2007
Week 4
January 27, 2007

Hi --

The contacts a state senator receives do provide a bit of humor. In the communion wine push and pull, a fellow on the phone, with a loud over-the-top stained glass voice, was very aggressive in criticizing our use of the word “alcohol.” “It is not wine, it is the blood of Jesus Christ!”

“Sir, I know about the theory (another word he could challenge!) of transubstantiation in Christian circles, but our statutes refer to alcohol.”

“NO! You are legislating against religion. When the teen takes communion, it is no longer alcohol. It is BLOOD.” So I told my legal guru, who joins me in the fervent hope that we satisfy every single person, to work a little blood into the next rewrite.

I have 18 bills, several of them about small corrections, dealing with loopholes, etc. Most of them create a minimum of conflict but the trick is to get them to the floor for debate. Hopefully, after a hearing on the bill the committee will tuck it into something else.

That has already happened. My bill to remove obsolete fee schedules related to casinos (we have no casinos) was heard with an identical bill and has already passed the first round, with the other bill number. So if someone comes along with a casino we can choose to charge a $50 million fee instead of the ridiculous $100 in the law.

Since Ruth and I have dealt with alcohol impairment for over 15 years, enforcement officers and others bring me more of these. Following are the seven this year.

1. Remove the communion excuse for impaired teens. 2. Ensure that an officer can identify who bought a keg of beer for teens. (Someone provided 15 kegs for a recent teen party... which is 75 gallons! Of course, no one knew who bought it.) 3. Close a testing loophole for repeat offenders. 4. Increase penalties on adults who procure for minors. 5. Create a civil liability for bar owners whose employee breaks laws on serving intoxicated persons or minors. 6. Allow a server to confiscate a false minor ID and turn it over to police.

7. For the city of Lincoln, I brought a bill to allow police or a treatment center to hold a person who is severely impaired by alcohol or drugs for 72 hours instead of 24 hours. It is called “protective custody,” is not charged as an offense, and hopefully gives persons in drug trouble a realistic chance to consider treatment.

That is eight bills. The rest another time.

Senator Chambers can not get over that I am a pastor, a despised, manipulative collection of folks in his opinion. All pastors, according to him, are carving notches in their shepherds crooks, to take credit for each soul saved.

So there was this exchange in the hearing on #7 above. I had reported my personal experience with alcoholics from a time many years ago when I was an intake interviewer for alcoholic persons who identified themselves as such and self-admitted to our mental hospital. I added, “I can tell you from my direct experience that these new admits are far more able to think and converse on the third day than they are on Day One.”

Chambers: “Are you a pastor?” “Yes.” “So your job is to save souls.” “No, it is not.” “What is your job as a pastor?” “To help build community.” “You just want more time with persons in jail or in treatment so that you can work them over and collect more souls to your credit.” “No, I want more time for their head to clear, with real food in the stomach, so they can make better decisions. I do not decide for anyone what they should do.”

God saves souls. I do not. It is, to my mind, extreme arrogance when a pastor claims credit for what God does. We pastors often challenge each other for using misleading words, which helps to protect us from being misled.

So what was my job as pastor? Simply, my job was to help provide the community where God can reign. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth...” Sometimes the helpful aid is in a sermon. More often it is an attitude that reflects and demonstrates God”s love in the real world. Sometimes the assist is a law that helps provide justice for the poor or respect for the outcast.

The last example is exactly what Chambers tries to do. Hmmm. Perhaps I ought to accuse him of collecting scalps from the souls he saves from pain, hunger and disrespect. Well, he will be back.

My joke of the week comes from Jay Leno. “The governor of New Mexico is running for president. He has an advantage. We are adding a thousand “new Mexicans” a day.”

Cheers

Lowen