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The irony, I think, of Fantasy Football

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Football started back last week and that has me happy. I’m glad the yahoos that are football players and owners finally realized that they both needed each other to make money. But one thing I’m also excited about is fantasy football. 
I find an incredible irony in fantasy football. Football is the consummate team sport, for no one player can carry the team. The running back, regardless of his talent, needs an offensive line in front of him. The quarterback needs the offensive line, and needs some quality receivers if he (or rather his team) is to succeed. The same thing goes with the defense.
Yet fantasy football is about individual stats (with the exception of a “team defense”). That’s the point. It highlights the individual so much so, that some “fantasy folks” (real folks, just a bit too much into fantasy football) could care NOTHING about an actual team. All they follow are individuals and their stats. Now there is nothing inherently wrong with this-in fact it can be helpful when the team you care about stinks. It is just ironic how this team sport has denigrated into such an individualistic endeavor.
I don’t think fantasy football (or fantasy anything) could have developed in the East. It certainly couldn’t have developed 50 years ago, regardless of the lack of technology. For better or worse, we in America quickly reduce things to the lowest common denominator: the self as opposed to the family or community or nation.
And still, fantasy football, further adding irony to the mix with its attention to individual stats, CAN end up fostering community. Of course there are those who spend hours and hours on fantasy football, getting lost into the cyberspace transactions of players. They probably need to get a life or a job or work harder at both.
But because men often need a “reason” to get together, fantasy football can become that reason. This year we are hosting a draft party together, as opposed to the on-line draft fiasco of last season where some folks couldn’t log in and so flooded my inbox. This will give folks who don’t know each other, or don’t know each other as well, an opportunity to get together. And at the end of the season, when the winner will get something from the losers, we’ll have another chance.
During the season, menfolk who didn’t know each other now have an opportunity (a “reason”) to interact with one another. Youth now have an opportunity to further build relationships with adults they are “playing” that week.

In the end, fantasy football, which reflects ardent individualism, can actually lead to community. Ironic? I think so. Or maybe the whole process of redeeming the culture is itself an ironic process, as we move from from one’s intention to Another’s intention…

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Justification by faith or convictions?

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One of the things I neglected to mention in my last sermon, probably due to the awkward pause caused by my temporary thought vacuum, was how easily well intending folks can fall into the trap Paul warns against in Phil 3:1-6. For Paul its not “Who let the dogs out,” but “Don’t let them in!” These “dogs,” the “mutilators” of the flesh are trying to convince folks to place confidence in their good works in order to gain more favor with God and be a real part of God’s community.
But who are dogs which we should watch out for today? All kinds of parenting models or books on varieties of topics pop up from time to time and gain quite a following. Some can be quite terrible. Some can be OK, others great, but even good stuff can become divisive very quickly because we are so prone to need some sort of justification before God and others. I think that’s really the issue. You need Jesus, but you also need to school, or parent or think, or look like us. That’s why we tend to very fiercely at times propagandize our convictions. Some churches have been so infiltrated with “dogs” that they become a ________ friendly church. Ultimately something either good or bad (doesn’t really matter) has become another source of justification. Folks are justified before each other, aka, considered true committed Christians, when they follow a certain model of parenting, schooling, politics, etc…
So its not that folks are necessarily trusting in this stuff to save them from Hell, but they are trusting in this stuff to make God and others like them more. In other words, to “get in good” with God and us, here’s how you can belong. If you don’t think like us, we’ll make you feel marginalized with our little jabs, inside jokes, or celebration of how well our political, parental, schooling, worship models work.
Fellowship is granted and maintained based upon whether or not the other Christian shares the same convictions. Or fellowship is sought solely based upon shared convictions. But fellowship can also be granted by folks in the church based upon what they DON’T believe in. Sometimes we’re hesitant to grant the right hand of fellowship to folks who DO believe in something the majority of folks in the church DON’T believe. While some churches say, “You must believe in this model to be a part of us,” others may say or act like “You must not believe in this model if you want to fit in here.”
I think Paul is arguing that this behavior can’t exist alongside of justification by faith. Justification by faith reminds us that God justifies us before Himself. But now that we’re justified before God through faith in Christ alone, are we left to justify ourselves before others by our works, or convictions? Nope, justification is a one size fits all thing. It’s redeemable before God and the church. 
Heresies certainly cause much needed church splits; there can be a time to divide. Personality, improper peacemaking, and worship differences cause more. But I think even more church divisions, and denominations as a whole, have sprung from people trying to justify themselves before God and others by their convictions. Jesus’ work is easily marginalized if we’re not super careful.
Unknown's avatar

I got by with a little help from my friends

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Two Sundays ago I preached a sermon called “I get by with a little help from my friends.” I focused in on how much Paul, Ephaphroditus, Timothy, and the Philippians really needed each other. Today its no different; we still do need one another. And I didn’t mean to, but God actually used me to illustrate that point during this Sunday’s sermon “Who Let the Dog’s Out? (I’ve been trying to stick with song titles, though I’ve obviously varied the genre of music!).
I literally only “got by” with a little help from my friends. Since we meet in a movie theater, I heard some rumbling. I paused and said, “Is that from another theater or is it thundering outside?” Then I completely forgot where I was. Completely. So much so that I couldn’t go back to my notes (I really wasn’t following them anyway). I couldn’t move forward or backwards. My brain completely shut down. It’s a lonely feeling up there when you have no words to say. Lonely and scary for sure.
As much as I tried to get to the next point of application, I basically had nothing. So I asked my dear friend running the power point, “Mark, where was I?” He had nothing too. Finally, a woman yelled out, you said, “If we know more, we rejoice more!”
Then I was back up and running. I finished without much of a problem. I can’t describe to you the elation of her answer to my question.
I learned a few things:
1.) If my ADD wins, then I lose. I can’t respond to outside stimuli. And I have a history of it. Once during a beach wedding, I stopped the homily and said, “Oh cool, there’s a shark!” But I picked back up and didn’t miss a beat. I learned my lesson this time.
2.) People paying attention to the preached Word is not just important for them, its important for the preacher. But I hope to never have to “need” them to pay that much attention in the future.

3.) It was embarrassing for sure. But from what people talked about afterwards, I think the Word was preached clearly, illustrated effectively, and applied personally. I think Jesus exalted Himself, while at the same time humbling this preacher. Sometimes he does that to us, doesn’t He? Sometimes he likes to make Himself look good even at the expense of not allowing us to look so good. In other words, just what John the Baptist prayed, “He must increase but I must decrease.” I should not be bummed when God answers that prayer by increasing Himself but decreasing myself.  Though I didn’t pray that specifically, I nevertheless I’m glad God will always do “His thing.”

Unknown's avatar

Are you more mature than an 8 year old? I’m not

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I came across this article about a shark attack in NC and had to read it, as I do any time I see anything having to do with sharks. And since Shark Week will begin this Sunday I found it even more apropos. 
A little girl is attacked by a shark and deals with blood loss on the beach. But as she’s laying there, completely aware that she will need medical attention, she remembers something equally important, probably passed down to her by her parents: 
“She said, ‘Dad, can we say a prayer?'” Jordan Mangum told the station. “We said a prayer for her on the beach. Her faith and stoicism was a marvel to us.”

How cool is that? As parents, as pastors, as mentors, if we can get across one thing when tragedy strikes, this would be it: pray.
Even though it would be foolish not to go to the emergency room, it would be likewise foolish not to pray. Emergency medicine, like any sort of medicine, is no sure thing. I’ve watched enough Shark Week’s to know that shark attack victims do die on the beach, on the way to, or even in the hospital. The doctor alone is not enough. We’re ultimately in God’s hands, so it’s foolish not to pray and thus  neglect either of these “life-lines.”
Of course as I write this I feel convicted about foolishly not praying with (of course I prayed for) my dear friend who blew out his knee in a softball collision with 2nd base. With folks crowding around, and some pretending to actually know what they were doing when they clearly didn’t, I foolishly let them do their “work” and carry him off the field. I did end up praying briefly with him while on the bench, but my heart was more tuned in to getting him to the doctor.
 
I’m definitely not more mature at some levels then this lovely 8 year old. Faith like a child is a beautiful thing.
Unknown's avatar

What’s a communist government to do?

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This is a continuation of the last post, attempting to deal with the question: Should the Chinese government do all that it can to regulate the Church? I mean, does the state have/should have a legitimate fear of these house churches?
I think you could answer the question, both yes and no.
Yes-The government “should” have a legitimate fear with what’s going on. When the apostle Paul writes that Jesus is Lord, he is saying that Cesar is not Lord. There is an order of allegiance. Jesus becomes our ultimate King and we are called to obey Him rather than any man when those two commands intersect (though I think those two intersect probably less frequently than we like to admit here in the States). So if a communist state demands total allegiance, no matter what, then I guess that could/should create cause for concern.
In addition, because Christians have an ultimate allegiance to their Savior Jesus, they may have to abstain or speak up against certain practices of the state. For instance, if the state recommends an abortion to reduce over-population, then I could see the state having some legitimate concern. Early Christians made others look bad, and even an official named Pliny the Younger complained about them taking care of THEIR poor as well as those inside the church. So a healthy church can make the government look heartless, if not foolish.
No-Jesus also demands our ultimate allegiance, even more so than allegiance to family: suburbanites have a very hard time with this. But just as honoring Jesus before our families is actually the best for our families (they don’t become idols that way), so is honoring Jesus even before the government. When it comes to honoring the government officials (Rom 13, I Peter 2:13-14,17) , we really don’t get a vote. It’s a command. So in that sense, the government should do everything to stay out of the way of the church. Healthy Christians make good citizens.
I Peter even challenges Christians not to repay evil with evil, particularly at the government level. Ideally the government will then take notice and recognize the folly of their hatred for the church.
1 Peter 2:15 For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people
When the government is wrong, it seems Christians are to prove the government wrong by their good deeds and obedience as opposed to revolt. So again, no, they shouldn’t stop the church’s from flourishing.
 
In the end, should our neighborhoods, communities, and governments be “better off” with healthy reproducing churches? From my vantage point, yes, and I guess it probably depends upon what “better off” looks like. But ultimately I think the government reaction to the gospel will mirror the individual non-believer’s response to the gospel. They will have reason to love us if we love them in such a way as we’re called to. Yet they will have reason to hate us, because they first hated Jesus for his “arrogant” claim that only He can save.

The best answers often involve a little yes and no.

Unknown's avatar

Role of Examples and Sticking it to the Man

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I came across this video and article regarding the Chinese church and government crackdown the other day and just had a chance to watch it today (office internet precludes any video’s b/c it take about as long as a heat wave to move). We have no idea what it is like to worship under the religious limitations of a place like China. Now we don’t need to feel guilt for that; we don’t live in China. Yet, without feeling guilty, we can still can learn from our brothers and sisters in the faith, just as Paul claimed the Thessalonians provided a great example for others as they heard about such faith.
“I Thess 1:6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. 8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.”
Here are some of my takes after seeing this short video from CNN.
1.) Examples are great. I believe we need examples. I need to see what it looks like for folks to radically live out their faith because they are enamored with their Savior, loving Him more than their lives, so much so that they don’t shrink back even at death. I need to see what Jesus could do in me if I believed the gospel more than I do now. But it is a precious love of their Savior (or more theologically accurate an understanding of their Savior’s precious love for them), not them trying be tougher, more radical, or follow an example better than the apathetic world around them which creates extreme faith. Simply put, because of Jesus’ love for them, they will conquer even the government. Much like my favorite line in Gladiator, “Today I saw a slave become more powerful than the Emperor of Rome.” Or you could also go with Revelation 12:11, “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” Examples are great as long as they don’t collapse to the lowest common denominator: Be Bold like the Chinese.
2.) Inside of most of us, I think, there is a tendency to want to defy the government and, “stick it to The Man.” There is a residue of our sinful flesh which desires autonomous freedom. But there is also part of our the redeemed heart which wants to obey its new master, friend, savior Jesus, even more than the government. And that part is from the Spirit. 
Sometimes I think we like the verse in Acts “We must obey God rather than men,” because it excites us to be free from government authority. It excites me to have this freedom, on this rare occasion, to stick it to the man. Of course getting beat up and tortured seem a lot less exciting. Now the time may come-though I tend to doubt it-when the government will intervene and regulate worship on a widespread manner. But we’re not there yet. So we probably shouldn’t live as though we’re allowed to stick it to the man by griping and disrespecting leaders whom we should be praying for (I admit I do very little of the latter) with God’s blessing. And I would do well, and probably others, to recognize our longing for such a time may be more centered around “sticking it to the man” than really loving and honoring Jesus more than Caesar.
3.) Should the Chinese government be concerned about these unregulated churches? Is there really a threat to communism? Are these churches really subversive? In other words, from a pragmatic point of view, SHOULD the Chinese government do all it can to stop the spread of the gospel? It makes it easier for me to be gracious toward an opponent if I can understand his/her worldview and how the gospel or my actions would be perceived by him/her. If they have a logical point, like not letting us do a bible club at a government subsidized apartment complex, I get that. I’m less frustrated by that. Anyhow, I’ll try to deal with this one tomorrow….
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Why I say "God bless you"

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A Seinfeld episode once centered around, or at least focused on the expression, “God bless you.” George said, “God bless you” to a sneezing women without giving the proper time for her husband to say it. With the relationship severely strained, the discussion then turned to the expression itself and whether or not it was necessary at all. In fact Jerry argued we should replace it with, “You’re sooooo good looking!”
In all seriousness though, is this expression important for today? Should we replace it with something else like ‘you’re so good-looking?’
In regards to the “God bless you” of sneezing, there are several different legends as to how it originated. But the consensus seems to be that this expression served to protect the sneezer against a surprise soul attack from Satan and his goons. 
I don’t believe a sneeze is anything more than a sneeze, and I just say “God bless you,” because it shows a little bit of love to the sneezer. It shows that I acknowledge their sneeze, and I guess it could serve as a prayer to get better (though I’ve given this less thought).
But I have begun to give some more thought of my prevalent use of the phrase “God bless you” when concluding a phone conversation or finishing up with a cashier at Walmart. If someone asks me what I mean by that, I ought to know what I mean, or else I probably should stop saying it.
So while I can answer for no one other than myself, here is what I mean (at least what I think I mean) when I say the expression “God bless you.”
To non-Christians: I pray briefly in that moment that God would grant or bless them with a good day. I want it to “rain on his/her crops” (remember while rain is a curse today, it was the quintessential blessing in the O.T.) But ultimately, whether a good day or bad day (often God uses bad days), I’m hoping that God would reveal Himself as Savior and Lord for the first time. That they would see past the blessing to the Bless-or.
To Christians: I basically am praying for the same thing. A good and enjoyable day, and a deeper knowledge/fear/love of God than yesterday.
So why do it? I’m not advocating you do it, but want to explain why I do it. In the book of Ruth, particularly in chapter 2, we see several very short “God bless you” type prayers. 
4 And behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem. And he said to the reapers, “The LORD be with you!” And they answered, “The LORD bless you.” 5 Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “Whose young woman is this?”
12 The LORD repay you for what you have done, and a full reward be given you by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge!” 
 20 And Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “May he be blessed by the LORD, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a close relative of ours, one of our redeemers.”
Do these little prayers “make a difference?” In the book of Ruth, each time a blessing is experienced, it is experienced in direct connection with these short spoken prayers. The blessing is a result of the prayer or a derivative of the prayer “God bless you.” Now we should also realize that in the book of Ruth, often times the one praying “God bless you,” actually becomes the answer to his/her own prayer. 
In another words, when Boaz says “the Lord repay you,” he becomes the repayment: he marries and takes care of Ruth. So if we’re saying, “God bless you,” we need to be mindful and willing to enter into someone’s story of redemption. We may be the bringer of God’s blessing  to them.
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Some takes on C.J.

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A week or so ago I received Don’t Waste Your Sports by C.J. Meheney. This little booklet, expands on his sermon “Don’t Waste Your Sports,” he delivered several years ago, challenging folks to consider how to truly honor God with sports. I’ve already discussed and linked to this sermon here.
Then sometime last week, I noticed C.J. Meheney was taking a leave of absence from his position on the board of Sovereign Grace Ministries. He writes on his blog:
Over the last few years some former pastors and leaders in Sovereign Grace have made charges against me and informed me about offenses they have with me as well as other leaders in Sovereign Grace. These charges are serious and they have been very grieving to read. These charges are not related to any immorality or financial impropriety, but this doesn’t minimize their serious nature, which include various expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy.
Here are a few of my takes on C.J.’s leave of absence:
1.) Most of my appreciation of C.J.’s ministry began upon reading The Cross Centered life. This book reminds the Christian that we never outgrow and always need the cross for our justification as well as our sanctification. If you read his entire blog entry, you’ll gain a sense (at least from what he’s written) that he is owning his sin and seeking reconciliation. If this is true and genuine-and he’s given no reason for me to doubt that it is-this is the result of a cross centered life. If the cross has indeed taken away all condemnation of all our sins, we need not be ashamed of our struggles. We can even fearlessly let people in on them. 
John Piper took a leave of absence from Bethlehem Baptist Church. You can read about that here.  I personally connected with Meheney’s freedom in Christ to be a little more specific than Piper (though I don’t question him for lack of specifics, I’m just noting the differences and which one I more connected with-I respect both men immensely). Freedom to confess your sins to others is evidence of God’s grace at work.
2.) As I understand the polity and leadership of Sovereign Grace Ministries, it seems a bit weighted to the side of one individual: C.J. Meheney. I cannot escape my Presbyterian bias here. But I must say this. While presbytery often causes much frustration to me at times, it does seem to me the best system of accountability in leadership (not just most biblical) because it limits the power of ONE individual. If Tim Keller stepped out of ministry in the PCA I would be bummed. But since he is but an influential member in our denomination, not the leader on a board, the show would go on more smoothly.
3.) Regardless of what happens with CJ, and even if he didn’t repent but went apostate instead, his past work shouldn’t be thrown away but upheld and read. I think Paul would have agreed with this. He reminds the Galatians that even if an angel or he or his fellow ministers preached a different gospel, then let them be accursed. So in other words, if Paul or some other Christian evangelist changed the message, don’t throw out what he has already preached to them. If Paul or another pastor proved to be a charlatan, still hold on to the gospel. The gospel message is centered on Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, not the character or even the perseverance of the messenger. Messengers may come and go. They may persevere or walk away from the faith. But the message they preached, provided it is grounded in the gospel and applied to life, shouldn’t be ignored because of their personal sin or failure to apply what they wrote. 

All of above paragraph is simply didactic, and not prognostication. C.J. may have been running the race in “clean air,” ahead of everyone else. But now he’ll be back with the pack, and I think this time will be good for him. I’m looking forward to hear what God teaches him during this leave of absence.

Unknown's avatar

Don’t get back on the mower: Letting youth lead

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The other day I saw a 5th grader trying to help out with some yard work by hopping on the riding lawn mower (of which I have extreme lawn mower envy, still….). My wife and I thought, or maybe spoke out loud, “Wow, this is a big step for his great grandmother.” She runs a tight ship when it comes to her yard. It always looks great, and what would you expect for someone who has a lawn service, spends hours each week tending to it, and mows or has it mowed twice a week?
But after about 5 minutes, the young lad lost his spot on the riding mower. She was back up on the rider, re-mowing the same exact area he had been mowing. 
I felt a little sad for this 5th grader, because she completely de-legitimated him. Without saying a word she said, “Your help isn’t good enough.” Instead of letting this lad mow, and then afterwards thanking him, but also pointing out a spot or two which he missed, she just removed him. She took away from him the opportunity to serve. To serve imperfectly. She couldn’t let him fail and have a few blades of grass be longer than their neighboring blades for a few days. Excellence. It had to be done with excellence.
My sadness for this 5th grader soon evaporated like a small puddle in August. But what hit me is that this kind of behavior so often happens to youth in the church. For instance, I think we can often demand perfection (a perfection or excellence that we’re unable to attain anyway), and so we rarely give youth opportunities to lead and serve. To lead/serve and fail. To lead, fail, and learn, and then lead or serve better the next time. 
Sometimes the church as a whole is reticent to offer youth leadership opportunities and quick to take them away when things don’t run as smoothly as we’d like. 
Yet recently I’ve been encouraged with Redeemer as folks have begun to get off the riding mowers and letting others take the reins. I’ve heard folks say, “I’m happy to continue or to step aside and let someone new take over.” This is happening with adults as well as with youth.
The most recent opportunity I’m excited about is our Bible Club outreach to a local apartment complex. Unfortunately management changed LAST week, causing some consternation, confusion, and a little bit of panic, so the event is now called “Kids Club.” Yet its slated to go on as scheduled and the youth are going to be leading it, with only parents facilitating it. Now it could possibly run smoother (only possibly though) with adults running it, but it would de-legitimate them and stunt their growth in leadership if this opportunity were taken away. 
Youth often do want to serve, but I wonder how many leadership opportunities we adults afford them. While its easier to get on the riding mower and do it ourselves, who will mow when we get too old or die? Youth are now growing up and not coming back to the church in the same way they used to. It’s not a get married, have kids, and THEN come back to the church thing de facto. Many don’t come back now.

Giving them experience in leadership now prepares them for greater levels of leadership in the future. But such leadership opportunities might also stop them from leaving in the first place. In the end, we might even find out they can do a better job.