The role of a play-by-play announcer in a sports broadcast is a delicate one.
The good ones strike this balance of emotional detachment and personal involvement. They're not supposed to betray who they want to win nor even offer many opinions on what is occuring on the field or court -- that's the role of the "color" commentator.
Yet to keep viewers' attention, they have to communicate the drama they are watching as well as give background information that lets viewers feel as if they somehow know the players who are competing.
And above all, they have to have a voice. A voice that hooks and holds the viewer with its resonance and variety.
With all that, here are my five favorite from a variety of sports ... though, as you might expect, football dominates.
5. Don Criqui, football. Criqui's career has floundered in recent years, but he called two terrific games in the early 80s: Chargers-Dolphins in the '81 playoffs and, most memorably, the 1984 Orange Bowl with Miami & Nebraska. I always felt the timbre of his voice enhanced the natural drama of the game.
4. Keith Jackson, college football. Whoa Nellie! Fumble! Alabama! For a lot of us, Keith Jackson is collge football.
3. Charlie Jones, football. Charlie Jones always broadcast the late afternoon games played first in the AFL and then the AFC. If it was a war between the Raiders and the Chiefs, or a playoff with a West Coast team vs. the Jets, Charlie and his rich, melodic voice were on it.
2. Joe Buck, football, baseball. Buck comes under a lot of criticism these days, and I can't figure out why. Whether he's with Troy Aikman in football or Tim McCarver in baseball, his cerebral, understated approach somehow makes the games feel larger than life. I hate what happened in the clip below but love what Buck brings to it.
The talent runs in the family:
1. Dick Enberg, football, basketball, tennis. Oh my. It's the versatility -- and the love for Wimbledon -- that clinches it. Unforgettable voice and a brilliant essayist.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
I Am A Traditionalist
I learned this weekend what people who prefer traditional worship over contemporary and post-modern worship feel like.
And it was tennis that taught me that lesson.
Yesterday featured what many experts are calling one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tennis match of all time: Novak Djokovic's epic 5 hour, 53 minute victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open.
The match was simply brutal: mesmerizing rallies, impossible retrieves, bold aggression, and dramatic turns of momentum. The match was so good, in fact, that ESPN 2 played it twice again on Sunday, dubbing it an "Instant Classic."
And I could barely watch it.
(Now . . . I couldn't watch it live as Sunday night in Australia is Sunday morning in the U.S. and I'm otherwise occupied at that time.)
But the little bit I did watch live and then attempts to watch the replay didn't really grab my attention the way an instant classic should.
Why not? (And this is how it relates to traditional worship . . . )
Because it's not tennis the way I learned it or the way I remember it or even the way I enjoy it.
Now: these guys are better than players of yesterday. They're bigger, fitter, and, taking advantage of the improvements in technology, they hit the ball harder and with more spin than the Lavers, Ashes, and McEnroes of my childhood could even dream of. Like I said, their game is brutal.
But in my mind, the beauty is missing. There's no coming to the net. No serve & volley. No passing shots. Today's points are longer, to be sure, but less interesting. In the way my mind is conditioned, nothing is more beautiful than a spinning serve followed by a putaway volley, a la John McEnroe in his prime.
Today's game is bigger, bolder, and better . . . but I'm not comfortable with it.
Which brings me back to worship style. All the largest churches in the U.S. (check here and here) are contemporary with barely a nod to the kind of traditional worship that dominated in the early part of the 20th century. Those churches are bigger and bolder, for sure, and "better" at attracting large crowds than congregations which feature robes, organs, and hymnals.
Yet for people who have memories steeped in a worship style from that earlier era, no argument from boldness or effectiveness will ever do. There is a gap in comfort and aesthetics that simply can't be bridged.
Of course, we at Good Shepherd have from the outset been a "contemporary" church with a commitment to "classic moments" in worship.
But after this weekend, I understand better than ever why that style won't appeal to everyone.
Because some people just prefer tradition. In a different setting, that includes me.
And it was tennis that taught me that lesson.
Yesterday featured what many experts are calling one of the greatest, if not the greatest, tennis match of all time: Novak Djokovic's epic 5 hour, 53 minute victory over Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open.
The match was simply brutal: mesmerizing rallies, impossible retrieves, bold aggression, and dramatic turns of momentum. The match was so good, in fact, that ESPN 2 played it twice again on Sunday, dubbing it an "Instant Classic."
And I could barely watch it.
(Now . . . I couldn't watch it live as Sunday night in Australia is Sunday morning in the U.S. and I'm otherwise occupied at that time.)
But the little bit I did watch live and then attempts to watch the replay didn't really grab my attention the way an instant classic should.
Why not? (And this is how it relates to traditional worship . . . )
Because it's not tennis the way I learned it or the way I remember it or even the way I enjoy it.
Now: these guys are better than players of yesterday. They're bigger, fitter, and, taking advantage of the improvements in technology, they hit the ball harder and with more spin than the Lavers, Ashes, and McEnroes of my childhood could even dream of. Like I said, their game is brutal.
But in my mind, the beauty is missing. There's no coming to the net. No serve & volley. No passing shots. Today's points are longer, to be sure, but less interesting. In the way my mind is conditioned, nothing is more beautiful than a spinning serve followed by a putaway volley, a la John McEnroe in his prime.
Today's game is bigger, bolder, and better . . . but I'm not comfortable with it.
Which brings me back to worship style. All the largest churches in the U.S. (check here and here) are contemporary with barely a nod to the kind of traditional worship that dominated in the early part of the 20th century. Those churches are bigger and bolder, for sure, and "better" at attracting large crowds than congregations which feature robes, organs, and hymnals.
Yet for people who have memories steeped in a worship style from that earlier era, no argument from boldness or effectiveness will ever do. There is a gap in comfort and aesthetics that simply can't be bridged.
Of course, we at Good Shepherd have from the outset been a "contemporary" church with a commitment to "classic moments" in worship.
But after this weekend, I understand better than ever why that style won't appeal to everyone.
Because some people just prefer tradition. In a different setting, that includes me.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Sin's First Consequence
It seems as if everybody knows the story of Adam, Eve, and the Garden.
But few people have actually read it.
Which is why I love teaching it to a group of people.
Such was the case last night in our First Step class for people considering church membership.
We realized that the heart of the story comes in the reaction of the man and the woman to getting caught:
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
If you went to commercial at the close of that particular scene, you'd be left the image that is supposed to stay with us.
Confronted with the reality of sin, the man and the woman stand, naked and exposed, with their fingers pointed firmly at someone else.
The man blames God -- "the woman YOU PUT HERE WITH ME" -- while the woman points to the crafy snake -- "the serpent deceived me."
Sin's first consequence, then, is what we call today passing the buck.
And it is a consequence that we in 21st Century America have made into an art form.
In the wake of your deceptions, transgressions, and failures . . . where are you pointing fingers?
What a day that will be when we break the cycle of buck passing and start new patterns of acknowledging guilt and accepting responsibility.
But few people have actually read it.
Which is why I love teaching it to a group of people.
Such was the case last night in our First Step class for people considering church membership.
We realized that the heart of the story comes in the reaction of the man and the woman to getting caught:
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
12 The man said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
If you went to commercial at the close of that particular scene, you'd be left the image that is supposed to stay with us.
Confronted with the reality of sin, the man and the woman stand, naked and exposed, with their fingers pointed firmly at someone else.
The man blames God -- "the woman YOU PUT HERE WITH ME" -- while the woman points to the crafy snake -- "the serpent deceived me."
Sin's first consequence, then, is what we call today passing the buck.
And it is a consequence that we in 21st Century America have made into an art form.
In the wake of your deceptions, transgressions, and failures . . . where are you pointing fingers?
What a day that will be when we break the cycle of buck passing and start new patterns of acknowledging guilt and accepting responsibility.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
The Sounds Of Grief
A couple of weeks ago, I posted about a presentation our staff heard from Asbury Seminary professor Ben Witherington.
And then the day after that presentation, Witherington's 32-year-old daughter died of a pulmonary embolism.
Dr. Witherington has had a couple of poignantly provocative posts regarding personal grief, healthy theology, and biblical interpretation.
You can read the first one here.
I've included the second one for you below:
Five Things Not To Say To The Grieving
When a person suffers the devastating loss of a loved one, you should — however well-intentioned you might be — keep your mouth shut. Or at the very least, you should think long and hard before you say anything. Here are some of the things I recently heard that did not help, and frankly were not true.
1) “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” Not a saying from God, rather it’s from the poorly-informed Job, who was later forced to revise his opinion. As it happens, it was Satan who devastated Job’s life and family.
2) “You’ll get over it soon.” Wrong. I hope I never get over the loss of my daughter. I don’t want to forget her love, her smile, her joys, her sorrows, and so many millions of other things that formed the sum total of her life. I do not intend to get over it. I intend to get beyond it by the grace of God, but in no way forgetting what happened to her at the end of her life in this world. There will always be a Christy-shaped hole in my heart. Period.
3) “Sorry about your lost loved one.” This is well meant, of course, but bad theology. Christy is not lost. I know right where to find her. She is safe in the arms of Jesus. One of our good Christian friends shared this experience with me from her charismatic prayer time, this week: “The Holy Spirit came upon the prayer so mightily. My heart is not heavy, like it was before that prayer, and the witness the precious Holy Spirit gave us was that Christy truly has made it home. I know she is home, but the prayer made it very real to us.” Exactly right. She has gone before us, but she is not a lost loved one wandering in oblivion. She is a found loved one who has found her home in Christ.
4) “Well, at least you still have your son.” I am indeed very thankful our son and our Russian daughter are alive and well, but I don’t believe in compensatory theology. Having other children does not make the loss of Christy any less hard to bear. Each life is different, unique, special, and one life does not compensate for the loss of another. As John Donne says, “Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am a part of mankind.” All the more so when it’s a member of my own family.
5) “God will make up for this with a twofold blessing.” Again, I don’t think God is a practitioner of some sort of new math or compensatory calculus, running the universe. God has not been a naughty boy taking away my sweet-pea named Christy, and he has nothing to make up for. I certainly do believe God works everything together for good, for those who love him.
So I leave myself open to such working, trusting it will make me better, not bitter.
And then the day after that presentation, Witherington's 32-year-old daughter died of a pulmonary embolism.
Dr. Witherington has had a couple of poignantly provocative posts regarding personal grief, healthy theology, and biblical interpretation.
You can read the first one here.
I've included the second one for you below:
Five Things Not To Say To The Grieving
When a person suffers the devastating loss of a loved one, you should — however well-intentioned you might be — keep your mouth shut. Or at the very least, you should think long and hard before you say anything. Here are some of the things I recently heard that did not help, and frankly were not true.
1) “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” Not a saying from God, rather it’s from the poorly-informed Job, who was later forced to revise his opinion. As it happens, it was Satan who devastated Job’s life and family.
2) “You’ll get over it soon.” Wrong. I hope I never get over the loss of my daughter. I don’t want to forget her love, her smile, her joys, her sorrows, and so many millions of other things that formed the sum total of her life. I do not intend to get over it. I intend to get beyond it by the grace of God, but in no way forgetting what happened to her at the end of her life in this world. There will always be a Christy-shaped hole in my heart. Period.
3) “Sorry about your lost loved one.” This is well meant, of course, but bad theology. Christy is not lost. I know right where to find her. She is safe in the arms of Jesus. One of our good Christian friends shared this experience with me from her charismatic prayer time, this week: “The Holy Spirit came upon the prayer so mightily. My heart is not heavy, like it was before that prayer, and the witness the precious Holy Spirit gave us was that Christy truly has made it home. I know she is home, but the prayer made it very real to us.” Exactly right. She has gone before us, but she is not a lost loved one wandering in oblivion. She is a found loved one who has found her home in Christ.
4) “Well, at least you still have your son.” I am indeed very thankful our son and our Russian daughter are alive and well, but I don’t believe in compensatory theology. Having other children does not make the loss of Christy any less hard to bear. Each life is different, unique, special, and one life does not compensate for the loss of another. As John Donne says, “Any man’s death diminishes me, for I am a part of mankind.” All the more so when it’s a member of my own family.
5) “God will make up for this with a twofold blessing.” Again, I don’t think God is a practitioner of some sort of new math or compensatory calculus, running the universe. God has not been a naughty boy taking away my sweet-pea named Christy, and he has nothing to make up for. I certainly do believe God works everything together for good, for those who love him.
So I leave myself open to such working, trusting it will make me better, not bitter.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Coaches
Joe Paterno's death this past Sunday got me thinking about coaches and coaching (which is probably better than a lot of the other things you could think about JoePa, Penn State, and football culture over the last couple of months).
In my time as a tennis player, I had coaches -- some of whom were extraordinarily good and others were painfully average. I've done a brief stint as a coach -- I'm sure falling more on the painfully average side of that continuum.
But in thinking of coaches in the major sports, it's clear that some stay too long in one place (Paterno, Bobby Bowden), others move so frequently it's hard to build any kind of trust in them (John Calipari, Larry Brown), and still others seem to have a handle on getting it just right.
So with that last category in mind, here are my top five favorite coaches:
5. Tom Osborne, Nebraska football. I admire Osborne's quiet dignity, his underrated football creativity, and most of all his tenacity in pursuit of a national championship. He went from 1972 until 1993 without a title -- including the 1984 Orange Bowl loss to Miami where his choice to risk a two point conversion rather than settle for a tie no doubt cost his team the #1 ranking -- and then was rewarded for his perseverance with three titles in four years. Nebraska is in many ways still searching for his replacement.
4. Brad Gilbert, tennis. Gilbert is the original super-coach in modern tennis. In the mid 1990s, Andre Agassi hired him because as a player Gilbert won many matches he should have lost while Agassi was losing many matches he should have won. The partnership was magic, and a career Grand Slam the result. Today, Gilbert shines as a tennis analyst/humorist on ESPN.
3. Pete Carril, Princeton basketball. Carril is the architect of the famed and maddening "Princeton offense," a system of passes, screens, and backdoor cuts designed to help Ivy League basketballers compete with better athletes at other Division I schools. It worked, too, as the 1996 Princeton team upset defending national champion UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Little known fact: Carril loves tennis and often played on the Princeton indoor courts, located six floors below the basketball arena. He would also smoke a cigar while he played . . . and leave the cigar butts scattered around the back of the courts. We all knew when Carril had been on our courts. A small price to pay, I guess, for beating UCLA.
2. Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys football. Growing up in Dallas in the 1970s meant you almost had to like/admire/support Tom Landry. Few things made me feel that all was right in the world more than Tom Landry discussing the next play with Roger Staubach.
1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Basketball. Twins separated at birth? Maybe. A reason to like Duke basketball even with a son at Chapel Hill? Certainly.
In my time as a tennis player, I had coaches -- some of whom were extraordinarily good and others were painfully average. I've done a brief stint as a coach -- I'm sure falling more on the painfully average side of that continuum.
But in thinking of coaches in the major sports, it's clear that some stay too long in one place (Paterno, Bobby Bowden), others move so frequently it's hard to build any kind of trust in them (John Calipari, Larry Brown), and still others seem to have a handle on getting it just right.
So with that last category in mind, here are my top five favorite coaches:
5. Tom Osborne, Nebraska football. I admire Osborne's quiet dignity, his underrated football creativity, and most of all his tenacity in pursuit of a national championship. He went from 1972 until 1993 without a title -- including the 1984 Orange Bowl loss to Miami where his choice to risk a two point conversion rather than settle for a tie no doubt cost his team the #1 ranking -- and then was rewarded for his perseverance with three titles in four years. Nebraska is in many ways still searching for his replacement.
4. Brad Gilbert, tennis. Gilbert is the original super-coach in modern tennis. In the mid 1990s, Andre Agassi hired him because as a player Gilbert won many matches he should have lost while Agassi was losing many matches he should have won. The partnership was magic, and a career Grand Slam the result. Today, Gilbert shines as a tennis analyst/humorist on ESPN.
3. Pete Carril, Princeton basketball. Carril is the architect of the famed and maddening "Princeton offense," a system of passes, screens, and backdoor cuts designed to help Ivy League basketballers compete with better athletes at other Division I schools. It worked, too, as the 1996 Princeton team upset defending national champion UCLA in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Little known fact: Carril loves tennis and often played on the Princeton indoor courts, located six floors below the basketball arena. He would also smoke a cigar while he played . . . and leave the cigar butts scattered around the back of the courts. We all knew when Carril had been on our courts. A small price to pay, I guess, for beating UCLA.
2. Tom Landry, Dallas Cowboys football. Growing up in Dallas in the 1970s meant you almost had to like/admire/support Tom Landry. Few things made me feel that all was right in the world more than Tom Landry discussing the next play with Roger Staubach.
1. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke Basketball. Twins separated at birth? Maybe. A reason to like Duke basketball even with a son at Chapel Hill? Certainly.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Steven Curtis Chapman, Chris Tomlin, And . . . Paul Simon?
I have recently posted on my fondness for Paul Simon's music.
So my eyebrows got raised when I saw this in Saturday's Charlotte Observer:
Paul Simon's meandering spiritual journey
By Kim Lawton
Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly
By Kim Lawton
Posted: Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012
Paul Simon's new album, "So Beautiful or So What," is winning attention from evangelical Christians and other religious people. 2006 AP FILE PHOTO
Paul Simon says there has always been a spiritual dimension to his music. But the overt religious references in his most recent album, "So Beautiful or So What," surprised even him.
There are songs about God, angels, creation, pilgrimage, prayer and the afterlife.
Simon says the religious themes were not intentional - he does not describe himself as religious. But in an interview with the PBS program "Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly," he said the spiritual realm fascinates him.
"I think it's a part of my thoughts on a fairly regular basis," he said. "I think of it more as spiritual feeling. It's something that I recognize in myself and that I enjoy, and I don't quite understand it."
Simon may not understand it, but he's been writing and singing a lot about it, and that has generated attention. One Irish blogger suggested "So Beautiful or So What" could be the best Christian album of 2011. Sojourners' Cathleen Falsani, an evangelical who writes frequently about religion and pop culture, called it "one of the most memorable collections of spiritual musical musings" in recent memory.
"It's a stunningly beautiful ... album, and he's a great surprise to me and frankly a huge blessing," Falsani said.
During a career that has spanned half a century, Simon has received numerous awards, including 12 Grammys. His first Grammy came in 1968 for best contemporary vocal duo, along with his musical partner Art Garfunkel. Their 1970 Grammy-winning song "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was influenced by gospel music.
Simon comes from a Jewish background. "I had no interest. None," he said. Now at 70, he said he has many questions about God.
In his song "The Afterlife," he speculates about what happens after death. He imagines waiting in line, like at the Department of Motor Vehicles. As the chorus goes: "You got to fill out a form first and then you wait in the line."
But there's a serious aspect as well, as the song continues:
Face-to-face in the vastness of space
Your words disappear
And you feel like you're swimming in an ocean of love
And the current is strong.
"By the time you get up to speak to God, and you actually get there, there's no question that you could possibly have that could have any relevance," Simon explained.
Inspiration
One of the most unusual songs on the album, "Getting Ready for Christmas Day," includes excerpts of a sermon preached in 1941 by prominent African-American pastor J.M. Gates. Simon heard the sermon on old recordings and said he was drawn to the rhythms of Gates' "call and response" style of preaching.
The song "Love and Hard Times" begins with the line:
"God and his only son paid a courtesy call on Earth one Sunday morning."
Simon said, "To begin with a sentence that is the foundation of Christianity, I said: This is going to be interesting. Now what am I going to say about a subject that I certainly didn't study?"
He's a vessel
The song ends with a love story, which he says is really about his wife, and a repetition of the line, "Thank God I found you."
"When you're looking to be thankful at the highest level, you need a specific, and that specific is God. And that's what that song is about," he said.
Simon said he's gratified - and somewhat mystified - that some people have told him they believe God has spoken to them through his music.
"Is it a profound truth? I don't know," he said. "I feel I'm like a vessel, and it passed through me, and I was the editor, and I'm glad." Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/01/21/2940734/paul-simons-meandering-spiritual.html#storylink=misearch#storylink=cpy
Friday, January 20, 2012
Delivered, Week 3 -- Divided Waters: When You're Set Free
So is this what it looked like when the waters divided on the Red Sea?
Is this how Moses did it?
And maybe more to the point, exactly where did the children of Israel think they were going once they got to the other side?
As we head towards Week Three of Delivered, those are some of the questions we'll explore together.
And we'll recognize together that the glory (not the devil) is in the details surrounding this miracle of God and nature.
I'm grateful for the timing of this series . . . and I believe the momentum is only building from here.
Sunday.
8:30. (By the way, this service has the most available seats!)
10.
11:30.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Text Message Theology
The other night I received a series of text messages from my 19 year old son Riley, a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill.
Riley: What verses dominate Calvinism? (Meaning, what verses best answer or refute Calvinism.)
Dad: I Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9
Riley: And how do you interpret Ephesians 1:4-5?
Dad: Collective not individual. God predestined that he he'd have a PEOPLE but not the individuals in it. God wants his chosen PEOPLE to be an open & growing group not closed and fixed.
Riley: What about Romans 9?
Dad: Romans 9 is the same as Ephesians 1. All of Romans 9-11 is about the people of Israel not about the eternal salvation of individuals. You are wrestling with all the same verses I did when I was your age and I'm proud of you ...
I have two main thoughts on the exchange:
1. Think of all the text messages I could have received from a college freshman:
I've been arrested ... can you bail me out?
I failed my exam, what should I do now?
I'm at the hospital after a car wreck, how do I pay?
So I'm pretty grateful.
2. The texts stemmed from a conversation Riley was having with a hallmate who is a Calvinist. With John Piper and others, Calvinism has a star power these days that we Wesleyan-Arminians lack.
While a subject as complex as Calvinism vs. Arminianism (predestination vs. free will) merits more than text message conversation, I found it's not a bad place to start with a 19-year-old.
Riley: What verses dominate Calvinism? (Meaning, what verses best answer or refute Calvinism.)
Dad: I Timothy 2:3-4 and 2 Peter 3:9
Riley: And how do you interpret Ephesians 1:4-5?
Dad: Collective not individual. God predestined that he he'd have a PEOPLE but not the individuals in it. God wants his chosen PEOPLE to be an open & growing group not closed and fixed.
Riley: What about Romans 9?
Dad: Romans 9 is the same as Ephesians 1. All of Romans 9-11 is about the people of Israel not about the eternal salvation of individuals. You are wrestling with all the same verses I did when I was your age and I'm proud of you ...
I have two main thoughts on the exchange:
1. Think of all the text messages I could have received from a college freshman:
I've been arrested ... can you bail me out?
I failed my exam, what should I do now?
I'm at the hospital after a car wreck, how do I pay?
So I'm pretty grateful.
2. The texts stemmed from a conversation Riley was having with a hallmate who is a Calvinist. With John Piper and others, Calvinism has a star power these days that we Wesleyan-Arminians lack.
While a subject as complex as Calvinism vs. Arminianism (predestination vs. free will) merits more than text message conversation, I found it's not a bad place to start with a 19-year-old.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Tennis Books
In honor of this year's Australian Open, I'm devoting this week's Top Five list to tennis, the sport that will not let me go.
And to books, the pastime that sometimes consumes me.
Books about tennis have ranged from the avant garde -- The Inner Game Of Tennis by Timothy Gallway comes to mind -- to the uneven -- forgettable autobiographies by Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Ilie Nastase to name a few.
But when tennis books are good, they are very good, transcending both genre and subject to move into the realm of literature. Here my five favorite:
5. Arthur Ashe, Portait In Motion by Arthur Ashe. This book is Ashe's diary between Wimbledon of 1973 and Wimbledon of 1974. Though I first read it as an adolescent, the book's intimacy makes it memorable. Ashe's reflections from a 1973 match against Jimmy Connors (before Connors became, well, Connors) as well as his crushing disappointment after a loss in the 1974 Wimbledon to Bjorn Borg are especially vivid. I find it both interesting and rewarding that the year after releasing this book, Ashe beat both Borg and Connors on his way to the World #1 in 1975.
4. You Cannot Be Serious, by John McEnroe. In addition to his otherwordly net skills, John McEnroe is witty, intelligent, and insightful. Notice I did not say nice. That's why the book is such fun.
3. The World Of Tennis, by Richard Shickel. This one's personal. When I was 14, I used to wander over to the Walden Bookstore at the local mall and look through this book with great longing. The vintage photography of Ellsworth Vines, Bill Tilden, and Don Budge made it the ultimate, if unreachable, prize. Why unreachable? It cost, I believe, about $15 -- an unheard of sum for a book at that time. But then at Christmas, my mother handed me a gift, nicely wrapped. I still remember my drop jaw shock when the World Of Tennis was inside. And I still have my copy.
2. Strokes Of Genius, by Jon Wertheim. A shot-by-shot account of the 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Since in my mind the wrong guy won, I am loathe to label the match "genius." But because of Wertheim's prose, the book sure is.
1. Open, by Andre Agassi. The only autobiography I've ever read that is written in the second person. It makes for riveting reading, and people's widely divergent reactions to Agassi's self-portrait are evidence of its greatness.
And to books, the pastime that sometimes consumes me.
Books about tennis have ranged from the avant garde -- The Inner Game Of Tennis by Timothy Gallway comes to mind -- to the uneven -- forgettable autobiographies by Pete Sampras, Boris Becker, and Ilie Nastase to name a few.
But when tennis books are good, they are very good, transcending both genre and subject to move into the realm of literature. Here my five favorite:
5. Arthur Ashe, Portait In Motion by Arthur Ashe. This book is Ashe's diary between Wimbledon of 1973 and Wimbledon of 1974. Though I first read it as an adolescent, the book's intimacy makes it memorable. Ashe's reflections from a 1973 match against Jimmy Connors (before Connors became, well, Connors) as well as his crushing disappointment after a loss in the 1974 Wimbledon to Bjorn Borg are especially vivid. I find it both interesting and rewarding that the year after releasing this book, Ashe beat both Borg and Connors on his way to the World #1 in 1975.
4. You Cannot Be Serious, by John McEnroe. In addition to his otherwordly net skills, John McEnroe is witty, intelligent, and insightful. Notice I did not say nice. That's why the book is such fun.
3. The World Of Tennis, by Richard Shickel. This one's personal. When I was 14, I used to wander over to the Walden Bookstore at the local mall and look through this book with great longing. The vintage photography of Ellsworth Vines, Bill Tilden, and Don Budge made it the ultimate, if unreachable, prize. Why unreachable? It cost, I believe, about $15 -- an unheard of sum for a book at that time. But then at Christmas, my mother handed me a gift, nicely wrapped. I still remember my drop jaw shock when the World Of Tennis was inside. And I still have my copy.
2. Strokes Of Genius, by Jon Wertheim. A shot-by-shot account of the 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. Since in my mind the wrong guy won, I am loathe to label the match "genius." But because of Wertheim's prose, the book sure is.
1. Open, by Andre Agassi. The only autobiography I've ever read that is written in the second person. It makes for riveting reading, and people's widely divergent reactions to Agassi's self-portrait are evidence of its greatness.
Monday, January 16, 2012
The Spiritual By-Pass
One of my friends who is quite open with me about his journey out of addiction and into recovery told me of a phrase the recovery community uses:
The Spiritual By-Pass
What is that?
It's the desire on the part of many addicts to receive ONE prayer, ONE pill, or ONE deliverance and voila! ... addiction healed without the painful work of recovery.
As some of you know all too well, it doesn't work like that.
Recovery from addiction of all kinds involves a look back at family dynamics, a look in at personal motivations, a look around at fellow pilgrims who help you enter and then sustain sobriety, and a look up at God who grants freedom.
None of those elements come in isolation, even the part about prayer.
But here's what is interesting to me: many Christians, whether struggling with addiction or not, want a similar spiritual by-pass in their lives.
One prayer, one decision, one moment at the altar . . . and that's it for their Christian faith.
Now: I am all for those decisive moments of conversion. I went through it myself and invite people to it with some frequency.
However, in our eagerness for the power-of-the-moment, we can't forget the words of I Corinthians 1:18:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
It's that short phrase "being saved" that is the key. Salvation is not something that happened only in the past, at the campfire, church altar, or bedside.
Salvation is happening now. We are being saved not only from the penalty of sin after we die but from the power of sin in the here and now.
Spiritual by-pass? A pipe dream.
Spiritual progress? The way life with Jesus really happens. One day at a time.
The Spiritual By-Pass
What is that?
It's the desire on the part of many addicts to receive ONE prayer, ONE pill, or ONE deliverance and voila! ... addiction healed without the painful work of recovery.
As some of you know all too well, it doesn't work like that.
Recovery from addiction of all kinds involves a look back at family dynamics, a look in at personal motivations, a look around at fellow pilgrims who help you enter and then sustain sobriety, and a look up at God who grants freedom.
None of those elements come in isolation, even the part about prayer.
But here's what is interesting to me: many Christians, whether struggling with addiction or not, want a similar spiritual by-pass in their lives.
One prayer, one decision, one moment at the altar . . . and that's it for their Christian faith.
Now: I am all for those decisive moments of conversion. I went through it myself and invite people to it with some frequency.
However, in our eagerness for the power-of-the-moment, we can't forget the words of I Corinthians 1:18:
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
It's that short phrase "being saved" that is the key. Salvation is not something that happened only in the past, at the campfire, church altar, or bedside.
Salvation is happening now. We are being saved not only from the penalty of sin after we die but from the power of sin in the here and now.
Spiritual by-pass? A pipe dream.
Spiritual progress? The way life with Jesus really happens. One day at a time.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Movie Night At Good Shepherd
Since the Delivered series is all about the book of Exodus, we wanted to give the entire church family a way to experience Moses' story to a greater extent than is possible on Sunday mornings.
So: movie night.
My first idea was the Charlton Heston classic, The Ten Commandments.
Except it's three hours long. Not so good for the kids.
So we hit on The Prince Of Egypt.
Tonight at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
Free admission on Sunday as well, as we go into Week Two of Delivered.
This time it's Wooden Snakes: When You Need Faith.
Sunday.
8:30. 10. 11:30.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Pastoral Calls
On occasion, I give phone calls to people I haven't seen around church in awhile.
My responses to their reponses have me a bit conflicted.
If they respond to my "hey, I've missed seeing you and want to make sure everything is OK"
with
"oh, sorry, I've just gotten out of the routine of coming but I'm hoping to get back soon"
then I respond (internally of course) with "Hallelujah! They haven't found someone else younger and better looking!"
Because my great fear in that phone call is that they will say, "Oh, I've started going to __________"-- someplace younger, hipper, cooler -- or even "No, I'm thinking of joining _______________" -- someplace more sedate and comfortable.
So I'm conflicted because I'd rather have people not going to church at all(temporarily) than going to another church. Because if they're not going anywhere, they'll probably come back here.
I think most pastors, if honest, would share this preference.
In all those motivations and all that internal conversation, I overlook something quite critical: the people belong to God and not to me; they are members of the Kingdom and not of Good Shepherd.
My prayer is that I will soon be able to have Paul's attitude rather than my own. In the face of church "competition" from leaders with different styles than his own, he remembered that "the important thing . . . [is that] Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
Amen.
My responses to their reponses have me a bit conflicted.
If they respond to my "hey, I've missed seeing you and want to make sure everything is OK"
with
"oh, sorry, I've just gotten out of the routine of coming but I'm hoping to get back soon"
then I respond (internally of course) with "Hallelujah! They haven't found someone else younger and better looking!"
Because my great fear in that phone call is that they will say, "Oh, I've started going to __________"-- someplace younger, hipper, cooler -- or even "No, I'm thinking of joining _______________" -- someplace more sedate and comfortable.
So I'm conflicted because I'd rather have people not going to church at all(temporarily) than going to another church. Because if they're not going anywhere, they'll probably come back here.
I think most pastors, if honest, would share this preference.
In all those motivations and all that internal conversation, I overlook something quite critical: the people belong to God and not to me; they are members of the Kingdom and not of Good Shepherd.
My prayer is that I will soon be able to have Paul's attitude rather than my own. In the face of church "competition" from leaders with different styles than his own, he remembered that "the important thing . . . [is that] Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
Amen.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
A Morning Of Learning
Yesterday, a number of us from staff drove up to Myers Park United Methodist Church to hear a presentation by Ben Witherington, a Professor of New Testament at Asbury Seminary.
Dr. Witherington is the most widely published and well known member of the Asbury faculty. Some of his more influential books include commentaries on Revelation, 1 & 2 Corinthians, and Galatians.
I never had Witherington as a professor myself, as he arrived at Asbury several years after I graduated in 1990.
His talk yesterday was geared to helping Charlotte-area United Methodist clergy teach and preach well on the atonement. Exactly what happened when Jesus died on the cross, what does it mean for us today, and how can 21st Century clergy preach it with clarity and conviction?
Here are some of his insights:
1. To discuss the atonement is to ask "what is God like?"
2. There are many words the New Testament uses to describe the same event.
Justification is the language of the courtroom.
Reconciliation is the langauge of an ambassador.
Propitiation is the language of temples, priests, and sacrifices
Redemption is the language of slavery & freedom.
3. [To us Wesleyans] Don't worry about your answer to the question, "for whom did Jesus die? The Calvinists are wrong. Jesus died for all."
4. Even Mark 10:45 -- "For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" -- undermines the Calvinist notion of limited atonement. In Mark 10:45, the contrast is between "one" and "many" not between "many" and "all."
5. Jesus' death is sufficient for all but only efficient for those who believe.
6. The cross is the harmonic convergence of God's character (love) and his actions (holiness).
7. Don't water down the gospel; boil up the people.
8. The Holy Spirit convicts, convinces, and converts (I thought, "man, if only I still did three point sermons that would be perfect!).
9. People have an infinite capacity for self-justification.
10. Encourage your church not just to seek forgiveness from God but reconciliation with God.
11. God doesn't want you to be nice. He wants you to be new.
12. Christ's resurrection is a preview of coming attractions.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Dinners
A lot of you know that my wife Julie has a good job in the medical field. She travels, she sells, she manages, and she motivates.
And yet when she's home she cooks. Very well. These days, just for the two of us.
So here are my Top Five Dinners. If you are reading this in the morning, you'll just have to wait.
5. Pork Loin. This is a new addition to the list, but the combination of pork and fruit (apples in particular) is superb.
4. Meat Loaf With Mashed Potato. But the meat loaf must be seasoned with Heinz 57. Must.
3. Chicken parmesan. All of us have an inner Italian. This dish speaks to mine.
2. Steak & Baked Potato. Of course. And potato has no "e" at the end.
1. Chicken puff pastry with rice. An unbelievably good dish that combines roasted chicken, fig preserves, and croissant into a true ambrosia.
And yet when she's home she cooks. Very well. These days, just for the two of us.
So here are my Top Five Dinners. If you are reading this in the morning, you'll just have to wait.
5. Pork Loin. This is a new addition to the list, but the combination of pork and fruit (apples in particular) is superb.
4. Meat Loaf With Mashed Potato. But the meat loaf must be seasoned with Heinz 57. Must.
3. Chicken parmesan. All of us have an inner Italian. This dish speaks to mine.
2. Steak & Baked Potato. Of course. And potato has no "e" at the end.
1. Chicken puff pastry with rice. An unbelievably good dish that combines roasted chicken, fig preserves, and croissant into a true ambrosia.
Monday, January 9, 2012
The Body Ministering To The Body
Yesterday we concluded the sermon with one sentence testimonies by seven different people from the Good Shepherd community, each of whom is in the process of being "delivered" from the Pharaoh that has plagued their lives.
But that wasn't the best part.
The best part was when each of those who had given their testimonies came down from our platform to pray with people who themselves wanted to be delivered from a Pharaoh in their lives.
People streamed forward at all three services to be touched and prayed for by those who had courageously shared part of their story.
(By the way, this whole idea was the brainstorm of Chris Macedo who knew better than I did how this particular sermon needed to end.)
So in the best sense, the Body of Christ ministered to the Body of Christ.
The people of the church didn't need a special prayer from the preacher. They didn't need a touch from a celebrity pray-er. They didn't even need the encouragement from other church staff.
They needed to receive ministry from one another.
Sounds sort of biblical, doesn't it? I'm glad to be learning that lesson anew every day.
But that wasn't the best part.
The best part was when each of those who had given their testimonies came down from our platform to pray with people who themselves wanted to be delivered from a Pharaoh in their lives.
People streamed forward at all three services to be touched and prayed for by those who had courageously shared part of their story.
(By the way, this whole idea was the brainstorm of Chris Macedo who knew better than I did how this particular sermon needed to end.)
So in the best sense, the Body of Christ ministered to the Body of Christ.
The people of the church didn't need a special prayer from the preacher. They didn't need a touch from a celebrity pray-er. They didn't even need the encouragement from other church staff.
They needed to receive ministry from one another.
Sounds sort of biblical, doesn't it? I'm glad to be learning that lesson anew every day.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Delivered, Week One -- Bricks Without Straw: When You're Stuck
The Book Of Exodus.
It’s the ancient story of some very modern battles: between God and the idols; between the powerful and the powerless; between faith and doubt; between captivity and freedom.
But ultimately it is the story of a people who are delivered . . . from slavery, from idolatry, and even from themselves.
So we start 2012 by digging into an old story that feels, well, new.
Delivered. It’s not just what Israel needed then. It’s what we need now.
January 8: Strawless Bricks: When You’re Stuck
January 15: Wooden Snakes: When You Need Faith
January 22: Divided Waters: When You Are Set Free
January 29: Stiff Necks: When You Prefer Bondage
Service Times: 8:30 10:00 11:30
11:30 traducido en espanol
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Becoming What We Be
I'm reading a terrific little monograph by Asbury Seminary President Timothy Tennent called This We Believe: Meditations On The Apostle's Creed.
(By the way, I received the book as a gift through the mail and in spite of several internet searches can't locate a way for you to buy it yourself. When it becomes available, I certainly will post a way for you to get a copy.)
Anyway, in explaining the section of the Creed that declares "We believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints . . .", Tennent says this:
To be holy means to be set apart . . . Luther and the early Reformers of the 16th century taught the doctrine of alien righteousness. This doctrine means that we are saved through the righteousness of Christ alone and that through faith God graciously gives to us the righteousness of Christ. We are therefore righteous or holy but only because Christ is righteous or holy . . . However [as Wesleyans] salvation is about more than justification. Righteousness for Wesley was about more than God just looking at us through a different set of glasses. Alien righteousness must become native righteousness. Imputed righteousness must become actualized righteousness. Declared righteousness must become emobided righteousness, wrought in us not by our won strength but through the power of the living God. The Church is not merely to be "declared holy;" we are to be holy.
So as individuals and as a community, we are to become what God has already declared us to be: holy. Set apart for a purpose.
God did not save you just to get you to heaven after you die. He saved you also to make you more like Jesus during your remaining time on earth.
The call as Christians -- especially this peculiar branch of the church called Wesleyans & Methodists -- is to surrender to the holy-making power of God at work in us.
(By the way, I received the book as a gift through the mail and in spite of several internet searches can't locate a way for you to buy it yourself. When it becomes available, I certainly will post a way for you to get a copy.)
Anyway, in explaining the section of the Creed that declares "We believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints . . .", Tennent says this:
To be holy means to be set apart . . . Luther and the early Reformers of the 16th century taught the doctrine of alien righteousness. This doctrine means that we are saved through the righteousness of Christ alone and that through faith God graciously gives to us the righteousness of Christ. We are therefore righteous or holy but only because Christ is righteous or holy . . . However [as Wesleyans] salvation is about more than justification. Righteousness for Wesley was about more than God just looking at us through a different set of glasses. Alien righteousness must become native righteousness. Imputed righteousness must become actualized righteousness. Declared righteousness must become emobided righteousness, wrought in us not by our won strength but through the power of the living God. The Church is not merely to be "declared holy;" we are to be holy.
So as individuals and as a community, we are to become what God has already declared us to be: holy. Set apart for a purpose.
God did not save you just to get you to heaven after you die. He saved you also to make you more like Jesus during your remaining time on earth.
The call as Christians -- especially this peculiar branch of the church called Wesleyans & Methodists -- is to surrender to the holy-making power of God at work in us.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Preaching To Preachers
We have a number of pastors who attend Good Shepherd.
Some of them are missionaries who have returned from overseas and are in the midst of discerning their next steps in ministry.
Others are pastors-in-training, studying either at bible college or seminary and in search of a spiritual home while preparing for a lifetime of service.
Still others have left vocational ministry and now work in the marketplace.
And a few are in between ministry assignments, praying to discern where God would send them next.
They bring with them stories of how they have seen God move in dramatic ways.
They also bring battle scars from the times God's people behaved in ungodly ways.
They also bring a variety of assumptions about how pastoral ministry should be carried out.
Most remarkably, they bring a desire to serve the Body of Christ in this particular context . . . a setting where they will receive few accolades as "pastor," "leader," or even "servant."
What they may not know they bring to me personally is an enormous resevoir of grace. Because preaching to fellow members of the preaching guild is a uniquely stomach churning experience.
"Has he used that same illustration before?"
"Is he going to notice that I used some liberty in interpreting that passage?"
"Will she think I'm sacrificing depth for breadth?"
"Can I possibly speak something fresh into his life when he's been through so much?"
Yet in spite of my nerves, this group of pastors-as-congregants is unflinching in their support and their encouragement.
I suppose that's because they know better than most what my shoes feel like.
Some of them are missionaries who have returned from overseas and are in the midst of discerning their next steps in ministry.
Others are pastors-in-training, studying either at bible college or seminary and in search of a spiritual home while preparing for a lifetime of service.
Still others have left vocational ministry and now work in the marketplace.
And a few are in between ministry assignments, praying to discern where God would send them next.
They bring with them stories of how they have seen God move in dramatic ways.
They also bring battle scars from the times God's people behaved in ungodly ways.
They also bring a variety of assumptions about how pastoral ministry should be carried out.
Most remarkably, they bring a desire to serve the Body of Christ in this particular context . . . a setting where they will receive few accolades as "pastor," "leader," or even "servant."
What they may not know they bring to me personally is an enormous resevoir of grace. Because preaching to fellow members of the preaching guild is a uniquely stomach churning experience.
"Has he used that same illustration before?"
"Is he going to notice that I used some liberty in interpreting that passage?"
"Will she think I'm sacrificing depth for breadth?"
"Can I possibly speak something fresh into his life when he's been through so much?"
Yet in spite of my nerves, this group of pastors-as-congregants is unflinching in their support and their encouragement.
I suppose that's because they know better than most what my shoes feel like.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Top Five Tuesday -- Top Five Paul Simon Songs
Paul Simon has been on my mind this holiday season.
Part of it has to do with his "Getting Ready For Christmas Day," an infectious tune he released in the spring of 2011.
The other part of it is because my son Riley gave me a CD copy of Graceland for Christmas. Graceland won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1986, and, of course, I only owned the cassette tape before now.
From 1986 to 2011 is no small span of time in the career of a recording artist. Yet Simon's career is that much more remarkable when you realize that by 1986 he was already considered ... mature. Experienced. Over the hill.
While I like Simon and Garfunkel, I appreciate Simon's solo work even more (and I believe he might want you to think some of the S&G catalog was actually his solo material!).
So I welcome 2012 with five favorite Paul Simon songs:
5. Under African Skies. A beautiful if under-appreciated tune from Graceland. Love the line, "this is the story of when we began to remember . . ."
4. Graceland. The song and the album from which it comes brought Simon's interest in African & South American sounds into the public's mind. Isn't it interesting -- musically, it's all about the world. Lyrically, it's about Elvis Presley and the unique Americana at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.
3. Getting Ready For Christmas Day. Terrific song, even better video.
2. The Obvious Child. The opening percussion sets the stage for the overall genius of the 1990 album, The Rhythm Of The Saints. I'd love to know what he means with the line, "the cross is in the ballpark."
1. Kodachrome. When I was 11, this was my favorite song of all time. I remember driving with my dad from Dallas, TX to Knoxville, TN for a tennis tournament, and hoping all the while that this song would come on the radio in our little Mazda. On occasion, it did. A few months later, my dad suprised me by getting me the record album (called "There Goes Rhymin Simon") with this song on it. I didn't even know he was paying attention ... but sure am glad he was. I still have the LP at home.
Honorable Mention -- "You Can Call Me Al" Two reasons for the honorable mention: 1) On his 1990 tour, he'd finish the song and then say, "let's do that one again." And then he did. 2) The video with Chevy Chase might be the Best. Video. Ever. Enjoy:
Part of it has to do with his "Getting Ready For Christmas Day," an infectious tune he released in the spring of 2011.
The other part of it is because my son Riley gave me a CD copy of Graceland for Christmas. Graceland won the Grammy for Album of the Year in 1986, and, of course, I only owned the cassette tape before now.
From 1986 to 2011 is no small span of time in the career of a recording artist. Yet Simon's career is that much more remarkable when you realize that by 1986 he was already considered ... mature. Experienced. Over the hill.
While I like Simon and Garfunkel, I appreciate Simon's solo work even more (and I believe he might want you to think some of the S&G catalog was actually his solo material!).
So I welcome 2012 with five favorite Paul Simon songs:
5. Under African Skies. A beautiful if under-appreciated tune from Graceland. Love the line, "this is the story of when we began to remember . . ."
4. Graceland. The song and the album from which it comes brought Simon's interest in African & South American sounds into the public's mind. Isn't it interesting -- musically, it's all about the world. Lyrically, it's about Elvis Presley and the unique Americana at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.
3. Getting Ready For Christmas Day. Terrific song, even better video.
2. The Obvious Child. The opening percussion sets the stage for the overall genius of the 1990 album, The Rhythm Of The Saints. I'd love to know what he means with the line, "the cross is in the ballpark."
1. Kodachrome. When I was 11, this was my favorite song of all time. I remember driving with my dad from Dallas, TX to Knoxville, TN for a tennis tournament, and hoping all the while that this song would come on the radio in our little Mazda. On occasion, it did. A few months later, my dad suprised me by getting me the record album (called "There Goes Rhymin Simon") with this song on it. I didn't even know he was paying attention ... but sure am glad he was. I still have the LP at home.
Honorable Mention -- "You Can Call Me Al" Two reasons for the honorable mention: 1) On his 1990 tour, he'd finish the song and then say, "let's do that one again." And then he did. 2) The video with Chevy Chase might be the Best. Video. Ever. Enjoy:
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