I had lunch with someone a few weeks ago and left greatly challenged by his application of the gospel. He told me, “Geoff, this is the year of feedback. I’m trying to get feedback on everything from preaching to parenting.”

One result from this desire is that he will be a better parent and preacher by the end of the year. From what I’ve heard, it is already beginning to show. I’ve learned some good stuff about parenting from the feedback given to him. So I guess I am, or will be, a better parent from his feedback.

Seeking feedback and evaluation is a great thing. God gives us each other that we would, well, build each other up. That doesn’t happen without feedback.

The reason most of us, including myself, hate getting feedback is because we really don’t believe the gospel. If we really believed the gospel, that we are 100% righteous before God AND others, that no one has a higher or lower standing, that God rejoices and dances over us, we’d seek feedback. Even negative feedback ought not to weaken our confidence or make us defensive.

It’s what some people call a “gospel dynamic.” How well we receive or seek feedback is directly tied to how much we really believe the gospel. Painfully hard for me to write this because I’m pointing the finger at myself, but it is 100% true. I think mine and our partial disbelief in the gospel is one of the main reasons feedback is so hard.

A few weeks ago, a Jehovah’s Witness and her little apprentice (I felt sorry for this chap because he definitely did not want to be there) stopped by the house to chat. One thing struck me as unique in my experiences with JW’s: dialog. Instead of trying to disprove my supposedly fallacious belief that Jesus is equal with the God the Father (not a created being as JW’s believe), she began to ask questions.

That methodology showed respect, albeit slight respect, for what I held dear, and is very commendable. Instead of immediately telling people they are wrong, asking questions not only reveals to us what they really believe, but also shows we care. It made me want to enter into a dialog as opposed to running from or charging angrily into oncoming enemy fire.

However the methodological problem which struck me most forcefully was her selection of passages. She picked perhaps three of the most confusing passages or books in the bible. Passages which have a myriad of different interpretations and require extensive knowledge of not only the entire bible, but also genre analysis and history. The book of Daniel, the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24, and Revelation.

It is not wise to build your theology upon passages which Christians throughout the ages have come to a wide variety of conclusions. Best to start your theology upon that which is most clear, and allow the passages that are clear to help interpret those which are unclear. Just a helpful interpretive principle handed down to us by the Reformers.

Amy dropped off Connar at the kids club (I call it a nursery) at Lifestyles Family Fitness sometime toward the end of last week. She was greeted by a young lass of about 10-12 years of age. This young lass shamelessly began talking about how much Jesus had changed her family’s life.

First of all, what boldness! However I doubt she had to psych herself up by praying, hitting her head against the wall or touching a rock on the way out of the proverbial locker room. Jesus had simply changed her family’s life, and now people were going to hear about it. She was bold because Jesus had actually made a difference.

We hold nothing back that is precious or anything which has had a great impact in our lives, except maybe a secret fishing hole. Other than that, we simply tell of good things that happen to us-unless we feel no one would really care. Kids don’t worry about whether or not people will care about their stories; they just tell. I think this is a good example of child-like faith that ought to challenge us all. Just tell stories, the Grand Story, and the story of how it intersects with our lives.

The 2nd thing of note was that Jesus had changed her “family’s” life. Not just hers. Sin from the parents affects kids. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen sin patterns in parents get passed down to kids. And Connar will definitely inherit and have to deal with my sin patterns. Today he walked from his room to the laundry room and threw away his own diaper; I bet he’s only actually witnessed me throw them away maybe a few times. I’m learning how quickly he’s picking up on my cues. But just as he will struggle with “Hender-sins,” Jesus gives us hope that he can redeem the whole family from the enslaving power of Hender-sins and those sins common to us all.

I’m a fan of Lifestyles Family Fitness because they are really living up to their name in more ways than one.

Yesterday Amy and I went to a Ray’s game. I hate to watch them lose, and hate even more to actually pay money and go to a game and watch them lose. Last time Amy and I went to a game, Scott Kazmir started and threw 10 straight balls, paving the way for a Rays 13-5 loss to the Red Sox. This time I strategically picked a game in which the Rays played 2nd worst team in baseball.

Kazmir was once again on the mound, and this time against against the Royal’s ace Zach Greinke, but things definitely started out much differently. Instead of 10 straight balls, Kazmir struck out the first two batters. Yet it was even before the game began when things started looking up.

Amy and I got dropped off by my mother-in-law (fortunately because I had only 3 dollars in my wallet) and began walking toward the ticket counter. Someone asked me if I had tickets, and I told him, “No,” not really thinking about it. Then immediately a woman in workout clothes approached us with the same question.

Only this time her accosting appeared more pleasant. Take these tickets. They’re really good seats, but I can’t use them because I have to go….

So I grabbed them, thanked her, and preceded to walk towards our new seats, only 8 rows back from the Royal’s dugout. Crazy.

Was this grace? Had we done anything to deserve these tickets? Yes, it was definitely grace and we hadn’t deserved them. But I was thinking, even this picture of grace (all illustrations fall short at some point, it’s just how far they can go) didn’t hold up to a biblical picture of God’s grace toward us.

Check this out: “…At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:6,8).”

I was powerless in that I couldn’t pay her back-seeing as I had no real cash to my name then-but I definitely hadn’t sinned against her by dishonoring her sarcastically with my lips in front of my wife and son in anger on the way to a picnic the day before. So not really the same sense of grace God shows His children: giving good when they deserve bad.

However God the Father, the giver of all good things, did reinforce to me yesterday that he continues to love me graciously (giving me good things when I deserve bad things). So grace was definitely shown, and this woman was simply the vessel by which He both reinforced and demonstrated biblical grace to me.

If you want an example of how NOT to make a decision, you need look no further than Brett Favre. He finally did decide not to come back and play for the Minnesota Vikings, and responded before the deadline of July 30th. However, as we’ve come to expect from Brett lo these many years, he could not bring himself to actually commit to staying retired. Concluding his decision to stay retired by throwing in a “Now come November 1st, I don’t know how I’ll feel if someone comes calling….” only fueled the ire of many.

In other words, if a team needs me, and is in a play-off race, and I don’t have to put in the hard work of training camp (and that does look miserable, I watched some practices), then I may be up for it. As long as it serves my best interest, as James Taylor sang “I’ll be there, Yes, I’ll be there, You’ve got a friend,” or a quarterback.

As much as I’ve come to lose any respect I had for Favre (never was a fan of him in Green Bay), I probably have to admit I have more in common, at least off the field, with him than I would like to think. You probably have a little Favre in you too.

Self-interest often collides against Kingdom commitment fairly regularly. However, He who considered others more important than himself surely offers us forgiveness and hope in this battle (Phil 2).

This is an interesting post/interview about churches, both large and small, by my friend Ed Stetzer. Don’t you love how people, especially pastor bloggers, like to name drop and say “my friend _______(insert big name ministry leader)?” Actually, I should clarify: he is not my friend, but my “friend” on facebook. Anyhow, the book in question is called 10 Stupid Things That Keep a Church From Growing: How Leaders Can Overcome Costly Mistakes and written by a dude named Geoff. So with a man who spells “Geoff” the original way, the book must be good read. At least the interview is.

Amy noted to me that it seemed weird baseball would have an all-star game during the middle of the season. Of course, many if not most sports, with the exception of football, include an all-star game of sorts mid-way through the season (basketball, hockey, perhaps soccer).

The problem with an all-star game which occurs mid-way through the season is that many players are rewarded for simply having a great first half of the season. Sometimes they may finish extremely poorly. In fact several Rays players who made the all-star team would probably not have made the all-star team if voting took place at the end of the year.

So an all-star is an all-star for his first half performance. Period.

But the Christian life is about finishing, forgetting what is behind and straining to what is ahead (Phil 3:8-16). It is not about a prayer you prayed when you were little or about how you were at one time “saved” a long time ago. The truth of the matter is that we need to continue considering how is God “saving” us from the enslaving power of sin NOW, not just how he saved us from the punishment of sin THEN.

I don’t mention John Calvin too much, but since he’s like 500 years old right now and I’m a fan, here we go: the “P” in “TULIP” refers to the Perseverance of the Saints. That basically means that those who are “saved” will continue their walk by daily repentance and faith in Christ alone until their “season” is over. Finishing the race is an indication-not a reward, but Christ’s completed work applied to their lives-they “were saved” from the Punishment of Sin, “are saved” from the enslaving Power of sin, and “will be saved” from the Presence of sin.

The Christian faith, unlike being an All-star, is not about first half performances. Instead it is a finishing and resting faith in Christ alone. Faith Now & Later, not some appearance of faith Then.

The gospel really should permeate all of life. There is no part of our lives it should not touch and change. Fortunately Randy challenged me, and of course the Holy Spirit followed up and sealed the deal to apply the gospel to something quite mundane: how I view errors in baseball. But again, since Christ will finish the work He started (Phil 1:6), the mundane is fair game from now until He returns.

Let me explain. I was “down” on one of the Tampa Bay Ray’s players Willy Ayabar. He made several horrendous errors in one inning and mistakes that weren’t deemed errors in another. All this after a game in which he almost cost the Rays the game because of another error. I argued that Willy shouldn’t be playing the field. Nothing wrong with that.

But the heart behind my statements revealed a critical spirit. Randy posed the question, “What if someone just came to hear you preach one Sunday and you were “off” that Sunday (Ayabar doesn’t play everyday)?” Certainly I’ve had better and worse sermon content, delivery, application, ethos, etc…some days than others. Wouldn’t I hope people give me the benefit of the doubt?

Since I’m not the owner, manager, or even a teammate, my thoughts and discussion of the Rays don’t count for anything (although Joe Maddon did seem to take my advice of moving Jason Bartlett down in the batting order to offset lack of production from the 9th spot). I’m simply dealing with a critical heart behind my thoughts.

That spirit came up again the next day when the umps blew a terrible call, which should have been strike 3 and ended the inning. The next pitch was hit hard, and center fielder B.J. Upton misplayed it, leading to a 3 run inning which proved enough to win the game for Obama’s White Sox.

I became angry at the Ump for his missed call, angry at Upton’s fielding mistake, and then at Wheeler for giving up the third run on a single. I was still angry the next day. Baseball players and umps go through a 162 game season. That’s quite a number of games. They will make mistakes. I would too.

And I make mistakes on my job, as you do on yours. While I’m not getting paid as handsomely as Aybar or Upton, I would hope that people show me grace when I screw up. The gospel reminds me how often I don’t deserve grace, but that God still lavishes it upon me. I ought to extend that to others who make mistakes, and so should you. I still think Aybar would best fit at D.H. or first base, but I’m beginning to see the need for the gospel to change even how I enjoy-or don’t enjoy-and follow sports.

Interestingly enough, while searching for an image for Willy Aybar, I came across a fascinating story of his redemption from alcoholism.

Here is some sad news. You may, like myself, hate Taco Bell, but you can’t hate on Gidget. Your favorite Chihuahua (and mine), Gidget the Taco Bell Dog, dead at 15 years of age.

Unlike most celebrities and celebrity dogs, we see no signs of foul play, rampant clandestine infidelity, or prescription drug use. Simply old age and a stroke took down this gentle giant. Well, giant in heart. Gidget leaves behind a legacy rivaling other canine greats such as Spuds Mackenzie and Lassie. He truly paved the way for lap dogs to be taken seriously on and off the airwaves. May we never forget Jack Handey’s Deep Thought:

I hope if dogs ever take over the world and they choose a king, they
don't just go by size, because I bet there are some Chihuahuas with
some good ideas.

Before Connar arrived, Amy and I used to hit up the dollar theater in Sarasota on a regular basis because we like movies and it’s a cheap date. We finally got a break the other day-just a week or so ago-and saw The Soloist (click here to see the trailer)

Now I wanted a bit more action so it took some cajoling to get me on board. However, Amy and I thoroughly enjoyed this film based upon a true story.

The story chronicles a L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez’s attempts to help a homeless Cello virtuoso, at one time enrolled in the Juilliard College. But his mental illness has left him content with living on the streets playing a 2 stringed violin.

Lopez, played by Robert Downey Jr, runs into some rough patches with Anthony Ayers, played by Jamie Fox, as he does not always appreciate the help. Of course the Christian character in the movie is a putz, but since the movie is based off the book, perhaps it was just an accurate portrayal.

Nevertheless Amy and I found the movie an intriguing picture of redemption as well as the selfish and unrealistic expectations revealed when we seek to help others. I would highly recommend the film to others. I’ve not really heard anyone talk about it, so maybe it’s just me and some other California nuns who enjoyed the film (several of movie critic Sister Rose’s blog readers appeared as fans). If you’ve seen the movie, feel free to interact with me and tell me why you liked or didn’t like it. Again, I found it a superb story and film.