in August with Wade Myers as the featured speaker. We enjoyed and learned much from the experience and were grateful for his willingness to come to our town and bless 300 attendees from Christian and homeschooling families across Kansas and around the nation. More recently, Mr. Myers has mentored me through the processes of researching, writing, financial analysis and modeling, crafting presentations, and other skills, for a variety of projects.
I highly recommend attending Venture Academy where you will be blessed by top-notch instruction from Christian homeschooling father, Harvard MBA, and serial entrepreneur, Wade Myers. In addition, the event will feature subject-matter experts in accounting, law, and family entrepreneurship. Come to Middle Tennessee March 23-28, and join other like-minded business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs for instruction in core areas of business, case studies and discussion, networking, and fellowship.
2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), Part 2 of 3: Friends
My favorite aspect of Vision Forum events is always the fellowship with like-minded friends and families. As with the 2004, 2005, and 2007 festivals, the 2009 SAICFF was certainly no exception, as I enjoyed abundant opportunities to interact with believers from across the nation.
One of my close friends from the 2003 Vision Forum internship is Tim Horn, and his family graciously hosted me during the weekend. I was so grateful for their hospitality toward an old-but-not-forgotten friend. Here is a candid picture of Tim exchanging words with his sister Cara at the festival.
Nathan Barnes, a friend and former San Antonio housemate in 2004, superbly coordinated the festival. Here he is pictured in his Awards Ceremony tux at Denny's for the traditional after-festival dinner late Saturday night/early Sunday morning.
Speaking of Denny's, approximately 70 festival attendees gathered into the wee hours of the morning for fun, food, and fellowship.
I enjoyed interacting with members of the Bowman family from GA at the festival and at Denny's. I first met David and Steven at the 2007 Jamestown Quad Celebration where they served as cameramen under the leadership of Nathaniel Darnell.
My friends Mark and Amy, with sons Isaac and Joseph (not pictured), also joined the crowd at Denny's. I enjoyed sharing meals and lots of conversation with them at the Horn's, Denny's, and in the car.
Another friend from the 2003 VF Internship is Nathaniel Darnell, and here he is pictured at Denny's talking with Jesse and Crystal Paine, friends from my hometown of Wichita, KS.
I enjoyed exchanging ideas on a variety of topics with two very intelligent and like-minded men, David Botkin and Bradley Pierce. I enjoyed seeing Peter Serven and his family at the festival.
Another target of my end-of-escalator picture-taking endeavor was my friend Nathaniel Bluedorn. As with Peter, Nathaniel returned shots with his ever-ready Canon.
I took this picture at a Sunday afternoon gathering, and I post it here in honor of my splendid Tennessee roommate, Phillip Bradrick, who was unable to attend the festival. The fine young lady pictured is Katie Valenti, Phillip's beloved fiancée with whom he will be united on February 28. We are so excited that God has brought Phillip and Katie to this point and pray that they will, Lord willing, pursue a joint dominion mission to glorify Christ, spread His Gospel, advance His Kingdom, and raise up a generation of godly warriors in His service. In this photo, Katie holds Knox Defender, son of Peter and Kelly Bradrick.
I enjoyed renewing my friendships with Jason Kent and Tyler Disharoon, VF staff member and intern, respectively.
Providentially, I made it to the airport on time (long story) Sunday evening after the festival, and my flight was delayed a little. As I was walking to the gate, I wondered whether I would see anyone I knew who was also flying through Dallas. Just as that thought entered my mind, I saw Carmon Friedrich and two of her children. Before boarding the plane, we enjoyed a wonderful conversation about the festival and recent life events.
I met and renewed my acquaintance with many, many other friends not pictured, and I was very grateful for the opportunity to enjoy such abundant fellowship at the 2009 SAICFF.
Read Part 1 of my posts about the 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival.
2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival (SAICFF), Part 1 of 3: Speakers
The 2009 San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival was, without a close second, the best SAICFF ever. Five years after the first festival, Christians have made tremendous headway in the mission to abolish and replace a nihilistic, dying Hollywood establishment. And make no mistake: serious Christians connected with the SAICFF are now taking dominion in film and will, by God's grace, overthrow the forces of darkness through forcing the antithesis of godly vs. anti-Christian filmmaking.
Doug Phillips, the visionary behind the festival and a mentor whom I hold in high regard, delivered words of hope to the attendees. I took this picture at the closing night Awards Ceremony. He affirmed and reaffirmed the SAICFF vision of "lighting candles" rather than "cursing the darkness."
R.C. Sproul, Jr., decked out in Scottish garb, delivered one of the awards at the closing ceremony. He also spoke during the festival and delivered the benediction and closing prayer at the Sunday morning worship service following the festival. I enjoyed seeing him and his family once again after seeing them at Jamestown and noting his tremendous insights at the 2005 festival.
Voddie Baucham, who attended with his family, prayed for the festival on opening night and delivered a presentation during the film festival.
Stephen Kendrick, co-writer/producer, and Kirk Cameron, starring actor, of the amazing film Fireproof, addressed the audience and took questions from Doug Phillips during the festival.
John Moore and his crew from another amazing production, The Widow's Might, addressed the audience after the screening in the main theater.
Geoff Botkin, with son David standing by, delivered an absolutely one-of-a-kind critique of a noxious Hollywood film that is popular among some Christians and home educators. I never tire of drinking in Mr. Botkin's visionary insights, Kingdom-advancing strategies, and practical wisdom at VF events. He reaffirmed, as he pointed out in 2007, that every film is a theological treatise and a tool of disciple-making. Movie watchers ought not sit passively to be entertained and amused but should watch movies with a deliberate purpose. Movie makers must inescapably embrace their role as disciple-makers, either for good or for evil.
Peter Pallock, who presented a Jubilee Award at the closing ceremony, also gave a splendid presentation during the festival on photography. I was grateful for his many great insights similar to last festival's presentation about prizewinning photography. Recently, I was reminded of the insight that Christians have three options as we confront an ungodly culture: 1) retreat, 2) compromise, or 3) biblical, presuppositional, epistemologically self-conscious dominion endeavors. The SAICFF does not seek to retreat from society or compromise with an ungodly cultural media/entertainment establishment, but rather to replace Hollywood with godly entertainment for Christian disciple-making and Kingdom advancement. Please stay tuned in coming days for parts 2 and 3 of my series about the 2009 SAICFF last weekend.
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