Perspective from the 19^th Hole is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

Whenever a group of people from around the world lead music at our church in Salem, Oregon, I come away believing I just had a glimpse of what heaven will be like.

Because, when those of us who are Christians get to heaven, we will see ALL kinds of people who have chosen to place their trust in God – white people, black people, brown people – all kinds of people where color of skin doesn’t matter.  Nor does relative stations in like.

What matters is accepting Christ!

Yesterday, when my wife and I arrived at church, we were thrilled to see that music would be led by about 30 people from Africa who now call Salem home.

They were dressed in native garb, with beautiful colors standing out on the stage.

Multiple languages prevailed.

The group sang in English, Farsi, French, Spanish, Swahili and others.  It didn’t matter for us, English speakers, because it was great to hear praises to God in all the languages.

In response, I point to a number of verses in the Bible that illustrate that being Christian isn’t one kind of person; it is all persons who accept Christ.  So, the word diversity applies.

• Revelation 7:9:  The writer, John, sees a huge crowd that no one can count.  They come from every nation, tribe, people, and language.  They stand before the throne and before Jesus.
• Revelation 5:9:  People sing a new song to Jesus who accepts people from every tribe, language, people, and nation.
• Galatians 3:28:  The writer, Paul, explains that spiritual unity in Christ erases earthly divisions.  There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, because all are one in Christ.
• Matthew 8:11:  Jesus says that many will come from east and west.  They will sit down at the feast in the kingdom of heaven with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Good verses all!

So it was that, yesterday, we experienced a glimpse of what heaven will be like – heaven which is open to ALL.