Sniffing out the work of God in the world…
I know you’re waiting for my predictions before you place your bets. So here they are.
Red Sox over Indians.
Rockies over D’backs.
Red Sox over Rockies.
Take it to the bank.
- - - -
Just in case you didn’t know, the Cowboys are 5-0. You know you’re on a roll when your QB throws 5 interceptions and you still win.
- - - -
Here was my evening: the Yankees lost . . . the Cowboys won with two seconds left . . . and my granddaughter was in our arms. Now THAT is a good evening.
Was fun to connect with several of you at the Zoe Conference in Nashville this weekend. My time was shortened because of Chris’s football game Thursday night and preaching at Highland on Sunday morning. But still, it was excellent. Lynn Anderson was pumped by the stuff that Brian McLaren did. I’m anxious to get into his newest book.
- - - -
In the first 11 games of the playoffs, the four teams I picked to win their series were a perfect 0-11. That’s right. Not one single win. Three of the teams I picked (Cubs, Phillies, Angels) went out in three games. Finally, last night the one team I would have been happy to see swept won a game to keep me from being 0-12.
So . . . I’m sure you’ll be glad for the Yankees/Indians series to end so you can see my next round of predictions and place your bets!
Yankees vs. Indians. Yankees
Angels vs. Red Sox. Angels
Rockies vs. Phillies. Phillies
Cubs vs. D’backs. Cubs
Yankees vs. Angels. Angels
Phillies vs. Cubs. Phillies
Angels vs. Phillies. Angels
Now . . . you?
- - - -
If you haven’t been to Larry James’s blog recently, check out this wonderful piece. Also, for a bit of irony, check this out.
You know the phrase “you’re not the boss of me”? That doesn’t apply to me at ACU.
Here are my bosses:
Rodney Ashlock (associate chairman of undergrad Bible)
Glenn Pemberton (chairman of undergrad Bible)
Ken Cukrowski (associate dean of College of Biblical Studies)
Jack Reese (dean of College of Biblical Studies)
Dwayne Van Rheenan (Provost)
Royce Money (President)
I’m sure I’ve missed some others.
Having said that, I love teaching there. I love the direction of the university. I love the way there is an openness to a larger Christian world while still valuing the heritage of Churches of Christ. I love the variety of the student body. I love the sense that we are both participating in and calling people to the mission of Jesus.
- - - -
In front of a bunch of my buddies, I lost a bet to my friend Chris Flanders. The loser had to make a public confession.
SO . . . let me say this. Flanders was right; I was wrong. Our question was, Who had the most hits in the major leagues in the 1990s. I felt sure I knew. I was wrong. Do you know? Leave your guess here. Don’t google first. Don’t say something like “I know this because I just saw it the other day.” And don’t come back commenting on it. Let’s just see who knows.
What major league player had the most hits in the ’90s?
Will it be today? tomorrow? Sometime (likely) this week, Barry Bonds will break the all-time record for most home runs, passing Hank Aaron.
Even with all the controversy about steriods (he broke into the majors as a speedy leadoff hitter — and at some point underwent major transformation in body type), it’s an amazing accomplishment. But it’s still hard for me to get too excited.
He’s passing Hank. But he’s not Hank. (OK, I’m not quite this much of Hank fan!)
Bonds’s record won’t be around as long as Babe Ruth’s or Hank’s. You can already hear A-Rod heading toward a new mark.
- - - -
As I keep working on Galatians, I’m impressed again with the gains in New Testament study from what’s called the “new perspective” on Paul, which I wrote about here.
All I want for my birthday (51 today, thank you very much) is a trip to Grand Junction, Colorado.
After winning yesterday, 7-6, we play today for the championship in Waco. The winner will advance to the Southwest Regional tournament in Grand Junction — playing for a chance to go to the World Series.
It was great coming here last year, but we lost two straight games and had to go home. This year we’ve won a couple games. It won’t be easy. We have one loss and Laredo Del Mar has none, so we have to beat them twice.
Someday maybe this blog will return to more substantive material. Like guacamole recipes. But for now, it’s junior league baseball.
- - - -
Someone mentioned in the comments from the last post that their favorite part of Leaving Church was the “baptism” scene. It’s also my favorite part. After she resigns from ministry, she’s invited to a pool party when people begin throwing one another in.
“I stood back and watched the mayhem that ensued. All around me, people were grabbing people and wrestling them toward the water. The dark night air was full of pool spray and laughter.”
Some looked at her but decided, in light of her past “position,” to leave her alone. “I still looked waterproof to them,” she remembers.
But then . . .
“Two strong hands grabbed my upper arms from behind, and before I knew it I was in the water, fully immersed and swimming in light. I never found out who my savior was, but when I broke the surface, I looked around at all of those shining people with makeup running down their cheeks, with hair plastered to their heads, and I was so happy to be one of them. If being ordained meant being set apart from them, then I did not want to be ordained anymore. I wanted to be human: I wanted to spit food and let snot run down my chin. I wanted to confess being as lost and found as anyone else without caring that my underwear showed through my wet clothes. Bobbing in that healing pool with all those other flawed beings of light, I looked around and saw them as I had never seen them before, while some of them looked at me the same way. The long wait had come to an end. I was in the water at last.”
We played our first game at the state tournament in Waco this morning in the muggy heat. We defeated the Section 1 champions from Lubbock, 17-3. Game two will be tomorrow against the winner of the Del Mar - Eagle Pass game this afternoon.
Here’s our team:
Ft. Worth is a great place to camp out for a few days during a tournament. The last two mornings I’ve had incredible bike rides along the Trinity River. If it was just a little closer to Abilene, I think I’d drive over once a week to make that ride — just for the beauty.
We won game two against the winner of the Waco district last night, 6-1. Tonight we play the host team from Ft. Worth in the finals of the winners’ bracket. Either late tonight or early tomorrow morning, I’ll hustle back to Abilene to preach. My guess is that the preaching will be a bit blurry-eyed tomorrow. (Note: I’ll just be underscoring the text about how this treasure comes in jars of clay!)
Today: lunch at Pappasito’s. Yes, fajitas, guacamole, and salsa are in my immediate future.
- - - -
Is the Pope stealing his speech material from Churches of Christ? (See this article entitled “Pope: Other Denominations Not True Churches.”) Makes a Protestant really miss John Paul 2.
Memories from the quick trip to see Reese and her parents:
- - - -
We won the opening game of Sectionals last night in Ft. Worth, 18-4. The game ended at midnight. One thing that made it slow was that the good folks hosting the tournament didn’t have any baseballs. We had to use a couple good balls the team from Wichita Falls had. (Ours were all beat-up practice balls.) But any time both were fouled off we had to wait until they were brought back. It was one step above street ball. Still, lots of fun.
Tony La Russa had bases loaded in the 9th inning of last night’s All-Star game. Two outs. And Albert Pujols, the best player in the world, sitting on the bench. He chose not to use him. Now the AL’s streak continues at ten games.
- - - -
What makes something funny? Is it that it’s quirky? unexpected? off the wall?
During the game, they kept showing clips of the new Simpsons movie. And for some reason, everytime Homer started singing “SpiderPig, SpiderPig,” it sent Chris and me over the edge in hysterical laughter.
- - - -
When Bonds passes Hank Aaron’s record, it won’t last long. A-Rod will be lapping him in a decade or so.
You can put this prediction next to my earlier one that Tiger won’t break Jack Nicklaus’s record. (Believe it or not, not everyone agreed with this prediction!)
- - - -
Here’s a column by Grant Boone you’ll enjoy from his “Grant Me This” column on PGA.com.