Stan Moody

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What Would Jesus Do with a 9mm Glock?

April 5, 2011
Author: Stan Moody

As legislators struggle with the effectiveness and human dignity issues

surrounding lifetime sex offender registries that, under the Adam Walsh Act,
would run the gamut of 189 categories from pedophilia to urinating on the
sidewalk, there emerges a contingent of leaders pushing for harsher distinctions.
In a word, these leaders seem to love registries that not only make
permanent the exile status of offenders of many types but remove whole families
from the forgiveness loop.
What List Are You On?:
Several weeks ago, I published an article, “What List Are You On?” With
tongue in cheek, I referenced the 800,000 or more nationwide who are presently on
the sex registry. I poked fun at a bill before the Maine legislature, LD 760, “An Act
to Establish an Animal Abuser Registry.”
I suggested that if these registries continue to develop and grow, they will
serve 2 purposes – to give those on registries political voice and to give those of us
not on registries a feeling of moral superiority masked as public safety. One
consideration might be to merge the registries and create a PAC.
Drunk Driver Offender List:
Along comes the latest list – a website that would permit Mainers to see if
any of their neighbors were convicted drunken drivers. It would include names,
addresses and pictures.
This is the brainchild of Rep. Richard Cebra (R-Naples), whose bills this
session have included an act to allow concealed weapons in the State House, an act
to nullify Federal laws (states’ rights advocacy) and an act to require people who
register to vote to provide proof of citizenship, a takeoff from the “birther”
movement.
Mal Leary of Capital News Service quoted Cebra as saying, “People need to
know about drunk drivers that might be living next door and taking their kids to
soccer practice.” Whether you are left wing or right wing, it seems always to be
about the safety of latchkey kids.

Prison Reform, Sex Offender Registry, Department of Corrections, Maine State Legislature, Christian
Right, OUI, DUI, http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody, https://moodyreport.wordpress.com, Vineyard
Church
Religious Twist:
I served with Rich on the Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and
Wildlife. He seemed like a pretty nice guy. I wondered what happened to him that
he suddenly wants to make lists and bring a gun to the State House presumably to
shoot sex offenders, animal abusers, respectable drunks and liberals with or
without full citizenship. It struck me that there might be a religious twist in there
somewhere.
A quick Googling of Rep. Cebra, and I found that he is a member of the
Windham Assembly of God, although his religion is listed as “Lake Region
Vineyard Church.” On the surface, there didn’t seem to be much of interest there.
Further digging, however, uncovered what appears to be a startup Vineyard
church in Naples, affiliated with the Vineyard USA denomination. Taking a look at
the beliefs of Vineyard USA uncovered some interesting information.
“Culturally Relevant Mission”:
Prominent is the statement of their “culturally relevant mission.” It describes
an on-going dialogue that determines whether they are going to be a “…small set
of backwater, culturally-irrelevant churches or a community of churches that really
do make a difference in the world.”
As pastor of one of those backwater, culturally-irrelevant churches, it
occurred to me that I may, like Jesus, be a candidate for another one of those
special lists of marginal people.
What I found next was much more interesting, however:

We lean toward the lost, the poor, the outcast, and the outsider
with the compassion of Jesus, knowing we are sinners whose standing
before God is utterly dependent on his mercy. This mercy can only be
truly received inasmuch as we are willing to give it away…We believe
that ministry in Jesus' name should be expressed in concrete ways
through the local church. The poor are to be served as though we
serve Jesus himself. This is one of the distinguishing characteristics of
a church expressing the love of Christ in a local community.

I got it! In order to minister to the poor, the outcast and the outsider, you
have to be able to find them! What better way than with a list or an obituary that
identifies the loved ones of those shot in the lobby of the State House?
If only Jesus had had a 9mm Glock!
Sources:
 Project Vote Smart
 Vineyard USA, 5 Core Values

Prison Reform, Sex Offender Registry, Department of Corrections, Maine State Legislature, Christian
Right, OUI, DUI, http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody, https://moodyreport.wordpress.com, Vineyard
Church
Prison Reform, Sex Offender Registry, Department of Corrections, Maine State Legislature, Christian
Right, OUI, DUI, http://www.scribd.com/stanmoody, https://moodyreport.wordpress.com, Vineyard
Church