ministry

Flashback Friday: This is where the healing begins

Frank

***Originally posted 5/6/10 during my study on Romans 12. Reposted on the last day of Air1’s summer pledge drive. I’ve written about this before and about the costs of maintaining a Christian radio station. I’m reposting this instead because I want to stress that music ministers to each of our hearts differently. Some songs catch our attention (Jay Cookingham went on a recent music kick with Sanctus Real’s Lead Me and I’m Forgiven, and Bebo Norman’s Nothing Without You for example.) and inspire us, motivate us to change, or just bring us to tears. Not all of us are affected by music this way, but if you are, consider supporting Christian radio be it Air1, K-Love, or whatever.***

Tenth Avenue North has a new song out, This is Where the Healing Begins, that I encourage you to check out their video journal explaining the song here. Meanwhile, look at the lyrics (emphasis added):

So you thought you had to keep this up
All the work that you do
So we think that you’re good
And you can’t believe it’s not enough
All the walls you built up
Are just glass on the outside

So let ’em fall down
There’s freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We’re here now

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Afraid to let your secrets out
Everything that you hide
Can come crashing through the door now
But too scared to face all your fear
So you hide but you find
That the shame won’t disappear

So let it fall down
There’s freedom waiting in the sound
When you let your walls fall to the ground
We’re here now
We’re here now, oh

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark

Sparks will fly as grace collides
With the dark inside of us
So please don’t fight
This coming light
Let this blood come cover us
His blood can cover us

This is where the healing begins, oh
This is where the healing starts
When you come to where you’re broken within
The light meets the dark
The light meets the dark (C) Tenth Avenue North

I heard this coming home from work yesterday and the highlighted sections stuck in my head thinking about where we’re at going through the R12 book– “Coming to grips with the real you”. I just couldn’t shake these lyrics. The word “wall” kept resonating in my mind.

I was thinking about walls and I thought of The Wall, by Pink Floyd. I have to admit I was psyched when I heard recently that Roger Waters is going to tour for the anniversary of this album. Maybe that’s why The Wall was fresh in my head, I don’t know. I was sober the first time I saw the Wall (really!) and like many in my generation, I heard the album before I ever saw the movie. So I had a preconceived notion of an Orwellian/Phillip Dick sci-fi-ish movie and I was surprised by what I saw. No, not by the nearly pornographic animation, but by the darkness of underlying story. I admit that I instantly related. Roger Waters is soliciting videos and names of friends or family who have died in the wars going on overseas to include in his stage show. He freely admits the strong anti-war sentiment that runs through the storyline. However, this part of the plot only deflects from the real story- the Walls “Pink” built around himself. The irony is that Waters embraces the anti-war message, which is one of the bricks in Pink’s wall. Relating back to R12, Pink denies part of himself by using the War, and the loss of his father, as an excuse for is antisocial anarchist behavior. (He also blames his mom for his relationships with women, but that’s a whole other story) Even though he sings the song, and the animation shows the wall coming down, he is never really free. He never comes to grips with the real him.

I had quite a few Facebook comments on Tuesday’s post. An old friend that I grew up with reminded me that there are a lot of things out of our control (our gender, our parents) that shape who we are. I agree, except that our character is defined by how we respond to those things. We can either blame shift (my dad was an alcoholic, my parents divorced when I was young…) or we can do something about it. Yes, those things affect who we are, but God frees us from all of that.

So how do we do it? How do we come to grips with the real us? Yes, Romans 12:3-8 is a good start and a great scriptural foundation to build on. But the truth is, we’ll never break down the walls we built around us until we open up about who we are; share our deepest and darkest secrets; and stop blaming what we cannot control for who we are. And that is where the healing begins.

Are you uncomfortable?

Frank

Yesterday’s sermon was preached out of Matthew 8 relating to Jesus’ authority. But like most Sundays, the subject in the foreground was overtaken by my wheels turning in the background. I couldn’t stop thinking about the leper at the beginning of the chapter. If you’ve ever heard a sermon involving one of the many lepers Jesus encountered, no doubt the minister spent some time describing the situation: how leprosy was very contagious and spread via touch, so the leper had to stay out of town and announce his presence to anyone who approached. You’ve also likely heard that a leper is ceremonially unclean, so Jesus’ healing touch carried additional weight.

Now put yourself in the leper’s shoes (or sandals). You are outcast from the rest of society. You have to humiliate yourself if anyone even walks by so that everyone knows your condition. And worst of all, you are unclean, unable to participate in the religion of your forefathers. There are several ways you could react, but I think of two extremes. On one end you could be malicious, not caring about the health (spiritual and physical) of others and intermingle with the community as you spread your disease to unwitting victims. On the other end, you willingly accept your fate and you take seriously the severity of your affliction. You shout “Unclean! Unclean!” to every passer-by, not because you’re supposed to, but because you genuinely care about that person’s health- spiritual and physical. But you cannot avoid feeling humiliated. You cannot avoid feeling uncomfortable.

Last week, Sarah Salter returned from a missions trip to Sudan (no, I’m not calling her a leper!). Recently Duane Scott described one of his experiences as a missionary in Ghana. Me? I’ve been to Wal-Mart after 10pm. Seriously though, I’ve never made myself uncomfortable for the sake of the physical and spiritual health of another to the same extent as a missionary. Not saying that missionaries are some sort of uber-Christian, rather that God leads each of us uniquely to places where we are uncomfortable for His sake. Which leads me to my question of the week:

Where has God led you that you have been most uncomfortable for the sake of another?

And did you follow because you were supposed to, or because you sincerely cared about the needs being met?

There’s an App for that!

Frank

The last couple of weeks have asked the Christian blogger community about motivation and inspiration and about their reading habits. Call it market research if you will, but Duane Scott picked up on where this is going in last week’s comments. Not to rush ahead, there’s still a question I want to ask.

When you are away from the desktop and aren’t immersed in the blogosphere, what do you use to take your ministry mobile?

I received an iPhone for my birthday/Christmas. I sat on the fence forever about getting one. I don’t have coverage at work and AT&T coverage is spotty locally also. I don’t have any playlist built up on iTunes so the advantage of a phone + iPod is lost on me. I’m also not really a gamer, so the thousands of game apps weren’t a motivator for buying either. But I was still drawn to this gadget if for no other reason than I that I was consumed with the hype.

My wife understood that I would never get one for myself; I would always argue my way out of it. So I’m grateful she went ahead and got me one anyway. Right off the bat, I committed myself to not become an iZombie (though she frequently has to remind me to “engage” in casual conversation around the house), that this wasn’t just a portable gaming device, and that I would use it primarily for ministry. Now I have to admit that my iMinistry (this is fun, you can put i in front of just about anything! iParanthetical) frequently takes a backseat to checking sport scores, especially during baseball season, but I think I’m still holding firm to this conviction.

Not only does the seemingly limitless possibilities of the iPhone capture my imagination, but I’m also intrigued by how ministries are using this new interactive tool. Church apps are springing up left and right. You can fill your memory with countless books and Bible studies . You can do fancy things with your contact list, emphasising members of your church, your small group or your prayer circle. You can even track your prayer list! So I frequently find myself browsing the App Store to see what is the latest ministry tool that I have to have.

An article in this spring’s iPhone Life featured Kevin Purcell, a minister and contributor to Christian Computing Magazine. Titled “A Day in the Life of an iPastor“, the article listed his favorite apps for ministry. In addition to the obvious Bible apps and GPS/maps, there are other ministry-specific apps he describes like iDevotional and GNT and BHS for BibleReader. (sorry, can’t see a way to link to the iTunes store for these) To add to those, and to help Peter Pollock with his new iPhone 4G find an app other than Words With Friends, here are some of my favorites:

  • Holy Bible by LifeChurch.tv. This app not only has several translations of the Bible (and the only free NIV I’ve found), but you can also highlight any passage and see what other people have written about it. Often during church, I’ll be checking out other people’s devotionals/studies/commentaries for the passage being discussed from the pulpit. It’s like getting two sermons in one.
  • Read It Later by Idea Shower. This app allows me to save webpages (ie blogs) to view when I don’t have a connection. This is especially useful for me when I fly and also for at work where I don’t have a connection. This is how I keep up on the many blogs I follow. One problem, however: since their last update, I cannot read WordPress blogs! I only get an index of every post that shows on that blog’s front page that I can access via links. But since I don’t have a connection, that doesn’t do me any good. Which leads me to…
  • An RSS Feed. This doesn’t fit on this list, but I need one! Ideally with the same features as Read It Later so I can read without a connection.
  • Urban Ministry (now called Sermons on Christian Social Justice) by TechMission. This has an archive of sermons in audio, video, and podcast formats from a diverse range of ministers. This isn’t too handy since downloading sermons requires WiFi access and I am often without any access at all. But I still like the format and the selection of topics.
  • Finally, TweetDeck by TweetDeck is what I use to access and manage my Twitter account. I’m not often at the computer, so having this on my iPhone allows me to keep in touch with everyone while on the run.

So, what apps do you have for your mobile ministry (doesn’t have to be limited to iPhones, any mobile app applies)? What other apps do you recommend (besides Words With Friends)?

There’s an App for that!

Frank

The last couple of weeks have asked the Christian blogger community about motivation and inspiration and about their reading habits. Call it market research if you will, but Duane Scott picked up on where this is going in last week’s comments. Not to rush ahead, there’s still a question I want to ask.

When you are away from the desktop and aren’t immersed in the blogosphere, what do you use to take your ministry mobile?

I received an iPhone for my birthday/Christmas. I sat on the fence forever about getting one. I don’t have coverage at work and AT&T coverage is spotty locally also. I don’t have any playlist built up on iTunes so the advantage of a phone + iPod is lost on me. I’m also not really a gamer, so the thousands of game apps weren’t a motivator for buying either. But I was still drawn to this gadget if for no other reason than I that I was consumed with the hype.

My wife understood that I would never get one for myself; I would always argue my way out of it. So I’m grateful she went ahead and got me one anyway. Right off the bat, I committed myself to not become an iZombie (though she frequently has to remind me to “engage” in casual conversation around the house), that this wasn’t just a portable gaming device, and that I would use it primarily for ministry. Now I have to admit that my iMinistry (this is fun, you can put i in front of just about anything! iParanthetical) frequently takes a backseat to checking sport scores, especially during baseball season, but I think I’m still holding firm to this conviction.

Not only does the seemingly limitless possibilities of the iPhone capture my imagination, but I’m also intrigued by how ministries are using this new interactive tool. Church apps are springing up left and right. You can fill your memory with countless books and Bible studies . You can do fancy things with your contact list, emphasising members of your church, your small group or your prayer circle. You can even track your prayer list! So I frequently find myself browsing the App Store to see what is the latest ministry tool that I have to have.

An article in this spring’s iPhone Life featured Kevin Purcell, a minister and contributor to Christian Computing Magazine. Titled “A Day in the Life of an iPastor“, the article listed his favorite apps for ministry. In addition to the obvious Bible apps and GPS/maps, there are other ministry-specific apps he describes like iDevotional and GNT and BHS for BibleReader. (sorry, can’t see a way to link to the iTunes store for these) To add to those, and to help Peter Pollock with his new iPhone 4G find an app other than Words With Friends, here are some of my favorites:

  • Holy Bible by LifeChurch.tv. This app not only has several translations of the Bible (and the only free NIV I’ve found), but you can also highlight any passage and see what other people have written about it. Often during church, I’ll be checking out other people’s devotionals/studies/commentaries for the passage being discussed from the pulpit. It’s like getting two sermons in one.
  • Read It Later by Idea Shower. This app allows me to save webpages (ie blogs) to view when I don’t have a connection. This is especially useful for me when I fly and also for at work where I don’t have a connection. This is how I keep up on the many blogs I follow. One problem, however: since their last update, I cannot read WordPress blogs! I only get an index of every post that shows on that blog’s front page that I can access via links. But since I don’t have a connection, that doesn’t do me any good. Which leads me to…
  • An RSS Feed. This doesn’t fit on this list, but I need one! Ideally with the same features as Read It Later so I can read without a connection.
  • Urban Ministry (now called Sermons on Christian Social Justice) by TechMission. This has an archive of sermons in audio, video, and podcast formats from a diverse range of ministers. This isn’t too handy since downloading sermons requires WiFi access and I am often without any access at all. But I still like the format and the selection of topics.
  • Finally, TweetDeck by TweetDeck is what I use to access and manage my Twitter account. I’m not often at the computer, so having this on my iPhone allows me to keep in touch with everyone while on the run.

So, what apps do you have for your mobile ministry (doesn’t have to be limited to iPhones, any mobile app applies)? What other apps do you recommend (besides Words With Friends)?

Hand Up or Handout? (repost)

Frank

This week’s Blog Carnival topic is “Compassion”. Head over to Bridget Chumbley’s for more thoughts, convictions, and experiences.

***Originally posted on October 26, 2009***

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” -James 1:27

I recently brought up my involvement in an addiction recovery ministry. I thank all of you for your encouraging comments. Truth is, I wouldn’t be involved in that ministry if I didn’t need it myself. Besides my character, I have learned much about the human condition and those things that drive us to our drugs of choice. I’ve also learned that in order to overcome our addictions and surrender our will to God, we need to “hit bottom”. This means we’ve reached our lowest point and that realization motivates us to change. Recovery “raises” that bottom, so our motivation for sobriety moves from being afraid of the worst that could happen to desiring the best that God has in store for us. The temptation for many is to prevent a loved one from reaching their bottom. We don’t want to see them suffer. We want to save them. But suffering is exactly what they need to find the desire for recovery.

This creates a paradox to the Christian. There is no sin so horrible that God can’t forgive. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1) And we are commanded to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13b) Likewise we are commanded to “carry each other’s burdens” because “in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

It’s easy to forgive an addict without enabling him. But where do you draw the line when carrying his burdens? On one hand, he needs to suffer the consequences of his decisions. But that does not mean we cannot help. Picking him up from the bar at 2:00 AM because he can’t drive home is not carrying his burdens. But sponsoring him at a meeting is.

With addiction, that line is more clear than when dealing with other sins. What about a single teenage mother? Is offering to babysit while she searches for a job enabling, or sharing her burden? This is something my wife and I are currently battling. There are a couple of single moms that we’ve been reaching out to and opening our home to. When we bring them to church, the stares we get say, “why would you help her? It’s her fault she’s in the situation she’s in.” Are we preventing them from hitting their bottom? I’d like to think instead we’re offering a safe environment in which they can work out their issues. Much like a recovery meeting.

Sadly, this perspective doesn’t seem to be shared. To some, we are offering a handout instead of a hand up. I am moved to pray the lyrics to Brandon Heath’s song, Give Me Your Eyes,

“All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see”

I can then follow up with Leeland and Brandon Heath’s Follow You,

“Faith without works is dead
On the cross your blood was shed
So how could we not give it away so freely?”

I only pray others may see the world in the same way.

***Update: Since this was posted last October, one of these women found gainful employment that also provided much-needed daycare and another moved in with her family for help while she goes to school. Sadly, neither have since kept in touch. I’m now wrestling with how best to minister to a family where the wife is infected with HIV and the husband is working his fingers to the bone to provide. The faces change, but the battle remains the same. It is my conviction that being a Christian means more than spouting off Bible verses and having perfect attendance on Sundays. We need to share the compassion of Christ to everyone, whether or not it is comfortable or convenient.***

Hand Up or Handout? (repost)

Frank

This week’s Blog Carnival topic is “Compassion”. Head over to Bridget Chumbley’s for more thoughts, convictions, and experiences.

***Originally posted on October 26, 2009***

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” -James 1:27

I recently brought up my involvement in an addiction recovery ministry. I thank all of you for your encouraging comments. Truth is, I wouldn’t be involved in that ministry if I didn’t need it myself. Besides my character, I have learned much about the human condition and those things that drive us to our drugs of choice. I’ve also learned that in order to overcome our addictions and surrender our will to God, we need to “hit bottom”. This means we’ve reached our lowest point and that realization motivates us to change. Recovery “raises” that bottom, so our motivation for sobriety moves from being afraid of the worst that could happen to desiring the best that God has in store for us. The temptation for many is to prevent a loved one from reaching their bottom. We don’t want to see them suffer. We want to save them. But suffering is exactly what they need to find the desire for recovery.

This creates a paradox to the Christian. There is no sin so horrible that God can’t forgive. “Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear” (Isaiah 59:1) And we are commanded to “forgive as the Lord forgave you.” (Colossians 3:13b) Likewise we are commanded to “carry each other’s burdens” because “in this way you will fulfill the Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2)

It’s easy to forgive an addict without enabling him. But where do you draw the line when carrying his burdens? On one hand, he needs to suffer the consequences of his decisions. But that does not mean we cannot help. Picking him up from the bar at 2:00 AM because he can’t drive home is not carrying his burdens. But sponsoring him at a meeting is.

With addiction, that line is more clear than when dealing with other sins. What about a single teenage mother? Is offering to babysit while she searches for a job enabling, or sharing her burden? This is something my wife and I are currently battling. There are a couple of single moms that we’ve been reaching out to and opening our home to. When we bring them to church, the stares we get say, “why would you help her? It’s her fault she’s in the situation she’s in.” Are we preventing them from hitting their bottom? I’d like to think instead we’re offering a safe environment in which they can work out their issues. Much like a recovery meeting.

Sadly, this perspective doesn’t seem to be shared. To some, we are offering a handout instead of a hand up. I am moved to pray the lyrics to Brandon Heath’s song, Give Me Your Eyes,

“All those people going somewhere,
Why have I never cared?

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see”

I can then follow up with Leeland and Brandon Heath’s Follow You,

“Faith without works is dead
On the cross your blood was shed
So how could we not give it away so freely?”

I only pray others may see the world in the same way.

***Update: Since this was posted last October, one of these women found gainful employment that also provided much-needed daycare and another moved in with her family for help while she goes to school. Sadly, neither have since kept in touch. I’m now wrestling with how best to minister to a family where the wife is infected with HIV and the husband is working his fingers to the bone to provide. The faces change, but the battle remains the same. It is my conviction that being a Christian means more than spouting off Bible verses and having perfect attendance on Sundays. We need to share the compassion of Christ to everyone, whether or not it is comfortable or convenient.***

Blogging to the Choir?

Frank

I’m insecure about my blog traffic, I admit. Frequently I consider hanging it all up, logging off, and not returning. I can’t keep up with Twitter traffic, nor can I take the time to read every other Christian blog I’ve found that I’m interested in. And I know that successfully doing both would increase interest and traffic on my blog.

I also question the value. Is there anyone really listening? I’m a sports junkie and I see this on message boards as well. Someone will pontificate on a point about fan behavior, or attendance, or a blown call a ref made. For the most part, everyone agrees. In those forums, you’re essentially preaching to the choir. Christian blogging isn’t much different. It’s unlikely non-believers are reading my blog; though I suppose they could be, I know they don’t comment. Followers and commenters are like-minded. I read their blogs, they read mine, and we both nod our heads in agreement. Don’t get me wrong, I come away after reading about others’ convictions with new convictions of my own. And that’s the hope I have with this blog. But I wonder…

So what difference does this all make? Will I transform the church with my words? Will these thoughts lead anyone to Christ? Is this even the correct medium for this message? Of course there are others who have this nailed. They know how to increase traffic, know how to appropriately respond when traffic is down, and sincerely believe in the medium (and these were all just from Saturday!). But I’m not so easily convinced.

Then last week something strange happened. A blogger, with the power of the pen (or pixel), disrupted the plans for expansion of an NCAA Division-1 FBS (don’t ask) conference, called a bluff on a state legislature, and likely single-handedly changed the landscape of college football. And he’s not done. If you don’t follow college football and the BCS, I’m talking about Chip Brown and the drama that ensued last week as the Big 12 effectively dissolved, the PAC 10 added Colorado, and the Mountain West took a week to announce they were adding Boise State. And like I said, by the time you read this, there will likely be more changes announced. Granted, Chip Brown is no ordinary blogger, he worked for the Dallas Morning News for 10 years, but there was a lot of power in his words as he turned the rumor mill.

I’m reminded that our words have power, even if they are electronic rather than spoken. An encouraging word still has the power to encourage a reader. And a convicting scripture will still convict.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

So my questions to you Christian bloggers out there:

Who is your audience and what is the goal of your blog? (be sure to link your blog too!)

Blogging to the Choir?

Frank

I’m insecure about my blog traffic, I admit. Frequently I consider hanging it all up, logging off, and not returning. I can’t keep up with Twitter traffic, nor can I take the time to read every other Christian blog I’ve found that I’m interested in. And I know that successfully doing both would increase interest and traffic on my blog.

I also question the value. Is there anyone really listening? I’m a sports junkie and I see this on message boards as well. Someone will pontificate on a point about fan behavior, or attendance, or a blown call a ref made. For the most part, everyone agrees. In those forums, you’re essentially preaching to the choir. Christian blogging isn’t much different. It’s unlikely non-believers are reading my blog; though I suppose they could be, I know they don’t comment. Followers and commenters are like-minded. I read their blogs, they read mine, and we both nod our heads in agreement. Don’t get me wrong, I come away after reading about others’ convictions with new convictions of my own. And that’s the hope I have with this blog. But I wonder…

So what difference does this all make? Will I transform the church with my words? Will these thoughts lead anyone to Christ? Is this even the correct medium for this message? Of course there are others who have this nailed. They know how to increase traffic, know how to appropriately respond when traffic is down, and sincerely believe in the medium (and these were all just from Saturday!). But I’m not so easily convinced.

Then last week something strange happened. A blogger, with the power of the pen (or pixel), disrupted the plans for expansion of an NCAA Division-1 FBS (don’t ask) conference, called a bluff on a state legislature, and likely single-handedly changed the landscape of college football. And he’s not done. If you don’t follow college football and the BCS, I’m talking about Chip Brown and the drama that ensued last week as the Big 12 effectively dissolved, the PAC 10 added Colorado, and the Mountain West took a week to announce they were adding Boise State. And like I said, by the time you read this, there will likely be more changes announced. Granted, Chip Brown is no ordinary blogger, he worked for the Dallas Morning News for 10 years, but there was a lot of power in his words as he turned the rumor mill.

I’m reminded that our words have power, even if they are electronic rather than spoken. An encouraging word still has the power to encourage a reader. And a convicting scripture will still convict.

“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Ephesians 4:29)

“As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11)

So my questions to you Christian bloggers out there:

Who is your audience and what is the goal of your blog? (be sure to link your blog too!)

Five Talent Player

Frank

Growing up religious, I always found it curious a “plus” baseball player is called a “five-tool” player given the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25. It was the one with five talents that was given five more for putting his talents to use, pleasing his master. Of course we get the common usage for our talents from this parable even though a “talent” is a unit of currency.

Grant Desme is a five-tool, plus prospect for the Oakland A’s. Or at least, he was before he decided to give up the game to enter the priesthood. In his defense he said, “But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. … I love the game, but I’m going to aspire to higher things.”

He didn’t catch much criticism even if his decision wasn’t understood by all. One who not only understands, but also relates is former Olympic speed skater Kirstin Holum. After competing in 1998, she hung up her skates and joined a convent. While you may picture a nun’s habit, you may not be able to picture a former Olympian in the inner city reaching out to gang-bangers.

While I admire the hands-on calling of a Religious Order, I don’t think you need to put on vestments to participate in ministry. Like the parable cited above, God gives us talents to be put to use for His glory. I think turning your back on a natural talent like athleticism is akin to burying your talents. (Recognizing that not all skills are talents, and we are all given as many or as few as our faith allows)

On the opposite end of the spectrum is last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan. “Everybody has different callings. Everybody has different blessings and different talents. For me, I believe my calling is to continue playing baseball. It’s a platform to reach out to other people.” Sounds very Tim Tebow. (Sorry, couldn’t resist) But he’s right. God gives us not only the talents, but the opportunities. One of my best friends always says, “there’s no such thing as luck in the Kingdom of God.” The traditional adage is that “luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.” The two are perfectly compatible. We should approach our jobs, our relationships, our families with the faith that each are platforms through which we should live and share our faith. The opportunity that meets our preparation.

Even Paul, who was far from being considered athletic, approached his ministry in this way.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

This scripture is often applied to spiritual discipline and can be abused to justify a list of to-dos. But a better way of looking at it is from the perspective of the Christian athlete. Train (invest your talents) so that you may win (gain five more). We may not all be plus, but we can all be five-talent players.

Five Talent Player

Frank

Growing up religious, I always found it curious a “plus” baseball player is called a “five-tool” player given the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25. It was the one with five talents that was given five more for putting his talents to use, pleasing his master. Of course we get the common usage for our talents from this parable even though a “talent” is a unit of currency.

Grant Desme is a five-tool, plus prospect for the Oakland A’s. Or at least, he was before he decided to give up the game to enter the priesthood. In his defense he said, “But I had to get down to the bottom of things, to what was good in my life, what I wanted to do with my life. Baseball is a good thing, but that felt selfish of me when I felt that God was calling me more. … I love the game, but I’m going to aspire to higher things.”

He didn’t catch much criticism even if his decision wasn’t understood by all. One who not only understands, but also relates is former Olympic speed skater Kirstin Holum. After competing in 1998, she hung up her skates and joined a convent. While you may picture a nun’s habit, you may not be able to picture a former Olympian in the inner city reaching out to gang-bangers.

While I admire the hands-on calling of a Religious Order, I don’t think you need to put on vestments to participate in ministry. Like the parable cited above, God gives us talents to be put to use for His glory. I think turning your back on a natural talent like athleticism is akin to burying your talents. (Recognizing that not all skills are talents, and we are all given as many or as few as our faith allows)

On the opposite end of the spectrum is last year’s National League Rookie of the Year, Chris Coghlan. “Everybody has different callings. Everybody has different blessings and different talents. For me, I believe my calling is to continue playing baseball. It’s a platform to reach out to other people.” Sounds very Tim Tebow. (Sorry, couldn’t resist) But he’s right. God gives us not only the talents, but the opportunities. One of my best friends always says, “there’s no such thing as luck in the Kingdom of God.” The traditional adage is that “luck is when preparation and opportunity meet.” The two are perfectly compatible. We should approach our jobs, our relationships, our families with the faith that each are platforms through which we should live and share our faith. The opportunity that meets our preparation.

Even Paul, who was far from being considered athletic, approached his ministry in this way.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

This scripture is often applied to spiritual discipline and can be abused to justify a list of to-dos. But a better way of looking at it is from the perspective of the Christian athlete. Train (invest your talents) so that you may win (gain five more). We may not all be plus, but we can all be five-talent players.