Archive for May, 2005

Clemens: A Bit Slow and a Lot Smarter

Published
by
Mike
on May 31, 2005
in Baseball and sports
. 8 Comments

We did, indeed, get to see Roger Clemens pitch. In eight full innings he gave up just four hits and two runs — which actually RAISED his ERA to 1.30 for the season. And with that incredible ERA, wouldn’t you guess he’s about 10-0?

Nope. He’s pitching for the Astros. He’s 3-3. Yesterday, when he left the game, they were behind 2-0. After relief pitchers came in for one inning, they lost 9-0.

But just watching him is amazing. The guy is 42 — just six years younger than I am. His fastball is no longer 98 (usually around 90 now), but he’s smarter. He’s hitting corners and throwing different kinds of pitches more often.

Lots of cameras clicked every time he faced Ken Griffey, Jr. Remember when he was supposed to be the GREATEST PLAYER EVER? And his first several years in Seattle made it seem like that might be true. Alas, a trade to Cincinnati and injury-after-injury have made him a so-so player. But he’s still Ken Griffey, Jr.

Today we return to the BONE GUY to see how Chris’s back is doing.

Memorial Day

Published
by
Mike
on May 30, 2005
in General
. 7 Comments

A blog repeat (from last Memorial Day):

The whole area of Christian participation in and support for war has been a vexing one for me. (Months ago I mentioned the compelling words of Lee Camp, a Lipscomb professor, in Mere Discipleship, a new book published by Brazos Press.)

But regardless of how one comes out on that dicey issue, we have all benefitted from the courage and sacrifice of those who have fought for freedom. Part of why I have the liberty to sit at my desk today and hack away at this blog is that many have fought against what they believed were forces of evil and injustice.

One of my closest friends, Dr. Charles Mattis, grew up fatherless. When he was young (four, I believe), his father was shot down in Vietnam.

One doesn’t have to be a huge supporter of Vietnam to appreciate the sacrifice that was made–not just by the young pilot but also by his widow and her two small children.

So today I “remember” this man whom I never knew–along with lots of other men and women I never knew.

And I double my prayers for the kingdom of God to continue breaking in. We pray for God’s rule that will cause humans to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. We long for the time when “nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore” (Isaiah 2:4).

Church Signs

Published
by
Mike
on May 29, 2005
in Church of Christ and General
. 37 Comments

On our ride to Houston yesterday, we reached a new low. Chris and I were hot, of course, so we had the air conditioner blowing. To compensate, Diane had her seat warmer going. No wonder the world hates us! We have high-blast AC for the two who are hot and an electrically-heated seat for the one who is cold.

We’re here for a couple days with Matt and Jenna. This morning we get to visit their church for the first time. Tomorrow, we have tickets to see the Astros. If I’ve counted games correctly, the Rocket should be up to pitch. It’s a good year to be an Astros pitcher. You know if you’re going to win, you can’t give up any runs. So you get serious from the first pitch.

Just a question about our trip. Is there a rule that Churches of Christ in small towns HAVE to put signs just outside the city limits telling people where their building is located? I don’t see those signs for Lutherans, for Methodists, for Catholics, or for Baptists. But almost every town you enter has a sign saying “The Blah-Blah-Blah Church of Christ welcomes you” followed by directions.

Car Pool, Light Sabers, and Indoor Horse

Published
by
Mike
on May 27, 2005
in family and the wreck
. 22 Comments

Finally, this week Chris was able to get back into carpool, for the last four days of school. He still can’t carry a backpack, but one of his buddies lugged it in for him.

So yesterday, the final Thursday of the year, I got to drive the gang for the first time since the wreck. And I was out of sync. I had forgotten the “Beach Boys.” So we went with CCR, which I prefer but they don’t.

When they got out at noon (early release), I took them to Mr. Gatti’s to celebrate. We were there with, apparently, most Abilene middle school students. One of the boys asked why there were policemen there. I wanted to know why the National Guard hadn’t been called in.

This was not the sixth grade year we anticipated. The fall went so well, and then that trip to Winterfest in January. It’s all still a fuzz. Often I have to fight reliving the first disorienting hour, waiting for the ambulances to arrive.

I don’t know what’s ahead for Chris. Despite being in Cook’s for ten days, missing school through Spring Break, returning to school in a wheelchair, wearing a back brace, missing baseball — despite all that, he has been amazing. Seldom has he thrown a pity party. He’s moved from outside basketball, which he can’t play yet, to inside basketball. (SEE, I KNEW MY BIG GOAL IN OUR LIVING ROOM BELONGED!) Every night we have a few games of “horse.” This is sometimes followed by a little light saber practice.

I can hardly bring myself to write this, but my little boy almost died in a Yukon just outside Putnam, TX. I’m so thankful he didn’t.

The Ends and the Means

Published
by
Mike
on May 26, 2005
in Church and General
. 19 Comments

In marketing America, we usually think we can justify anything by the results. The means don’t seem to matter. It’s bottom line, baby.

That is not the Way of Christ. He would take no short cuts. He wouldn’t jump off the temple even if people would be impressed.

So we find ourselves caught between these two ways: the way of our culture (where the ends justifies the means) and the Way of Christ.

I often hear people talk about what’s happening at some church and the ultimate justification is “they must be doing something right” — because of attendance, baptisms, etc. But I never find things like that as criteria of faithfulness in scripture.

Or I hear people from Christian colleges justifying anything by saying, “Hey, we’re building dorms . . . enrollment’s increasing . . . we’re having to turn people down . . . we must be doing something right.”

Following Jesus means pursuing the right ends by the right means. What we don’t like is that the right means is often unpopular, difficult, and slow. Painfully slow.

May 25

Published
by
Mike
on May 25, 2005
in General
. 10 Comments

Recently I preached a two-week series on justice. During that brief series I showed a clip from “The Invisible Children,” a film documentary about children in Northern Uganda who are suffering. I talked about the difference a few college students and a camcorder are making in the lives of these kids. Some of you have asked how you can get your own copy of the DVD, so here is the website.

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God’s mercy on all of you school teachers out there in blogland. Tie a knot in the rope. Hang onto it. (Don’t even THINK about putting it around any little annoying necks. They’ll be someone else’s students next year. Keep your streak of “consecutive-years-without-executing-a-child” alive.)

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I was a paperboy. For three years, I went down to the square in Neosho after school every day and delivered the Neosho Daily News. I can still pretty much remember my route. (What I can’t remember, my younger brother, who took over for me, probably can.) Then on Sunday morning, I jumped on my bike at 5:30 and rode downtown to deliver my papers.

Chris is now the age I was when I delivered papers. I can’t really imagine him taking off at 5:30 alone in the dark to deliver papers. But it’s a different world. Not being nostalgic. It just is. Better in some ways; perhaps more dangerous in other ways.

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Why can I remember my paper route from my middle school years and all the lyrics to “The Beverly Hillbillies,” but can’t remember where I put my keys?

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Thanks for the comments yesterday. I stirred the pot a bit, and found myself playing Devil’s Advocate some in the comments.

Some thoughts:

First, I can always count on my former coworker, Deana, for comic relief. But really, my friend, don’t order the t-shirts. :)

Second, the best response I can imagine would be my friend SG sweetly telling a couple teenage boys that little ears are listening. That’s really a profound example of peer pressure in the best sense–as one teen tells the other teen that they shouldn’t talk that way around little kids.

Third, I like that so many wrote in the spirit of 1 Corinthians 5: Be hard on the church (hard in the since of expecting behavior in the Way of Christ), but be gentle on the world.

Personal Freedom and Community Responsibility

Published
by
Mike
on May 24, 2005
in General
. 61 Comments

Saturday morning I popped into Hernandez bakery for some breakfast burritos for the fam. A guy got out of a small pickup that said Hertz and walked in behind me. His shirt said in big, bold letters: “No beer, no f—in’ work.”

I couldn’t believe it. “Surely that isn’t what it says,” I thought. So I kept peeking around to make sure I hadn’t mixed up a couple letters.

That evening at the Rangers game I saw a guy proudly sporting a Big Johnson t-shirt that played off of oral sex–as do so many of the shirts they sell.

It’s also fairly common to see bumper stickers that are not “family-approved.”

My concern here isn’t about language. It’s about public responsibility. Should a guy be able to walk into a family restaurant with a shirt that has the f-word on it?

You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded theater if there is no fire. People might be trampled to death — all because you thought it would be funny.

This is a tough one, because who decides what t-shirts and bumper stickers are all right, which ones are risque but barely all right, and which ones are over the line? And yet, it doesn’t take the Supreme Court to tell us that someone shouldn’t be allowed to wear the shirt I saw in a family establishment.

I’ve recently read an outraged letter that is circulating from a man who was asked by a Delta flight attendant to cover the t-shirt he was wearing because it was offensive to Christians. She undoubtedly shouldn’t have added the last part. But that doesn’t mean she was completely out of line. He’s threatening to sue the airline if they don’t fire her. (Note: earlier this morning, I posted the words from the t-shirt, but I’ve since decided to remove them. They are as blatant and more inappropriate than the phrase I mentioned in the first paragraph.)

All in the name of personal freedom, right? He wore that shirt onto a plane and now he’s incensed that he was wronged. He’s probably outraged about narrow-minded Christians and the loss of freedom. And to be honest, I shutter to think of the ways many narrow-minded people might actually respond! (”Your freedom ends where my Smith and Wesson begins” — a lovely sentiment I’ve seen before.)

So what is the proper response? How do we combine freedom of expression with community responsibility? Who decides? Who enforces?

The Rangers Light It Up

Published
by
Mike
on May 22, 2005
in Baseball and family
. 11 Comments

I’m guessing that some children who live near the Ballpark at Arlington (sorry, not ready to call it Ameriquest Field yet) got confused yesterday. They thought it was the Fourth of July.

Every time the Rangers hit a homerun, fireworks go off. And yesterday at the the game we were at, they homered eight — franchise record EIGHT — times. They had 17 hits, 11 of which were for extra bases.

It was a nail-biter: 18-3.

No wonder Clemens is having one of the best seasons of his life, and can’t come up with many wins.

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Just finished a gorgeous ride along the Trinity River this morning. If I lived anywhere near it, I think it’s a trail I’d have to bike every morning.

At the end of the ride, I went all around the Colonial Golf Course, where the final round will be played today. It was fun watching all the people arriving early to grab their spots. (Note: most of them look like they ride carts when they play golf rather than walk.)

I saw a few golfers warming up. But it didn’t appear to be any of the six I can actually identify!

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Still trying to decide where to go to church this morning. We usually run over to Richland Hills. Love that place and am always fed by Rick. But we may take Chris to University Christian Church today on the TCU campus.

I’ve only been a couple times, but the music was inspiring and the preaching was above average. Plus, they have weekly communion. More and more a worship assembly doesn’t make sense to me if communion isn’t a central part.

Blessings on you Highland folks today. You’ll love hearing Joe Almanza.

The Best of Star Wars Returns

Published
by
Mike
on May 21, 2005
in missional and movies
. 15 Comments

It’s fantastic. Wesa happy. Back to the best of Lucas’ Star Wars. Really even better than I expected after hearing the positive responses on the blog the past couple days.

Dark? Oh, yes. Way dark. But he’s going to the DARK side. The film gives a rather complex answer to the question of why a person becomes evil. It’s fear . . . and misguided love . . . and anger . . . and deception. Rather profound, really. The same question that great writing often deals with. (Remember plowing through Dostoevsky? or high school Shakespeare plays?)

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Today we’re headed to the Ballpark to see the Rangers and Astros. Yoda yesterday; two Texas teams today. Good weekend.

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My alma mater (Harding) just named a very good man as the new dean of the College of Bible and Religion. (He’s also been named a Vice President.) I want to emphasize again: he’s a very good man.

But as one alumnus, I’m puzzled. How can they name as dean of a college someone without a doctorate? (I think he has the same degree as I do from Harding Graduate School. Maybe I was a candidate, too, and didn’t know it.) I was told by Harding people that when the new dean of the College of Business Administration was named (another good man — the president’s son), he didn’t have a doctorate either.

Maybe I just don’t understand this whole accreditation thing. I keep hearing of all the changes and requirements being made at ACU in the College of Biblical Studies because of accreditation. Just hard to imagine that a dean — the academic head of a college within a university — doesn’t have to have a terminal degree. But what do I know.

I assume it’s all right for an alumnus to ask this question.

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Recently I wrote about two young couples going from Highland this summer to Rwanda (the Kendall-Balls) and Sudan (the Shearins). Someone sent a very large check to our financial person at Highland, asking to be anonymous. So I don’t know who it is. But this person wrote on the check, “keep blogging, Mike.”

So, whoever you are, THANKS. I will try to provide an update soon on where they are with the fund-raising.

Entertained Us Well, He Has

Published
by
Mike
on May 20, 2005
in movies
. 16 Comments

Some of you will remember when the original Star Wars movie came out in 1977. Do you remember wondering, “Episode IV? What about I, II, and III?” We didn’t have Roger Ebert to tell us to just wait 22 years for the first one and 28 years for the third one!

It’s hard to appreciate today how fun the saloon scene in Tatooine was. Great music, great aliens, and Han Solo to dominate the screen.

Last night, in preparation for taking THE LAST KID IN AMERICA TO SEE “SITH” to an after-school showing, he and I watched Episode II.

Once I again I was wondering this: If Star Wars is the story of the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, wasn’t there ANYONE ELSE Lucas could have gotten to play Anakin/Darth Vader? Hayden Christensen is so weak in Episode II. He’s sullen; he seems weakest when he’s trying to portray strong; and he seems to have the ability accent the wrong word in every line. (Surely no one was coaching him to do that. “Hey, let’s throw them for a loop. Let’s shoot for emphasizing the wrong word in all your lines.”) Maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised tonight.

Well, Star Wars hasn’t really been about great performances, has it? Or great dialogue? It has been a well-imagined and well-told story that has spanned three decades. And it has been a great musical score and great action scenes. And above all, it has been Yoda! Entertained us well he has.