Movie Scenes that Inspire

Last week at the small group that Rachel and I have been going to on Tuesday nights, the icebreaker question that was asked was: "What movie scene leaves you feeling either inspired or satisfied?"

As all the movies that I have seen in my lifetime began to flash through my head, there were just a handful that stood out to me. Later in the week, while at work, I began thinking about this question again and my top 3 movie scenes that have left me inspired and/or satisfied. Here is my list.

#1- Without a doubt is the scene in "Remember the Titans" when the team is at camp and Julius and Gary (the two leaders of the team) have a discussion at the drinking fountain about what it means to be a leader and captain. After the short conversation the film then goes to an evening practice where the team is just getting pummeled by Denzel. One of the offensive tackles (white guy) misses a block and the QB gets drilled. Gary notices the purposeful miss and calls out his teammate. This then flips to the team coming together and rallying around the two leaders.

#2- The closing scene of "American Tale" when Fiefel and his father are calling for eachother. They see eachother threw a waterfall of some sort and Fiefel yells out 'PAPA!' and jumps threw the water into his fathers arms.

#3- The scene in "Glory" where Denzel Washington gets punished for running away to get adequate shoes for him and his fellow soldiers. The punishment is whipping and his officer, who he respects and admires, looks on without doing anything. Denzel, putting on a tough persona lets a single tear drip down his face as the whipping takes place. This is a powerful, powerful scene that isn't very pleasant to watch but is very inspiring.

There are probably many more scenes that have left me feeling inspired but these are 3 that definitely stood out in my mind.

What is a neighbor?

When Rachel and I moved to Philadelphia in late August we were really praying for and seeking opportunities in being intentional about being a neighbor. The past couple weeks, I have been reading the gospel of Luke and have been struck by chapter 10. A lawyer asks Jesus in v. 29 the question, "who is my neighbor?" Jesus then goes into the parable about the Good Samaritan. After reading Luke 10 I have began to ask myself that question. Who is my neighbor? I have long felt that too often, especially coming from Moody, people view ministry as a vocational job, such as pastor, youth pastor, missionary, etc. These are all definitely ministry but my understanding of the reading of the gospels is that we are all to be doing ministry as we live, for it was the religious leaders who passed by the man and the Samaritan who stopped to help.

Not only are my neighbors those who live directly next to me or on my block, but they are the people I work with, the people I see on the trolley each morning, those who I brush shoulders with each day but don't necessarily have a relationship with. This is where I have been real challenged as of late. I have been challenged to be intentional in being a neighbor to these people and living the kingdom of God.

Through reading Luke I have also been reading a book by Henri Nouwen called "Compassion". Here is a quote that has struck me over the last day or two.

"More and more the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privelege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences, study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is difficult not to have plans, not to organize people around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working directly for social progress.

But I wonder more and more if the first things should be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes, and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them."

May the Lord bless you as you seek to be a good neighbor! The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.

Federal Express

The BCS bowl games came out last night and I was ecstatic, but shocked, to see Kansas slotted to play Virginia Tech in the FedEx Orange Bowl. It has potential to be a good game but I am stunned that KU got the nod over Mizzou. Granted, Mizzou lost to Oklahoma in the Big 12 Championship game but they still finished 6th in the final BCS standings, while Kansas finished 8th. I can't explain it and I can't believe that I am actually saying this, but I think that USC is the best team in college football this year and would no doubt beat both Ohio State and LSU if they played.

"Here come the Mangino's"

My Thanksgiving weekend consisted of a LOT of sleep, lying around, and basically not doing anything productive. I did however, on Black Friday, make the 2 hour trip from Rock City to Chicago without traffic at all. I don't know how that happened but it did and I was THANKFUL. While Rachel was visiting her little sister (big brother big sister program) I was able to enjoy a nice cup of coffee at Peet's Coffee & Tea on North Ave. & Clybourn. I got a lot of studying done and came away smelling like dark roast coffee beans. It was so good and I was THANKFUL.

Then Saturday night rolled around and the highly overrated Jayhawks of the University of Kansas (never really understood why they go by KU when they are the University of Kansas) ran into the hungry, more aggressive, and more talented Missouri Tigers. Before the game started I made the comment of not really being too confident in the KU defense. And well, they showed that they didn't know how to tackle anybody. Since when do you try to tackle people without using your arms. That is what the defense of Kansas attempted to do and Mizzou ran and threw all over them. Not only was it a bad showing from the Jayhawks but what really ticked me off was the commentary by Brent Musberger. I can't listen to that guy. He's just as bad as Tim McGarver. I can't even count how many times he referenced in an overly excited voice the Kansas football team as "the Manginos". What is that. Since when do you completely throw away the University's name, much less their mascot, and reference them by their coaches name. It must take a 400 pound head coach for that to happen.

I sure hope that "the Tressel's", "the Miles", "the Carroll's", "the Urban Meyer's", or " the Weiss's" (oh wait, they definitely won't) have Musberger calling their bowl games.

It's sure going to be interesting as the BCBS (for you Christian) comes out next Sunday and reveals who will be playing for the National Championship of college football. Whoever it is, I'm sure many other teams will have a case for being the Champion. All I have to say is: GO WARRIORS.

Coffee

Last week at work (Gia Pronto, an Italian coffee shop in Center City Philly) I had a discussion with a coworker about the hierarchy of coffee. We got on this discussion because we were talking about road trips and how frustrating it is at times when you have been driving for a long time and all you want is a good cup o' Joe but all that is around is a gas station off the interstate. We both shared the same sentiments that you have to be pretty desperate to purchase a cup of coffee from the gas station. I am about to reveal the dirtiness of my heart because I am talking about coffee when there are probably more important things that I can spend my time on...but nonetheless here is my list of favorite coffee.

#1 -- Peet's Coffee & Tea

#2 -- Caribou Coffee

#3 -- Dunkin' Donuts (this is the only coffee that I have cream & sugar put in)

#4-- Seattle's Best

#5 -- Starbucks

So far in Philly I have only seen Dunkin' Donuts (which are everywhere) and Starbuck's. My pickin's for coffee hasn't been the greatest, but I still hold onto the hope that I will soon find a quality coffee shop that is similar to that of a Peet's or a Caribou. Or I will probably just stick with my Folger's and Chock Full O' Nuts that I drip brew for myself each morning. That's probably a better steward of my money anyway.

KU has a football team?!!!!?

Well the World Series stunk. I guess in a way it was a good thing because I just can't stay up that late to watch the whole game when it doesn't get over until 12:30 a.m. It's a lot easier to turn the game off when it is 13-1 or 10-5. Another World Series sweep. I can't even remember the last time there were more than 4 games in the World Series. Let me see, 2007 Red Sox

(4-0), 2006 Cardinals (4-0), 2005 White Sox (4-0), 2004 Red Sox (4-0), I guess it was 2003 and I can't even remember who it was. I also loved the fact that with about 6 outs to go before Boston clinchd the title, Joe Buck makes a special announcement that Alex Rodriguez was opting out of his contract with the Yankees. Wow, I guess the Yanks really do run the show that even in the World Series, which they aren't even participating, they make headlines. Silly.

On to the NBA. Opening games are tonight and I could care less...The fact that we don't have cable doesn't really help either with the excitement because I can never watch a game. I was surprised to see in the Philadelphia Inquirer that 3 of their sports guys picked the Bulls to win the East. Da Bulls, over the Pistons or the revamped Celtics??????? I agree that they have talent and could make some noise but unless they get Kobe somehow and MJ decides to return again, I just don't see it.

College football is crazy this year. This is the first time that I am remotely excited about Kansas football. 7-0 baby, #8 !!! and a big game against the Huskers this week. Although now that I gave them props they are probably going to let down big time. But anyway, it's only fueling my excitement for the Jayhawks on the hardwood. I just can't get over how many teams are losing. Sure the Buckeyes beat up on Penn State last week but I'm still not convince that they are a runaway favorite with the BCS title. I thought that last year and they got their butts handed to them by Florida. I'm usually a Big Ten guy and would say that Ohio St. can match up but I think that if they faced an LSU, USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, or even Florida, you would see the same result as last year: butt whoopin'. Which is exactly what I want see the Badgers do to the Buckeyes this week. Let's give every Top 10 team a loss just to make it crazy come the final week of the season. Ahh, gotta love the BCS. At least this year there is no way that they can put Notre Dame in a BCS game.

ROCKtober

A good friend of mine sent me an email earlier today that described his thoughts on the ALCS Champion, Boston Red Sox. I could not agree more with his analysis and passion. If there is one thing that would keep me from watching the World Series this year it would be the fact that the Red Sox are representing the AL. When my team isn't in the Series, which hasn't happened in my lifetime (Cubs fan) I always default for rooting for the National League representative. This year it is the Colorado Rockies and I am jumping on their band wagon as they face the new evil empire of the Major League Baseball.

Enjoy the rant.........thanks E-Mil.........

After last night’s game of the Sox beating the Indians in game 7 of the ALCS, my passionate hatred for the Bosox has nearly grow to that of the Yankees (nearly). Sure the Tribe committed way too many errors last night. And yes, the Indians are younger and inexperienced, but still I give you...

My Top 10 Reasons to Hate the Red Sox:

10. Jacoby Ellsbury - Have you seen this kid? Sure he’s a good rookie, but the Red Sox should be sued for breaking Child Labor Laws. He doesn't look a day past 16!

9. Josh Beckett. Hot head. No, he is not the next Roger Clemens.

8. Curse Shmurse. - The curse died in 2004 when they won the World Series, so Bosox fans, stop trying to put yourself in the same league of suffering as the Indians and the Cubs. You’re no longer in the suffering club, which I get the weird feeling you still want to be.

7. Celebrity Bosox Fans. - Why does it seem like ever since they won the Series in ‘04 celebrities (exluding Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) now root for the Bosox? When was the last time you saw Brad Pitt wearing an Indians cap? I think not. It’s not hip to root for the talented no-names on the Tribe. When the Tribe wins the World Series J. Lo will stillnot sport a Tribe’s cap...which is yet another reason why you gotta love the Indians!

6. Bosox Fans - They are quite possibly just as annoying as Yankee fans. Seriously, you’re chanting “Let’s Go Red Sox”? Is that the best chant you’ve got? And you’re shocked when a pitch from one of your aces isn’t called a strike. As if every pitch should be. Why does it feel like when I’m watching a playoff game that’s at Fenway it feels like Yankee Stadium? Answer:B/c within the last three years Bosox fans have now morphed into Yankee-like fans....which brings me to #5.

5. They’re the New New York Yankees - As Mark Kriegel for FoxSports.com says:“(The Red Sox) just win. They are to the rest of baseball what the Yankees were once to them. The $51 million rights fee Boston paid the Seibu Lions for the rights to Matsuzaka is almost as much as the entire payroll of their World Series opponent. The Colorado Rockies weigh in at $54 million. But hey, these aren't your father's Red Sox. All that good luck is expensive.” Therefore, stop pretending you’re the down-and-out Bosox of yesteryear.

4. Manny Ramirez - He has yet to actually run. The guy barely jogs. If any little league player would apply Ramirez’s laziness they’d be sent home without a sno-cone.

3. - Fox Commentators Tim McGarver & Joe Buck - Thank you, God, for creating the “mute”button! These guys might as well paint their faces grey and red. If I hear them gush over Ramirez’s hitting one more time I’m going to paint their faces black and blue! I think I’ll look up the stats on how many errors Joe Buck had when he played in the Majors. Oh yeah, he never played at all! His daddy was a famous announcer back in the day. Seriously Fox, hire commentators who a least pretend to not have a bias. Apparently it must be cool for celebrities to like the Bosox (see #7). Sadly, I will not be watching the World Series b/c of these shmoes (or I’ll be watching the Series on mute).

2. They’re Good. - Dang it! They’re not my team and they’re good, therefore, I hate them. Plain and simple.

1. The Green Monster - Yes, it’s a sports icon that I wouldn’t mind seeing in person one day, but, seriously, that things jinormous! There’s a sport inwhich the playing field’s differentiate so dramatically that the athletes have to adjust their game...it’s called golf!

13 Letters

Mainstream Christian music is, to say the least, very discouraging to listen to on the radio. Aside from the fact that the radio stations promote their station as "family friendly" and "positive hits" and say nothing about their desire to play music that glorifies Jesus, the fact that most of the songs they play are very fluffy and feel good about yourself songs doesn't particularly make me want to turn the dial to 'K Love'...so i settle for gangsta rap instead (just kidding). I don't want to bash all of Christian music because there are some great bands but for the most part, it is not to my liking at least.

Where are the groups that sing about substance? Or better yet, where is the Christian radio station that plays songs that are of substance?

One of my good friends turned my attention to the new album put out by the 116 Clique. If you are not familiar with the 116 Clique you need to check out their website (http://www.reachrecords.com/). This album is by far one of the best Christian albums that I have listened to in a long time. The focus of this album was to dissect the 13 letters of the Apostle Paul in hip-hop form. These guys (Lecrae, Trip Lee, Tedashii, Flame, Shai Linne, JSon,....) have brought the meat to music lyrics that will have a huge impact on peoples lives because "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ". I am just waiting for a Christian radio station to just play one of these songs and I will forever have a different view of Christian radio. But I am not too confident that I will find that anytime soon, much to my dismay.

In the meantime, I will continue to 'ride with my top down, listen to Jesus music' and pump the Word of Christ as loud as I can from my hatchback.

Theology defined

Last week in my Missional Theology class, the discussion was about defining theology. What is theology? and from that definition, how does it affect our lives? Here are a couple definitions of theology from various scholars:

"Theology is a disciplined reflection upon the truth of Christian revelation" -Jaroslav Pelikan

"Systematic theology is a study that answers the question "what does the whole Bible teach us today?" about any given topic." -Wayne Grudem

"Theology is the discipline which strives to give a coherent statement of the doctrines of Christian faith, based primarily on Scripture, placed in context of culture in general, worded in contemporary idiom, and related to issues of life." -Millard Erikson

"Theology is a confession of Biblical truths, intellectual reflection on them, and assimilation of them by the people of God in the form of distinctively Christian wisdom." -David Wells

"Theology is an imperfect attempt to develop increasingly more accurate approximations of God's perfect truth, by exegeting, systematizing, defining, and explaining the facts and meanings of God's revelation of His nature, works, and purpose for all created beings." -Robert Dunzweiler

The definition of theology that we are using as our format for our class discussions is:

"Christian theology is an ongoing, second-order, contextual discipline that engages in the task of critical and constructive reflection on the beliefs and practices of the Christian church, for the purpose of assisting the community of Christ's followers in their missional vocation to live as the people of God in the particluar social, historical context in which they are situated."

Though this is a handful of language and idioms that I won't go into here, it has been real interesting as I have been wrestling and reflecting on these new concepts of approaching theology. One of the areas that I resonate with in my dialogue in class is the fact of how much humility plays a role in studying theology. We, as humans, are finite and fallen, and cannot come up with a perfect system of studying God or His attributes. I think the thing that helps me the most in studying theology is the fact of reminding myself that God is God and that I cannot comprehend to the fullest extent how He works or acts. He has given us the Bible as revelation and it is our mission to accurately (to the best of our ability, empowered by the Spirit), interpret the Scripture and the culture in order to relay His message of redeeming love to an ever-changing world.

The BEST logo in Baseball

Old School Baseball Caps and Stuff

I would say (or at least would like to think) that I am an avid baseball fan. For the sheer purity of the game that is. Maybe that is why I am drawn to teams like the Milwaukee Brewers, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians of this year. These three teams have gone about their year in very similar ways. Neither team has gone out in the offseason to bring in the superstar to help them get to the playoffs. Maybe the Brewers needed to down the stretch but their issue was pitching that led to their downfall in the NL Central. Teams like this attract me because they are just guys who go out there each day and play their hearts out. Guys who came up through the farm system and our now in the big leagues. Good stories and good for baseball. I mean, the Rockies were all but dead two weeks ago in the playoff race but peeling off an 11 game win streak to close the season is pretty impresive. They are rewarded with a 1 game playoff tonight against the Padres for the NL wild card. In a very twisted way, because my Dad is a Met fan, I was glad to see the Mets choke away their lead to the fightin' Phils (as people call them here in the Philly). The Mets were 7.5 games up in the NL East on September 12. September 30 rolls around and the Mets aren't even in the playoffs. Crazy. Just crazy. But the Mets are one of those teams who (like their city counterpart) go out and buy their superstars. Maybe that's what you need to do to win the World Series, I don't know, but it would sure be nice to see the Indians, Phillies, and Rockies (if they make it in) play well in October.

I enjoy learning and reading about the history of baseball. I also like representing old school baseball. I have three baseball caps that are of three old school baseball teams. One being a Brooklyn Dodgers hat, the other a New York Giants, and the other an old school Brewers logo. The 2 most famous players for the Dodgers and Giants (Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays) are great examples of how the game is supposed to be played day in and day out. It's a trip to me when people always jump to the conclusion that I'm a Red Sox fan or a Mets fan. Granted, the hats do look very similar to the Bo Sox and Mets but the color scheme is very different. I wore my NY Giants (baseball giants that is) hat around Philly this passed week. I must've been ridiculed and spoken to each day that I wore it. "Mets suck" I would hear as I walked the street of Center city..or "Phillies are going to take the East" would also ring out. Instead of firing back at their ignorance and lack of baseball knowledge I simply would smile and keep walking. It just made me laugh because people just don't know a true baseball fan when they see one !!!

This brings me to my awkward, yet encouraging encounter with my Missional Theology professor. The first day of class I wore my Giants cap. He walked in and during roll call he says "wow, NY Giants, I like that hat". I was shocked because this theology professor knew his stuff and his baseball history. Last week I came in about a half hour late to class due to an accident on the NE extenstion and was wearing my Brooklyn Dodgers cap. As I searched for an open seat he stopped his lecture and proceeds to tell me that he really likes my taste in ball caps. He then proceeds to ask me if I'm now a Dodgers fan or a Giants fan. I say neither, I just like baseball. He then proceeds to ask me if I've read a book called "the Echoing Green" and that if I haven't I should definitely read it because it's all about the rivalry between the Giants and Dodgers in the 40's and 50's. I'm a little hesitant to approach him with questions about baseball because I can only imagine that he would talk my ear off for. But then again, I must overcome the fear of the beast because he may have a signed baseball of murderer's row to give me. (Sandlot for those of you who don't know) . The only downside to my MT prof is that he is an Ohio St. Buckeye fan. My next purchase needs to be a Bucky hat. Any ideas Christian?

"The World has come to us"

I have heard the phrase "we no longer need to go into the world because the world has come to us" thrown around a lot as of late. The context of this statement is always to emphasize the point that our culture here in America is becoming vastly cross cultural. We can no longer assume that people know how to do things because they simply live in America. The world definitely has come to us and it didn't take me but a ride on the SEPTA (southeast pennsylvania transit authority) a couple mornings ago to be confronted with that realization, as if I didn't already no that. I boarded the #13 trolley at about 6:19 a.m. headed toward Center City. As I approached my normal seat (the single seat near the rear door) I noticed that the lady sitting in front of me was completely covered in the traditional Muslim dress. She had the long black dress to her feet, the headdress, and the covering for her face (forgive me for my lack of knowledge about the actual vocabulary for this outfit). This sort of caught me by surprise because you normally don't see this everyday. It put a smile to my face to some degree just thinking about the true diversity of southwest philly. On our block alone we have about 5 families who are west african refugees, 2 chinese families, 3 caucasian families (us included) and 10 african-american families. This truly is a blessing to Rachel and I because it really feels like we can minister cross-culturally without even leaving our country. As true as the statement "the world has come to us" might be, I still feel like we, as believers, need to have a heart for the nations. Not only for the nations, but to go to the nations. I'm not one of those people who feels like everybody needs to be a missionary but I do feel like everyone (believers) need to be globally minded. I must confess that it is extremely hard in America because while there is great strife and protests in Burma this week, signifying the mere sanctity of life and living freely, all we hear about on our news networks is the latest fashion of Brittany and how her baby is doing. It truly saddens me to know that very often I fall right into that trap. The NL wildcard race is so important right now, I mean, there are only 3 games left and the Mets are choking....God have mercy on me. Many times I am thankful for friends and family who divert my attention to things globally.

My sister-in-law is serving in Odessa, Ukraine in an orphanage. She first travelled to the Ukraine while in college and ever since has had a deep passion for the people, especially children of Ukraine. She just goes over to Odessa, lives, and works in the orphanage loving on these children. Her main passion, which is so exciting and challenging to hear, is for adoption. She returns to the States every summer and speaks in churches and groups about the possibility of adopting a Ukrainian boy or girl. Hearing the stories of the number of children that she has had the opportunity of seeing adopted to loving, Christian homes in America is utterly amazing and often times makes me think what the purpose is of sitting in a seminary class. God does bring all things together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose (Hallelujah!!) but still....wow!!

I am thankful for people like my sister-in-law who constantly challenge me to think and pray globally. There are many others in my life who have shared their passion for a particular part of the world and I am truly thankful for them as well.

Though the world may have truly come to us, our response to the wonderful grace of Jesus and the work of the Gospel should be to take that message to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even to the remotest parts of the earth (Acts 1:8) for our God is indeed zealous that "they will declare My glory among the nations." (Isaiah 66:19)

For HIS name and fame.............

Practicing spiritual disciplines on the Interstate, perhaps

In my Formation and Mission class we have formed small groups to be apart of to complete 4 projects throughout the semester. This is something completely different than anything I've been involved in before as far as group work in a class setting is concerned. It is very refreshing to be involved in this kind of context with my classmates. This is what community is all about and it is so important, even the field of seminary study. It is so encouraging to know that we will be praying for one another and checking in on eachothers lives throughout the semester. We are all coming from various backgrounds and stages in life and ministry so we all come with a different perspective. One of my groupmates, who is a youth pastor at a Korean church, his wife just had a baby last Monday night so he wasn't in class. He shared the excitement that he is feeling at this time but I was just amazed at the things that are on his plate outside of the classroom.

Our first project that our small group is to work on is that of Spiritual Disciplines. We had to come up with 2 disciplines that we as a group could work on to implement in our lives and practice them for 4 weeks and then come together to debrief our experience. The disciplines that we chose to practice are: simplicity and solitude. Fleshing out our disciplines are going to look a little different for each person but we basically are focusing on using money that we would spend to rent a movie, or a coffee at Starbucks, or whatever, and using that to bless or give to somebody else who is of need. We also are going to go through our closests to basically clean house of those nice shirts and slacks that we wear but once or twice a year, and then give away to somebody else. Solitude is going to look a little different as well but the purpose of it is to connect and listen to the heart of God, which then will spring up in us a compassion and desire to serve in the area of simplicity. I can already see my time sitting in traffic on I-76 or I-476 as a great way to sit quietly and focus on the Lord!!!! (Lord, I need your grace).

Though these disciplines are being done for an assignment, it is my prayer that the Lord will use this to instill these disciplines in my life as a daily adventure. I would invoke your prayers in this endeavor and maybe you can take on a discipline or two also.

Mice, toilets, and brew

Rachel and I really love our apartment. It is bigger than our apartment in Chicago, it's right across the street from a park, it's only 5-7 blocks from Cornerstone Christian Academy (school that Rachel teaches at) but since living here for a month we have now been getting acquainted with what are apartment really has to offer. Mice, toilet leakage, and the inconvenience of not being able to get a simple beer or wine from the grocery store. Let me start with that. There is a law in Pennsylvania that forbids any grocery store, drug store, etc. from selling any kind of alcohol. You can only get beer at a beer depot that are located throughout the city but are very inconvenient to get to. If you want to get wine for say, a special occasian to share with your wife, you have to go to a different depot. This one not only carries wine but also the hard liquor. This is even more uncomfortable because the alcohol content in these bottles have a higher percentage that the Cubs winning percentage.

I came home from class last Thursday to find Rachel sitting out on the front step with a book. I thought it was cute that she was waiting for me to get home. Without even greeting me with a holy kiss, she proceeded to mention that there WAS A MOUSE IN OUR KITCHEN. So I did what any husband would do...I went in the kitchen and calmly coaxed the mouse to enter a box and then set it free outside. Well, he wasn't the only one in our home. We have others and Rachel is freaking out that I am not her only roommate. Our toilet has also began to leak from the bottom. It doesn't overflow or anything but there is a gradual leak everytime you flush so that the next time you go to 'use it' you get a little foot washing too. Don't worry, the water is clean so I guess that is good.

Maybe in more ways than what we intended God is preparing us for the mission field this year. and we embrace it with open, willing hearts!

Ministry is.............?

In my Monday evening class "Formation & Mission" my professor posed this question to us. For this class we have formed small groups that we will be in for the duration of the semester so in our groups we were to describe or define ministry in one sentence as if it were the first line in a magazine. This led us into a group discussion on what we think ministry is. It was a real interesting activity and was even more interesting hearing the response of each group. So, what is ministry?

According to the groups in my class it is: "Incarnating the gospel in your world/context" was one response. Another response was, "Ministry is God's calling of His people to further develop and grow His Kingdom", and another was "Ministry is our response to the Great Commission through service and discipleship empowered by the Holy Spirit". If you know me well you can probably figure out which group I was in but that is beside the point. So far in my seminary classes and the reading for them, I have really been challenged to rethink or come to a decision on where I stand with this whole emerging church movement. Reading books like "a new kind of Christian" and "character of theology" have led me down a path of underlining certain points that stuck out and questioning others. I know that I shouldn't expect to come to a strong position right now but it is definitely valuable to look into.

It's quite obvious to me that we can no longer expect that the tactics that were used in Christian ministry back in the 60's 70's 80' 90's will still be relevant to our culture. The message of the Gospel is one that is never changing or wavering, but we minister in a context and culture that is ever changing and the question becomes: how do we minister the Gospel in this day and age? Many tend to believe that you cannot be in tune with the culture and the scripture at the same time because you will then have elevated culture above the word of God, and others say that you cannot put all the focus on the Word of God because then you will have no relevancy to your world. This can't be right. What's the balance? There has to be one right? Well, that is something that I haven't quite figured out and I'm quite sure that I won't really mind if I don't figure it out. All I know is that my heart's desire is to live a life that is reflected of Jesus Christ. To see the world the way He sees it, to love the world the way He loves it, to show compassion the way He shows compassion, and to surrender to the will of the Father the way He did.

My desire is to live authentically the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in the context that I am in and then just pray that the Lord would use my humble, feeble efforts.

Letdown in Lincoln

I don't want to bore you with analysis of the letdown last night that the Huskers put on but I do want to make a few comments. First off, Nebraska just didn't capitalize on any of the breaks that were given to them. It was obvious that USC was a much better team but the game would've been completely different if they would've simply capitalized in the first half. When they were up 10-7 and on the assuing kickoff the return man fumbles and a USC guy scoops it up and goes 55 yards down field, that just took the momentum away and boosted the Trojans offense. If Nebraska pounces on that ball and scores the game is completely different. But that didn't happen and the Trojans took over the game from there. Second, Bill Callahan seemed to get away from the passing game that was carving up and through the USC defense. They went to the run and weren't getting anywhere. Third, the blackshirt defense did not know how to stop any of the freshman tailbacks that USC threw out. The holes were huge and these guys went running threw them untouched the whole game.

Another note, late in the second half after the game was out of reach and the announcers began talking about things other than the game, Kirk Herbstreit showed his top 5 college football teams. His list included USC, LSU, Florida, Oklahoma, and Penn State......PENN STATE?.! Where did these guys come from? Sure they are #12 at weeks end but better than West Virginia or Wisconsin? Come on Kirk.

Showdown in Lincoln

Nebraska has the privelege of hosting the #1 team in the nation this evening on primetime ABC. It seems kind of silly that USC is ranked #1 after only two weeks of the seaon and they've only played 1 game. I still will never really understand the purpose of preseason rankings. I don't think that the rankings should start until the 3rd or 4th week at least. It gives teams an unfair advantage when they are preseason ranked in the top 5 because if they lose early, they don't drop very far i.e. Notre Dame the past two seasons. Teams like Wisconsin, who last year started unranked worked their way up to finishing #7 but were left out of a BCS game because a crappy Notre Dame team started really high and never dropped far after their losses. (anyway, that was for my Bucky friend)

But tonight in Lincoln should be a good game and matchup. Nebraska must play well on both sides of the ball if they want to pull out a win. In Lincoln, the crowd should be rowdy and I'm sure USC is going to be sick of seeing the color red after this weekend. If Nebraska wants to establish themselves as a powerhouse like past years, they must win this game...otherwise it's going to be like recent seasons and they will have to settle for another New Year's Day bowl that won't mean anything.

Let's go HUSKERS!!!! Knock the stupid Trojans off of this ridiculous pedestal that people put them on because they are USC.

So since moving to Philly Rachel and I have discovered that Southwest Philly (the community that we live in) is one of the most violent, crime ridden areas of Philadelphia. It sure was fun telling family and friends about the area that we live in. Just down the street from us at a church gym on 70th St. (we live off of 65th St.) there is a small basketball league that plays on Wednesday nights. Last night was my second outing as apart of the "white" team. This league was started by a guy named "Earthquake" Moore who's claim to fame was that he appeared in one of the Rocky movies (sorry for those Rocky fans but I do not know which one it was). He always has some sort of a program or reason for gathering to play basketball and he pumps it up as such. I'm not sure if it is anything more than just trying to get the news crew out there (which the Fox News network in Philly has come out the past two weeks) but nevertheless it is a good idea because there are just tons of youth that pack the gym. The first week's theme was called "Start Snitchin". His whole message was about encouraging these young guys on the street to tell the police when they see a crime happen or any gang activity instead of 'keepin it real' and letting criminals go unpunished. Last nights theme was all about going back to school and working hard for your education. The news crew had good footage of Earthquake given the message and even stayed around to video some of the game. I'm sure they got my dunk on video but I wasn't able to see it on the news.... Most of these kids are high school or above but what a great way to get them all together in a positive environment.

Anyway, the "white team", not because we were wearing white jerseys, always seem to hold our own for the first half but get run around the second. I think it's because we only have 5 guys and are constantly battling fatigue. Plus we are older and cannot run up and down the court like these youngsters can. Anyway, we got throttled last night by 25 points or something but we are just out there to build relationships and have fun anyway. About 8 minutes into the first half I notice that the opposing teams point guard was absolutely no threat to do anything with his left hand. Now, don't get me wrong, he was killer with his right but when I forced him to go left he would take 1 dribble and pass it off. What a handicap. I made the observation known to my teammates during the game and he didn't like that very much. He began taunting me and taking it very personal. After the game I caught up with him and apologized and said that I did not mean anything personal by it. I encouraged him to work on his left hand so that he can be a threat to go both ways. I think a lot of these guys don't see the need to development the fundamentals when they can always get to the bucket when they go with their right. So, amidst getting our butts handed to us, maybe there will be some sort of fruit down the line.

Last night however, I drew my first nickname from the guys who lined the court to watch: "Steve Nash" they shouted everytime I touched the ball. I'm not sure if it was becaue of my Canadian accent or because of my constant having to pull my hair behind my ears. Maybe it was because of my killer floater that I dropped on their big man for 6 points!!

Missional........

So I began my offical debut as a Seminary student about 4 hours ago. After being oriented with all the procedures and structures of the school, and forking over the money for books, I am on my way. I am offically a Seminarian, and the fact that I am broke and will be reading in all of my spare time should be a good indication that I am such. But anyway, I am super excited to begin my training.

Biblical Seminary , is paving the way for training men and women to be ambassadors of the Gospel to this ever changing and emerging culture that surrounds us. It has already been exciting and challenging in thinking along these lines. God is a God of mission and it is our job and calling to align ourselves to be a part of His mission in this world. That is, in a nutshell, my purpose for even attending seminary. I want to be well trained and equipped to share and minister the Gospel to this world in which I live, whether that is in SW Philly, or overseas, I need to take the very words of Jesus and live them out so that people will be attracted to Him.

My desire in this blog is to jot down what I have been learning in order to interact with others who are on this same path of trying to live Jesus to our world.

I consider myself blessed and priviledged to be on such a journey and it is my desire to complete the journey well.

Eagles, 76ers, Phillies, Nittany Lions or Bears, Bulls, Cubs, Jayhawks, Huskers

Monday night while flipping through the TV channels to see what we can get in Philly, I came across the Steelers vs. Eagles preseason game. As I was watching the game Rachel comes in and asks out of nowhere whether or not we are going to start rooting for the Philly sports teams. I really did not know what to say. We want to be apart of the community as much as we can but does that mean that we have to take on a love for Philly sports?

I am not sure and haven't really come up with an answer yet. A good friend of mine has a beautiful way of describing his reasons for supporting the teams that he does. I haven't formulated that much yet but am eager to work through my situation. Here is a little of my background history of sports teams that I pull for (if you have any advice on the issue, I am open).

Let me start off with the team that I allign myself with the most. The Kansas Jayhawks are my team in college basketball. I am not from Kansas but my mom is and all my life I have travelled to Kansas for holidays and such and a lot of my cousins/uncles pull for KU. It was easy to begin following because they are a likeable basketball tradition who normally have pretty good success(well, at least until March Madness). Next comes college football. KU has a football program but most people don't know that it exists or at least they don't like to admit it, so KU football was out of the question. I guess I pulled a little for Penn St. because that was who my dad liked and I was born in PA but I didn't really have any ties to the university or their football program. Last year a good friend of mine got me excited about the Badgers and filled me in on possibly everything that I needed to know in order to become a fan. Because of that I will pull for UW but I don't think I can become a fan. I married a girl from Nebraska so I guess you can say that I am unofficially a Husker fan now. This was hard for me because I remember years ago when PSU had Kerry Collins and Kijana Carter and went undefeated through the regular season and had to split the National Title with the Huskers, who I am convinced would've been drummed by PSU had they played eachother in the Bowl game. I think PSU had Oregon or somebody like that in the Rose Bowl and Nebraska played somebody for the National Championship game. (this was all before the BCS stuff) But I am over that now, and can pull for the Huskers, especially when they play USC on Sept. 15 in Lincoln. Anyway, I digress...so now to the NFL. If there is one team in Philly that I won't root for it is going to be the Eagles. For some reason they just get under my skin and I cannot pull for them. The Bears will have to win out for this league. MLB --Growing up most of my life in IL it was easy to become a Cubs fan. I was accustomed to watching the games on WGN and really followed them even during the cellar years of the 90's. Once 2000 rolled around and it became cool to be a Cubs fan and people flocked to Wrigley more for the atmosphere and the beer than the team, I started to lose my allegiance to the loveable losers. I still pull for them but I think that I can follow a team like the Phillies. They don't really have a superstar player, just a bunch of guys that are scrappy and play hard. I like that in a baseball team, which is why it is easy for me to also root for the Brewers, Indians, Twins...NBA -- Well, I don't know if I can really have a favorite NBA team because I am so disgusted with how things are in the NBA...but, because I am immersed in the African American culture I need to at least know a little bit about it. Da Bulls would be my team because of their philosophy of team ball and defense. The Sixers, however, are in the process of getting rid of their stars and focusing on the young guys. I think I can at least root for them for that fact, but they won't be any good. NHL -- well, go Ducks coached by Emilio Estevez. That was as much as I ever got into hockey, (they should have left it at 2nd movie. The 3rd movie was horrible). Well, I think that is all as far as sports teams go. Oh yeah, the Barrage is Philly's pro lacrosse team but I know absolutely nothing about lacrosse, except that it is a east coast ivy league sport.

Anyway, as was mentioned earlier, I could use all the help as far as advising me for which teams I should root for. The hard thing about Philadelphia is that the city has the longest drought without seeing or experiencing a Championship in any major sport. Regardless of which team I pull for in Philly, it doesn't bode well for rooting for a winner.

A Welcome to the Block

Last Tuesday Rachel and I moved all of our stuff into our new apartment in Philly. With a lot of help from my parents and my cousin we knocked it out in less than an hour. We needed to provide our own refridgerator (i know, weird) but my uncle found one at his dad's house that nobody was using. A free fridge sounds real good. After unloading everything we save the fridge for last only to realize that as we are carrying it to the doorway it was going to be way too big and would no way fit through the doorway. Bummer! Back in the truck it went and Rachel and I went about 3 days before we found another one that would fit. This one would set us back $60 but that is no big deal.

Also, we come to find out on Friday that our block is having a 'block party' on Saturday. What a great way to meet our new neighbors. All day Friday there were signs posted that we needed to move our cars on Saturday for street cleaning. Street cleaning in Chicago is very different than street cleaning in southwest Philly. I got up at about 7:50 to move our car and our neighbor, who was the 'block party coordinator' says, "wow, I'm so glad your up because nobody else is here to help street clean". It was then that I noticed the garbage bags and the big shop brooms that were to be used to sweep the street. After going in and putting on some better shoes I got back out there and cleaned our block. It was a good time though because I was able to meet some other guys who live on the block and who eventually came out to help. The party got going about 3:00 p.m. so Rachel and I went out and tried to be social. Block parties in southwest Philly is just another way of basically inviting all your friends and family who live elsewhere to come by and BBQ in the street with loud music. Nobody from the block really interacts with eachother. They just hang out with their own friends and family. It turned out not to even be a valuable time of meeting neighbors because everybody that we met didn't even live on the block. Oh well, I guess we will just chalk that up as one of our different cultural experiences.

We are however, real excited about our block and the opportunity that we have to simply be a neighbor.

In West Philadelphia born and raised.....

Well, earlier this week my wife and I packed up our Focus and drove across the country to the city of brotherly love. Awaiting us was a mattress on the floor at my aunt and uncles house in the burbs. Rachel and I spent two full days apartment searching, viewing, and contacting. We were getting discouraged after every apartment we looked at was either too expensive, too big (for 2 people anyway), or just too unliveable for a young married couple. This afternoon however was one of those beautiful moments where God reveals Himself in a very big way and we just simply have to step back, humble ourselves for our attitudes and frustrations, and then say: "wow God, you really do have a plan and you really are in control" As if my circumstances would determine that anyway. Man, I am so fickle at times and can totally see myself as being close friends with the disciples, who were constantly being challenged in their faith. Our last apartment viewing of the evening was the one that Rachel and I knew from the very beginning that this would be the place that we would call home in Philadelphia. It was the right size, the right price, and the right location. It is just a couple blocks from the school that Rachel will be teaching at and our landlord said that the neighborhood is very community focused. After we put down our deposit and began our trek back to the burbs, Rachel and I were filling I-95 with the praise of YHWH.

For those of you who may be wondering, I'm quite sure that it's not where the Fresh Prince exactly came from, but it is in West Philadelphia.

Philly Bound

It has been a long time since I have posted but for those who are still reading, Rachel and I will be moving out east to the Philly pad in about a week or so. When we get settled and situated we will tell all about our new place in the city of brotherly love.

NBA once again

So, if I mentioned anything in my latest rant on the NBA about Lebron James, I stand corrected. This guy is amazing and can definitely take the CAVS to the Finals, by himself. Although I do think that a team like the Spurs can stop Lebron in his tracks and win the championship.

But, Lebron surprised me and probably put up the greatest performance in NBA playoff history last night....(although my NBA playoff history knowledge is not that great).

Disciplines

A couple weeks ago I finished reading a book called "Celebration of Disciplines" by Richard J. Foster. Pondering the book before I began to read I was at the point where I just wanted to dig deeper into my relationship with Christ. I wanted to read something that would totally challenge my way of life and my lack of spiritual discipline. I thought that "Celebration of Disciplines" would be a good place to start.

As I mulled over the book and jotted down notes, I began to think about my own life and how bad I was at these disciplines. Since reading it, I haven't been any better but I'm definitely thinking about them a lot more. My prayer now is not that I become good at the disciplines for my own sake, but that God would give me His grace to grow in my faith and my relationship with Christ in these disciplines so that He would be exalted through the way I live my life.

Foster develops three categories of disciplines: Inward, Outward, and Corporate.

Inward Disciplines

• Meditation - Listening to God's Word, reflecting on God's works, rehearsing God's deeds, ruminating on God's law.
• Prayer - "prayer is listening"..boy this was challenging. How seldom I do this.
• Fasting - centered on God, God initiated. Fasting is feasting, feasting on the Word of God.
• Study - Repetition, concentration, comprehension, reflection.

Outward Disciplines

• Simplicity - Inward reality, outward lifestyle. "seek first the kingdom of God"
• Solitude - inner fulfillment.
• Submission - focuses on the spirit of how we view other people.
• Service - service = humility (Jn. 13:14-15)

Corporate Disciplines

• Confession - brothers & sisters make God's presence and forgiveness real.
• Worship - (Isa. 6) See who YHWH is brings us to confession. Service flows from worship.
• Guidance - Scripture muse penetrate all our thinking and acting.
• Celebration - path to joy is obedience.

God, may these disciplines be a part of my life for your glory and your fame!

National Basketball Association Playoffs

So I was challenged by a friend to write a little bit about the NBA. And since there is nothing good about the NBA, I'll leave it at this. Just kidding. Here are my thoughts about the NBA playoffs thus far. This is for you GB......

I haven't been able to watch very many games due to the glorious fact that my wife and I do not have cable so we are only able to watch games that come on ABC. So, with that said I have not seen any of the Eastern Conference Finals and only saw 1 of the Bulls games, and that was when they dominated the Heat. So, this postseason I have become a big Spurs fan. Which is surprising to me because I usually do not like teams that always win but for some reason I seem to gravitate to the San Antonio Spurs. Oh wait, I know why, because they play FUNDAMENTAL basketball as a team and a unit. Maybe that's why they have 3 championship banners in the past 6 years or something like that. This I might add, is something that the Suns, Mavericks, and Cavaliers do not have. Sure, they have superstar athletes who put up big numbers, but they are also the ones who are already out of the playoffs and did it whining the whole time. (well, the CAVS are still in and are looking good against Detroit) I gloried in the fact that the untouchable Suns were scorched by the boring, 'dirty', fundamental Spurs. I put the 'dirty' in quotations because that is just silly. I guess people have forgotten what a hard foul means. Plus, Steve Nash totally flopped his way into that mess. Before the Playoffs started and the match-ups were revealed I was gloating to some of the middle schoolers that the Warriors were going to beat the Mavs. In a way I was just joking and just wanted to ruffle some feathers but then when the reality started to kick in, I began to back Golden State. Kudos to the Mavs for running through the regular season and then flopping in the Playoffs...it reminded me too much about the Jayhawks of Kansas.

Also, just to put this out there so that it will be on record, Steve Nash will never win the NBA championship. No matter which team he ends up being on or who you put around him, they will not win. I don't know why I said that, but that's what comes to my mind when I think of Steve Nash.

Let me give you my all NBA team (current players). These are guys who are selfless and care more about winning and team basketball than putting up the numbers or the high flying, death defying, amazing highlight reels. Here they are: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobli, Michael Finley, and Robert Horry. Hmmm...sound familiar.

Embracing the Struggle

My wife and I, the past couple of weeks, have really been in a place of struggle. We are struggling with the idea of where God is leading us. We have 2 more weeks of school and then the summer: Hallelujah!!!! But with that, there is also a cloud of unknown hanging over us. With the school closing we have been searching and pursuing for 'what's next?' And we really don't know....which isn't all that bad, but every now and again it really tests our dependance and trust. It's a good thing that our lives are in the hands of the Potter, who already knows where my bride and I will be serving.

We have engraved on our wedding bands "two hearts set on pilgrimage" and it is real fitting that our first year of marriage has really felt like a pilgrimage. It's been a pilgrimage where we've been beat up and worn down, and haven't necessarily seen the fruit of our labor, but it's also been a pilgrimage of seeing Christ draw us closer to eachother and to Himself. So, it's at this time, this place of unknown, that we need to heed the message engraved, journey the pilgrimage and embrace the struggle.......................


Yesterday I traveled to the local book establishment, Borders, to pick up a book that was part of the application requirement for a Seminary that I'm applying for. On my way in, after locking up my bike, a gentleman outside the store asked if I could spare some change. I gave him the token answer of "Maybe on my way out". So, after purchasing the book and another one (impulsive spending from my dad) I made my way out the door. I decided to stop by the gentleman to talk with him. I sat by him on the bench and began a conversation. Through it all, we talked about the Bulls and what they need to do in the off season to get over the hump in the Playoffs. He had some great insight and I couldn't agree with more about what the Bulls need. We exchanged names and wished eachother a great rest of the day. As I was leaving he mentioned to me that he really appreciated the fact that I spent time simply talking with him. I was proud and yet humbled at the same time. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. I just didn't pass him up for the sake of inconvenience. On my way home, I was struck and convicted about how often I go through my day on a time schedule and don't simply take time to talk with people. Maybe Dino, the guy outside Borders, was used to teach me a lesson of simply putting my time on hold for the sake of someone else.

Thousand Miles

It seems like it has been forever since I've written. In that time I have been wrestling with my depravity and embracing the amazing grace of Jesus. Last night I was listening to Caedmons Call cd "Back Home" and as always when listening to Caedmons, I had a true sense of my weakness and Christ's strength. The song "thousand miles" really hit home to where I was and how I was feeling. Here it is for your enjoyment and encouragement:

I have stolen Lord, let me give
I have left Your house a fugitive
I have wandered my own way
Squandered everything You gave
But my dying heart You saved and let me live

I have cursed the air and clenched my fists
I have hungered for Your righteousness
I have tried to walk the line
I drew between Your heart and mine
But You forgive me every time the mark is missed

So take my broken offering and make it whole
And set my feet upon the road that leads me home
Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal
Even though I've got a thousand miles to go.

I have sought Your grace in my defense
I have plundered Your magnificence
Until my journey is complete
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
That I might sow what I have reaped
From Your great love

As I struggle for Your hand
You use me in ways I cannot understand
You take this sinful man and renew me
Working through me

So take this broken offering and make it whole
And set my feet upon the road that leads me home
Let me walk as one fixed upon the goal
Even though I have a thousand miles to go.

Cooperstown bound

It came to my attention earlier this afternoon that today is the 40th birthday of Omar Vizquel, probably the most underrated shortstop in his baseball era. Omar is now playing SS for the San Francisco Giants and if it wasn't for one of his teammates being Barry Bonds I would consider rooting for the Giants. Rooting only for Vizquel will have to suffice. Omar, though he doesn't hit homeruns like the A Rod's, or the Miguel Tejada's of today's game, has got to be a lock for Cooperstown. Listen to these stats: over 2,500 hits and has only committed 12 errors in the last 318 games, not to mention the 12 Gold Gloves that he has received. He is best known for his long stint in Cleveland manning the middle of the infield for those Indians that won the World Series.

Anyway.........

I now totally consider it amazing that my high school teammates nicknamed me "Omar" when I was playing SS for the Dakota Indians.

#42

Yesterday around the world of Major League Baseball was Jackie Robinson Day. April 15 marks the Opening Day of the 1947 season which saw Jack Roosevelt Robinson break the color barrier and become the first black Major League Baseball player. Yesterday, thanks to Ken Griffey Jr, certain MLB players wore #42 in commemoration ofJackie Robinson. Of course, the whole Dodgers team wore #42 as well as some other teams. I hold to the view that next year every player in MLB should wear #42 to commemorate this great athlete and man. If I were Bud Selig I would jump at that fact considering that he didn't even come up with the idea to were #42 this year. I give great credit to Ken Griffey Jr. of the Cincinnati Reds. This is definitely a testament to his great career. He plays the game so different than Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds, and all those other steroid using homerun hitters. Griffey Jr is professional and classy with a sweet swing. Too bad that he has had the injury bug the past couple years because it would be great to see him break Hank's record, not Mr. Steroids, I mean Barry Bonds.

Words will never hurt me....

The more and more I work with students, I have come to learn that the age old phrase "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" cannot be further from the truth. It seems that this was a ploy used back in the day to basically say, man up and don't let what people say bother you. But in all honesty, words are the things that I believe, cut the deepest to any person. I had one of those rude awakening moments today about just how important words are, especially to young students/children. In the Kindergarten PE class there is a little boy who is considerably smaller than the other children in his class. Because he is so small he's one of those boys that you just fall in love with and love seeing him laugh and smile. Today he came to PE with a huge pink ring around his eye. He came up to me towards the end of the class and swiped his hands across his face and then preceeded to grab my hand to sort of hang on me. In my reaction, I mentioned to say "ah, don't touch me with that hand". To his utter surprise he didn't know what else to do but run away sobbing. Immediately I caught up to him and apologized for my remarks and tried to do my best to encourage this little boy. But man o man, I praise God for those moments because it is in those times that I am slammed by my own faults and my desperate need for God's grace.

During the past couple of days I have been really keenly interested in the Don Imus controversy about his remarks regarding the Rutgers girls basketball team. I totally agree that his remarks were way out of line and very uncalled for but I am simply struck by the double standard in the media in how they report it and who they choose to speak on the issue. People like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson make a living on issues like this and they always seem to cause way more trouble and division than is good for America. No wonder there is so much division amongst black and white perspectives and ideologies. If you get a chance check out the Hannity & Colmes video piece from April 10 on foxnews.com about the Imus controversy. They have some really good points from some guests on their show. I'll let you check it out though.

Of course, it's always okay and nobody makes fuss over 50 cent, and Snoop Dogg calling black women the same thing in their lyrics. It just doesn't make sense and it never will because this world is a fallen place and we are in desperate need of transformation into the image of Jesus. Funny, because we are called to that (Ephesians 5:1-2).

beginning of the final push

Today is the first day back to school after a 10 day spring break and boy was it nice (the break I mean). I almost forgot just how crazy each day is here at school. Rachel and I were in Florida for our break and on our long drive home we were hit with the news that the weather in Chicago was a beautiful 34 degrees. Man o man, I can only imagine what it is like living in the south during the winter months. I'm normally one who enjoys the winter weather but when it lasts from November to April it is just too much.

Getting back to Chicago yesterday afternoon it took Rachel and I a trip to Caribou Coffee to get back into the perspective of school work and facing the attitudes of these students. It is the beginning of April and we have about a month and a half left of school. Everyone, students and teachers alike, are in the mode of "just get through this day and I'll be fine".

If you feel led to Rachel and I ask that you pray for us as we finish up this school year and then wait and see where God is going to lead us next. We are excited about the possibilities!

HE is Risen.....

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise the LORD. HALLELUJAH!

NCAA woes

The very thing that I absolutely despised the first time I looked at the NCAA tournament brackets is only a day away from coming to fruition, that being the Championship game consisting of the Gators of Florida and the Buckeyes of Ohio St. Not only is it lame that it's a rematch of the BCS (or as a friend of mine puts it, BCBS) title game but these two teams already played early in the year with Florida stomping Ohio St. by 30 or so. It looks as though I will be able to spend the evening with my wife because I won't be watching the game or even caring to see who won. I guess I'm just a bitter KU fan who only wants to see, sometime soon, the "One Shining Moment" song played with highlights of my team cutting down the nets. One day it will happen.

On a more positive note, an analyst on sportsradio made the prediction that the Dodgers would win the World Series and just a couple months ago Rachel and I decided together that we were going to become Dodgers fans and raise are kids as such. Things are on the up and up. But again, in my world I'm sure that this is going to be the year that the curse of the billy goat is lifted and the Cubs will win the World Series, actually on second thought, I think I'm safe on that one.

Alright alright, enough sports talk. Rachel and I are enjoying our week off for Spring Break in sunny Florida visiting with my grandparents and of course, Mickey and Donald, and the burning rays of the sun which is going to scorch my skin.

Elite Eight is good enough (for this year)

The Jayhawks aren't apart of the Final Four this year much to my dismay but with Kansas being put out in the first round the past two years, I can live with an Elite Eight appearance. We just ran into a hungry UCLA team, not too mention, they played a lot better too. I don't know what the story was but we just couldn't handle the pressure nor make any easy buckets. It seemed that every steal we got didn't lead to anything on the scoreboard and every steal they got lead to an easy layup.

Looking ahead to next year I can't see why we wouldn't be one of the favorites to win it, especially since we have all starters coming back, assuming nobody goes pro. That would definitely be nice. Another year of experience can only be the on the positive end for the Jayhawks.

Also, it was nice to see Georgetown knock off North Carolina. I really like the way they play with that Princeton offense and their tough nosed defense. It should be a great Final Four, I just hope once again that it's not Florida-Ohio St. in the Championship come April 2.

1st weekend of the Madness

Rachel and I went over to a good friend of our's house to watch the selection sunday show last weekend. Once we saw that Wisconsin and Kansas were both playing in Chicago, my friend Christian immediately went online and bought 2 tickets for the 1st and 2nd round games. My brother Matt and his friend went to the game on Friday night against Niagra and I went with Christian to the game last night against Kentucky. It was pretty awesome to watch an NCAA tournament game live but it was doubly awkward because my friend Christian is a die hard Wisconsin fan. The first game of the session was Wisconsin-UNLV which saw UNLV stun the Wisconsin faithful. KU-Kentucky followed but it was so awkward watching it with Christian because I can only sympathize with his agony watching his team go down early in the tournament. I wondered what was going through his mind. Was he going to root for Kentucky so that we could both go home dejected or was he going to pull for the Jayhawks? I also didn't really know what to say because it was obvious that Wisconsin just got outplayed on every level. I did mention to ask him a question about next year's outlook (that's always the subject line for Cubs fans). Regardless of how down Christian was it was GREAT to see KU put on a show and make it to the Sweet 16. They definitely are hitting on all cylinders. A couple more wins fellas.

Other thoughts on the second round games: if Oden were to get called for his flagrant foul, which it was, there is no way Lewis hits that 3 to send it into overtime. I guess it would've been a huge call to make but he completely extended his arms and shoved the guy out of bounds. Boy it would've been nice to see Ohio St. lose, even though it would've damaged my bracket. Out of the 16 teams left I have 11 correct and there is at least two that I originally picked but ended up changing at the end. If I would've kept Butler and Vanderbilt and Pitt I would be looking pretty good but instead I went with the upset of Butler in the 1st round and I went with falling into the trap that Coach K was too much of a motivator and that he was going to get his guys going to at just the right time. Boy was I wrong because Duke looked like they've never seen pressure before. Anyway, this time of year is always fun and I can't wait until next weekend when the Jayhawks advance to the Final Four.......knock on wood.

Countdown to a busted bracket

So the best time of year is here. The weather is turning warmer, spring training is underway, and the NCAA basketball tournament is just two days away. Watching the Selection Sunday show I was already forming in my head who I was going to pick. I knew right away which upset I was going to take and who was going to be in my Final Four. Rachel filled out a bracket also and I am already beginning to face the reality that even though she filled it out without even looking at the teams it seems like, she is going to win and my bracket is going to be busted by this weekend. But it is still fun to rack my brain over and see if at least a couple of my picks pan out to be good ones. Also, as I was filling out my bracket, or should I say brackets, I began to think just how fickle and temporary this kind of thing is. There is so much else that I can set my mind on that is more "true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise" (phil. 4:8), yet my time is consumed with NCAA basketball and American Idol, and oh yeah, Survivor. Not that these things are bad in and of themselves, but when I really sit down to think about it, all this stuff is so, well you know.

But to come back to the NCAA tournament. KU has the #1 seed in the West Regional and I must say, I think that they can make it to the Final Four. They are playing with extreme confidence right now and have beaten a scrappy, and really good Texas team with the player of the year in Durant, twice. But if you want to know my picks for the Final Four, here they are (as you can see, my confidence in the Jayhawks dwindles in the Elite Eight against UCLA): Florida, UCLA, Georgetown, and Ohio St. My Championship game I have the Bruins of UCLA falling short to the Buckeyes of Ohio St. Let me go on record to say that if the championship game comes down to Ohio St. and Florida I don't think that I'm even going to watch it. The only talk that you will hear over and over again will be just how amazing these two schools are and how it's a repeat of the BCS Championship game. That would be the worst case scenario of this years' tournament. Not to mention that I am sick of seeing Joakim Noah and his ugly hair and stupid dancing after an SEC win over a mediocre and crappy Arkansas team.

Anyway, let's just say that I am thinking way too much about all of this.

Let's go KU.

ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK baby!!!!!!

in Spirit and in Truth

"To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God."

Rejoice in the LORD always and again.....

Yesterday was one of those days where I just wanted to throw in the towel and give up. I was frustrated by the way the students were treating eachother and the way that they were treating me. I was frustrated with urban culture in and of itself. All the violence, sex, drugs, and gangs that are so prevalent on TV, music videos, music lyrics, and all the other things that these students see everyday. It was just so foreign to me and so frustrating to see and hear. Then, in God's great ways of bringing this that challenge me, I was lead to an article in the Kansas City Star about KU freshman point guard, Sherron Collins. Collins grew up on the west side of Chicago and went to Crane high school. The article talked about his family background and everyday life on the streets. It mentioned how the local Boys & Girls Club is what saved Sherron from following the path of his father and his older brother; one filled with gangs, prison, and murder. Sherron has blossomed as the sixth man for the Jayhawks and it was such an encouraging article to read.

I was struck at how the article directly related to how I was feeling; of just wanting to give up and quit and move to someplace that was comfortable. This article encouraged me to press on and be a beacon of light for these students. Be the teacher that speaks truth, encouragement, and love to these students, for they may need this place just like Sherron needed the safe haven of the Boys & Girls Club.




I've also been taking the time to read and study the book of Philippians. The overarching theme that I have been gathering is summed up in Phil. 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!" It's also been interesting to read in chapter 3 how Paul is praying that he 'may know Christ in the power of His resurrection and share in the fellowship of His sufferings' (3:10). Verses like that seem to always sink in deep in my heart because I think of how I pray for things to be easy or good, and overlook the suffering . Not that I want to pray that I want to suffer, but being open to realizing that one of the very core issues of the Christian faith is suffering. How do I respond when things are tough and hard? How do I respond when..............? Do I respond with an attitude of rejoicing and praise? O Lord, may it be so in my life.....

Matthew's Mind..check it out

This afternoon I was on the computer in the PE office at school browsing my daily stops for reading other blogs. My good friend Christian put out a good piece on coaching and the ridiculousness of yelling at the officials. I can totally relate to everything he says because I, too often, am the coach who is constantly harping at the officials. The next opportunity I have to coach I am going to put into practice his ideas. (I wonder how Jesus would coach a sports team?)

Also, if you haven't had an opportunity to check out my brothers' (Matthew) blog, I suggest that you check it out (whatmattdeemsimportant). The piece that he wrote today was phenomenal. I really appreciate his point of view and perspective on things. I think I appreciate it so much because it challenges me to know end. Talk about a young man who has an incredible heart for Jesus. I think a lot of people don't understand him because he is very different than me (not that people really even understand me, because I know I don't have anything figured out), but I have been challenged over and over again by conversations that I have had with him. He is living life on the front lines as a believer in Jesus at a school that is very very anti-Christian. He has shared his views openly in such a creative and profound way that I am completely amazed and challenged.

big 12 champs & the big move

This weekend was an exciting weekend for Jayhawk fans as we came back from a big deficit at halftime to capture the sole possession of the regular season Big 12 Conference Title. My analysis was almost right with Durant putting up 32 points. Man o man, he is definitely for real and if his ankle heals to 100% come Tournament time, look out for the Longhorns. But congrats to the Jayhawks! Let's just hope that they can continue their run past the 1st round.

This weekend was also a weekend where Rachel and I took a visit back to the good old homestead of Davis, IL. My parents (and Nathan) are moving to a different house. They are moving out of the booming metropolis of Davis to right outside Rock City. This weekend was the first time I was able to see the inside of the house and I like it very much. It will definitely be a great place to bring the kids so they can visit their grandparents :) Now, don't go getting any ideas. If we were pregnant, I'm sure that I won't announce it on my blog. Saturday, the body of Christ was at work the way I believe that it should be. There were over 8 people who came to the house to help with the move. They spent most of the day moving furniture into the UHAUL and then into the new house. Once everything was done around 4 p.m. we huddled together and realized that the church needed to have the chairs set up. So everyone just packed the cars and went to the church to set up the chairs. This was something so simple and really not that big of a deal but it gave a beautiful picture of how the church is supposed to act like 'the church'. Thanks for all of those who came out to help my parents with the move and also for those women who prepared such great meals for my family!

college basketball talk

So after this weekend of top teams falling (Wisconsin, Florida, North Carolina), the Jayhawks jumped up to #3 in the nation behind Ohio St. & UCLA. Let me be the first to tell you that I am not confident at all with the Jayhawks up there in the polls. Now, sure they have been beating up on a lot of weaker teams but they still haven't showed me that they can win in a big game; I suppose if you count their win against Florida early in the year a big win. But come on, losses to Oral Roberts, and Depaul don't look good and the only other 'good' teams they have played (Texas Tech and Texas A & M) were both losses. KU just hasn't had a good, quality win on their resume. I suppose their shallacking against Oklahoma St. was a good win and the Cowboys were in the top 10 at the time but now they aren't even ranked so that win doesn't look as good. I guess I say all that to say that I am not confident with the Jayhawks holding the #3 spot in the nation. These next two games against Oklahoma and Texas could change my mind if they win in convincing fashion. Also, the way the Tournament has gone the past two years, I don't want KU to be the first #1 seed to fall to a #16 seed. It could happen....

This weekend Rachel was up in Detroit with her friend Nora so I was able to sit in front of the TV and watch CBS tripleheader on both Saturday and Sunday. A great lead into March Madness. The Gtown vs. Pitt game was phenomenal and the Hoyas really look tough. I also love the way they run the Princeton offense! Florida looked horrible on Saturday and don't get me started on the Buckeyes of Ohio St. I watched the whole game yesterday and I am sick and tired of these analysts crowning the Buckeyes as the greatest team ever. Sure, Oden is the man on the defensive end but he still has a lot of improvement on the offensive side of things and they don't really have an offensive presence aside from the 3 ball. But I guess they did defend their home court and won the Big Ten out right so I have to give them their props but what's with their fans storming the court after they the #1 team beat the #2 team. Sounds silly to me. I guess that's just a sign of how good Wisconsin really is. Ohio St. is also one of those teams that doesn't really have any big wins aside from yesterday's victory over the Badgers. Meanwhile, Wisconsin has wins over Pitt, Marquette, and Ohio St (all ranked in the top 20). I personally thought that the rankings should've followed the OSU/Michigan football game where both teams didn't move any spots in the rankings, but remained 1-2.

All this rambling on just reminds me of how much I don't like rankings because they just play with your mind and emotions. Let the kids decide the game on the court in the best tournament in sports: March Madness. It's going to be fun to watch, all I have to say is look out for Georgetown and those Salukis from Southern Illinois.

something to chew on

"Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.....let him who is not in community beware of being alone."

-Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"Life Together"

Gymnastics and Guts

Saturday night (2/17) I took Rachel to the Illinois State Girls Gymnastics Championships in Palatine, IL. Rachel was a gymnast in high school so she was really excited about seeing a gymnastics meet again. I, on the other hand, only have gymnastics experience every 4 years when the summer Olympics are on TV. Who can ever forget Kerri Strug and her valiant performance on 1 leg to win the gold that one year during the summer Olympics? I can remember back to my middle school years when my brother and my best friend were doing flips off of the stairs and landing on our bed mattress trying to stick the landing. That was the year the Romanians had a killer gymnastics squad. So, there you have my history of knowledge of gymnastics.

I must say though, Saturday night I was awed by the ability and bravery of these high school girls. Each competitor competed one at a time while the judges and the packed house gymnasium looked on. Talk about nervousness. I was nervous for the girls and I wasn't even competing and had no idea what to even look for in their routine. I was getting into it, emotionally and psychologically. I started to cheer for certain girls to do well and had to catch my breath when one girl fell flat on her face after missing the high bar during the uneven bar routine. I am so surprised that she got up with a smile after almost having her face indented in the mat. Rachel was so shocked that I enjoyed myself and quite frankly, so am I. I thought, just like my dad, that I was going to have to bring a book to keep me from boredom. Boy was I wrong. I give mad props to all of those girls who competed. There would be no way that I could do it. I'm so thankful that I played team sports all my life because you can always blame the effort of the team and not an individual. Those girls have way more guts than I ever did when I was in high school. And my wife was one of those girls.

Snow day & "Daddy's Little Girls"

Yesterday morning at 4:30 our phone rang to give us the GREAT news that school was closed due to the snow. Rachel and I were so full of praise that it was hard to get back to sleep, though we ended up sleeping in. As we had the whole day off I was thinking to myself that snow days are so much nicer as a teacher than I can ever remember them being as a kid. It was also a double blessing because our snow day just happened to fall on Valentine's Day. Cupid must have been looking out for us (Actually, enough of that garbage). I'm a horrible husband because I didn't even get Rachel anything for this special day of love (sarcasm). We did go out for lunch and then went to see "Daddy's Little Girls" in the theatre. It was a good movie to see on Valentine's Day! The movie raises a lot of good dialogue about race, class, gangs, and those types of issues. Very relevant to the context that Rachel and I are in.



KU is back on their winning ways after annihalating Colorado on their home floor last night. As has been their criticism all year, I wonder if KU can stay consistent as they head down the stretch. After the loss to A & M at home, we have pulled out convincing wins over K-State, Mizzou, and Colorado. The way things are looking I predict that the final game of the regular season at home against Texas is going to be huge and probably for first place of the Big 12. Quite frankly, Texas scares me because of the play of their big man, Kevin Durant. I can't see Sasha Kaun or even Darrell Arthur being a stop to Texas' scoring machine. Along those same lines, if KU runs into a team in the Big Dance with a substantial big man who knows how to play, I think that the Jayhawks will have another early exit. Let's just hope that I am wrong.

first time 'Settler'

This past Friday Rachel and I went to our good friends house for fellowship and games. Rachel was in heaven because she loves games and often has a hard time getting me to sit down and play one with her. She was a little bummed when she found out that we were going to play "Settlers of Catan" (The one game that she would least want to play). As what usually happens when a beginner plays a game for the first time, she won and left us all wondering how in the world she did it. Some call it "beginner's luck", I just like to call it, "my wife rocks at playing games".

Life: from the Heart out

Last night I had a phone conversation with not only a great friend, but a mentor in my life who took the iniative to really get to know Bobby Kolb. I'll never forget the day after church about 2 years ago, when he came up to me and simply asked, "What makes you tick Bobby? What things are you passionate about? What are your struggles?" I was shocked because as a college grad from Moody Bible Institute and the eldest son of the senior pastor, nobody ever asked me those questions before. But God used this man to truly impact my life in amazing ways. He always spoke of living daily life authentic and real; not just with people, but with yourself and with God.

Now, the season of life I find myself in as a newly wed, and as an inner city youth worker, I am realizing the importance of the very things he always talked about. This world, especially the church, needs men and women who are authentic and real. Not hiding their sins and masking them over, but fleshing out relationships so that the grace of Jesus can truly do its amazing work.

Another way that I could've said all of this is: thanks.

BIG letdowns

Let me start off by commenting on the Super Bowl. Last night and even this morning, I am becoming more of a Rex Grossman supporter. I know I know, he's not the greatest QB ever but I honestly think that people in Chicago are expecting WAY to much from this guy. I mean, I heard people talk about how the Bears should've put in Griese last night. Even if they did, if Joseph Addai and Dominic Rhodes continued to run through the Bears defense like they were, it wouldn't have mattered at all. Peyton Manning wasn't pressured in anyway. I fully agree that Grossman played horrible but you cannot pin the game on him when your defense can't tackle anybody wearing a horseshoe on their helmet. A big let down for the 'monsters of the midway'. Now all we have to hear for the next 8 months is how the Cubs are underachieving and how we need a new QB.

Another let down this weekend was when the Aggies of Texas A&M came into the Allen Fieldhouse and pulled out a win, 69-66. I thought that KU had the game in the bag but they just couldn't pull away in the end. They allowed 2 three point plays on fouls in the final 2 minutes and then up 2 allowed their hot shooting guard to drain a 3 in the face of Brandon Rush with 25 seconds to go. I definitely give credit to the Aggies for hanging in and playing hard. The big guys for KU i.e. Julian Wright, & Brandon Rush were almost nonexistent as the game progressed. It felt like the freshman (from Chi town) Sherron Collins #4, was the only guy who came ready to play. He had 18 points in just 23 minutes. Definitely playing good and showing some life. Hopefully this loss will prepare us for the final run of the season but it just hurts that it had to come on our home court.

A big game this Wednesday as the up and coming Wildcats from K-State come to visit the PHOG! Jayhawks need a big win.

Thankful for doors

So this weekend the 7th & 8th grade boys basketball team had the end of the year tournament. It was held at our head coach's former school so they allowed us to stay the night, which wasn't the greatest idea in the world, but nonetheless it was a good experience.

As we were leaving Circle Rock the youth pastor mentioned to me that they have been having trouble with the driver's side door of the ministry van. Since I am only the assistant, I was privileged to drive the ministry van, and Christian was driving his minivan filled with the boys luggage. On I-90 travelling 60 mph the drivers side door popped open. Startled, I grabbed the door and tried to slam it shut to no avail. The rest of the hour trip I had to drive with one hand on the wheel and with the other I had to hold the door shut. O the joy! On our way home (Saturday) the door wouldn't shut at all so I had to hold the door the whole way home. The temperature Saturday was a high of 2 degrees. Now, with the door not being closed all the way, not only was my hand/arm cramping from holding the door, but my feet were frozen because of the frigid air.

Now I can honestly say that I will never take for granted a car door closing all the way while driving.

urban basketball

Last night we had our final 5th & 6th grade boys basketball game of the season. I'm pleased to mention right off the bat that we came away with a victory in a game of the ages . (Well, I guess as exciting you can get for 5th & 6th grade basketball!) Anyway, we pulled out a win 23-20 after falling down 8 points with only 3 minutes left in the game. My point guard, who is a 5th grader and has the most energy and excitement I have ever seen, basically took over the game by himself. To start the second half the other team hit 3 straight buckets and kind of had our kids (as well as our packed gymnasium) shell shocked. We struggled to get things going because our big man (who is 6 foot, 190 lbs.) plays as weak as a 3rd grader sometimes when he doesn't get the foul call. Amidst are drought I pulled my point guard to the side and said that we need to get some turnovers so start pressuring the ball when inbounded. After 4 straight possessions he began to drop back into our 2-1-2 defense without pressuring the ball. I yelled as loud as I could and stomped my feet to get his attention. It finally sunk in to his head of what I was talking about and once he pressured the ball, it was turnover city and we got some easy buckets. During that 3 minute run to end the game my assistant, (who was keeping the official book at the table with my wife who was running the scoreboard) and I kept laughing and smiling at how our kids were playing. Ah, the joy of elementary basketball where it's not about winning and losing, but about fun, and how you play the game. It's funny, maybe upper level basketball i.e. high school and college, even pro should take notes at the excitement, exurberance, and innocence of these young kids when on the court.