Are You Ready For Some Football!

It's my favorite season--football season. I love watching my kid's team play, I love watching the majestic winged helmeted warriors play, and I love watching the gridiron gladiators who don the honolulu blue and silver. I also love playing Madden or NCAA on the PS3 as well as agonizing over my fantasy football team. I even love getting outside and playing backyard football!

Sadly, football sometimes interferes with my devotional life. It is great to have passions, but those passions should not interfere with our relationship with God and others. This year I want to be extra careful that it doesn't happen. I don't want a Trojans, Wolverines, or Lions loss to affect my mood in a way that affects how I treat others. I don't want all the time spent watching and playing football to get in the way of my devotional time. My relationship with God (which directly correlates with my relationship with others) must come first.

With that said Go Madison Trojans, Michigan Wolverines and Detroit Lions! 

I can justify it!

There has been a groundhog (hedgehog...not sure of the difference) in the neighborhood that has been digging holes, destroying gardens, and even attacking my neighbor's cat. My neighbor came over and asked if I could help get rid of it by letting out my dogs if I saw it. She said the other neighbor has promised to shoot it if he saw it and between the two of us we could probably get rid of the vermin.

Last evening I saw it about 50 yards out in the yard. Now Zeus isn't fast; he is big and strong, but no way he could get to it. Milo is faster, but he slows considerably after about 20 yards. However, I am sure Omega is an American Staffordshire mixed with a Jack Russell so this job was perfect for him. I took him out, pointed him in the proper direction and yelled "squirrel". I'm not sure the groundhog ever knew what hit it.

I was discussing this with some friends and one sweet soul, Kim, was appalled. She is a lover of all things created. However, she did admit to her seeming hypocrisy because she allows her cats to hunt mice. Her sensitivity and self examination warmed my heart. How often do we point the finger at others without first examining ourselves. And when we do examine ourselves we figure out how to justify what we're doing (or not doing). Kim could have easily said "well mice are disease carrying rodents and need to be destroyed", but she didn't. She recognized her hypocrisy. 

I wish more people would take the time to evaluate themselves before pointing fingers at others. I wish more people would stop justifying what they're doing (or not doing). We all have areas that we're not proud of, we all have areas where God can improve on. 

As Elvis famously crooned:

Back porch preacher preaching at me
Acting like he wrote the golden rules
Shaking his fist and speeching at me
Shouting from his soap box like a fool
Come sunday morning he's lying in bed
With his eye all red, with the wine in his head
Wishing he was dead when he oughta be
Heading for sunday school

Clean up your own backyard
Oh don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine

Drugstore cowboy criticizing
Acting like he's better than you and me
Standing on the sidewalk supervising
Telling everybody how they ought to be
Come closing time most every night
He locks up tight and out go the lights
And he ducks out of sight and he cheats on his wife
With his employee

Clean up your own backyard
Oh don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine

Armchair quarterbacks always moanin
Second guessing people all day long
Pushing, fooling and hanging on in
Always messing where they don't belong
When you get right down to the nitty-gritty
Isnt it a pity that in this big city
Not a one alittle bitty manll admit
He could have been a little bit wrong

Clean up your own backyard
Oh don't you hand me, don't you hand me none of your lines
Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine

Clean up your own backyard
You tend to your business, I'll tend to mine

Oversaved

The video is ten times better than this blog, so if you haven't watched it do so...don't worry it is safe for work.

When I became a pastor I was worried people wouldn't want to talk to me. Why? I had an uncle that was a preacher and people avoided him like the plague. He was a good man, but when he walked up people scattered. Why? If you watched the video he was what you might call "over-saved". I never wanted to be that way. Now some people probably think I am "under-saved". I actually had a person in a class for my Master's of Divinity try to get me saved (true story!). I'm sure some of my peers and colleagues question my salvation or at least my calling. Is it any wonder that Billy Sunday was one of my favorite preachers!

People may question what I talk about or some of the language I use or some of the places I hang out, but I hope they never question my love for God and my love for people. I struggle loving people at times, hell, truth be told I struggle loving God at times. But I'm always going to make the best effort I can. I realize love takes work and love is an action and love is a decision. Jesus loved everyone his culture told him he didn't have to love--I want to be like that.

Test Everything

I was up at 4 am this morning watching a show on the lost years of Jesus on the Science channel (I know about TiVo, I didn't get up to watch it, it just happened to be on and I happened to be awake). It was cool because they actually had legitimate scholars that I have heard of like Marcus Borg. Anyway what struck me wasn't the program, but the mantra of the Science channel--"Test Everything". I love it! We should test everything, especially our theology.


The scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. A theological theory should be similar. My favorite filter to run theology through is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral that includes: reason, experience, tradition and scripture. 


Science and theology should go hand in hand and not be bitter enemies. I once heard theology is God revealed in Scripture and science is God revealed in nature (I like it!). It seems to me if your theology is at odds with your science one of the two is screwed up. So keep testing, keep asking the tough questions and never stop considering that you may not be right!

Don't Give Up!

I've always wanted to be a writer. My elementary education records that my mother stashed away are full of awards for creative writing. However, in 1981 as I filled out my electives for my 8th grade year of junior high school, my writing career took a lethal blow. I was elated to see a journalism class, but to take that class you needed an endorsement by your 7th grade English teacher. I approached Mr. Alkema and  and asked if he would sign off on it. He looked at me in disgust and although I don't remember his exact words it was something along the lines of "no way in hell". It was at that moment that I developed a hatred for the academic subject of "English"and came to the conclusion that being a professional writer was simply a fantasy, like being a pro baseball player.

I often wonder why Mr. Alkema wasn't more encouraging. I wonder why he didn't take me under his wing and offer to help me master the English language so he could proudly recommend me for journalism. Did he realize he was squashing my dreams...was he just having a bad day that day?

When I felt the desire/call/passion to pastoral ministries (and writing sermons) there were some who looked at me, looked at my past and said in so many words "no way in hell". Thankfully, I had learned my lesson about listening to naysayers and listened to all those who spoke with encouragement instead.

King David was a man after God's own heart, but he also had naysayers. He was voted least likely to be chosen by God by his own father. Nabal mocked David ruthlessly and refused him help. God, however was there for David--even when King David made huge mistakes God was still there to lift him up.    

Maybe you feel like throwing in the towel and giving up on your dreams. Maybe, your friends and family have told you "no way in hell". Listen to God, listen for that still small voice. Listen to those that encourage. Above all, don't give up on your dreams.

Transformed

My vacation is winding down and I've begun to reflect back on it. One thing that stands out for me is just how much I enjoy being on my motorcycle. The wind in my face, the roar and vibration of the Milwaukee made power plant, the ability to see everything around me unhindered, and the freedom makes me want to raise my fist and shout with joy. The only thing keeping me from riding around with a huge smile is that I don't want my grill to turn into a bug catcher. If you saw me on my bike you would notice that there is a joy in my eyes...a transformation from my normal every day walking around attitude. A metamorphous takes place when I am riding.

To compare what happens to me when I am on my HOG to the "Transfiguration" would be heretical at best in some people's eyes. But......Jesus became transfigured at rest. When I am on my bike, even when riding the Dragon's Tail, I am at rest and I am transformed. It isn't lost on me that the author of Mark says Jesus was transfigured after six days (does that scream Sabbath rest to anyone else?). Jesus revealed his glory on the mountain...is it possible that I'm revealing my glory, even God's glory while I'm riding?

I guess the point of this blog post and my reflection is that we need times of rest. And in those times of rest we need to do things that bring us joy. Frank Green introduced me to the word faceting, which is the process of cutting a gem to bring out its glory. We need that thing in our life, that faceting, which brings us joy.    

Dragon's Tail

Last week I rode the Dragon's Tail on my 2009 Softail Custom Harley Davidson. It is a road through the Smokey Mountains that has 318 curves in an 11 mile stretch. And these are not long winding turns, but short, tight, and sometimes banked turns. This road is designed for the sport bike and sports car, not necessarily for a big ole' HOG and two riders. However I plunged into it, with Catherine on the back, excited to test my abilities. I have to admit there were several times when my heart skipped a beat, several times when my foot peg scrapped the ground and many times when I felt Catherine tense up behind me--but we made it! And I was glad Catherine was on the back. She has become an accomplished passenger. She leaned into some of the turns with me which helped me make the corner instead of ending up a statistic. She knew when to pinch me or yell at me for going too fast which reminded me to stay humble instead of ending up a statistic. She was also there at the end to rejoice with me over such an exciting ride! Its great having a partner.

God knows this. The story of Adam and Eve is the story of partnership. Saul needed Samuel. David needed Nathan. Peter needed Jesus. Paul needed Barnabas. And so it goes...(I love Kurt Vonnegut). We need a partner in life to help us lean into the curves life throws at us. We need a partner in life to help remind us when we are being tempted to do something foolish. We need a partner in life to rejoice with. A partner doesn't have to be a spouse. It can be a friend. It can be a relative. It can be a parent or a child. But we can't do this thing called life alone...we're just not designed for it.  

Olympic Weightlifting

I was watching an Olympic weightlifter from Iran the other day attempt a qualifying lift. He had three coaches. One coach was giving him verbal advice. One coach was massaging his shoulders. The third coach was praying for him and kept praying for him throughout the entire lift. Wow! I think we can learn something from this.

Christians say prayer is filled with power; they also claim preaching has the ability to be transformational. Therefore, why don't preachers have someone praying for them while they are preaching? I know many churches pray for their pastor before the service, but I've only heard of a few that have someone actively praying for their pastor while he or she is in the act of preaching. If we really believe prayer is powerful and not just lip service why don't we pray more? If an Olympic weightlifter needs prayer while trying to lift a heavy weight, how much more does a pastor need prayer while speaking for God?