Go Out There and Fail!

            John Wooden retired because he won too many championships. Let me explain.

            At the close of his career, John Wooden’s success changed the way people treated him. He had won a number of NCAA championships (ultimately: ten in twelve years); consequently, Wooden felt that people were treating him in a way that was unnatural. His life was growing increasingly out of balance, so he retired.

            People were not designed to win all of the time. Life is about the journey—the pursuit. The Texas Rangers’ loss to the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series reminded me of this.

            Some people refer to Cardinal manager, Tony La Russa, as the greatest of all time. However, La Russa has won only three championships in 33 years. That is less than one a decade.

            Duke Men’s basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski, has four National Championships—an average of a little over one a decade since he has been coaching. Moreover, he traveled to four Final Fours before Duke finally won a championship.

            Dean Smith, for a few years the winningest college basketball coach of all time, won only two championships in over 35 years of coaching.

            The great Tom Landry won only two titles in 29 years as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Winning championships is hard.

            Fortunately, none of these leaders got discouraged and quit. From them, I (and I hope the Rangers) have been reminded that the more pain and failure you can tolerate, the better chance you have to win a championship.

            Right now, on some level, I’m sure it is easy for the Texas Rangers to feel this way: “We got so close. It hurts so much to lose. I don’t ever want to put myself in that position again.” If they do, they will not have to worry; they will lose.

            I feel this principle of tolerating pain and failure for future rewards… transcends other fields. It applies to business, teaching, and church work. Bottom line—the cliché is true: the journey is more important than the destination. Isn’t this what Hebrews eleven is about?

            Years after his retirement, John Wooden would write, “… for those many coaches, whom I respect … I would wish each one national championship…. For those few coaches for whom I have less-than-warm feelings, my wish would be that they would win many national championships. However… I’m not sure I would wish that on anybody.”

            There is a famous line in the movie A FEW GOOD MEN—“You can’t handle the truth!” Insert the word "success" for "truth." We can’t handle constant success. We NEED failure.

            So let’s all go out there and fail—and relax when we do.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Congratulations ETCA girls’ volleyball. You are going to state! Speaking of waiting patiently and enjoying the journey, Diann Preston, enjoy the fruit of your years of labor.

2. Okay, so I blew my prediction the Rangers would win in six games. Still, it was an entertaining series.

3. Weird, with the Rangers playing in the World Series the last two years, seems like October is consumed by baseball. Now what?

4. At least we still have the Cowboys. (Guffaw. Guffaw.)

5. Parental pride: Abby Edge, you did a great acting job, subtly registering the non-verbal facial expressions on the video for our church. Well done.

Heavenly CPS

            I want you to imagine a nightmare scenario. Imagine Judy and me adding a baby to our repertoire of four kids! (If you don’t know me, I’m fifty, Judy is … well, Judy is my wife, and we have four kids ranging in age from 8-17.)

            Now, picture Judy and me placing the bulk of our attention on our oldest daughter, who is a high school senior. We dialogue with her constantly, listen to her every whim or complaint. We do all we can to make sure she is happy and doesn’t rebel and leave our family.

            Meanwhile, after the initial excitement over the birth of our baby, we pay less and less attention to it. Even though some attention to our oldest daughter is important (helping her in her transition to college, for example), logically, we should understand she has entered a state of maturity that demands less concentration. Instead, one would think it essential to demonstrate more care and concern for the baby than our oldest—or even our other three children.

            All humor aside, I want you to picture in your mind something truly awful. Let’s say Judy and I neglect our baby so much, the child becomes malnourished or even terribly ill. Unfortunately, since we are so occupied with the desires and concerns of our oldest, we neglect our baby.

            Granted, it is easier to minister to our oldest child in a lot of ways. One would be communication. Our daughter can tell us how she is thinking and feeling. Indeed, she has the confidence to seek us out.

            Babies, as you know, can’t communicate well. Sometimes something can be wrong with them, and the parents have a difficult time diagnosing the problem.

            To society, however, there are no excuses. If Judy and I neglect our baby and the symptoms began to show, CPS will come calling.

            Here is my point—inspired by months of study in the book of REVELATION. Too often in churches, we preachers (and I definitely am including myself), elders, staff, ministry leaders, and members, place the bulk of our attention on the “older children” of the church. I don’t mean senior citizens; I mean those who have been in Christ for a number of years.

            We focus our sermons on the mature Christians. We plan our worship according to what mature Christians are thinking. We listen to mature Christians, who seek us out to give opinions and feedback. We organize our congregational families around the needs, and wants of mature Christians. Meanwhile, too many of us are not paying enough attention to the spiritual babies.

            I am glad there is no Heavenly CPS. Can you imagine? Heavenly case workers taking neglected spiritual babies from one spiritual home and placing them in another—offering someone else a chance to give them the nurturing and care they need. 

            Or, maybe there is. Maybe that is where all the spiritual babies have gone.

            Maybe that is why so many of our churches are spiritually infertile.

            Excuse me, I haven’t heard anything from my spiritual baby in a while; I need to go check and see if everything is okay.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I am ashamed to say I have still not gone out and purchased the new Rob Bell book. I’ve got to do that this week--and read it.

2. Saturday was the day I sprayed the house and yard for bugs—always an ordeal. But I did get to catch the end of the Pittsburgh-Butler game to see who advances to the Sweet 16. What a finish! I’ve never seen a guy foul underneath his own goal, after a free throw, with virtually not time left. I have a feeling we are going to hear the name of Brad Stevens this time every year when major schools are looking to hire a new coach. Butler has 4200 students. Amazing.

3. With Netflix’s growing instant play library, I’m starting to wonder why I keep so many DVDs around. 

4. I finally got around to reading last month's TIME Magazine’s cover story on the young generation of leaders seeking freedom in the Middle East. Maybe this is a time to be truly optimistic about the future there.

5. Congratulations to Diann Preston’s ETCA girls basketball team for yet another honor. My daughter, Haleigh, joined Samantha Phillips in making First Team on the TAPPS All-State Basketball Team. Jenny Munoz was selected to the Second Team. Hayley Robertson was named as an Honorable Mention. Samantha, Jenny, and Hayley Robertson are all juniors and will return next year. If I may indulge in a little parental pride, I have been grateful to see Haleigh named to First Team All-State in both volleyball and basketball this year.

What Church Should Look Like: A Community Where Different Races Can Come Together

            The L. B. J. Library contains an oral collection of an event that took place in the early 1960s. Politicians and true believers in the segregated South decided to pursue their agenda in a non-confrontational way.

            Somehow, they persuaded themselves to believe that the vast majority of their fellow African-American citizens were pleased with their second–class status. In their minds, since most of their black friends went about each day working as tenant farmers, day laborers, or domestic workers, quietly and without complaint, they were happy with their place in society. Hence, the mission of these politicians was to convey to the rest of the country this great truth.

            The leaders of this group found an older black man, who had been living by the Southern traditions for decades. They asked him if he would tell his story on a national television broadcast. He agreed to do so.

            A professional director was hired to film the testimony of the elderly gentleman. However, he insisted that the testimonial must be spontaneous to be authentic. Consequently, the old man “was duly positioned on the porch of his ramshackle cabin, seated in his rocking chair, attired in his tattered work clothes.”

            All was made ready and the director said, “Now when we get ready we’re going to give you the signal to go, and just start talking and tell people in your own words just how you feel.”

            The red light on the camera lit up in the director gave the old man the signal to talk. The old man asked, “Is it time to talk now?” He was assured that it was indeed, time.

            The gentleman asked, “Now can I say anything I want to?” Again he was assured, this time with more urgency, that he could indeed speak.

            At that point, the older black gentleman turned to the camera, raised his voice, and shouted, “Help!”

            This story summarizes in a grandiose way the struggle races have of bridging the gap of understanding. This is nothing new. My ancestors faced these challenges two millennia ago with the people of God.           

            As a Gentile, I am acutely aware of the implications of what Jesus was saying in the parable of the great banquet in Luke:

             15 Hearing this, a man sitting at the table with Jesus exclaimed, “What a blessing it will be to attend a banquet in the Kingdom of God!”

             16 Jesus replied with this story: “A man prepared a great feast and sent out many invitations. 17 When the banquet was ready, he sent his servant to tell the guests, ‘Come, the banquet is ready.’ 18 But they all began making excuses. One said, ‘I have just bought a field and must inspect it. Please excuse me.’ 19 Another said, ‘I have just bought five pairs of oxen, and I want to try them out. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another said, ‘I now have a wife, so I can’t come.’

             21 “The servant returned and told his master what they had said. His master was furious and said, ‘Go quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and invite the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’ 22 After the servant had done this, he reported, ‘There is still room for more.’ 23 So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full. 24 For none of those I first invited will get even the smallest taste of my banquet’” (Luke 14:15-24).

           

            Jesus was talking about my ancestors. Jesus was talking about me.

            To the Israelites, we Gentiles were the folks on the other side of the track. Luke relates in his gospel, and in his follow-up work, Acts, God’s heart for the Gentiles—God’s heart for the world.

            The Apostle Paul was one of the first Jewish Christians to understand God’s heart for the Gentiles. He traversed many rough passages to bring us into God’s community. He lost his life over this effort. Gratitude demands that I seek to extend to others the same blessings I received.

            The cross of Jesus accomplished many things. One was this: it broke down the barrier between Jew and Gentile. Expanding that thought, the cross broke down the barrier between races.

            I once heard Tony Evans say that the church is Heaven’s Embassy on Earth. I agree. The church should be the community, where people of different races can rally around the cross. We share a common identity in Jesus.

            Several years ago, an Anglo friend of mine attended a family reunion. In his family, some of the members had married people from different races. For example, one cousin married a Korean, another cousin married a Hispanic, and—well, you get the idea.

            However, the family did not sit around at the reunion saying, "She's Hispanic..." or "She's Korean..." The reason was simple. Each individual carried the same last name. Consequently, everyone was treated like family.

            That's the way it should be in the church. We all come together and we all wear the name, "Christ." And that's all that should matter. I wish it were always that way.

            It bothers me that athletic teams have historically done a better job of this than churches. Seems like they have demonstrated more unity as “Red Sox,” or “Cowboys,” or “Lakers,” than we do as Christians.

            I feel much of this has to with the common goal they share. Most players allow the goal of winning a championship to transcend their own personal desires.

            The community of faith encompasses so many areas of life, and so many of these areas seem to root deeper into the human heart. There seems something so deep and so personal about worship in a public assembly. I have lived in Papua, New Guinea (for a very short period of time), South America, and Texas. I find that people of the same race have trouble finding unity in a worship assembly. Consequently, I am not shocked that I often read that “the hour of worship is the most segregated time in America.”

            I suspect we will not overcome this barrier, until the common goal of demonstrating the Kingdom of God overcoming the racial divisions of people, surpasses that of fulfilling personal preferences. If we can achieve this, though, we just might inspire more people turn to Jesus.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. My daughter, Haleigh’s, basketball career is over. Saturday, she and the ETCA Lady Panthers played the defending state champion, Geneva Christian (out of Boerne), in an epic game.

            Geneva broke out to a 9-0 lead. ETCA plugged away, and plugged away, until they closed the gap at half time, 25-20.

            The third quarter, each team played savage defense. ETCA held Geneva to only seven points. Meanwhile, the Panthers scored only six themselves.

            The fourth quarter was magnificent. With a minute left, Samantha Phillips put the Panthers ahead for the first time in the game: 47-46. Geneva immediately went down the court and hit a three. ETCA had to foul, and Abby Leeder hit clutch free throws for Boerne Geneva. Ultimately, they won 51-49. Here is the link to TYLER MORNING TELEGRAPH STORY of the game… http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20110227/SPORTS05/302279931

            Geneva deserved the victory. They played like champions.

            I harbor no complaints. Our girls’ two best games were their two last games. (Tuesday, ETCA defeated Wichita Falls’ Notre Dame 55-42.)

http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20110223/SPORTS05/302239975

            Geneva heads to the Final Four. However, ETCA has reached new heights. I am so proud of these girls. For the ones who remain—next year!

2. My son’s baseball team has already started practice. When I was a kid, we played baseball in the summers.

3. I haven’t seen THE KING’S SPEECH. Evidently, I need to.

4. I don’t know why, but ever since I saw ENCHANTED, I have liked Amy Adams.

5. I started reading LBJ, ARCHITECT OF AMERICAN AMBITION doing some research (this blog’s opening account came from the book, p. 467) and I had a hard time putting it down. Out since 2006, Randall B. Woods has written a fascinating book.

What Church Should Look Like: A Place Where “Sinners” Can Come

             Several years ago, a movie was released called VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED. It was based on a true story. In 1939, several hundred German-Jewish refugees were fleeing Nazi Germany. They boarded a ship bound for Cuba and asylum. Before reaching Cuba, the ship was refused permission to dock and all visas were revoked.

            After being told they could not dock anywhere else, the ship was forced to turn around and head back to Germany. To many on board, that was tantamount to death.

            No one wanted to receive those Jews. Likewise, there are people today, who the church does not want to receive.

            Jesus cuts at the heart of this mindset when he says, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid.

            “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:12b-14).

            Jesus knows that the human instinct is to invite friends, invite folks like you. Too many times, Christians don’t want to invite people they perceive as being much more sinful.

            Of course, the irony here is that Jesus was putting most of us in the category of the “crippled, the lame…,” because most of us are Gentiles. Jesus’ Jewish audience placed us in this category.

            To be like Jesus, we Gentiles, who were extended grace long ago, must welcome the sinner. Granted, this is easier to say than to practice.

            I will never forget in January of 2007, a young man in his 20s visited our worship service. Another guest had brought him. I found out, the young man was from a halfway house. Having recently been released from federal prison, he was staying in that residence, until he could more fully integrate into society.

            Getting to know him, I found out that he had been convicted by the federal government for transporting child photography, on his computer, across state lines. This crime had placed him on the sexual offenders list maintained by the state of Texas.

            I also found out that this young man had been converted to Christ, while in federal prison in North Carolina. Thankfully, the Shiloh Church, where I preach, had loved him sufficiently that he wanted to become part of our church–but only if we would have him.

            What I want you to know is this: our elders almost immediately concluded that, unequivocally, Jesus would have us welcome this young man. That would be a given. Our job was to offer him reconciliation, community, and discipleship. We were to offer forgiveness AND accountability.

            What followed was a process of trying to implement the will of God. (I blogged about that story a couple of years ago, if you desire to know the details:

http://markedgeremarks.blogspot.com/2009/06/what-do-you-do-when-convicted-sex.html )

            I am pleased to say that through our elders’ wisdom and leadership, Shiloh did not lose a single family or member. Moreover, we were blessed later to baptize the young man’s future wife into Christ; she has a marvelous testimony as well. Today, both of them serve on my sermon advisory group.

            I tell this story because it illustrates the challenge churches face today in living out Luke 14. I know of no other member of society more marginalized than one who carries the label “sex offender.” (Our Shiloh family member has had a TV station film the outside of his and his young wife’s apartment—a random act given as background for a news story on sex offenders’ in Tyler.)

            On the other hand, the blessings our church has received for this leap of faith have been incalculable.

            I hold no illusions. Tension will always be present. I suspect the act of offering welcome to those who feel genetically predisposed toward homosexuality will provide the tensest test for churches. Churches will experience a fluctuating “comfort zone.” (“Is he dating him, or are they just friends?”)

         Still, we must find a way to navigate this. We must offer a call for healing and holiness.

            I know we, at Shiloh, must leap out in faith even more. We must pursue, with deep intention, the creation of this type of atmosphere, where one who has strayed from God can come and feel welcomed. After all, all of us were there once. If you don’t believe me, just ask a first-century Jew. Better yet, ask the first-century Jesus. 

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

            

1. I started watching the movie INCEPTION Saturday night. Couldn’t finish it because I got sleepy. I will see the rest soon. All I could think of was, “This proves you don’t have to understand all of the REVELATION to get something out of it.

2. I’m pulling for TRUE GRIT and its stars in Sunday’s Academy Awards.

3. Spring training had started. I pay little attention to baseball until the season begins. Between spring training and baseball season, we have the Final Four for NCAA college basketball.

4. According to TIME, we are on the verge of being able to leave our wallets at home in favor of our smart phones.

5. Congratulations ETCA girls basketball team. Your beat Hill Country Christian 65-30, last week. Good luck tomorrow in your Area game vs. Wichita Falls Notre Dame.

Overflow

Take a glass. Put it in a bowl. Take a water pitcher. Fill it with water. Pour water from the pitcher into the glass until the glass overflows with water. Let the over flow fill the bowl. Drink water until your thirst is quenched. If you drain the glass and are still thirsty, fill it again from the pitcher.

After your thirst is quenched, pour water from the overflow (in the bowl) into the glass. Chances are, the overflow will not satisfy like that first drink did from the pitcher.

The gap between having a need and satisfying it can be great. Meeting that need can be a very fulfilling experience—maybe even a very happy one.

Once that need is met, the gap between satisfying a need and receiving emotional blessing is small, maybe even miniscule. You can keep drinking water from the overflow, but it is not going to be an immensely fulfilling experience. (Filling, yes, but not FULfilling.) It will not add greatly to your happiness. It may even create discomfort.

Ever hear that you are supposed to drink eight glasses of water a day? I have rarely tried to do so, when it was not an experience of discipline--even suffering. Some days, I could not even attempt it, unless, I knew I was going to be near a bathroom. My body, after glass three, would say, “Enough of this.” I would feel bloated. Not a good thing.

Now, on a hot summer day, after mowing, I might drink four glasses of water. I needed that much to meet a need. And, oh, did it feel good. Once that need was met, satisfaction dwindled.

You may own one home. If it keeps you dry and comfortable, that need is satisfied and you can’t do much better. Donald Trump owns a few homes—maybe five or ten. Donald Trump is not five or ten times more happy than you.

You may need a billion dollars in the bank, and you may have a billion dollars in the bank. Bill Gates has $55 billion in the bank. I assure you, Bill Gates is not $55 billion happier than you.

Here is my point. Jesus promised us that God would take care of our basic needs and to not worry about them. Most of us, when we worry, are not worried about basic needs; they are being met. Instead, we are worrying about the overflow of blessings God provides.

We are not worrying about getting the drink of water from the glass. That is being provided. We are worrying about the overflow of water in the bowl. 

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Dallas Cowboys, I hardly known ye.

2. As I posted on Facebook, the weekend before Thanksgiving begins my favorite six-week period of the year.

3. I saw Edmund Morris last night on C-Span. I cannot wait to read COLONEL ROOSEVELT. I was a senior in high school when he published the first volume of the Roosevelt trilogy. Now I am fifty. Amazing.

4. Way to go ETCA girls’ basketball team. You are undefeated. Samantha Phillips, you are an amazing player.

5. Congratulations to the ETCA girls volleyball team for your awards. Parental pride: my oldest daughter, Haleigh, was named first team all-state.

Be Careful What You Wish For

John Wooden was the greatest American coach of the twentieth century. One reason, so many organizations voted him this honor, was because his UCLA teams won ten national championships. With this in mind, of all of the things John Wooden ever wrote, two paragraphs stand out to me as the most intriguing. The following quote is not a misprint:

Many times I have suggested to interested observers that if I ever met a magical genie who could grant me two wishes, I knew what they would be. First, for those many coaches whom I respect and have warm feelings toward I would wish each one a national championship.

For those few coaches for whom I have less-than-warm feelings, my wish would be that they win many national championships. However, in truth, I’m not sure I would wish that on anybody. [Italics mine.]

Why would John Wooden write this? Because his life became practically unbearable after winning so many championships, and by “practically” I mean just that—life was no longer practical under the structure of so much “success.” As the amount of championships Wooden’s teams won increased, so too did the amount of attention Wooden received. Questions from reporters and fans, crowds forming around him, requests for his time—all of the demands reached a disproportionate level in his life.

As Wooden wrote in his book, WOODEN ON LEADERSHIP, “I felt more and more that crowds were closing in and enveloping me. I seemed to be constantly surrounded. This great frenzy of activity and attention was more than unwelcome; it was unnatural.”

Finally, Wooden concluded that his life had become irrevocably out of balance. “Balance is crucial in everything we do…. The body has to be in balance; the mind has to be in balance; emotions must be in balance. Balance is important everywhere and in everything we do.”

“Unfortunately, over the last years of my coaching at UCLA things had gotten out of balance. Perhaps my subconscious mind figured out that the only way to regain the balance I required personally and professionally was to leave the game I love.”

And he did. He announced his retirement, and two days later, UCLA won its final national championship for John Wooden.

Man was not created to be a rock star. At some point, what we call success is really a disaster in the making, not unlike a hurricane forming off of a coast.

We see people experience what Wooden describes all of the time; we just don’t recognize it. Moreover, we lock in on the aberrant behavior that people typically demonstrate in a sad attempt to cope.

I think these pressures are what often lie behind the star, who overdoses on drugs, and even takes his or her own life. I believe Wooden is describing some of the background behind Tiger Woods’ self-destructive behavior. The proverbial “cry for help” really is that. Life has hurled itself out of balance. The “successful” person desperately searches for a means to bring it back into stability.

The Beatles were before my time, but I think it is fascinating to trace the arc of the world’s most successful rock band. In 1966, they chose to discontinue touring. Crowds had become too wild. Life had become too chaotic. Therefore, the Beatles decided to accelerate their drug use (abuse), produce studio albums, and travel to India to study with the Maharishi.

None of those actions were enough. Finally, the band disbanded.

I take from all of this a warning. In a culture that accentuates “success,” there is a level of “success” that is too far. Cross that line, and you cross the threshold marking off the restraints that help keep life in check.

I believe these realties lay behind God’s decision to sabotage the Tower of Babel. (“The LORD said, "If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.”)

After pondering these issues and many more, the writer of Ecclesiastes offered some sage advice, “11:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”

In our culture, we see illustration, after illustration, after illustration, detailing for us the price of too much success. Maybe the writer of Ecclesiastes is right—maybe we should redefine what life’s great need is, and what life’s great success is.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. Timothy Edge has a new hobby. He has given up magic for chess. He has really gotten into chess. At last, I found what motivates him to read. He reads a chess book that teaches checkmate moves while he plays his older sisters in chess matches. Hey, whatever it takes. As for magic, I guess his last trick was his best one. He has made his magic tricks disappear from the Edge household.

2. Buzz has already begun on Edmund Morris’ final volume of his biography of Theodore Roosevelt. It will be called COLONEL ROOSEVELT and is set to release late November early December. If it is anything like the first two volumes, it will be a marvelous work. Coupling Morris, the writer, with a subject so compelling as Theodore Roosevelt, and you’ve got a categorical nightmare. Is it great literature or history? I think both. By the way, if Random House would like for me to do an in-depth review, all they need to do is send me an advanced copy. I’ll gladly take care of the rest.

3. I had a great time at the North Street church of Christ in Nacogdoches, Texas yesterday. Every August, they bring in a different preacher and his wife each weekend of the month. They put the couple up in the Fredonia Hotel (built in 1955 and restored, it is a neat place to stay.) Sunday morning, the preacher teachers a combined Bible class and preaches. It is sort of like a weekly lectureship for August.

            The church has a marvelous campus ministry to Stephen F. Austin University. Their campus presence is known as the “Yellow House” and has been a present for a few decades now.

            I’ve known Dr. Michael Harbour, their preacher, since 1995, when we both lived in the valley of Texas. He has a marvelous mind, as well as, other assorted skills, and I think is the ideal fit for that ministry context.

            I have some old friends that attend there and it was so good to see them. Parents of some of our Shiloh folks attend North Street also; I was grateful to get to know them.

            Thank you North Street.

4. Three out of five against Boston and New York—not a bad homestand Texas Rangers. And over 235,000 fans attended the homestand. I can remember when 235,000 fans represented a little less than a third of the season’s attendance.

5. School starts this week at ETCA. I knew summer would be over in a hurry!

TEXAS MONTHLY Reports!

TEXAS MONTHLY is not a pro-life magazine. However, to their credit, they offered a very detailed account of the experience Abby Johnson claimed pricked her conscious and motivated her to resign from her position as director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in Bryan, Texas. In covering Johnson’s decision to walk away from her job, TEXAS MONTHLY questioned Johnson's integrity.

Johnson's account states that on September 26, 2010, she assisted a doctor, in her Planned Parenthood clinic, who performed an abortion on a woman who was thirteen weeks pregnant. The following is quoted directly from the TEXAS MONTHLY text:

The doctor asked Johnson to hold an ultrasound transducer to the woman's stomach as he performed the operation. Johnson [said] she had never seen this done before, since ultrasound machines are not commonly used for first-trimester abortions, which make up the vast majority of abortions done in most clinics. What she witnessed on the ultrasound monitor, she said, horrified her. The fetus seemed to be moving away from the doctor’s probe, which was clearly visible on the screen as it entered the patient's uterus. Johnson thought of all the patients, whom she had told that their fetuses wouldn't feel anything during the procedure. Then, as Johnson watched, the doctor turned on the suction....

For about the past decade, the only thing I have asked of the media is to be as descriptive reporting the facts of abortion, particularly in regard to the procedures of abortion, as it is with reporting events of war. In this instance, I believe TEXAS MONTHLY has done so. I applaud the editors for this.

FOX Proves Yet Again To Be Fair and Balanced

Unrelated to the previous story (although somewhat ironic), I saw where an episode of the FOX NETWORK’S program, THE FAMILY GUY, took a cruel shot at Sarah Palin’s son, Trig. Trig, in case you do not remember, has Down’s syndrome.

In the episode, a character in high school develops a crush on a girl, who has Down’s syndrome. While on a date, he asks the girl what her parents do for a living. The girl answers, “My dad’s an accountant, and my mom is the former governor of Alaska.”

This is the most egregious slam on a public figure’s child that I can remember since Saturday Night Live lampooned Chelsea Clinton in a skit when she was in Junior High. It proves FOX has the ability to insult people on both sides of the political spectrum.

I don’t want to tell anyone how to vote, but I do believe that networks should show at least a shred of decency toward politicians, even one who is an atheist, Muslim, and communist. To start, they should leave the children alone.

And here is free advice to politicians. As NBC and FOX have demonstrated, never suffer under the illusion that the media wants to be your friend. No matter how much they share your views, they will gladly “throw your children under the bus” for a good rating. Ultimately, a network’s first priority is not sharing truth or presenting art to the general public. These may be desires; but the ultimate priority of a network is to make money.

David, How Could You?

Last Sunday morning, I preached on David’s sin with Bathsheba. While I only looked at II Samuel 11, our adult classes included chapter 12, as well. The thing that struck me about David’s sin was the Bible’s emphasis on David’s abuse of power. That seems to provide the basis for the parable Nathan offered David when he confronted David with David’s sin.

Connected to this thought, one of our elders, J. B. Berry, told me Monday morning that his class discussed how murder and adultery were symptoms of a deeper issue—David’s had violated his relationship with God. In light of David’s beautiful prayer to God in II Samuel 7 ("Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?”), who is this man who so callously disregard’s his benefactor?

I think J. B. and his class were spot-on. As bad as sexual sins and sins of murder are—and they are bad—the story of David and Bathsheba is not a story emphasizing the importance of sexual purity or violence-free lives. It is the story of man who utterly disregarded the grace God had extended to him—a sin we are daily susceptible to as well.

It’s Monday, but Sunday’s Coming!

“The decision of the judges is final.”

After much consideration and study, I have decided change move my weekly blog to Mondays. [I also prayed about this, but I am not sure I have enough readers for the Lord to care. :) ]

To those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, or who drop in from time-to-time, thanks, and I hope you will continue to read on Mondays. And for those of you who read my daily blog, TELL ME A STORY, I will continue to post the stories on a daily basis—Monday through Friday.

My next posting of this weekly blog will be Monday, March 1, after I return from Washington D. C. Who knows, maybe I will have some wonderful adventures to report such as the President’s request to consult with me privately in the oval office, Congress’s petition that I open a session in prayer, and the Chief Justice’s appealing to me to meet with him off-the-record.

Nah.


Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I have managed to catch some of the Olympic Games and have enjoyed them.

2. Best wishes to Tiger Woods. I don’t know how to improve his apology. I hope he is able to continue his process of repentance. As he himself stated, what matters now are his actions.

3. Congratulations to the ETCA Girls’ Basketball Team. They lost last Saturday in their playoff game with Dallas Covenant. (That WAS the team that defeated another school last year 100-0.) ETCA played well. Wait until next year!

4. So long, Jeff Christian. We’ll miss you here in Tyler, but I know you will do a great work in Houston.

5. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I leave with my daughter, Abby, for an ETCA class trip to Washington D. C. I am thrilled to be going. In honor of my trip, each story in my daily blog TELL ME A STORY will be about a U. S. president.


Have a great weekend!

Making Peace with Failure

Sunday is the Super Bowl. Each team’s offense will run anywhere from 60 to 80 plays. Most of them will end in failure. Yet, I suspect no player will quit during the game due to discouragement.

I love to play golf. Don’t play much anymore because my kids don’t like to play, but I love the game. It is addicting. Part of the pleasure is the challenge. It is hard to play golf consistently well. Even the greats misplay some shots every round. Still, one presses on.

I like to fish. Again, I don’t do much now, because the kids don’t like it. But I spent many hours in Junior High and High School casting lures trying to catch bass. On most of my casts, I failed. Yet, I continued casting. I enjoyed the thrill of the anticipation of a strike. I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the outdoors.

In sales, the rule of thumb in cold-calling is this. For every one hundred people with whom you have face-to-face contact, three will allow you to pitch your product, and one will actually buy your product. That is a 99 % failure rate. The good salespeople accept the odds and press on.

When it comes to the great expanse of life’s experiences, I have found most people’s expectations are too high. Most people anticipate feeling happiness—whatever that is—way more than they should.

Part of this is due to the illusion of posterity. Since we are blessed so much materially in the United States, our struggle to survive is less—at least compared to most of the world. Likewise, virtually all peoples throughout history faced greater struggles to live than we do. For the majority, the mantra truly has always been, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

The end result is we expect way too much out of life. These fantasies affect our views of marriage, children, work, and play. No wonder so many are unhappy.

Sadly, too many of us live life hypocritically. We cheer for the Cowboys even though they don’t score on every play. We keep on casting even if we have a bad day at the “fishin hole.” Yet, there are people who experience far fewer incidents of failure in marriage; however, these failures motivate them to bail.

What if we accepted the failures of life—and pressed on?

Jesus never offered us a reason to maintain unrealistic expectations. Indeed, he called us down from mountain top so that we might live life in the valleys.
A case in point is Mark Chapter Nine. Jesus has been transfigured in the presence of Peter, James and John. Peter is so excited he says in effect, “This is great! Let’s stay here.”

Jesus, however, calls them to return to the valley. The valley—the place with all of the problems. People are sick and diseased; the other disciples are powerless to perform the miracles needed. The disciples are experiencing one failure after another. Still, Jesus leads them to the valley.

When you are blessed with a mountaintop experience, enjoy it. But know Jesus will lead you back down to the valley. Stick with the challenge by staying with Jesus.

Five Things I Think I Think (with a nod to Peter King for this idea)

1. I saw PBS’ American Experience episode on Wyatt Earp. Having seen the movie WYATT EARP (I have not seen TOMBSTONE), and having been to the actual OK CORRAL, I found the program fascinating.

2. My dogs killed a tree rat today. That’s what I call squirrels now. With over fifteen trees in our yard, squirrels drive us nuts—no pun intended. They get in our attic, eat wires, and provide a general nuisance. For four years, they taunted our two Labs in the dog-run. I’ve seen those things run through many a time, pausing only to laugh at our dogs. Today, our dogs caught one. Maybe now we can have peace. Nah!

3. Good luck to the ETCA girls’ basketball team. They finished district play undefeated and host their first round play-off game Tuesday night. I’ve been scrimmaging with them to help prepare them for playoff competition. If they happen to face a 50-ish, 6 ‘ 3”, bald-headed man, I think they’ll be ready.

4. I’m toying with changing the day of the week that I write my weekly blog. I do a Monday-Friday blog I call TELL ME A STORY, where I share stories I’ve come across through the years. This blog is more of a processing of my thoughts and then posting them. However, according to Tim Archer— http://www.timothyarcher.com/kitchen/?p=2752&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheKitchen+%28Halfbaked+Kitchen%29 --there is typically a sharp decline in readership on blogs from Friday through Sunday. So, for the 3235 of you who read my Friday blog—give or take 3234—I am mulling over a change.

5. Tonight I spend five hours serving first and second grade children at a lock-in. We will not finish until after midnight. What was I thinking?!


Have a great weekend!