Michael Vick has now been sentenced to 23 months in prison. I was honestly surprised at this. I really was. I am no Michael Vick apologist. Please understand that. I never liked him as a QB, and as a humanitarian he’s probably not getting any votes for Person of the Year.

But I will say this: I think that his 23 months are certainly plenty for his crimes. As a person, I would have been happy with a year and half; as a Buc’s fan I’m certainly fine with him being away from the NFL for longer. Perhaps if he were fighting dogs that I actually like, such as Labs, I might push for five years. But pit bulls don’t exactly make my dog Top Ten list.

Again, I think dog fighting is unthinkably disgusting (whatever dogs are used-yes even little yippee dogs like Palmeraneans or Shitzu’s-though that would be mildly entertaining if they didn’t hurt each other), should be outlawed, and those involved should be severely punished.

But in our culture, animals can often be treated as though they are every bit as dignified as people. Whether we like it or not, mankind has a special place in creation; God has placed special honor upon him as His most highly regarded creation (Psalm 8). However as stewards of God’s creation, we are to till the land, not kill the land (or its creatures). In fact there is even a command in Deuteronomy 22:6 which prohibits taking and eating the mother bird AND its young. So I think we are to act justly even with animals.

With all that said, since Vick is getting 23 months for dog fighting (and several charges related to it), we ought to see rapists or online predators get much more. Unfortunately that’s not often the case, and I wonder if that is simply reflective of a culture that fails to see the dignity of God’s highest creation.

Sometimes we can see the writing on the wall, and it is very clear. And yet out of stubbornness, we decide to move forward regardless. But sometimes we might see the writing on the wall, then realize that it in fact doesn’t mean what we thought it meant.

I had one of those moments today. The men of the church get together to play paintball about once a month. Well this time, everyone seemed to have prior commitments. Some regulars had to work, do housework, take care of wives who had back surgery, etc….

When I went to fill up my paintball CO2 tank at WalMart last night, I found out they didn’t have the correct size tank. Just before that someone else canceled on me. The owner of the property wasn’t going to make it. I had to preach the next day and could have used a little more sleep.

It seemed the writing on the Wall was saying “Cancel it.” Was I being stupid? Willful? I decided it was too late to cancel and didn’t feel like calling everyone up anyway.

So I got arrived on site. That made 5 of us. Then one more came fifteen minutes later. Fifteen minutes more and 2 showed up. Then the sounds of the Hallelujah chorus rung out as one youth brought 3 of his friends. His dad showed up and it ended up 6 on 6, with probably more than half not even from our church.

Sometimes the writing is clear. Sometimes it might be there, but it may not say what we think it says. Fortunately. God chose today to bring some different people to play. I’m glad we didn’t cancel.

Another thing I enjoy about Xmas time is the lights. Now I don’t like to ride around intentionally and admire the lights. But as I drive, I like to see what people have done with their houses. Its kind of like art, that I can ‘get.’ But mostly, I just think its cool and it makes me feel like Christmas.

Last year Amy prodded me to put up lights. While I was reluctant at first, I’m very glad I did it. Most of our neighbors have lights up, so it is pretty cool pulling into our driveway after having seen all of the lights.

So when I get home from working out, or whenever I remember, I plug in our lights. But its weird. Lights are cool when you’re outside of your own house. But when you’re inside your own house, and don’t plan on going out again, what’s the motivation? Turning on your lights is really an act of love. I mean you’re no longer enjoying the fruit of your labor. Someone else is.

And that’s a lot like love. Love is finding delight in the delight of others. I guess the joy in putting up lights, particularly once you are inside your own house, resides in sharing in the joy of others. You make others happy, and you find delight in that.

Now I know for some people its keeping up with Jones’, or a competition, as with Chevy Chase in Xmas Vacation or with Tim Taylor in Home Improvement. But for many, I think plugging in your lights, particularly when you’ve come inside for the night, is a mundane, but good example of love.

This has been a crazy week. I’ve been to two different nursing homes this week, and have heard of others going to them as well. I have to admit that nursing homes are not my favorite places in the world. They don’t smell good (but you can usually counter that by breathing through your mouth; or smoke a cheap cigar the day before-that will leave the smoke smell in your nostrils several days afterwards. I’ve never tried that, but I bet it would work). Other than that, I guess they’re not all that bad.

But beyond my preferences, God calls us to places such as these. That’s who God cares about (Psalm 68/James 1:27 among a bunch of other references), and that’s basically who Jesus visited. Since he was fully God, that’s no surprise.

One of the most amazing things about the trip to the nursing home on Sunday was a response a youth gave to his mother. “Did you have a good time?” He responded, “No Mom, I had a GREAT time.”

Why was this the case? I know he didn’t smoke any cigars before our trip; I always check. Did he eat some Frosted Flakes before he came? I cannot confirm that he didn’t, but it is highly unlikely.

The most logical explanation is that his parents take him with them whenever they are doing ministry. And why do they do this? Well there are probably a plethora of reasons, but I will give you one that I know to be true. Her mom always taught her, and I’m sure brought her, to be with and care for the sick and elderly. And I think that’s one reason why they have such a heart for people in nursing homes and hospitals. It has been instilled in them from a very young age.

I watch a fishing show that airs early Saturday mornings. Its really pretty bad; they don’t do a whole lot better than I feel I would do. But pickings are slim these days. Regardless, they always close with this line, “Do yourself a favor and take a kid fishing.” I think that is sound advice. But taking one with you to do ministry will have a much longer lasting and more beneficial effect.

I have to admit that I love this time of year. I love pretty much everything about Xmas, with the exception of fruitcake, eggnog, and trying to figure out that last Xmas gift.

Perhaps my favorite part is listening or singing Xmas songs. I like pretty much all the carols/hymns-with the exception of “Lo’ How a Rose Er’ Blooming-and several other non traditional songs by The Chieftans and Amy Grant.

But to say I like Xmas songs is almost like saying I like dogs. I like many dogs. But some dogs I don’t care for (I’ll not put the names down in case you have one on the most hated list). Same with Xmas songs.

But one Xmas song I hate is “Jingle Bell Rock.” That would be my least favorite. Dumb tune, dumb lyrics, dumb idea. But I would like to hear from you. What are your least favorite Xmas songs or song? Please feel free to post anonymously; most do anyway. I’d like to hear some other opinions, so I’ll lend you my proverbial ear.

Each year, on the first Sunday of December, our youth group goes caroling. We did this at my last youth group in South Carolina, even though the kids hated it.

Down here its a little different. We actually had two new faces to join us in jubilant song. We don’t do this to make ourselves feel good (even though there is great joy as we sing of Christ in a place which needs to hear him sung), but because God does care about the fatherless/widows/the oppressed (Psalm 68). So we read that verse right before we began practicing the songs.

This year we tried to have a little more interaction than in previous years. We started in the dining hall with several numbers and then did a little “M & M” (Meeting and Mingling). It was a beautiful site to see our youth go out in teams of two’s and three’s (don’t worry they weren’t wearing white shirts, black ties, black paints, backpacks, and elder name tags) and talk with these folks. To a man/woman, the residents were INCREDIBLY thankful we were there.

Afterwards we traveled upstairs and downstairs caroling through the hallway. We would stop after several songs and do some more “M & M.” Once again it was a beautiful site to see youth care for those who have no one.

Amy and I, and a few of the little one’s (that’s why I call the Jr. High’s) went in to a room with lovely lady who had lost her husband and was really struggling. She said that hearing us sing and having us come in and pray with her (our 7th grader offered the prayer-I was stoked about that!) blessed her greatly. Afterwards, since the rest of the group had already moved on, we offered her a special guest performance. It sounded terrible in real time, but in the ears of this lady, it was beautiful.

She claimed that it made her day to know that she was not forgotten. That someone did care. And someone does. Christ our God does care for widows/orphans/oppressed. And that is why caroling at nursing homes will always be a part of our Xmas festivities. When we have kids of our own, we’ll do it again. But until then, I’ll be taking others kids.

I would highly encourage you to grab a small group and go caroling at a nursing home near you. If you can’t sing (meaning you can’t get enough folks-they think anything sounds good!), just go and talk. The activities director will be glad to ‘squeeze you in.’ And like Cheers, “They’re always glad you came.”

One of my job descriptions at the church is to foster outreach among our members. I’m only one person so I can only reach (at the most) as many as one person can reach. Far more productive would be members desiring to reach friends, neighbors, and co-workers. So I’ve encouraged many our members at Hope to begin to build deeper relationships with such people; in other words, I’ve asked people to simply make some more friends with folks who don’t have a church home.

As relationships are formed, conversations regarding things more important than football or fishing will eventually come up unprovoked. They will come up naturally. And that is the ‘pitch’ I’ve been ‘selling.’

I’ve become good friends with a guy I met working out one day. We now workout together several times a week. But up until last week, we had never really had any ‘spiritual’ conversation. It just hadn’t happened, and I was beginning to wonder why nothing had happened; I was questioning my own sales pitch.

However last week that all changed, and he brought it up. We got to talk about some meaningful stuff. Church, protestant/Catholic questions, books read, spiritual background, etc… I prayed regularly for opportunities and after 6 months or so, just a month before he’ll be leaving the state to take another job, the ice finally cracked. I was stoked.

At the very least I made a friend: a friend who will probably be coming to church to hear me preach. Hopefully we’ll get some more chances to talk. But regardless, making friends with unbelievers will put us in opportunities where we’ll eventually be used to express the truth. It may take a while, but it will happen if we pray and put ourselves in such situations.

Most of you, regardless of whether or not you’re a sports fan, have heard of the death of Sean Taylor. He played Safety for the Washington Redskins.

Since football players are not afforded the normal opportunity to go to church, many attend chapel. Apparently this lad had not missed a chapel all season. While chapel is no substitute for worship with the body of Christ, this is all that many players get during the season. Apparently his coach Joe Gibbs feels he was a believer; recently people had also seen some sort of change in his life. While his death is certainly a tragedy, there is at least some small evidence that he might have found something more important than football.

Many football players interviewed expressed the fact that this death continued to reinforce this truth: what they do is not a matter of life or death. This is basically the standard athlete’s response to any tragedy. Football, coming straight from the horse’s mouth (or at least close enough-I guess the NFL would actually be the horse’s mouth) is not a matter of life or death.

Neither are sports in general, nor many things that keep us up at night (provided that you don’t think about death at night-in that case, check out Romans 8:38-39). It’s a shame athletes can belittle the importance of their teams performance during a season, but fans (including myself) have a much harder time taking hold of this thought. I mean its really kind of silly.

Let me give you another example. Yankees and Red Sox hate each other, right? Well their fans do. But Johnny Damon went straight from the Red Sox to the Yankees. We fans make a bigger deal out of sports than the athletes themselves. I think that’s kind of interesting, if not sad.

I’m writing now fairly emotionally. I know its kind of dangerous to write out of emotion, but sometimes I need an outlet in which to vent. So the readers of this blog entry will be my ‘ventees.’

Someone came to the church the other day looking for work, love, family, hope, etc…I tend to be in between cynical and hopeful about people wandering in off the streets. Unfortunately, I was much too close to hopeful.

I wanted to believe this guy was worth spending my time with: driving him to find work, giving him clothes, having others drive him to find work, even having the church help him with rent. But the problem was that the guy destroyed my trust totally by his actions (which I really don’t want to get into). Basically, he followed the Steve Miller Band song, “Go, take the money and run.”

It angers me that someone who knew the bible as much as I did, who seemed so trustworthy, was a charlatan. A quack. A liar. A liar who deceived me totally, through and through. And it hurts. Right now my thoughts towards this gentlemen are not love. In fact they are very much the opposite, I confess. And if I saw him right now, I might have to keep my hands in my pockets for fear of putting them to use (although that’s really not an issue-I hit one dude when I was in elementary school and it hurt my hand so bad I never did it again!)

Perhaps its my pride which hurts the most. I took the bait, hook, line and sinker (which is why I only use artificial lures when I fish). But its also the fact that someone may actually need help, and I won’t believe them. Ever.

We do have a service in town which actually investigates the needs of people, reports quacks trying to use the system, and refers people to churches. Because of several issues, I didn’t refer him to them. From now on, I shall.

I guess I should have been more cynical. I should have had greater wisdom. I will learn from this mistake. I honestly don’t have a merciful heart towards people such as this gentlemen. I was starting to get one. Who knows where it will go?

However, if I allow this experience of being burned to cause me to neglect the poor in toto, I believe I would just be making an excuse for a sin of omission. After all, if I were burned by a church, I couldn’t just not go to ANY church (although that often happens). Same thing. If a white/black/Jew hurts me, should I expect that all of ‘them’ are out to get me? We call that racism. So I’m stuck! I guess I’m guilty of ‘poorism.’

However, I will from now on (at least that’s my stance now) not give any money, time, or even T-shirts to those not fully investigated by Manatee Religious Services. Many are quacks, but some aren’t. I just am not going to try to figure out who’s who. That way, maybe I won’t become a ‘poorist.’

Further reflection on a Christian-Muslim union. One of the more frustrating things I experienced this past weekend, was the blatant attempt to reconcile two faiths: Christianity and Islam.

This seems to me overly pragmatic, emotionally influenced, and contrary to reason. Let me explain. Normally I like to point to the idea and need for the atonement that is unique to Christianity (just to be clear, the atonement is presented in OT, and uniquely fulfilled in the God/Man Christ; but some Jews still look for that atoning Messiah, some see the atonement paid through the Holocaust, while others don’t think much about it).

However, if we look simply at Islam itself, we do find some irreconcilable differences. “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is his prophet,” is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. This statement was not made in a vacuum. Statements never are. It refutes the rampant polytheism of the day. That’s good. But it also refutes the Trinity, and denies that Jesus was fully divine (some believe Mohammed misunderstood the Trinity as Father, Jesus, Mary). That’s bad.

If one lad prays to Jesus, believing that He is fully God listening to His prayers, and another lad prays to God, but is very clear that this Jesus guy was a nice dude-but never crucified and resurrected-are the two people praying to the same entity but using different names?

If someone refuses to pray to Jesus, there is a reason. It is not a nominal thing. Its not just a different name, but it is a different Person. Jesus is either fully God/Man or he is fully a quack. We have to take a pick. You hear the phrase often, “Let’s agree to disagree.” I think this is one more instance in which we can say, “Let’s just agree to disagree.”

We can be friends. In situations beyond our control, we can be family. But we can agree to disagree and pray. And so that’s what I shall do.