Cruciferous Veggie

2011-02-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Just FYI:
I publish more on my Facebook page and am a regular contributor at the "Faith and Tech" blog.

2009-01-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

Sportsmanship and the economic crisis...

I just read an article about 1 school beating another 100-0 in girls' basketball.
School attempts to forfeit 100-0 win
My comments at that article

The comments lead me to ponder what good sportsmanship really is.

My kids' school- granted, it was for the 1st or 2nd grade- gave "good sports" awards to every student in the class. This is the type of society we have become. Sportsmanship is not taught- and not even expected. A kid who bullies and trash-talks and demands his own selfish behavior gets rewarded for being a good sport. The bar is not set high in our society - if there is even a bar at all anymore.

The point of this all rambling is that the way you play is as important as winning and losing. For pro sports, maybe not as much so, but it is still there. For most of us, 99% of us, winning is not everything, but winning well is. Play, but play the game the right way. Winning is not the same as winning at all costs.

I love competing, and I hate losing. I think the sting of losing is important in building character and also an important part of having the drive to improve. The ability to win well is also important. Teaching these traits to our kids- and to ourselves- makes all of our life better. It teaches us the skills to compete at the workplace without looking to win by causing others to lose. It teaches us how to disagree in our family without leaving broken relationships in our wake. Sportsmanship teaches us to be our best, and to excel, but to do so in a way that respects, and even lifts up, our opponent.

I also spoke last Sunday at my church about how as Christians we are to have Healthy Conversations- and subtitled it "How to disagree without being disagreeable". As I look back on that message through the lenses of the question of sportsmanship, maybe we need to ask not just WWJD, but WWWJP- What Way Would Jesus Play? Because how we play- in the arena of Life- is as important as what we accomplish. Maybe our problems in society right now come down to bad sportsmanship in life's biggest arenas. We want it all, regardless of the cost, no matter who is beaten down, and in the end all of us suffer the loss of something even more important.

That isn't to say that we do not stand on principle, or that everything is debatable. Not at all. Jesus died for us all, and there is no other way to God than through him. That is undeniable, and our Hope is that all would come to Christ and that none would perish. What this does say is that the way we express truth, and the way we stand for what is right, and even the way we debate and the way we argue, must all be done in Love- Love for God, and with God's Love for others. We can win in life without needing everyone else to lose. There are win-wins we can find.

I also just read an article on the passing of Hall of Fame Coach Kay Yow.
http://www.newsobserver.com/1005/story/1380259.html
I'll close with some lines from this article. They speak for themselves...

"For all her personal accomplishments, Yow considered her greatest achievement to be how she touched the lives of her players and expanded the horizons for all girls interested in sports.

“I need to make a difference in the lives of other people,” she said in 2002 when she was named The News & Observer’s Tar Heel of The Year. “If I’m not doing that, I’ve missed the whole point of my gift of life.”

From childhood until her final days, Yow engaged in the game she loved, but eventually she transcended it. In a hotly competitive sport, her gentle manner taught mutual respect. And in recent years, her energy drained and her features drawn by cancer, her presence courtside reminded all in the arena that no matter how urgent the contest, it was only a game. What mattered most, Yow said, was winning in life."

A shorter version of this is also blogged at http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/kingface

2008-02-18T13:58:00.000-08:00

My new church
I am now the pastor of Farmville United Methodist Church. I started here last month, and it has been going GREAT! The people in this church are open and friendly- things they are intentional about. For a small town church, that is not always the case- but it is true here.

My family has adjusted well to the new location. We are about :15 west of Greenville NC (an hour east of Raleigh and less than hours to the beach). The kids are making friends in church, school, Cub Scouts & 4H- where for many of these things the kids overlap. Holly is currently "between jobs" and trying to see where God might lead her next.

It has been a pretty wild ride getting here. You can read about my wrestling with the changes going on at Wellspring. I went from there through last Easter to Harbor UMC (also in Wilmington) last summer. Due to a number of reasons, but primarily because the funding for that new position fell through, I found myself available for a new appointment. At the same time, God was preparing Farmville UMC for my arrival. They had a need for a pastor, and specifically for a pastor with many of the strengths God has gifted me with. God's hand and timing were all over this placement (I can list a number of "coincidences" that prove this was the right place for me at this time), and I trust and hope that God will see fit to leave me here for many, many years to come.

You can check out what we're up to at our church by going to our website: www.FarmvilleUMC.com I help out with the page, and it is about to get a makeover, but this will give you a good place to start. If you hit the "current news' section, you can see our latest newsletters, which is a great place to check up on me and the ministry of the church.

2007-05-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Atheist Author serves bitter soup with analysis of religion

I just read a very interesting article, "'Worse than Hell': Christopher Hitchens on the Religious Mind". This atheist author says that religious people are "groveling, abandoned serfs"- among other things. I found his critique of faith... sad, refreshingly honest, desperately lost, too true at times, hopelessly hopeful. I plan on responding in-depth to this article & invite you to stay tuned. You may want to offer your thoughts as well.

2007-05-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

There may be nothing more pure

than the laugh of a child when just enjoying the beautiful creation God has given. When they laugh in pure enjoyment- knowing all along that God is the source of what they're enjoying- it doesn't get much better than that!

We were kayaking yesterday, just splashing through the Intercoastal with my kids, soaking up the sun and thanking God for the beauty that surrounded us. With their laughter still ringing in my ears, and my sore shoulders still twingning, I am renewed.

2007-03-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

(This was posted when I was pastor of Wellspring UMC in Wilmington, and reflects the questions we were facing then as a church. I am now the Associate Pastor at Harbor UMC in Wilmington.)

Sometimes I wish God would simply write on the wall so much that I do not understand: when a child is gravely ill, when a life decision looms, when answers seem too far away.

Right now, my church is going through such a time. We are following God's call- we've moved to a new place, and are continuing to strive to be all that God means for and calls us to be. But we wonder sometimes exactly what God wants us to do. For instance, we are small enough that we cannot offer every service and every program other larger churches offer- and I don't think we're called to do that. So when a need arises, we struggle to determine how to respond. Okay- struggle to know what to do. I want to do what God wants us to do- nothing more, nothing less. So what does God want us to do?

Has anyone else out there ever struggled with such questions? I know some have- I stood by when big questions are asked, and I do not have all the answers. I do know who knows the answers, but oftentimes that One is not giving them out.

This is a real practical consideration for me. My family may have to move or not move, based on how we answer these questions. And this congregation will be impacted by our answers.

In the midst of our questions, my prayer life has gotten stronger. My faith has grown. It will get stronger yet, I pray, but i t has led me to trust God more. I know I do not know everything about where we are called and what will happen. But I do know this: we are called to be here. I truly sense in what as happened that God has been guiding our steps. We can see it as we look in the "rearview mirror"- we can look back over so many little things that lined up that it cannot have been coincidence. I don't believe in coincidence anyways.

God Loves me. I trust God. That is all I need to know. Which is good, because many times that is all I know.

It all reminds me of the song by Casting Crowns, "The Voice of Truth".
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat I'm in
onto the crashing waves

To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand

But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling me
Time and time again, "Boy, you'll never win!"
"You'll never win!"

But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth