witness

The Pride of Superman

Frank

You have to have a certain amount of ego to be an elite athlete. You need to have confidence in yourself; that when you are holding the ball, you are better than the person standing across from you. Many celebrity athletes show this ego not only on the court or field, but also in their lives as they build for themselves personal empires made up of posses, fast cars, big houses and expensive clothes purchased with the staggering amounts of money these athletes make.

But sometimes the ego can grow a little too large, believing that not only are you better than the player across from you, but also your teammates next to you or even the coach trying to lead you.
No, I’m not talking about Kobe Bryant. I’m talking about Dwight Howard. (I promised he’d get his post, so here it is.) I admit I’m not much of a fan professional basketball, preferring college hoops. But when it comes to the playoffs, there are few things more exciting than the NBA. It’s too bad the Orlando Magic didn’t last long this postseason.

It’s not that I’m necessarily a Magic fan, but I’ve been interested in Dwight Howard’s career ever since I read about his Christian faith back when he was still a teenage phenom. So it made me sad when he got one of the Magic cheerleaders pregnant a couple of years ago. And it tore my heart when he started fighting with his coach, Stan Van Gundy earlier this year.

Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you. (Hebrews 13:17)

I would argue that Van Gundy’s job coaching the Magic the last couple of seasons has been anything but a joy and more than a burden. So maybe it’s a relief that the Magic fired him on Monday. Yet despite trying to appease their superman superstar, Dwight Howard still won’t commit to returning to Orlando next season.

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)

Back in 2004, Howard hoped his play on the court would “raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world.” He prayed about being the number one pick in the NBA draft. And planned on using the hardwood as his mission field. But the past two seasons have been anything but an effective Christian witness as the bickering through the media reached a crecendo earlier this year once word got out that Howard wanted Van Gundy fired, an accusation Howard would vehemently deny.

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'” (Hebrews 13:5)

I hope Howard isn’t trying to get out of Orlando in search of greener pastures, or just more green. As a teenager, before receiving his first multi-million dollar contract, Howard declared, “I think I can make as much money or even more than LeBron. But it will be up to God for that to happen… I’m not trying to give glory for myself. I’m trying to give glory for Him.” I haven’t followed this story that closely, only knowing what the sports gossip blogosphere has been reporting, but everything I gather is that Howard simply wants a better environment to win. So is winning everything? Is that really what God wants from Howard? Or is it ultimately what Howard just wants for himself?

“whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Abortion Shmabortion

Frank

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and if so, I can relate!) you’ve probably heard about all the uproar over President Barack Obama receiving an honorary degree and giving the commencement address at very-catholic (yet neither Big 10 nor Big East) Notre Dame. He isn’t the first sitting president to do this, nor is he the first Liberal or Democrat to receive this honor. The abortion debate is nothing new, but the fuss over this time was unique. Maybe the newer debate over embryonic stem cell research was the straw that broke the Pro-Life camel’s back. I’m not sure, but 27 people were arrested, including Norma McCorvey. Who, you may ask? She is the ‘Roe’ in Roe v Wade and it is seldom reported that she is now in the Pro-Life camp.

But enough about that, the protest shows that we have a long way to go to reach the point where as the President said we would stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature.” And that’s what the abortion debate has become- a war of words, belittling the opinions and convictions of the other side.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, the Church should not be spending all her resources rallying behind political candidates with the hope of tipping the balance of the Supreme Court. But instead should be pouring her heart into those at-risk of abortions. No, purity balls for teens don’t count. These are young girls, heavily involved in their churches that would be likely to abstain from sex until marriage anyways. No, I’m talking about those impacted by the socio-economic drivers that lead to abortions. You’re not likely to find these women in all-white suburban mega-churches.

I heard an interview with the guys from Audio Adrenaline and they were talking about “orphan prevention” instead of the usual orphan adoption/foster home outreach many churches participate in. In Haiti, with their Hands and Feet Project, they reach out the impoverished to take away the economic incentive to give up a child.

Look out into your community and reach out to the struggling mother. Befriend the single-mom at church that no one else talks to. Embrace the teens in your church to value the blessing of sex in the context of marriage and the sanctity of life developing in a womb. Participate in “abortion prevention”.

“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

Abortion Shmabortion

Frank

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (and if so, I can relate!) you’ve probably heard about all the uproar over President Barack Obama receiving an honorary degree and giving the commencement address at very-catholic (yet neither Big 10 nor Big East) Notre Dame. He isn’t the first sitting president to do this, nor is he the first Liberal or Democrat to receive this honor. The abortion debate is nothing new, but the fuss over this time was unique. Maybe the newer debate over embryonic stem cell research was the straw that broke the Pro-Life camel’s back. I’m not sure, but 27 people were arrested, including Norma McCorvey. Who, you may ask? She is the ‘Roe’ in Roe v Wade and it is seldom reported that she is now in the Pro-Life camp.

But enough about that, the protest shows that we have a long way to go to reach the point where as the President said we would stop “reducing those with differing views to caricature.” And that’s what the abortion debate has become- a war of words, belittling the opinions and convictions of the other side.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times, the Church should not be spending all her resources rallying behind political candidates with the hope of tipping the balance of the Supreme Court. But instead should be pouring her heart into those at-risk of abortions. No, purity balls for teens don’t count. These are young girls, heavily involved in their churches that would be likely to abstain from sex until marriage anyways. No, I’m talking about those impacted by the socio-economic drivers that lead to abortions. You’re not likely to find these women in all-white suburban mega-churches.

I heard an interview with the guys from Audio Adrenaline and they were talking about “orphan prevention” instead of the usual orphan adoption/foster home outreach many churches participate in. In Haiti, with their Hands and Feet Project, they reach out the impoverished to take away the economic incentive to give up a child.

Look out into your community and reach out to the struggling mother. Befriend the single-mom at church that no one else talks to. Embrace the teens in your church to value the blessing of sex in the context of marriage and the sanctity of life developing in a womb. Participate in “abortion prevention”.

“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

Purpose

Frank

Purpose. It’s become a loaded word in my fellowship of churches. Some of you may recall the debate (still ongoing in my heart) between our “purpose” as Christians and our “mission.” I won’t get into that debate here other than comment that my heart has recently been challenged with a recent run of sermons on this topic. I want to stand up and shout, “our purpose is not to bring people to church!” The topic of evangelism always makes me queasy, because I relate that to “numbers” and “accountability” that were used as abusive, manipulative, incorrect means to the correct end. To me, evangelism isn’t about church invites, or “visitors”, or “cranking.” Instead it is literally about “sharing my faith” with someone else. If they respond, amen! If not, that seed is planted and I trust God to do with it what He pleases.

Sadly, whenever I hear “purpose” or “share your faith” in a sermon, my ears tune out the message and my ego turns on with defensiveness. So it took an outside source to shake this from me. I was listening to a radio sermon last week (if you haven’t read my last post, let me sum it up: if you listen to a radio ministry, support it financially!) and the topic was Purpose. Right away I wanted to listen thinking that this lesson would validate all my feelings on the subject. It didn’t. Instead it reaffirmed the Christian purpose to “seek and save the lost.”

This lesson referenced Philippians 1:12-30 where Paul is referring to being imprisoned for the sake of the Gospel: “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel… The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice…I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death…If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me…Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel.” (Phil 1:12,18ff,20,22ff,27 emphasis added)

While the context was Paul’s sufferings, his encouragement to the Christians in Philippi was that this suffering can be used to advance the Gospel and therefore to not be discouraged by any hardship. With that in mind, I want to focus on how Paul was evangelistic here. Obviously he couldn’t invite his captors to church, where would they go? Instead he used his circumstance to explain his conviction. This is something we all can do, and is more literally sharing our faith than a simple invite to church.

Something else he points out here that is very important to me. He talks about “Christ being exalted in [his] body,” and, “conducting [our]selves in a manner worthy of the gospel.” Our lives should reflect the gospel of Jesus. Our very lives should be our evangelism. In my wallet I have a business card that reads, “How have I been Christ’s presence today?” I keep it in front of my driver’s license because I consider this my real ID. In this context, evangelism to advance the gospel of Christ is very much my purpose.

Purpose or mission, it’s all really just semantics anyway. The real question is how have you been Christ’s presence today?

What am I doing here?

Frank

Someone posted this on the bulletin board at work and I got a good laugh. It pretty well sums up my efforts at blogging. So why do I do it?

I hinted in my last post, that I relate to David when facing Goliath. He wasn’t motivated by the battle (though I have to fight that in my own pride), but he was motivated because Goliath mocked his God. “Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Sam 17:26) I feel like our culture, in the name of political correctness and tolerance, is defying the armies of the living God- his Kingdom on Earth, also known as his Church. Like David asking who will stand against this, I look at American Christianity (TM) and ask the same. But our watered down church has let the world creep in and manipulate the Gospel while our mouths have been shut to preaching the Truth.

I also feel like Jeremiah who said, “his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.” (Jer 20:9) I feel like I have something to say, and I trust that the Spirit is leading me. In fact, that’s why I’ll go a while without posting- it’s not that there isn’t anything to blog about, but my spirit doesn’t feel moved to do so. I might be the only person who cares what I think, but I cannot “hold it in.”

I have to fight my own pride, thinking that I have some special insight. But I do want to share what’s on my heart and I don’t want to do it for my own benefit. That’s why I try to approach this like a ministry with various links (because it isn’t all about me) and try to include a scripture with every post (because again, it isn’t all about me).

If you’re a regular visitor, thank you. If you found this by Googling “nbc kings review,” please come back for more.

God and Sports: Are winners more blessed?

Frank

I’m a total sports nut, and I’ve had draft after draft of blog posts dedicated to this subject, but I never seem to get around to posting them. Well, here’s my overdue post on the role of God in sports, motivated courtesy of Mark Kriegel and Foxsports. (My friend Krazywakfunky just pm’ed me that Jime Rome and Dan Patrick also talked about this on their radio programs this week)

This is a hot topic right now because of the building media hype leading up to the Super Bowl, magnified by Tony Dungy’s retirement and Tim Tebow winning yet another BC$ Championship. If you’re not as much of a nerd as me, let me give you a quick rundown. Kurt Warner, the blue-collar come-from-nowhere Super Bowl Champion quarterback is back with a new team and another shot at glory. He isn’t shy about the role his faith has played in motivating him through tough times, of which he’s had many. Tony Dungy is retiring from coaching the Indianapolis Colts, whom he led to the 2007 Super Bowl. A well-respected and regarded coach with high expectations, he too would give credit where credit was due and was criticized following his Super Bowl win by boasting that he and his opposing coach, Lovie Smith, were the first to “d0 it the right way” supposedly by not cussing and being religious, implying that the other 30 coaches in the NFL do it the wrong way. (This is not meant as a knock on Dungy at all, just the way the media responded. In fact, I have a great deal of respect for him and would cheer for the Colts because of him. He is definitely a fine example to follow as summarized in this article from the Praying Fields at OnFaith.) Finally, Tim Tebow is a a phenom-quarterback at the University of Florida who not only thanks God for his accomplishments (only a couple of championships and Heisman trophies but who’s counting?), but even goes on mission trips.

Of course it’s no surprise that these outward displays of faith make others like Kriegel uncomfortable. If God has no place in our government or our public square, then certainly God has no place in sports, right? Faith is even harder to reconcile in sports, where there is a clear winner and loser. Who’s to say God favored one over the other? Does God really care who wins a championship? (If he did, the Cubs would’ve won it all last year, but I digress) Some denominations recognize this and even go so far as prohibiting sports because not only does competition bring out the worst of us (just go watch your church’s local softball team) but it also puts God in a box, forcing Him to choose a favorite. Of course, the Bible tells us over and over that God doesn’t play favorites, so this would be a sin on our part.

The rivalry game between the University of Utah and BYU is called the Holy War (really, only recently so when both teams have been good enough to generate national attention). Does God really care who wins that game? What if Baylor (a Baptist school) plays Notre Dame? Does God care if the baseball player that crosses himself before his at bat strikes out or hits a home run?

Of course, most Christians in sports treat this humbly by crediting God for their talents and their health. They don’t pray to win, they pray to glorify God and for there to be no injuries. It’s usually the fans (and some knucklehead players with misinformed theology, see below) who take it overboard. But even crediting God for talents and opportunities makes others uncomfortable. Look no further than critics of President Bush who never did understand what he meant when he claimed that he believed God chose him to be president. This wasn’t a boast, but a humble reference to Romans 13:1. We can joke that Obama is the ‘chosen one’ but again, referencing Romans and conceding that God has a hand in all things, he really is. But then we’re back to the problem with sports- was Florida ‘chosen’? If so, where’s free will?

So there’s a danger in all of this. There’s no problem with thanking God, for that’s what the Bible commands us to do “in everything” (Phil 4:6) and “in all circumstances” (1 Thes 5:18). But we need to draw a line between divine providence (opportunity and talent) and divine intervention. This is where some fans and athletes cross the line. I mentioned BYU earlier and I’m not shy in saying that I absolutely hate them. But last year, there was a “miracle catch” to beat Utah as time expired and later a “miracle block” to beat UCLA in their bowl game. Their receiver, after this miracle catch was quoted as saying, “Obviously, if you do what’s right on and off the field, I think the Lord steps in and plays a part in it. Magic happens.” But what about the thugs and cheats that permeate professional sports who are successful? See where this theology leads? (this is also a problem with Prosperity Doctrine, but that’s another post for another day)

This isn’t a new problem. Look at how David lamented on the success of the wicked in the Psalms. Solomon did the same in Ecclesiastes. Or even the apostles who wondered why a man was born blind. Righteous living does not equate success in this life despite what our favorite athletes might say. We need to look no further than Jesus’ reply to reconcile our faith with prosperity, or in our case victory: “[T]his happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life.” (John 9:3)

The “his” above could be “us” or “them” with regards to our own success or that of our favorite (or least favorite even) team. Give God the glory. Give him thanks. And humbly recognize that whether you win or lose, God is in control.

(For entertainment, check out this article from a year ago that gives a list of sports colliding with faith. See if you can tell the difference between most of the quotes- the most obvious exception being the boxer- and what the BYU player said.)

In Memorium: Father Neuhaus

Frank

I should do a better job keeping up on headlines, though I’m surprised this didn’t turn up as I browsed my typical blog roll. But Father Richard John Neuhaus, founder of First Things, author, spiritual advisor to the President, and possibly one of the greatest Christian thinkers of the last century passed away January 8 at the full age of 72.

I regret to know little about him other than reputation. I also regret that I never did add First Things to my links, though I often meant to. Father Neuhaus was always good for a quote, and the Christian blogosphere could count on his wisdom on social and political issues. The obituary in Newsweek gives a better description than I ever could. In fact, I pray that some of the same can be said of me when I shuffle off this mortal coil.

But in the spirit of this blog, I want to pull some quotes from the article that we all can and should apply to our lives as Public Christians.

To begin with, he was a thoroughgoing Christian radical, meaning that he believed that the truth of Christian faith was not just truth-for-Christians, but the truth of the world, period. As with his hero, John Paul II (and contrary to the conventional wisdom on “tolerance”), that conviction opened him up to serious conversation with others, rather than shutting down the argument. Yet his basic theological and philosophical convictions, and the intellectual sophistication he brought to their defense, had resonances far beyond the boundaries of the religious world…

Neuhaus’s position was that the two pieces of the First Amendment’s provisions on religious freedom were in fact one “religion clause,” in which “no establishment” of religion served the “free exercise” of religion. There was to be no established national church, precisely in order to create the free space for the robust exchange of religious ideas and the free expression of religious practices. In making this case, Neuhaus changed the terms of the contemporary American church-state debate, arguing that the Supreme Court had been getting things wrong for more than half a century by pitting “no establishment” against “free exercise,” with the latter increasingly being forced into the constitutional back seat…

Neuhaus’s convictions about the meaning of religious freedom in America also reflected his consistent defense of popular piety and the religious sensibilities of those whom others might consider “simple” or “uninformed.” If 90 percent of the American people professed belief in the God of the Bible, he argued, then there was something profoundly undemocratic about denying those people—a super-majority if ever there was one—the right to bring the sources of their deepest moral convictions into public debate, even if they sometimes did so in clumsy ways…

[T]hese Big Ideas… intersected in what Richard Neuhaus, public intellectual, thought of as his life’s project: the creation of a “religiously informed public philosophy for the American experiment in ordered liberty,” as he frequently put it. (emphasis mine)

I couldn’t think of a better description or better example of Public Christianity in America today. But his theology wasn’t half-bad either. I’ll close with this quote, from his book Death on a Friday Afternoon (courtesy of internet monk).

When I come before the judgment throne, I will plead the promise of God in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. I will not plead any work that I have done, although I will thank God that he has enabled me to do some good. I will plead no merits other than the merits of Christ, knowing that the merits of Mary and the saints are all from him; and for their company, their example, and their prayers throughout my earthly life I will give everlasting thanks. I will not plead that I had faith, for sometimes I was unsure of my faith, and in any event that would be to turn faith into a meritorious work of my own. I will not plead that I held the correct understanding of justification by faith alone,” although I will thank God that he led me to know ever more fully the great truth that much misunderstood formulation was intended to protect. Whatever little growth in holiness I have experienced, whatever strength I have received from the company of the saints, whatever understanding I have attained of God and his ways—these and all other gifts I have received I will bring gratefully to the throne. But in seeking entry to that heavenly kingdom, I will, with Dysmas, look to Christ and Christ alone.

Then I hope to hear him say, “Today you will be with me in paradise,” as I hope with all my being—because, although looking to him alone, I am not alone—he will say to all.