Things I Think…
1. I think I would have run the ball…
2. The best story of the game was the kid who made the game winning interception. The young man was an undrafted free agent playing for the league minimum.He showed what being prepared for the unexpected opportunity can bring.
3. Whenever I see a article that begins with “the church can’t survive (fill in the blank)” I hear Jesus laugh…
4. My only regret over the article I published yesterday is that I didn’t have a companion story from a pastor who has faithfully tilled hard ground for years and barely made it through. There are as many of those stories as of the profiteers.
5. Defining ministerial “success” by numbers makes you an accountant, not a pastor…
6. If I were king I would turn off all TV’s and the internet one night a week and give tax breaks for reading books…
7. The “supernatural power of God” is best displayed in those who faithfully endure affliction unchecked, not in entertaining “manifestations”…
8. I get real emotional when I think of a world without J.I. Packer…
9. The less grace I feel for my enemies, the farther I am from the heart of God. I needed to remind myself today…
10. The Gospel spoken, but undemonstrated makes the words hollow to the hearer…
Yay!
1. Me too. But I can forgive Pete’s over-thinking of that play. The thing I find really hard to get over is Doug Baldwin’s touchdown “celebration” that not only was sophomoric, but cost his team 15 yards on the following kickoff. If I was the Seahawk’s GM, I’d be looking to move him before the 2015 season begins.
2. Yes. Props to the kid. He played it perfectly. The Hawk’s dared him, and Butler made him pay.
3. Good reminder. Reminds me of that Mark Twain quote: “Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated.”
4. As a pastor who’s been wielding a hoe and plow for a while, all I can say is “thank you.”
5. We water, feed, and weed. God does the growing.
6. May you be king! We become shallower and shallower, much to our detriment.
8. One of my greatest mentors, a Bible college prof and pastor. died of brain cancer last year. He served with great passion and fortitude to the very end. There is indeed a vacuum left in my heart.
9. Dealing with this one all the time. All. The. Time.
The way I see it, any manifestation of the church that can be destroyed, was probably part of the world anyway. We should rejoice one the day that happens.
With regard to #5. Businesses by design are shareholder centered and profit driven or they will fail. Churches on the other hand must be Christ centered and relationship driven……or they will fail.
Good stuff, Piney.
dswoager…you might be right…
Francisco just nailed it…well said!
I wouldn’t have run the ball personally…I’d have handed it off to Marshawn Lynch 🙂
Imagine this (although it didn’t happen), Butler was looking the wrong direction, following the instructions a run via Lynch was coming, and on the edge of his vision he sees Wilson look, wind up and throw towards his intended receiver. Butler reacts a fraction of a second too late and Seattle scores! Another Seattle miracle second half win.
Seattle makes history with one of the guttiest call ever! Carrol and his coaches are heroes and supermen!
Of course Butler saw the play at exactly the right moment to save the day for New England and he becomes the hero!
Winners always get to write the history.
Why are people still talking about pre Spring Training activities? The only purpose of football and the super bowl is to help fill the void between the World Series and the pitchers and catchers reporting to spring training.
Obviously I have some work to do on this group to show God’s plan of salvation when He first said “Play Ball” 🙂
Baseball used to be my first favorite sport. Now it is number 3. Sorry MLD.
I was a businessman for over 20 years and a lasting, successful business must also be customer centered, employee centered and thus relationship driven also….the profits then can flow from there.
We talk of the church’s business side all the time…business has a relationship side…and it is crucial.
Piney, so what do you have – football, WWE and then baseball?
It may take some penance and time in purgatory, but there is forgiveness available for those who do not think that the day pitchers and catchers report is the holiest day of the year.
MLD, the day that pitchers and catchers report is the sports equivalent of Easter every year for me. Just occured to me that when they roll away the stone this year there will be a couple of guys named Francisco tossing the ball around in Bradenton.
dswoager – so you are a Pirate? AARRG
I am a long suffering, and recently less so Buccos fan. How about yourself?
Still waiting since 1988 for another World Series title. Dodgers
Growing up just south of Pittsburgh with 4 Super Bowls in the books just before I was born, and two since, along with 3 Stanley Cups, and 20 years of futility after Sid Bream’s fateful slide in 1992, I will admit that it was hard to maintain baseball as a first love, except it wasn’t.
I’m fairly certain that I just got caught up in a “guy gets romantic about baseball” cliche.
Basketball #1, followed by football. I like a game that flows and is continuous.Basketball is a game that demands athleticism. In baseball, you can be a guy like John Kruk who was in terrible shape and still be successful. I actually like how football has less meetings (huddles) and the game is played at a higher pitch.
MLD, I had no idea we had so much in common: As soon as the pass was intercepted and the Seahawks’ doom was sealed, I turned to my wife and said, “When does Spring Training begin?” Also, I bleed Dodger Blue and have since 1958. I own a pair of bleacher seats (blue) from the original Dodger stadium.
High School Football
College Basketball
NFL
In that order. I share MLD’s love for pro-wrestling as well.
Thank you for #4. That has been my experience. I don’t read here because I’ve been affected by a bad church experience. I’m here to hear about the different denominations and how they parse the Word and for the fellowship.
A little something for dswoager – 😉
J.U.,
Thank you for being here for the good stuff…may your tribe increase!
DavidM,
Since 1958 myself also
1959 – 60 – 61 Walter Alston lived directly across the hallway from my Dad in the apartment Alston and his wife lived in during the baseball season. I knew so many players and coaches.
I went to school in Lakewood 1958 -59 with Carl Erskine’s kids and Eddie Roebuck’s kids
Not only do I remember those names, but I had all their baseball cards. Roebuck, Erskine, Podres, Clem Labine, McDevitt. I went to a game at the LA coliseum on May 22, 1959 and saw Don Drysdale pitch all 13 innings of a 2-1 Dodger victory.
David M @25; I still have a baseball signed with a happy birthday to me coment by Duke Snider! He was my favorite and I will never forget being at the Coliseum on Duke Snider night! Doubleheader–he played only the 2nd game and hit 2 home runs! I also saw 2 of Sandy Koufax’ no-hitters in person. I can name every Dodger starter through the time they were sold by the O’Malleys! Don’t even get me started on Dodger-dogs… 🙂
DavidM – boy Danny McDevitt – coulda been Koufax before Koufax but ended up with a bad wing early.
MLD,
I used to work in a grocery warehouse in LA with former Dodgers pitcher Stan Williams.
Even though he was a MLB pitching coach, he needed the income in the off-season. Times have changed.
Stan Williams was always a favorite of mine … even when he blew the 1962 playoff game with the Giants. The Dodgers promptly dispatched him that winter to the Yankees. He spent over 50 yrs in baseball.
He was the pitching coach for the 1990 Nasty Boys on the Reds.
An undemonstrated Gospel has many applications….
Let’s employ them all
I worked with Stan over the summer of 1979.
The place I worked was no picnic. Very hard work in the City of Commerce.
I spent one year there and that was enough.
I also worked with the brother of LA Rams wide receiver Billy Waddy.
One Sunday night, after Waddy had scored a key touchdown, I ran into Billy at a Long Beach restaurant. I told him I worked with his brother and that his bro was a good dude. He seemed close to tears (in a good way) that I brought up his brother rather than talk about the game.
Ah, life in So Cal. Don’t run into to many star athletes and celebrities up here in Idaho. Although, I heard Rocky Bridges of the Brooklyn Dodgers just passed away here in Coeur d’Alene.
Haven’t thought of Rocky Bridges in years. I always remember his big cheek full of chaw.
fyi@26 Duke Snider was my sports hero for years. I have a ball signed by the ’62 Dodgers, including Walt and Mr. O’Malley. In the early to mid ’80’s I took my wife and young daughters to the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown LA to ride the glass elevator. As we were walking through the lobby, I heard Tommy Lasorda’s unmistakable voice. I turned to see lots of Dodgers and execs. Apparently there was some sort of Dodger event there that day. To my amazement, there was also Roy Campanella being wheeled to his vehicle. On impulse, I took a chance and went up to him and greeted him. I don’t remember what I said but I do remember that he was very gracious.
MLD and fyi, one more Dodger story (Michael, don’t mean to hijack this thread, but we’re talking Dodgers, for goodness sakes!). When I was around 11 or 12, we lived in East LA and my dad drove me to a small park near Brooklyn Avenue, not far from our home. The Dodgers were conducting a clinic for kids, free of charge. There weren’t very many kids there. I remember Maury Wills teaching us how to steal bases and Norm Sherry teaching us how to pitch, and Ron Fairly teaching how to call for a fly ball and how to throw it to he infield (“Throw it at his face”). It was a magical day. No press, no agents, no limos. In fact, driving home, Ron Fairly pulled up next to us at a signal in his non-flashy car and gave us a wave.
DavidM – wow, a Ron Fairly sighting. I have one. In the very late 60s probably ’69 when we first got married, my wife’s family had good friends who lived in Northridge and their house backed up to Fairly’s.. i was maybe 20 and in awe I was peeking around and he spotted me from his pool. He invited us over to swim. i had no swim suit with me, but i did jump the fence and spend about 20 min with him.
Ball players were approachable back them. Now you get shot at the gate. 🙂
MLD, nice story!!
Number 9 has my name all over it. Absolutely Amen Actually most of them are not my “enemies”.
I did make it out to the Greek Orthodox church in my area, my Jack Chickian alarm instilled in me when I first became a Christian went off but basically I ignored it. The church is beautiful and the vestments colorful. The people stand, that is amazing that would get a pastor the boot with a deep and passionate vengence if we had to stand through all the service. I found the same thing when I went to a mosque, what no chairs? Yes I went to a mosque I wanted to understand, it was an interesting experience. I did come away with one thing in that event I would make a terrible Muslim, sort of like I make a terrible Christian.
I wept. It is definitely different than Vatican two masses, not so much with the traditional mass. I felt connected to heaven right on earth, I have experienced that in the Anglican, traditional Catholic, and Lutheran services. Not so much in other traditions it felt like a negotiation in a business deal and both sides had a bank of lawyers arguing over every word. But that is just me.
What does #7 even mean?
In scripture the manifestation of the Spirit IS the power of God.
Is this a contrast between a personal experience of the Spirit and suffering.
If it is recheck the text they are not exclusive.
Is this just another swipe at experiential Christianity? Why?
Babs,
What is experiential Christianity? I never heard that term before. (at first I read it as experimental Christianity 🙂 )
I believe Martin Luther is the foremost example of one who experienced the grace of God and had actual encounters with God.
Experiential Christianity is my contrast to propositional Christianity. Remember MLD I am a continuationist as per the charisms of the Spirit. They are to be part of our normal experience of God.
MLD,
I was just trying to ascertain the meaning of #7
Lutherans experience our Christianity too. We kneel for forgiveness, we cross ourselves, we keep our arms at our sides so as not to interfere with our hymn singing and we cannibalize the body and blood of our Lord.
We must be brothers from different mothers my friend. 😉
#3 is the best one I have read in a long time. So tired of going to so-called Christian news sites and seeing so-an-so hot-shot Christian spokesman (never a woman mind you) saying “the church won’t survive this or that”…ugh!
Gates of hell won’t prevail people!