Music Video Channels Actually Play Music

Russian apartments are described in terms of rooms. So what we would call a 2BD apartment the Russians would call a three room apartment. The reason for this is that each room must have multiple purposes.  Most couches can be made into a bed. I have never found hide-a-beds comfortable, but because the Russian couches will be used most nights as a bed they are more comfortable. So Elena and I are sleeping on a couch slightly smaller than an American double bed. Our daughter Stacy is sleeping on a cot. 

The kitchen is tiny and when visitors come it is difficult to seat everyone. Storage is at a premium. So the result of this is that one has to shop more frequently. A lot of walking. Not a big problem in the summer but my mother-in-law broke her hip last winter doing her shopping. BTW, she is better and healed well. But the doctor said that when she travels she will set off the metal detectors. 

My mother-in-law receives one bill for utilities that is all inclusive. 

Cable TV for 8 channels costs $1 a month. The apartment has 30 channels but for some reason she has not complained about the free channels. The mix of channels is similar to what one would expect, but music and children's programing is a higher percentage of the total. There are 4 music channels, two for English music, one Russian pop music and one Russian traditional music. MUSIC CHANNELS ACTUALLY PLAY MUSIC! Wow. I prefer the Russian Pop music channel. If I see Snoop Dog one more time sing "I Want To Make You Sweat" I will go mad. I watched for a minute American Baseball and news about Peyton Manning’s neck injury. If you listen carefully you can hear the English. 

Fees to the government for apartment repairs is $17 a month. (You can see why there is an air of disrepair in the apartments’ neighborhood.) All together the bill is about $100 a month. This sounds small to us, but with the low income in Russia it is difficult for most Russians to pay. No doubt the bill is subsidized to some degree. 

The bill used to be based on the size of the apartment with no meter. But gradually meters are being installed, and the price is set in such a way as to encourage meters, especially for apartments with few residents. 

Hot water is centrally heated for the whole community and piped to each apartment. This means that whole neighborhoods have good or bad hot water depending on the state of their equipment. Sometimes the hot water will stop while you are taking a shower, but worse is when the cold water stops! Heat is generated the same way with a central plant with hot water piped to radiators in each apartment. 

The biggest problems I see is that 20 to 30 years from now there will have to be a substantial remodeling of these apartments. The government will have to do it, as the residents will not be able to afford it. This might be a ticking time bomb. 

Since I have a job starting soon, (my first job—I am so proud!) I do not think we will come to visit Russia next year. But we will return in 2013 when the US economy fails. 

Russian Apartments

Most Russians live in apartments that they own. My mother-in-law lives in a block of eight apartment buildings in a row that have adjoining walls, actually making one big complex. Each building has its own entryway, with five stories, and four apartments per floor.  So that makes 160 apartments in her block. The rule is that if there are more than 5 stories there must be an elevator, so there is no elevator. 

Her neighborhood has many such apartment blocks. Sometimes the first floor is used as a store. So a short walk away there is a furniture store/convenience store, an alteca (think a tiny drug store without the drugs), a few more convenience stores here and there. There is one grocery store with another (the better one) farther away at the edge of the community (or maybe in the edge of another). The farmer's market is in the middle of the community. It also has some flea market type items, although the items are all new. 

When an apartment is privatized all inhabitants of that apartment, regardless of age, have a share. This means that most Russians have a place to live, although it can get rather crowded. But children born after the privatization do NOT have a share. This is bound to present more and more problems as time goes on. 

It is not clear who is allowed to do what to the outside of the apartments. Yesterday I noticed ropes outside my window. There was a bucket going up and down. It contained concrete. The workers were applying the concrete to the outside of the top apartment. So the outside has bricks that suddenly change to a concrete section covering the bricks and back to a brick section. It looks rather odd. 

The apartments were designed in an era when no one had cars except the apparatchik—so cars are parked here and there. This will become more and more of a problem as the density of cars increase. There are various storage buildings scattered through the community. I am not sure how they open their car doors with the car inside but obviously they do. The buildings are made from heavy sheet metal. The padlocks are huge. There is a small steel fenced section for outside car storage with a guard. 

Theft is a bigger risk in Russia than in America, although I would guess that it happens less often. There are two reasons for this. Entry to Russian apartments is more difficult and the doors are massive. And most retail items in stores are not displayed for the customer. You have to ask for them. This is why there are so many employees in a small retail store—there is very little self-service. 

Tomorrow I will talk about the inside of Russian Apartments.

I have an important decision to make right now. I am indecisive so it is hard for me. Should I have onion/egg stuffed pierogi, or jam stuffed pierogi with my coffee. Ah, the solution is obvious. 

The “V” Formation

There are advantages for geese to fly in a "V" formation. They can fly faster and farther. But such a pattern does have its drawbacks for humans. Where is the flock going? I remember an old joke: “We are lost, but we are making great time!”

Being a part of a group headed in the wrong direction will not be helpful to an individual goose. However, flying in a V formation does have one advantage: each goose takes a term as lead goose. Among humans this is rare. 

I remember a cartoon that had a big effect on me.  The cartoon begins with geese in a V formation. The second panel shows the lead goose going in a different direction than the rest. The third panel of the cartoon shows a panicked and frantic leader goose apart from "his" flock. The final panel shows the leader goose back in front of the V.

Leaders can be trapped by the system too. A desire to serve can be corrupted to a desire for position. Money is often involved. 

Prophets are never popular. John the Baptist was beheaded. Jeremiah was dumped in a septic tank. In 2 Chron 24 the Prophet Zachariah was murdered:

⁹ Although the LORD sent prophets to the people to bring them back to him, and though they testified against them, they would not listen.

 ²⁰ Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood before the people and said, “This is what God says: ‘Why do you disobey the LORD’s commands? You will not prosper. Because you have forsaken the LORD, he has forsaken you.’”

 ²¹ But they plotted against him, and by order of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the LORD’s temple. ²² King Joash did not remember the kindness Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him but killed his son, who said as he lay dying, “May the LORD see this and call you to account.”

Leaders trapped by the system will inevitably end up acting this way. Although in modern times, no murder is committed—just character assassination and the like. 

Jesus in Matt 5 talks about this kind of "murder."

²¹ “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

A true leader will lead, not follow the wishes of the people if the people are wrong. This may mean in political terms that one is not electable. Unpalatable truths are still truths. Ron Paul comes to my mind as I write. 

In the religious arena a pastor should never preach a doctrine because he is “expected” to, if he does not believe it. 

Of course the easiest person to deceive is oneself. While obviously a person needs to live, and Paul makes it clear that one can "live" upon the gospel by receiving donations from those who are served, there is a danger when one's livelihood depends on toeing the doctrinal line. A preacher can be in the same position that a politician faces in the next election. Unpopular positions leads to loss of income.  

If you speak hard truths, you are going to be called names. Count on it. Things like "You are not really a Republican" or "Are you really a part of the Church?" or “You are not a Christian" or "You are crazy." Or the final put down: "You are anti-American." 

Yes this means you will be called a fool, as Jesus said. But as he also said, try not to be the one doing the name calling. Of course there are times this is unavoidable (See Matt 23). If you care about what other people think you are headed down the wrong road. These comments say more about them than about you. 

One final word of warning: if you decide to go down the path of true leadership, do not be a jerk about it. In other words just because others are a jerk, there is no reason for you to be. Turn the other cheek as Jesus advised in Matthew 5:

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

I have not been very good at this, but I can do better. I have a new motto for the Prophecy Podcast that is in line with what I have been saying today:

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." (Arthur Koestler)

I hope you will speak the truth, but understand that doing this has a cost. 

I have been referencing Ron Dart and his history on the issues of Leadership. to download a message he gave on these issues in 1979 click here. 

The Man Purse

Should one let practically or fashion or culture determine what accessories us manly men use? I am referring to the "man purse." Of course the name itself tells us manly men that we should not use it. The sneer of Jerry Seinfeld, whenever it was mentioned was enough of a code that tells us all we should not use it. "Not that there is anything wrong with that" is the phrase that occurs to me when I think of the Seinfeld Show, the one or two times I saw it. What he really said on the man purse was: "It's not a purse, it's a European Wallet"  

A lot of truth in this as it is common here in Russia. Of course you cannot tell a man's sexual orientation by looking at him, most of the time anyway. The men who carry the man purse here in Russia seem normal enough. Well there was this one guy, but other than him they looked normal. He had "long" hair, very unRussian. The height of Russian men's hair style is a crew cut.  Should I buy a "European wallet" while I am here in Russia? I have not decided yet, but it helps that the name here is Russia is "mini-valise." If I can find a thin one that is still big enough for an iPad, I just might. I am not one to let cultural standards to get in the way of practicality.  

The mall here is a series of independent shops on multiple levels. Some of them are interesting like the Beauty and Toy store. Or the mechanical tool store. There is even a “religious Icon” store, but I have plenty already. (Note that I do not use them in a religious sense, I just like them. George and the Dragon is my Favorite.) 

I am not enjoying shopping any more in Russia than America, but the $1 CDs are tempting. (A store is going out of business, the normal price is $5). My tastes in music are rather eclectic. I bought the Chemical Bros, Benny Benassi, and the KraftWerk. Some of the DVDs were tempting, but I had no way to play them because of region coding and the differing video standard. 

My wife has complained that she needs to go without me next time, but how will I get my man purse without her help? This may only remain a dream. 

He Is Just a Man

I talked Friday about the fact that if we are of the world we will be corrupted by that world. Micro-compromises build up slowly over the years. Eventually we do not even notice the compromises anymore. This is particularly evident in the religious world. No one starts out saying to themselves, "There is a lot of money in religion, I want to get some of it for myself." Almost no one anyway: Ron Hubbard the founder of Scientology told his buddies just that in the years he was a Science Fiction writer before he became a cult leader. Joseph Smith fits in that category as well, he was a fake right from the beginning. 

In general what happens is the religious leader is corrupted by the process. I talked to Ron Dart one time about why he did not expand into TV evangelism. He said he thought about it but decided the necessary steps were not worth the cost. In particular he was referring to fundraising, as TV is very expensive. He had written an unpublished book about TV evangelism and fundraising techniques, so he knew how it was done. He was afraid that the money would require him to shift his focus from helping people to raising money. He did not want his Christian Educational Ministries to become Christian Fundraising Ministries. The risk was that he would become what he hated. 

Years earlier I had tried to talk Ron into forming a denomination. I was not happy with the denomination I was in and was looking for another. He refused. Having been at the center of two failed denominations earlier in his ministry (I was still in one of them), he saw no reason to repeat those same mistakes. He was right and I was wrong. 

The reason I was wrong was that I did not understand that when you institute a hierarchy you are on dangerous ground. Nothing wrong with a chain of command, but it is difficult for those higher in a religious food chain to not think of themselves "higher than they ought." This is actually fed by those "below" in the hierarchy. They expect the ones above them in the hierarchy to be better than them. They are not. With the exception of astronauts floating without gravity, all of us put on our pants one leg at a time. 

I heard a story about one church in my tradition (which consists of many denominations.) As you entered the church there was a huge photo of a "great" religious leader of the past. It was the very first thing you saw as you entered. It showed how that church venerated that man. Understand that our tradition does not allow any standard religious symbols, pictures, or icons of any kind. Yet when you enter, there is this man. Totally symbolically inappropriate. I was told they later moved it to the side, but as far as I know it is still there. 

In Ancient Rome a victorious leader would receive a parade through the city of Rome. The General would receive the wild adoration of the crowd as he rode along. A slave was supposedly (this story may be apocryphal) assigned to ride in his chariot and whisper in his ear, "Respice te, hominem te memento" ("Look behind you, remember you are only a man"). Religious leaders need that slave whispering in their ear. 

While modern Hero Worship does not go to the extent of ancient Rome, especially in a church setting, we have our modern equivalents, like a ticker tape parade. 

So my advice is that when you are in church and hear this kind of praise or emphasis on one individual, think to yourself,  "Respice te, hominem te memento" ("Look behind you, remember you are only a man"). Your next step might be to find another church. 

I have been referencing Ron Dart and his history on the issues of Leadership. to download a message he gave on these issues in 1979 click here.