I just heard a great advent sermon while working out this week. Martin Ban, pastor of Christ Church Santa Fe, illustrates well and only preaches 25 minutes, so he’s easy to listen to on the computer or I-pod. He is mesmerized how God used those quite unqualified in constructing the Xmas story. Zechariah (unbelieving priest) Elizabeth (barren woman probably in her 50’s), John the Baptist (not yet born though rejoices over the good news), and Mary (a young unproven inexperienced girl) all make for a quite a cast. Ban is amazed by the fact that God had all this time to plan His entrance and this is what we get! It encourages us to know what kind of people God uses. Click here and listen to “Advent Series Part #3.”

Good news for Bucs fan. The only way we can get a new GM and a coach more than 6 months older than myself is for the old coach and the old GM to find new jobs. Well today, we got one out of two. Bruce Allen, signed on with the Redskins. Since he’s been a GM for Gruden’s team twice, here’s hoping we can say goodbye to Raheem the Dream Morris!

Michael Scott (Steve Carell) of NBC’s “The Office,” in a powerful soliloquy, had this to say about Christmas: “Christmas isn’t really about Santa Claus, or about Jesus….It’s about family.” Sounds a bit over the top, but at least this lovable goofball said what so many folks think. At least our actions or thoughts prove that in some way many of us believe this.

Sometimes it takes a bold statement like that to get our attention and realize that when Christmas isn’t about presents, the default mode goes to family. Christmas is about family spending time together. The number one idol of most church folk like me.

This was a good reminder to be thankful for family, but to find refuge and celebration in the Savior who will return one day to finish what he started. Celebrating Advent, regular scripture readings, pageants, manger scenes, and even birthday cakes for Jesus (Amy saw one today that was amazing!) are all tools which can help us avoid substituting family for Jesus.

I’ve been very uninspired to write lately. Perhaps my muse was assassinated last month. Perhaps getting the house ready to sell and trying to figure out what life will look like in WV has left me “speechless.” Perhaps it’s due to being a laid-off pastor and I don’t think cyber-pastorally much anymore. Whatever it is, it took Jon Gruden to get me back on track.

While watching Monday Night Football, Jon Gruden, former Bucs Coach and now Monday Night Football commentator, spoke about the difficulty of coaching in the NFL. He noted that you can’t simply be up in the standings with 4 games to go and relax. “We were 9-3 and we were coasting. Then we lost the last 4 games and I lost my job.”

And he said it with a smile on his face. I think the other two guys in the booth were taken by surprise. Jon wasn’t afraid to talk about his failures.

Largely blasted for his super-sized ego and alleged mistreatment of players through dishonesty and deception, he showed some real maturity. Maturity in the form of humility.

The ability to admit and even laugh about your failures is something that ought to characterize the life of the Christian. The security found in the gospel-that we are loved and provided for despite our sins and failures-allows us to regularly admit our failures to friend and foe. And yes, at times, even to a national audience.

Jon, if you’re reading this, thanks for the reminder of how Christians should live if we truly believe the gospel.

You may have heard of Tiger Woods traffic violation heard ’round the world. If not, click here. His crash cost him a fine of 165 dollars. My going 30 mph in a 20 mph school zone Tuesday on the way to fish will set me back 156 dollars! Only 9 dollars difference for those keeping score at home. Doesn’t seem to add up if you ask me. But I’ll take the fine over speculations (actually recorded voicemails) of infidelity and getting beaten by your spouse!

Are such things true about Tiger Woods? Possibly, but no one knows. No one really knows Tiger, since he has done a nearly impeccable job of staying out of the public when not on the PGA Tour. He’s definitely no Kardashian.

Now there’s no escaping the media. He’s probably fortunate to escape more than scrutiny, as the investigation has ended and no medical records of what really happened will surface.

This incident reminds me of Jesus’ words to the Pharisees in Luke 12, when he warns us against hypocrisy. The private life will not always be so private and one day all will be disclosed. Whether its dirt on Tiger, you, or me, all will eventually come out. A sobering thought which makes me run to Jesus, hold on to him, allow Him to be the judge, and trust that my dirt leaves no stains, nor does it disqualify me from a big old hug one day.

Last year before the national championship game I blogged about Tim Tebow’s eye black scripture verses, and how I wasn’t really a fan of Phil 4:13 due to its chronic mis-intrepretation. Now my blog readership is quite small, but that post did actually get me interviewed by a big time newspaper writer for the Kansas City Star. Unfortunately I wasn’t quoted.

While I may not have been a fan of the use of Phil 4:13, I am a huge fan of Tebow’s scriptural accouterments. Each time he plays, thousands of people google those things-and I’m assuming these are people who don’t have bibles or who don’t use them regularly.

Anyhow, during the blowout win against FSU, the CBS announcer actually read the scripture verse Hebrews 12:12. It actually seemed to go well with Tebow’s fumble. The only problem was that Tebow had “Hebrews 12:1-2.” Some 10 minutes later, the CBS announcer apologized and read Hebrews 12:1 to all the viewers! Now he skipped verse 2, which mentions Jesus by name, but hey, not bad. All because of his eye black.

I’m not a Gator fan to put it mildly, but at least I heard God’s Word read while I watched a terrible FSU beat down. Could have been worse I guess….

Once again, another Thanksgiving. And once again much to be thankful for. And once again, one thing NOT to be thankful for. The now surging 2-8 Detroit Lions, coming off A victory in which they lost their starting QB and WR, will probably once again grace America’s living rooms with another terrible Turkey Day football game.

The Lion’s players don’t like playing on Thanksgiving (though their owner does); America doesn’t like seeing them play, so why this match from Hades? The answer can be summed up and read, or sung, with one word: “tradition.” That’s it.

Sometimes traditions can be quite helpful and bring people together. I’ll always fondly remember our family Xmas tradition of going to get a Xmas tree and then going to eat at the same Steak-N-Shake where my mom met my dad when she was on a date and the dude ran over his foot.

But sometimes traditions need to be changed (I love our fake tree and I think my parents love their fake tree now as well), and this is one of them. When a tradition’s sole reason for existence is simply that it is a tradition, it might be a good time to tweak it or scrap it and start another.

I’m looking forward to starting some family traditions with Connar and Amy. However when a tradition outlives its usefulness, I hope that I don’t give the same answer to Connar that America gets when we ask why we get stuck with watching another terrible Lions game: “because it’s tradition.”

10 days before the Bucs started this miserable season, they fired the offensive coordinator. 10 weeks into the season, they demoted their defensive coordinator. The only one on the staff with head coaching experience. I think someone with the patience of a toddler is running this organization. I could see Connar firing the defensive coordinator and replacing him with someone else with ZERO NFL play calling or head coaching experience. But an adult?

Patience is definitely not natural, but it is the fruit of the spirit (Gal 2:22). I need to learn from the Bucs and repent regularly when I expect myself, others (including Connar) to change immediately. This is one year, I don’t want to emulate anything the Bucs are doing.

Fortunately for the believer, we don’t get demoted, fired, or kicked out of the family. Trying to be a more patient person doesn’t work; it never has. However, reflecting on this truth has helped me in the past and is a well that we can’t run to enough.

Confession can definitely be cathartic. It feels good to get stuff off your chest. In Andre Agassi’s new book Open he confesses to a lot of things like doing Crystal Meth, and wearing a wig. I’m still bummed that hair wasn’t real. And unless he apologizes to me personally, I shan’t forgive that one!

Part of the reason he confesses is that it is cathartic. He mentioned as such on a Jim Rome interview. But part of the reason he confesses is that such confessions sell books. No one wants to read a book about someone if they’re not going to confess something juicy. We could all fill a book with secret confessions that would either sell like hot cakes or make people think we should be shot. I, like Steve Brown, who recently preached at Hope, won’t pick up another biography unless there’s some dirt revealed. Otherwise it’s just not believable.

Anyhow, here’s some thoughts I have on Agassi’s Open, which does sound like it would be a good read-and there’s plenty of dirt. I wonder how cathartic confession really is if there is no One in specific to whom you’re confessing…I wonder how cathartic it could be if there is no One who can declare that you are in fact forgiven, and no one else gets a vote…

Now I’m not expecting Augustine’s Confessions, but I would be interested to know the answer from Andre to these questions. Should I buy and read the book, I shall definitely see and post how he may answer them.

I’ve been know to ask a dumb question a time or two in my life. In high school chemistry class I was actually limited to 2 per day. But good questions can be quite helpful, especially in trying to understand, interpret, and apply scripture. Here are some helpful questions to ask when looking at a passage of scripture.