A Sense of Entitlement
I've been kind of following a couple of stories in the sports world lately. Given all that's been going on lately, I haven't kept up with them nearly as much, but they are similar stories in different sports. So, here's a couple of brief summaries on the situations, as I understand them, and my reflections follow afterwards.
1) Stephen Strasburg. Strasburg was the #1 pick in the MLB amateur draft. The Nationals, but virtue of being terrible, got the #1 pick and used it on the person who was widely considered to be the best pitcher available in amateur baseball. Strasburg spent last season as a junior at San Diego State University where he went 13-1 with a 1.32 ERA. He also pitched for the U.S. Olympic team at the most recent summer olympics. He, as of August 13th, has not been signed by the Nationals. The deadline for draft picks to be signed by the club is August 17th. If Strasburg hasn't signed by the end of the day on the 17th, he can play independent league baseball, go back to college (although, I'm not sure if he can since he has an agent), or sit around picking his nose until next year's draft. Some reports put the contract that Strasburg and his agent, Scott Boras, in the $15-$20 million number.
2) Michael Crabtree. Crabtree, the WR out of Texas Tech, was the #10 overall pick by the San Francisco 49ers. All of the pre-draft boards had him as the #1 WR in the draft, Al Davis, in his increasing insanity, decided to use the #7 pick that the Oakland Raiders had to draft a different WR. Crabtree is apparently listening to his cousin, who insists that he get a contract in line with the pre-draft rankings instead of the actual draft position. In other words, even though Crabtree was drafted 10th overall, he wants a contract better than the guy that was drafted 7th overall. To top it off, he is threatening to sit out the entire season unless he gets this contract.
First thought: Who in the world do these guys think they are?
Neither one of them has been on the roster of a professional team for a single day. Neither one of them has earned a single penny as a professional athlete, but they seem to have this sense that they deserve more than some veterans make in a single season. It's just not right. I'm starting to think that all players should only get the league minimum for the first two years of their professional career. After that, they can sign a new contract that is based on what they have done on the field, and not on their potential or projections.
People in all professional fields start at the bottom and work their way up, no matter how good they are. Why should professional athletes be any different?
Sometimes, Life Just Sucks
Tuesday, August 11, 2009. A day I don't think I'll ever forget. It's the day that our excitement and dreams were crushed. It's the day that we lost our baby.
I was doing my office hours at Hillsboro, and when I came home, Katie started feeling a cramp in her abdomen. She had been spotting again, but I wasn't too concerned just yet. Then the cramping started. We got in the car and went to St. Clare in Crawfordsville. I think I knew what was going to happen, but I didn't want to admit it to myself. Then it did, and I couldn't stop crying.
I'm sitting at home on Wednesday morning, and I don't know what to say. I'm grateful for all the support that we have received from friends and family. I know that God was with us every step of the way. But, honestly, I feel like crap. Maybe it's because I didn't sleep well last night (you'd think that for as much as the hospital is going to charge us, they'd have better sleeping accomodations!), maybe because it took us four years to get pregnant in the first place... I don't know. I still think about how Katie got to hear the heartbeat in Atlanta a few weeks ago, and my eyes start to tear up because I never did. We were getting ready to start on the nursery...
I know that God is with us, but sometimes, life just sucks...
Team #2
I spent a little bit of time talking with my brother-in-law last night about his fantasy football team on ESPN. He's doing a league with a bunch of his friends and they're doing a live draft, and that got me thinking about signing up for a second team on ESPN and doing a draft. So, that's what I did. I just finished my first live draft, and I'm pretty happy about my team - apart from not having Manning on my team for the first time in eight years.
So, without any further build-up, here is my #2 team for this fantasy football season.
QB: Rivers, Roethlisberger
RB: Peterson, Westbrook, Addai, Hightower, Maroney
WR: Wayne, Ward, Walter, Hester
TE: Tony Gonzalez, Kellen Winslow
DEF: Chicago, New England
K: Rackers
I don't have a back-up kicker, but I figure when the off week comes, I'll just pick one up off the waiver wire. In this league, I can play either 3 RB's or 3 WR's each week. With 5 RB's one of them will probably be trade-bait or end up on the waiver wire. We'll see how it shakes out.
All in all, though, I think this is a pretty strong team, but we'll see how it shakes out.
Can You Hear the Call?
No, this isn't a sermon or a devotional thoughts blog, in spite of what you may think from the title of the post. It is a post to announce the most glorious news that I have heard since I found out I was going to be a father (by the way, if you haven't heard.... I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER!!!!!).
In checking in on some of my blogs in Google Reader, one of the categories that I have set up is "Wii". I like to see what's coming up and read some of the reviews for the Wii and its games. Anyway! CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE IS COMING OUT ON THE WII!!!!!! It is scheduled to be released on November 10th in conjunction with the launch of Modern Warfare 2 for other game consoles.
After playing through Call of Duty: World at War, I bought CoD4 for our computer at a Half Price Books, but our computer doesn't have the necessary video component to play the game. I've wanted to play it, but just haven't been able to do so. With any luck, this one will also have an online format similar to CoD:WaW.
So, if you were wondering what might end up on my Christmas list.... well, there you go....
On ICEE's and Foam Cups
I got an ICEE yesterday. Okay, it wasn't really an ICEE, but it was a "frozen drink" similar to an ICEE. Some call them slushies, some call them ICEE, I say call me when you're getting them. When I lived in Noblesville, I couldn't go more than five days without this frozen, delightful treat. The best one that I have had is the Mountain Dew one found at most Speedway gas stations. Unfortunately, the one thing that I have not liked about living in Veedersburg is the lack of Mountain Dew frozen drinks. I know, I know, it's rather trivial, that's why I haven't complained to my district superintendent yet.... yet... Anyway, all of this has gotten me on an unexpected tangent. The purpose of this post is to discuss the need for a revolution in the frozen drink world.
You see, some places feel the need to have styrofoam cups for these frozen drinks. On the surface, it makes sense. After all, who wants their frozen drink to melt all over the place. The "Polar Pop" idea works great for fountain drinks, and I am a strong advocate of it because it does make your fountain drink stay colder, longer. This is advantageous because the ice in the fountain drink does not melt and thereby water down your fountain drink. But notice the key modifying word here - fountain drink, not frozen.
When you place a frozen drink in a foam cup, it also keeps it colder longer. Again, this would seem to make sense; however, there is a very important flaw in the system. What makes ICEEs, slushies, or whatever you call these heavenly drinks so good is the fact that the slush stays in a slush-like state. Once it begins to become more frozen, all of the joy of the frozen drink gets sucked up in the syrup, and all you have is a cup full of packed ice. It's very disturbing.
Drinking a frozen drink is an art form. The slush needs to stay slush-like, not hail-like, so you can't drink it too fast (not to mention the fact that drinking it too fast causes a major freeze in my apparently huge brain; it must be huge because it extends to the roof of my mouth). However, the slush also needs to not melt too quickly so you end up with some kind of cold soda that has been left on the counter overnight, so you can't drink it too slow either. But the foam cup kills any kind of drink-timing that goes along with frozen drinks in the first place. It's very disturbing, my friends... very disturbing.
So, I want everyone to come together and raise up a single voice in support of the non-foam cup slushie, or ICEE, or whatever you call it! Stand up, my friends! Stand up against the tyranny of foam cups! Stand up against the crime of packed ice frozen drinks! FREEEEDOOOOOOMMMMmmm!!!
Lead a Life Worthy of Your Call
The following was preached at Veedersburg and Hillsboro UMC on Sunday, August 2, 2009. The text for this weeks is Ephesians 4:1-16.
This is our fourth and final week in Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. Today we move into the more practical portion of the letter. The first three chapters have been laying a foundation, and now in chapters 4-6 some of the practical instruction starts to kick in. So far, throughout the letter, it has been “because of this” and in chapter 4, it switches to “therefore, do this.” And from chapter 4 through the rest of the letter, we see more of an imperative, or instructive, tone to the letter.
Paul begins by something that was mentioned briefly last week. It is a reminder of his current circumstances. At the time of writing, Paul was in prison. Paul’s words here carry more weight because of his circumstances. Paul has taken these words that he is going to share with the Ephesians so seriously that it has led to his imprisonment. He is not just urging the reader to do X, Y and Z without understanding the potential consequences for following through on his instructions. Setting an example by your life is powerful. We may not think that others are watching, but I can guarantee you that they are.
Parents. Now, I’m not going to assume that just because I have a child on the way now that I can tell anyone how to raise his or her children. I’m sure that it’s always easier to raise someone else’s kids. However, there is one thing that I do know, and you can take this to the bank. Your children are watching you. Whether you think they are or not, and whether they will admit it to you or not; your children watch what you do, they know how you live and they will take their cues from you. Are you setting an example by how you live?
Now, some of you may be thinking, “I have set a good example for my children, but they are still just horrible, horrible people.” Okay, you may not be thinking that exactly, but the truth is that there are times when parents can set incredible examples and, as the saying goes, the apple falls very far from the tree. Yes, that absolutely happens, more often than we would like. But if you have set the example, they know when they are going the wrong way. People can look at the world’s best examples and still fall way short. However, grace has to come into play. If they see grace in the midst of their shortcomings, you’ve once again set an example for them to follow.
In the same way, for those who are not parents, or for those who think that this part of the message is only for parents, I hope you’ve been listening as well because other people are watching you. People who know that you go to church on Sunday morning, and people who know what you are like outside of church during the rest of the week. They are watching you. They are learning about your character and about who you are. And if the day comes that you start to witness to them, and your life has not matched up with your witness, then you will hold no credibility with them.
Last week I was able to watch a movie that I have been putting off for a long time. Some of you may have seen it, it came out a few years ago. It’s called The Prestige and it stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale as rival magicians. Early on in the movie, they are working for the same magician, who wants them to figure out a trick that an older Chinese magician has been doing for quite some time. He acts as if he does not have the strength required to complete the trick, but in reality he does. He sells the trick by how he lives out the rest of his life. People were watching him even when he wasn’t performing, and that is how his trick became so unbelievable.
Now, in this case, the Chinese man was living a lie so that he could amaze people with this magic trick. We can’t fake it. Yes, we can be on our best behavior and say all the right things from time to time, but to authentically live out your faith, that’s something that can’t be faked. Sticking with the same terminology here, you sell your faith by how you live, even when you are not on stage. Your life has to flow out of your relationship with God. It has to, because if it doesn’t, then people have no reason to believe it when you talk about the difference that Jesus has made in your life.
And here’s the other thing. Even if you are good enough to fool everyone around you, even if you say all the right things, even if your performance is flawless, there is still One who you cannot fool. There is still One who won’t be amazed by the show that you put on. There is still One who knows where your heart is. Is anyone else uncomfortable yet? You can fool everyone that you have ever known, but in the end, at the end, you cannot fool God. So, which is the better option – putting on a show for everyone else, or authentically living out your faith?
I’d say that’s a pretty easy answer. And I think that is the call that Paul is putting forth in the first few verses of this chapter. He tells his readers to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Humility, gentleness, patience, love, unity and peace – all are characteristics of one who is living a life of authenticity before the Lord.
We talked about unity a little bit a couple weeks ago. But I think it’s important, once again, to understand the importance of unity in the Christian life. Unity does not mean that every single person has to agree on every single thing. That’s not unity. Unity for the sake of everyone agreeing is not healthy, nor is it beneficial. The important thing for us to remember is exactly what Paul says here. “There is one body and one Spirit… one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all...”
Ministry is never about lifting up our own name, but about lifting up everything to the Father. I think we have a unique opportunity in our community to work together with different denominations and truly make an impact for the sake of the kingdom of God. But it’s important that our focus is in the right direction. And that has to start right here. I don’t know how to do it, but I know that if the churches in this area worked together to share the gospel, then amazing things can happen. We already do some things with other churches. Some of that foundation has already been poured. But what can we do to take it to the next step? That’s the question that we need to wrestle with. How can we join together with what God is doing? It has to start with us living out our lives in a manner worthy of our calling.
In the process of living out our faith, we become aware of the grace that God has given us. And I think it’s important to point out that the grace we receive is not necessarily revealed in the same way as the grace that others receive. Now, this doesn’t mean that the grace one person receives is better or more extensive than the grace that another person receives; it’s just different. In other places, Paul talks more specifically about gifts of the Spirit. This is a manifestation of God’s grace in our lives. Each person is gifted in a different way and all of these gifts have their purpose in the kingdom of God. There isn’t one that is better than another; they are just different, and this is where we get a better understanding of unity.
Unity is not about conformity. Everyone doesn’t need to look the same, act the same and say the same thing in order for there to be unity. Unity is about those who are gifted in different areas working for a common goal. This, I believe, is the reason why so many organizations go through a long process of developing vision statements and core values. It helps to focus all of those involved in a common direction. It helps to give very diverse people some sense of unity. I think they are important, and it is something that we, as a congregation, need to be praying about.
Remember what I said a while back – when your memories exceed your dreams, the end is near. I want to know what your dreams are. I want each and every person here to stop allowing their memories to push them forward, and start allowing their dreams to lead them forward. Is that scary? Yeah, I think so. We’re talking about uncharted territory. We’re talking about fully relying on God to guide us into an uncertain future. But God doesn’t ask us to understand everything right away. He asks us to trust in Him and be obedient to the calling that He has placed in our lives. I think one of the places that we need to start is with what Paul is talking about in the second half of this part of the letter.
Paul mentions specifically five different spiritual gifts and he discusses their purpose in the body of Christ. Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are the five that Paul mentions. There are people in this congregation who are gifted in these particular roles. Sometimes others notice them before we do, but each one is a way that God’s grace is working in our lives. These particular gifts have a purpose that is mentioned by Paul in this section.
Their purpose is to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” and “to build up the body of Christ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God.” The purpose of these gifts is so that people can be equipped for ministry and so that they can mature in their faith. I think one of the biggest problems that we see in today’s Church (and that’s big “C” church) is that people come to faith and go on with their lives as though nothing happened. They profess their faith and continue on with life as normal. But the problem is, that when God breaks into our lives, there is no such thing as life as normal.
When we put our faith in Christ, we are only children. We think that the public profession of faith is the end, but the truth is, it’s just the beginning. Our faith journey never ends, it continues to progress. Sometimes you hear language of coming to faith as a “new birth.” In a sense, that captures the concept that Paul is trying to get across in verses 11-16.
What happens when you are born? You enter into a new phase of life in which you grow and, hopefully, mature. You aren’t the same person that you were on your first birthday. You aren’t the same person you were on your thirteenth birthday. You get the point, don’t you? Every day you grow just a little more, and as the days turn to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years, there have been some significant changes that have occurred in your life. I can’t imagine that there is a single person that hasn’t changed in however many years you have been alive.
But is it like that in our life of faith? Do we constantly grow and change in our faith? I think there are a lot more people who are still in their infancy when it comes to their faith. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m not calling out anyone in particular here. I’m not thinking about some of the interactions that I’ve had with people sitting here today when I say this. I’m saying it in very general terms as a part of what I have seen and heard through the years. I’ve been going to churches since I was a little kid, and over time, you can just how spiritual immaturity has affected people.
Do you ever hear stories about how a church got into a big fight because of the color of the carpet in the sanctuary? That’s spiritual immaturity. In fact, most of the problems that face a church stem from some sort of spiritual immaturity. When we allow our own preferences and selfishness and desire for control to lead us, then we have an issue of spiritual immaturity. And don’t get me wrong here, leaders are not immune to it either. I’ve known a few pastors and a few church leaders who have let their spiritual immaturity get the best of them. And I’m sure there will be times when I do it as well. But the key is that we continue to grow; that, as Paul says, “we my no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.” This comes by embracing spiritual growth as an essential part of our lives.
How do we do this? Well, by taking the time to listen to God - spending time in prayer, taking that 15 minutes a day to read your Bible, sharing your faith with others by how you live and by how you act, learning from those who are further down the road and discipling those who are further behind you. Don’t be satisfied with where you are spiritually. I read somewhere this week that when you stop growing, you start dying. Never be satisfied with your spiritual condition. Always strive to be closer to the heart of God. Live your life in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.