I'm just an ordinary guy, who lives in an ordinary town in an ordinary region of Pennsylvania, and today I’d like to talk about common sense. There seems to be a lack of it these days.

My first piece of common sense is stating what I believe, and how that impacts the groups with whom I associate. My core beliefs can be boiled down to four statements.

1. I affirm and honor the individual human being as he/she is, made in the Creator’s image to do good by encouraging the individual's potential to make a difference in the world

2. I will encourage, but never coerce, an individual to reach out to others, both to GIVE HELP to others and to SEEK HELP from others, in order that the individual's God-given destiny may be fulfilled.

3. I affirm, honor, and live by eternal verities and universal principles of truth.

4. The foundation of my life is expressed in the three pillars of faith, hope, and charity (love).

These four principles govern how I relate to others as one ordinary person to another, and what associations are pivotal in living out those principles. I currently have three aspects of my life, expressed in the three associations most central to who I am-my Church, the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, and (until recently) the Republican Party.

I am a member of the Lutheran Church, a church body which affirms and honors the individual. I always feel affirmed and am encouraged to make a difference in the world,encouraged to reach out to Give Help, and encouraged to Seek help-when needed- because of this association. The Lutheran Church affirms eternal verities and universal truth in the documents which show us who we are-including the Bible (both Old and New Testament), the Confessional Writings of the Church Fathers, and the tradtion of the Ecumenical Creeds. I know exactly what I believe. The pillars of faith, hope and charity (love) are basic to this church. The words of the Hebrew Prophet Micah are key:

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

and what does the Lord require of you

but to do justice,

and to love kindness,

and to walk humbly with your God?

The familiar writings of the Apostle of the New Testament Church emphasize this central point:

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three;

and the greatest of these is love.

And so, one might say, I am very active in my Church. I am one of its ordained ministers. My current ministry is not in a congregation, however. But I now have the opportunity to live out my four principles to their fullest as a part of the Lutheran Congregation in which I hold membership.

The second association dear to me, one that has saved my life, is the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. I have recovered from this seemingly hopeless condition through the practice of the Twelve Steps. I find a great affirmation of the individual in this fellowship. It was through Alcoholics Anonymous that I refined the second truth which I hold dear, for A.A. encourages, but never coerces, the individual. The universal truths and eternal verities of A.A. are found in its Basic Text, Alcoholics Anonymous. This book is our anchor in sobriety and in the spiritual life which the Twelve Steps encourage, as we live a life of faith, hope, and charity (love) on a daily basis.

The third association, near and dear to me is the one that expresses my political life. I am a committed member of the Republican Party I have been known to say that I would not vote for Jesus Christ if he were running as a Democrat. The recent past, however, has saddened me, as I see the Republican Party drifting from its core principles, which used to be congruent to my personal philosophy.

I long for the day when the Republican Party will affirm and honor the individual as he/she is, created to do good, encouraging the individual’s potential so the individual will realize “I can make a difference in the world!”

It needs to be a party that encourages, but does not coerce, a person to reach out to give help to those in need, and to seek help when that person is in need themselves.

It needs to be a party that affirms and lives by the universal truths, the eternal verities found in our Consitution and Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Independence, and the writings of our Founding Fathers.

It needs to be a forward-looking party, optimistic about its future based on faith, hope and charity, inviting the people of this country, the ordinary guys and gals, to join our happy throng.

Sitting here in Somerset, Pennsylvania on this cold, snowy night, I treasure my church and my AA fellowship. I pray for my party. But I guess two out of three ain’t bad!