Archive for November, 2003

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Published
by
Mike
on November 7, 2003
in General
. 0 Comments

The Love-of-My-Life is a year older today. Happy birthday!

Have you seen the new SI yet? All 2,548 covers of Sports Illustrated are included. It’s interesting to read the all-star cast of those who have been on the cover the most.

You start, of course, with Michael Jordan. He was there 49 times! Now, that’s dominance. Next was Muhammad Ali (37), followed by Kareem (22), Magic (22), and Jack Nicklaus (22).

Among those on there three times: Hank Aaron, Kathy Ireland, Babe Ruth, A-Rod, Ozzie Smith, Cheryl Tiegs, and Pete Sampras. All right, not all are on there because of their athletic accomplishments!

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Published
by
Mike
on November 7, 2003
in General
. 1 Comment

Can’t wait to hear Tony Campolo on Sunday and Monday. What an influence this man has been. He has pleaded with Christians not to be reductionistic with the gospel–not to diminish it to something like “the saving of souls.” He has continually called on us to understand the implications of the kingdom of God that has broken in. He keeps asking people to face the question: “What does it mean for us to follow Jesus?” That is, what would it mean if, instead of just going to church, we decided to take discipleship seriously?

Yesterday I fed burgers at noon to 15 of my students. I expected them to run off afterward, but they noticed that we had “Finding Nemo.” So the ones who didn’t have class (at least I’m assuming they didn’t!) stayed and watched the movie. At the end, after Nemo and his dad were reunited, one of the girls told me it made her want to drive home and see her parents.

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Published
by
Mike
on November 5, 2003
in General
. 0 Comments

Hurray! A break from speaking on Wednesday evenings. (Am I getting less creative, or was it always hard to give birth to two messages each week?) Tonight Randy Harris starts a 3-week series called “Theological Explosions.”

I’m lucky. The fill-in preaching at Highland isn’t bad: Randy, Jack Reese, Mark Love, Jeff Childers, Tim Sensing, Steve Weathers, etc. (If Weathers ever decides to give up his career as an English prof for preaching, I’ll surely be thrown out on the street to make room for him!)

Battling Hunger AND Obesity

Published
by
Mike
on November 4, 2003
in justice and missional
. 0 Comments

The Agricultural Department has just reported that more American families are battling hunger than there have been in many years. It’s related to the jump in the number of people living in poverty — 34.6 million in 2002 (up 1.7 million from 2001).

We’re a nation battling obesity and hunger.

65% of adults and 13% of children are significantly overweight. And yet millions are finding it difficult to get enough to eat.

One of the problems is that diets are easily compromised in families with poverty-level incomes. They have to buy filling, high-calorie food that isn’t always nutritious.

Perhaps the more disturbing trend is how fewer and fewer seem to care. As long as MY family is doing well, as long as My kids have a good school, as long as MY neighborhood is safe, then the world is fine.

But the world isn’t fine. The kingdom of God continues breaking in to reverse our perspectives. It keeps calling on us to open our eyes to the needs all around us. It keeps reminding us that we are to serve rather than to be served.

I spoke recently to a man in Dallas who is giving his life (and resources) to community-building among the poor. He said his great frustration is that people often just don’t care if it isn’t THEIR neighborhood and doesn’t involve THEIR kids. They would vote for policies that made their lives a tiny bit better–even if it delivered a crushing blow to the unseen poor.

Here’s a thought for the day: In a nation where both hunger and obesity are a problem, what does it mean for our mission to hear Jesus say, “I am the bread of life“?

Locating Nemo

Published
by
Mike
on November 3, 2003
in General
. 0 Comments

“Finding Nemo” comes out tomorrow. Bet we can beat you to Super Wal-Mart! Is there a more hilarious scene than the sharks’ 12-step meeting?

Enjoy these words from Dallas Willard (author of The Spirit of the Disciplines, The Divine Conspiracy, and Renovation of the Heart):

“Spiritual formation for the Christian basically refers to the Spirit-driven process of forming the inner world of the human self in such a way that it becomes like the inner being of Christ himself.”

Bleachers

Published
by
Mike
on November 1, 2003
in Books and sports
. 0 Comments

“Hello. My name is Mike. And I’m a Grisham addict.”

I’m looking at my shelf full of Grisham books that our family has enjoyed reading. It hit me yesterday that they kind of all run together in my mind now. Yesterday I was trying to tell someone what The Runaway Jury was about (since he was thinking about going to the movie). Halfway into the explanation, it hit me that I may have been recounting The Summons, perhaps with pieces of The Partner, the Brethren, and The Testament thrown in for good measure.

A few years ago I got to interview John Grisham for Wineskins magazine. I have appreciated how this devoted Christian man (who has been on international mission trips) brings his faith to his writing.

I just read Bleachers. No lawyers, no trials, no chase scenes. Just high school football. As former players of Coach Eddie Rake come back to Messina to await his death, you get to peek in on the culture of communities where football is king. Perhaps a fictional version of Friday Night Lights, a NY Times best-seller about West Texas football.

While most of the people in the story are former players who had their two years in the limelight or are the adoring fans who made them princes and kings, not everyone shares their view. Here are the blunt words of the former girlfriend of Neely Crenshaw, the All-American QB, who had his number retired:

“It was silly. Grown men crying after a loss. The entire town living and dying with each game. Prayer breakfasts every Friday morning, as if God cares who wins a high school football game. More money spent on the football team than on all other student groups combined. Worshiping seventeen-year-old boys who quickly become convinced they are truly worthy of being worshiped. The double standard–a football player cheats on a test, everybody scrambles to cover it up. A nonathlete cheats, and he gets suspended. The stupid little girls who can’t wait to give it up to a Spartan. All for the good of the team. Messina needs its young virgins to sacrifice everything. Oh, and I almost forgot. The Pep Girls! Each player gets his own little slave who bakes him cookies on Wednesday and puts a spirit sign in his front yard on Thursday . . . .”

Well, as a football-lover, that seems a bit extreme (though it does expose some of the insanity that often exists). BUT, I have often wondered what would happen if some people took their faith as seriously as they take their devotional to the BIG GAME. Why do people who arrive late for their church’s assemblies manage to get to the field half an hour early? Why do those who sit quietly on the back rows yell at the top of their lungs at the stadium? Why do we tend to care more about a teenager’s athletic ability than about his (or her) spiritual development? Well, you see where this is going!

Maybe I’m just bitter this morning because AHS lost to our cross-town rivals last night!