Missions

I've been on more mission trips than I can easily keep track of, and all were great. Now, however, I am questioning what God may be calling to do to. As a campus minister, I have a pretty high 'Freak Tolerance,' meaning that it takes a lot to freak me out when it comes to mission work. But what I am praying about now is definitely tripping my warning systems. Will I 'freak out' for Jesus? Am I being called to something more than I would otherwise dare myself to do? Time will tell. In the meantime, I can't say more.

The Daily Grind

This just might have been the single most stressful week of my professional life. The Baptist Student Union sent three teams of students (24 people) to various parts of the country on Spring Break mission trips. The teams went to Roxborough, Colorado, Arlinton, Texas, and New Orleans, Louisiana. They will be church planting, working with underprivileged children and assisting FEMA with disaster relief efforts. Getting those trips together was brutal. By my count it was a 63 hour week, not counting the on-call hours I now have as I wait for the teams to return. That might be okay if you're a lawyer trying to make partner, but not for me. I need a vacation!

Seriously though, one of the most difficult tasks I have in life right now is trying to stike that delicate balance between family and work. It is the Gordian Knot of the young family professional, the struggle all 30-somethings with kids have to face daily. On the one hand, I'd like to just stay home every day and raise my kids right. Being a good father is VITAL to me. As one man put it, "The most important thing most Christians will ever do is raise their children properly." I take those words as truth. They may not be written in the Bible, but they are certainly implied in scripture...

On the other hand, as a minister, is there anything more important than changing lives for Jesus Christ? Can I do anything more rewarding, more satisfying, more significant- in this life, or the next- than do everything in my power to change heaven and earth one soul at a time? I love me job, and I love my family, and at this stage of life, I cannot hardly do justice to both. They are both valuable, both worthy of my time, both demanding and fulfilling, yet there is only one of me.

What's a man to do?

Age, I guess.

Devo VI

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the place of slavery." Exodus 20:2

DEVOTION:
If God spoke to you today would he need to remind you of all the things He's done for you? Statistics show that most Americans can't name more than 2 of the 10 commandments! How many can you name? When was the last time you read them? In this preface to the 10 commandments, God found it necessary to not only state his name, but to give the Israelites a quick 'perspective check,' Before giving them further instruction, He clarified his recent accomplishments for the people of Israel. I find that fascinating. After only a few years God had to remind Israel of the slavery they endured and the source of their freedom. I'd say that's pretty pathetic, but then again, I myself occasionally need reminded of where I'd be without Christ in my life. Although He freed me from slavery to sin and gave me hope for a new and abundant life, I sometimes need a 'perspective check' myself.

Baseball & Barry Bonds 2

And another thing, while you're out there on the steroid witch hunt, you'd better be ready to go all the way. You'd better be ready to investigate every one of the runs Barry scored off the bat of some other potentially juiced athlete, and to investigate those players whose stats were artificially inflated because a juiced Bonds hit them in. After all, their runs shouldn't count as much either. And, oh yeah, you'd better be ready to come up with a really good explanation of how Barry's alleged steroid use contributed to his patience as a hitter, how his ALL-TIME CAREER LEADER IN WALKS status was also chemically enhanced. Yes, I want an explanation as to how steroids helped him NOT swing, and how steroids helped him to take all those bad pitches.

I mean, seriously, you can't leave him out of the HOF based on hearsay, that would be stupid, and HOF voters aren't supposed to be stupid (although, there are times...) And if you're going to challenge the legitimacy of his stats, you'd dang well be ready to deal with the implications of that challenge. So, again, shut up and vote him in. Steroids or not, he's the greatest offensive force in the history of the game. Leaving him out of the Hall without physical evidence would be a travesty, a miscarriage of justice, and just plain un-American.

Baseball & Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds is a first ballot Hall of Famer, period. I want to state that opinion up front in the off chance that Barry happens to read this blog in between jacking balls 475 feet. I got your back, dude. Now how about an autographed bat? Please?

Seriously though, in the midst of all the accusations flying around about The Man, I'd like to hear just one that is worthy of jerking his HOF ticket. I KNOW you're not dumb enough to try the steroid angle. I mean, the guy has never (that's right NEVER) popped a positive in his career. And even if he does pop positive, that doesn't negate any of his seven (that's right SEVEN) MVP years, just his current performance.

Why not? Good question. First, because the ball itself is juiced. Tests have proven that the average baseball used by MLB started getting harder in the late 80's. Thus, more homeruns. And no one gets banned from baseball. Second, the parks are juiced. The current rage for band box stadiums began in the late nineties, and guess what? Small park = More homeruns. And no one gets banned from baseball. Third, the pitches are juiced. If, as the scions of this Salemesque venture are so quick to point out, steroids are uniquitous in baseball, then a significant number of the pitches that hitters see are chemically enhanced. Faster pitches travel farther when hit. Thus, more home-runs. And yet I don't see any rush to analyze the career stats of hitters who jacked one off of juiced pitchers? Hmm... Fifth, expansion of the game. The addition of the Rockies (whose altitude presents another potential asterisk for stat freaks), the Marlins, the Devil Rays, and the Diamondbacks diluted the quality of pitching more than hitting, thus producing what? Duh, more homeruns. Although it was expected that pitching would eventually catch up with hitting, it never really happened. The homerun totals just kept rising and rising and rising.

And to you naysayers who still don't believe in Bonds, let me ask you, if a juiced batter hits one out off a juiced pitcher, are they still playing baseball? Is it still a home run? Should that home run count less? The fact is that players take steroids in order to gain an advantage on their opponents, but their opponents have equal access to steroids. Illegal, yes, but FAIR. And fairness is what the competition committee is really concerned about.

Regardless of the safety factors involved in taking steroids (and we all know that its a Stupid thing to do), what MLB is concerned about, ultimately, is the integrity of the game. Do steroids threaten that integrity? Not really. If the United States government would legalize them, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Steroid use is a legal issue, not a baseball issue. Barry is right. So, shut up and vote him in... He's earned it.

Blood Drive

So yesterday we held a blood drive here at the Baptist Student Center. Working with the American Red Cross, over the course of 7 hours we managed to collect 32 pints of Dracula's favorite drink. We also had at least 7 people attempt to give, but get denied for one reason or another, mostly anemia. Ladies, please, eat your vitamins!

Anyway, I was the first donor of the day, and I have to tell you that no matter how many times I donate I will always detest doing it. From the annoyingly painful finger prick to the iodine bath of your elbow to the sight of your life flowing through a tube across your arm into a little bag, I HATE GIVING BLOOD. The problem is that I'm not sure how to out from under the moral obligation to donate. I mean, each donation has the potential to save three lives. Three. Lives. That's three people that might die without the help of people willing to open a vein for them. If you knew you could save someone's life, but didn't do it, not because you have a disease, or low iron or a fear of needles, but just because you don'e like giving blood, would that make you a pathetic weasel, or worse, a sinner? Having the ability and opportunity to give a renewable resource, something that cost you no more than a prick of the needle and fifteen minutes of your life, to someone who would otherwise die, and failing to give that gift... It smacks of cowardice, and fear and pathetic weaseliness to me. It smells like ducking a moral obligation, which the Bible calls 'SIN'.

I don't know. Clearly, there are holes in the argument, but the fact remains that my gift might save a life or three. And if Jesus was willing to bleed for me on the cross, in a much more painful and humiliaing context, shouldn't I be willing to suffer a pinch for others? He bled for me, how could I dare not bleed for others. My life is not my own.

"You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body." (1 Corinthians 6:19b) Is there anything more glorifying than giving of my life for the sake of others? Hmm... guess I'm stuck with it.

Devo V

"Then the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" 1 Kings 19:9b

DEVOTION: Read 1 Kings 18:16-19:18

After facing down 450 enemy prophets, Elijah was totally cowed by one evil woman (Jezebel). Okay, so Jezebel was one of the worst villains in all of scripture, she was still no match for God. But Elijah forgot God. After his amazing display of faith on Mount Carmel, he ran, he hid, and God called him on it. What are you doing here? Can you imagine how awful it was for the great man of God to hear that question on the heels of such a great victory. Has God asked you the same question recently? I'm sure a lot of us have heard it. What am I doing in this bar, this party, this bedroom, this chat-room? Why am I doing what I know I shouldn't do? Wow. It can be crippling if you aren't careful. But take heart, Elijah was forgiven, and so are we. Take heart, the Apostle Paul struggled with the same issue (Romans 7:14-21). Take heart, you didn't earn salvation in the first place. God gave it to you knowing full well the struggles you would have on the journey of life. Take heart, He loved you then, He loves you now.

My friend Schnitz

My friend, Ryan Schnitzer, has his own blog now. And it's actually much cooler than my own, so check it out.