Future Chinese Provinces

The world now has a new nuclear power in North Korea. To an outsider, it seems like a horrible waste of resources for a country that has a difficult time feeding its own people.

I was recently in the physician's lounge waiting for a case to get started back in the OR. They were discussing the then possible nuclear tests in North Korea. The conversation went something like this...

Orthopedic surgeon: I can't believe we're letting that crazy guy in North Korea get nukes.

General Surgeon: Yeah, we should just send our boys over there to clean that place out.

Anesthesiologist: Except instead of doing like we did in Iraq, we should flatten the whole
country. That way we won't get bogged down.

Cardiac Surgeon: What we ought to do is use several of those neutron bombs and clean out the
whole place.

Anesthesiolgist: Yeah, and then we could ask the Chinese if they need a new province.

General Surgeon: Yeah, and we could offer to throw in South Korea as a bonus.

Me: Its kind of illogical that a country with only 300 million people would be trying
to dictate to larger countries such as India that they can't have nukes.

At this point everyone shut up about nukes, neutron bombs, and future Chinese provinces and began discussing the then pending Georgia/Tennessee game. After the conversation, I think I have a better understanding as to why North Korea might want nuclear weapons of their own. Of course, I didn't live through the Korean war either.

Churches

Not being near a Mennonite church, I embarked on a church finding quest when I moved here for residency. It was an eye opening experience. Baptists are the dominant force here in the South. I attended several Baptist churches, but never really bonded with any of them. The services were like a weird combination of a Broadway show and a political rally. Very polished Broadway style music, interspersed with pleas for cash seemed to be the emphasis.

For a time, I attended a Christian Missionary Alliance church. I liked the emphasis on ministry and the de-emphasis on doctrines such as eternal security and the admiration of military service that other area denominations had. However, the emphasis on outreach seemed to come somewhat at the expense of the life of the local church and was almost legalistic. I admire their vision and drive, but it wasn't what I needed at this point in my life.

I had visited a Church of Christ earlier on, but was very mortified by the singing. It was Acapella, but would have been much better had there been a few loud instruments to drown out everyone's voices. However, I decided to try another Church of Christ in the area, and have been quite pleased with it ever since. I appreciate their emphasis on holy living. While they have a focus on missions, it is not at the expense of the life of the local body. If you were to close your eyes, and just listen to the music, you could imagine that you were in a Mennonite church.

What I enjoy most there are the new hymns. When I was a child, the more musically inclined song leaders would occasionally attempt to teach us a new song. The music would sort of limp along, but the song would never have any volume, and never reached the majestic concoction of noises its composers intended it to have. At this church, the hymnal is from a different tradition than my own, and contains a number of hymns that I don't know. Its fun to be able to learn them with a group who already knows them well.