Book Review: When Home Hurts by Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
How should the church handle domestic abuse? What steps can a church take to help those affected by abuse? In their new book, When Home Hurts: A Guide for Responding Wisely to Domestic Abuse in Your Church, Jeremy Pierre and Greg Wilson provide a new resource to help church leaders deal with domestic abuse. In this book, Pierre and Wilson provide a practical resource for the church to help care for those affected by abuse. They deal primarily with male abusers while giving counsel in the appendix for cases of female abusers. The authors divide the book into three sections: 1) How to Understand Abuse, 2) How to Respond After the Initial Disclosure, and 3) How to Care in the Long Term. In the first section, they discuss the dynamics of abuse. They explain the experience, "Abuse occurs as a person in a position of greater influence uses his personal capacities to diminish the personal capacities of those under his influence in...
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The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go – Part 2

The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go – Part 2

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
"The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go" John Muir  My last post had a summary of my past three years of hiking with my brother. I am going to share to a couple of thoughts that came to mind during this last trip. One of the trails that we were on is called the New Army pass. The trail is 15 miles long and passes by five different lakes. The trail begins in the forest, then passes by lakes, and eventually ends at the top of a mountain pass. Right before you ascend the mountain peak you walk through a valley with mountains on both sides. From a distance, you cannot tell if there is a path through the mountains, or if it continues over the mountain. As we got closer, I told my brother, I think we are going over the mountain. A small pathway appeared which we climbed to the top, which stands at 12,400 ft. The ascension up...
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The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go – Part 1

The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go – Part 1

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
"The Mountains are Calling and I Must Go" John Muir For the past three years, my brother and I have gone on an annual hiking trip. The first year (2019) we explored peaks in Southern California. My brother had planned out two days of hiking. He chose Mt. San Gorgonio for the first hike, which is the highest peak in Southern California. This was my first intense hike: 19.3 miles, 5,500 elevation gain, ending at 11,503 ft. This was a hard climb and I got altitude sickness on the way up. No one that I know enjoys vomiting, but it is even worse on top of a mountain! I eventually pushed through it, made it to the top, and survived the walk down. This was a fun hike through the San Bernadino National Forest with different scenery along the way. Toward the end of the hike, you walk on the side of the mountain passing the tree line. The end is grueling,...
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Helpful Complaining

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
A few months ago, I wrote a blog post about why I complain so much. Most of the time I complain because there is someone or something in which I am dissatisfied. I think most people associate complaining with negativity, but I believe that there is a positive side to complaining. There are times when we can take complaining and make it helpful. When the pandemic lockdowns began in Los Angeles the freeways were empty. I remember the eerie feeling of driving on a freeway with only a handful of drivers when there were normally hundreds of them. Not only were there few cars but people were driving fast. I remember thinking that at the end of the lockdown people will need to slow down. Humans are slow to change though, and now people drive faster and more erratic than ever. I recently noticed a problem in my neighborhood at a two-way intersection. Over the last year I started to notice...
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Book Review: The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
Last year I bought a book on Kindle because the title intrigued me. I forgot about the book and a couple of months ago I listened to a podcast that was discussing the book. The podcast interviewed Dr. Bruce McRae who translated the original work from 1692 into modern English. The book is called "The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification" by Walter Marshall. Marshall was an English non-conformist Puritan Pastor who lived from 1628-1680. If you have ever read the Puritans, you will understand why this work was translated into modern English! Professor John Murray said the book was "the most important book on sanctification ever written." Bruce McRae introduced the book by talking about the importance of sanctification. He defined sanctification as "the lifelong process of being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ." He said that there is confusion over sanctification when these questions are asked, “How Christians become holy? Where does the power for godly living come from?” He...
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A Pandemic and a Podcast

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
The idea of starting a podcast was an idea that came up a few years ago among some of us at my church. There was always a lot going and starting a podcast seemed too much. Then the pandemic struck last year, and the idea of a podcast came back to our minds. My friend Rev. Dr. Jason Matossian (he does not like titles, hence the reason I use them) decided it was time to give it a try. Jason chose the name, I chose the tech. We chose a simple setup using Zoom to record and a couple of cheap mics. We published our first episode on June 15, 2020. It has been a little over a year and we have recorded over 50 episodes. There are many things I have learned; one is I realized how self-conscious talking into a mic makes me feel. I have done a fair amount of public speaking and do not have a fear...
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Book Review: Saints, Sufferers, and Sinners by Michael Emlet

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
If someone asked, "who are you?" how would you answer? Every person answers this question about their identity. We receive our first identity from our parents on our birth certificate. Our identity includes our gender, race, and first and last name. Our identity shapes how we view the world, think about ourselves, and relate to other people. The Bible uses a variety of identity language to describe believers (i.e., sinner, saint, child of God, forgiven, and redeemed). As described in the title of his new book, "Saints, Suffers, and Sinners: Loving Others as God Loves Us", Michael Emlet uses three terms to describe a Christian's identity. The three identities saints, sufferers, and sinners are not separate categories but are true realities of all believers. These three categories are woven together in each believer. These realities teach us how God loves us and how we should reciprocate that love to others. Emlet calls these "signposts for wise love." He emphasizes the order of...
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The Sound of Solitude

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
Mount Baldy (elevation 10,064 ft) “All our miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone [with God].” Blaise Pascal It is hard to escape the noise of everyday life. In Los Angeles, you cannot escape the morning traffic or the evening police car chase. There are the routine sounds we hear: working in a busy office, talking with coworkers and friends, listening to music or a favorite podcast, sitting in a coffee shop, eating dinner with friends, or watching the latest series on Netflix. There are the constant sounds we hear: text messages, emails, tweets, calendar reminders, to-do list alerts, breaking news, and spam phone calls. There are also the sounds of our busy hearts: our anxious thoughts, and our endless desires. All these sounds often turn into noise that is hard to escape. I often long to be in solitude to escape the noise of normal everyday life, so that I can think and refocus. I...
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Book Review: Reset by David Murray

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
I enjoy reading books because it helps me slow down and think. I recently came across “Reset: Living a Grace-Paced Life in a Burnout Culture” by David Murray that helped me to think more deeply about slowing down. At the beginning of the book, Murray says, "Slow your pace or you'll never finish the race." The Bible calls believers to run the race (1 Cor. 9:24-27) and Murray addresses the problem of allowing the race to turn into burnout. He wrote this book primarily for those who are exhausted and weary in a culture of burnout.   Although he writes primarily to Christian pastors and leaders, the principles of this book can be used by anyone who feels the effects of exhaustion. There is a funny illustration, but a little too true about life today. "Doing, doing, doing; producing, producing, producing; more, more, more; longer, longer, longer." Murray focuses on grace as the motivating factor for all of life. If grace does...
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Why do I complain so much?

by Roger E. BayramianNo Comments
A week ago, my family visited a local farm to pick strawberries. As we left, I bought each of my kids a flavored popsicle for the drive home. They enjoyed it for a few minutes until I heard from the back of the car that my son wanted a napkin because he did not like it. My ten-year-old daughter told my eight-year-old son, "You never like anything, it's too hot, or it's too cold, it doesn't taste good, you are never satisfied." At that moment I did not know whether I should commend her for her skillful assessment of the human heart or to comfort my son who had just received a tongue lashing as he had his heart exposed. Over this last year it seems that complaining has become so normal that we do not realize we are doing it all the time.  Can you believe the traffic? I cannot believe I have to wear a mask outside. These politicians...
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