Like Mike

Every once in a while I come across an article that is just too good not to share. And rather than writing about a subject while someone else has said it better than I ever could, it just makes sense to share it. So, I’m pasting a link below, but here is a little something to ‘wet your appetite’.

Michael Jordan could easily be considered, by the world’s standards, one of the most successful men to have ever lived. Jordon just recently turned 50 and sports writer Wright Thompson got to sit down with him and then wrote an article providing “a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into the mind of the man who revolutionized the world of sports”.

Matt Smethurst has blogged a piece in response to Thompson’s article, and, as I said at the top, it is too good not to pass on, especially in these days when worldly success in terms of fame and fortune, especially in the sporting world, is overtaking our society.   

You’ll definitely want to click on the link below and read his post. It isn’t long.

“'How can I find peace away from the game of basketball?’, the aging legend asks. Michael, you never had peace. Triumph and fame, yes, but not peace… The peace you seek isn't available on a basketball court or a golf course but on a …” 

 http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/02/21/when-greatness-meets-emptiness-michael-jordan-at-50/ http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2013/02/21/when-greatness-meets-emptiness-michael-jordan-at-50/

Prayer Summit

Did you hear about the church that had the special prayer night. A man named Bill came to the front and asked for special prayer. The pastor, who was there at the front of the auditorium, asked, "Bill, what would you like us to pray about for you?"

Bill replied, "Well, I need you to pray for help with my hearing."

The pastor wasted no time. He put his hands over Bill’s ears and began to fervently pray for Bill’s hearing and he prayed and prayed and prayed, and the other leaders joined in and then others also prayed and the whole congregation got involved with great enthusiasm.

After a few minutes, the preacher removed his hands, stood back and asked, "Bill, how is your hearing now?"

Bill answered, "I don't know. It ain't 'til Thursday."

Now, I know that March 19^th is 4 weeks away, but I hope I can convince you to mark it on your calendar because all of this work we’ve been doing on the Church Reboot will not prove to be effective if we don’t solicit God’s help with it all in a really big way. We’re talking about 7 weeks of significant, guided discussion happening in 17 groups. That’s a lot of conversations and we need clarity on the pressing issues if we are going to move forward together.  

So, I really hope you will make it a priority to be a part of the Reboot Prayer Summit Tuesday, March 19^th at 7:00 PM. It’s a really big deal.

The Church Reboot – reestablishing the priorities of our lives together around the passion of Jesus

A Man Named Valentine

Have you ever considered the rather striking parallels between aspects of Christmas and Valentines Day as commonly celebrated?

A man named Nicholas, a devoted Christ follower, lives a life of love and caring for others and becomes especially known for his generosity, which he practiced through secret gift giving so that the recipients would not know where those gifts were coming from. The world gets a hold of it and now we have a mythic, know it all, god substitute that inspires wild materialism.

A man named Valentine, again a devoted Christ follower, who also lives a life of love and caring for others, even laying down his life as a martyr rather than deny His Lord, and on his dying day writes a farewell letter to the daughter of his jailor, to encourage her in Christ no doubt. The world gets a hold of it and now we have a billion dollar greeting card extravaganza.  

The Valentine legend, which grew up around certain historical facts, comes to us from the 3^rd century AD, but it wasn’t until the days of Geoffrey Chaucer in the Middle Ages that it became associated with romantic love.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for Valentine’s day as a celebration of love. And I’m all in for the whole romance thing too. My wife is the love of my life. But just as we fight against the commercialization of Christmas, we should also resist the trivialization of Valentines. It’s not about romance really. It’s about love. And the world really needs to know what real love is – not the mushy, feel good, here today and gone tomorrow, ‘I love myself and I want you’, kind of love that is so very prevalent everywhere you look today. But love that involves genuinely caring about others and being willing to sacrifice if need be for their welfare. That’s the kind of love that inspired men like Nicholas and Valentine. That’s the kind of love demonstrated by Jesus.      

Just Plane Foolish

What a fiasco eh! I’m 53 years old, so when I hear about someone my own age acting like a toddler it does get my attention. Really, it gets everyone’s attention! Kind of ironic that the only one of the family of four that apparently didn’t get involved in the childish behaviour was the youngest who is still a teenager!  

Of course, I’m talking about the McNeil family from Mabou. David McNeil, along with son David Jr. (a chip off the old block for sure) and wife Donna, have become the butt (pardon the pun) of the joke worldwide this week. Boarding a flight for the Dominican then smoking in the bathroom, arguing with the flight crew and refusing to tell authorities what they had done with the cigarette butts, causing the whole plane load of vacationers to be detoured and delayed resulting in the loose of an entire day of precious vacation time for everyone, not to mention the financial cost incurred by the airline and others… It has all been just too much hasn’t it?  

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you and sets a really bad example for young people. And everyone knows that smoking in a confined public space like a plane is absolutely unacceptable. But this story goes way beyond that doesn’t it! It is much more about the contempt shown for authority and the complete disregard for anyone but themselves. It’s about the unbelievable immaturity that was so vividly on display. Wow!

But then again, the news wasn’t that much different from what we hear coming out of Hollywood pretty much every day. So, I guess what makes this story special is that these are supposedly just plain folks; just plane foolish.  

“When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said, ‘Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or swerve from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Esteem her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you. She will set a garland of grace on your head and present you with a crown of splendor.”  Proverbs 4:3-9