Need some inspiration on the last Friday in May? Then please do yourself a favor and watch DJ Gregory’s story.
I know 12 minutes is an eternity in internet video time, but seriously, this one will move and inspire you.
“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”
1 Corinthians 9:25
It’s very hard to discuss self-discipline and ambition with peers who are attempting to recover genuine spirituality from legalistic tradition. Defenses raise up the minute you toss phrases like “spiritual discipline” or “goals.” Having been raised in the church and discovering as a teen that there’s power to be had in religious performance,I get this. It took me into my college years to realize that God wasn’t moved by all with my grocery list of spiritual accomplishments. Grace is tautological:He loved me because he loved me. I’m happy to be caught up in God’s circular reasoning. So why would I ruin a good thing with more unnecessary expectations?
But that’s exactly the discussion that Paul was attempting in 1 Corinthians 9. Paul spent much of his career sparring with believers who considered obedience to Jewish religious customs to a requisite for Salvation. According to these thinkers, you need to follow Jesus and maintain a long list of spiritual disciplines.
So isn’t it strange for Paul to mock legalistic only to turn around use the language of Olympic athletes… running long miles, boxing, beating your body? At first glance it feels like Paul is just swapping a tradition form of legalism for one of his own liking.
I’ve mentioned in another post that I’m working on my second black belt. My first black belt is in tae kwon do and I’m working on a second in a mixed martial arts system. I’m at a place in the training that I despise. I’m just past the halfway mark, and I have about eighteen more months of training to go. I remember the feeling from the last belt, the thought that I’ll never get there.
I’m not enjoying the training right now. Last Saturday I took a shot to the mouth. I still can’t bite into an apple. My incisors are chipped and I lost a filling. Not looking forward to explaining this to my dentist on Monday. I felt a pit in my stomach when I read text telling me to bring my gloves to the workout this AM. Fear never goes away. I’m hobbling around a bit today because my sparring partner missed the focus mitt and kicked my thigh (David, I’m close to being sorry for the names I called you this morning). I’m tired of the morning heavy bag workouts.
I’ve thought of quitting. The truth is, I’m never going to be a cage fighter. I’m forty-years-old and frankly, I’m just not strong enough excel in the sport.I’ve never aspired to having the pooh beaten out of me. So why put myself through this?
I love the game. I used to think MMA was this barbaric game for thugs. But it really is a thinking man’s game– it’s speed chess with gloves. The only way I get to play the game, even at a low level I do, is to make lifestyle changes. I can’t eat what I’d prefer to eat. I need to add muscle, loose fat, and work on my flexibility. Self denial increases my freedom.
So what is Paul doing?
He’s inviting people into an elite contest. Paul is suggesting that building the kingdom of heaven is as demanding as being an Olympic athlete. Kingdom building requires discipline and focused training.
Paul uses ominous language. It’s possible to disqualify yourself. Paul approaches spiritual disciplines with the same intensive of a runner who knows there’s only one medal waiting at finish line. Paul is being smug or self-righteous. He just know the truth; only a handful of people end their lives satisfied with the impact they’ve left on those around them. Only a few people die knowing that they’ve loved, created, or influenced enough.
So Paul takes the risk of being mistaken for being legalistic and tells the church to get control of how they spend their time, how they use their bodies, and what directions they point their lives.God has invited us to participate in the games.
We’ve been given God-shaped dreams. Yours might be to fight an injustice, or to create art. Yours might be to be an excellent parent, to reclaim a blighted neighborhood, or to write poetry that awakens people.
Paul reminds us that dreams mature into intentions and goals; goals must manifest themselves as objectives; and objectives must be achieved with energy and endurance.
(This is cross posted at Burnside Writer’s Collective)
a few things to check out while you celebrate Canada’s Victoria Day…
+ Former KU basketball star Wayne Simien is transitioning from playing pro basketball to working in the ministry. Regarding his move to his organization called Called To Greatness, Simien said, “I am more excited about this transition into ministry than I was on college signing day or even draft night.” (h/t: PFB Member Matt Ralph)
+ Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Mass. has dropped the name ‘crusaders’ as their mascot, stating “the Crusader no longer represented the positive message of Christian love we aim to share with the world.” Their new mascot name, The Lions, was chosen “because it is a symbol of courage and strength.” It was not chosen because lions routinely ate Christians in ancient Rome.
+ Over at Stuff Christians Like on Friday, Bryan Allain (that’s me) presented a 20-Question Sports Idolatry Quiz to help readers determine if they needed to take a time out from sports.
+ Finally, Prayers For Blowouts has been added to the Guideposts Blog Network. For more information, keep an eye on CNN.com this week. Or not.
Cincinnati Bengals Tight End Ben Utecht sings a duet with Sandi Patty on his new album, the self-titled Ben Utecht.
This should go over well in the Bengal locker room.
Ben Utecht [Myspace Music]
Debut CD from Ben Utecht [Christianity Today]
You may know Tripp Crosby as the co-emcee of last month’s Catalyst West Conference in Southern California. Or maybe you know him as the co-host of the Maximum Impact Simulcast with Ernie Johnson. Or perhaps you’re familiar with his work playing Harry in Harry and the Hendersons*.
And if you don’t know him at all? Well, here’s your chance to meet him.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Tripp Crosby, new co-host of the NBA on TNT.
My favorite part of that is when Webber almost knocks him over with a high-five. Oh and when he says he’s related to Tree Rollins. Good stuff.
*Factually incorrect.
I’m excited to bring back a feature that has been on hiatus for way too long.
It’s the PFB Separated at Birth files, where we find separated twins from the worlds of sports and faith.
Today we’ve got Carlos Whittaker, a prolific blogger who’s on staff at Buckhead Church in Atlanta and Manny Delcarmen, a prolific pitcher who’s on the staff of the Boston Red Sox.
Personally, I think they look even more alike than these pictures convey. I’ve seen enough videos of Los blogging and enough footage of Manny pitching to say that the resemblance is really uncanny now that Manny went from the bushy goatee to the beard-no-stache.
What do you think? Are these guys separated at birth or am I off my rocker. And a better question, will Carlos ever fill out the PFB Sports Survey I sent him?
Past Separated at Births here at PFB include Andy Roddick and Yours Truly as well as Dan Haseltine and Darko Milicic.
If you’ve got a suggestion for separated twins, send it over to PrayersForBlowouts(at)gmail.com.
Time for another rousing rendition* of Ask the Schnoz.
*this is the first rendition
Schnoz,
I wanted to get your take on Bill Simmons. I first started reading Bill Simmons in 1997 and I really enjoy reading/listening to him. I know from your blog that you feel the same way. He has always toed the line, but it seems that he is getting more and more sexual in his writings/podcast. Sometimes I wonder if it is wrong for me to be listening to a lot of the stuff they are talking about. I sort of feel the same way about Deadspin. I haven’t visited that site as much, but the sexuality really seems to throw me for a loop.
Anyway, I respect your opinion and I’d love to get your take on Simmons and Deadspin and how we should interact with the sites as Christians.Hope you’re having a great week and best wishes with the book,
Mark
Great question Mark. While I don’t go back quite as far as you do as a Simmons’ fan, his writing and podcasts have been a large part of my life for the past 7+ years. His opinions are informed, his writing is humorous, and he seems like a good guy. What’s not to like? Well, one thing not to like is the repeated references to porn that Bill has employed throughout his tenure at ESPN. In the past these were usually passing jokes in a sports column or quick hitters in a mailbag column. But as Mark mentioned, the sex references have definitely been increasing of late. I won’t get into them all here, but suffice it to say that since the “The B.S. Report occasionally touches on mature subjects…” tag has been added to the beginning of his podcasts, he’s definitely ventured into some racy material a lot more frequently. I’m not going to judge him for it…it is what it is…but if the question is “How should we interact with Bill Simmons’ writing and with Deadspin as Christians?” My answer is “thoughtfully”.
First off, there’s no hard and fast rule for Christians as to whether it’s okay or not okay to listen to this podcast or read that website or see this movie. I’m not down with religious rules, or legalism, or whatever you want to call it. And honestly, I’m glad there’s no rules. Generic rules put in place to deem some things offensive and some permissible wouldn’t work for everyone. It might keep me from things that I would otherwise have no problem with and allow things to be filtered through that might not be good for me.
Instead, I believe it is up to each one of us to discern things on a case by case basis based on our past, our circumstances, and our goals, all with the help of God’s Spirit. (and with the help our our friends…or as the Bible puts it, Godly counsel)
Here’s how it works for me personally (if you don’t mind me getting personal for a minute): Like you, I try to keep my mind pure and live by the creed that Jesus spoke about lusting after other woman and how it is committing adultery with them. This is my goal based on past struggles, where I’m at with my relationship with my wife, and how I want to live going forward. As a result I try to avoid media where racy pictures of women are broadcast (from movies to websites and things in between) and I try to avoid thinking about other women in a sexual way. I know this is completely counter to a sex-obsessed culture like ours, but whatever.
Considering my goals, have I been able to do that to this point as I’ve read Bill’s columns and listened to his podcast? Yes. Have I been able to do that while keeping Deadspin in my feedreader? Yes. Have I been able to do that while listening to Bill Simmons appear as a guest on the Adam Carolla podcast? No. (I tried to listen to the Carolla podcast both times Bill appeared on it but both times I turned it off halfway through because I didn’t like where it was taking my mind…and I am laughing while I type that because they’d probably get a kick out of hearing that.)
I’ll be honest, it would be really hard for me to quit Bill Simmons cold turkey. I love the work he does. But if he ever leaves ESPN and all of his articles and podcasts went as racy as I think they might go, I’d definitely need to re-evaluate. At the very least, I might have to take each article and podcast on a case by case basis. It’s not about being a prude or tiptoeing through life on eggshells because I’m afraid of sinning. It’s not about labeling Bill Simmons as evil or bad because of the topics he covers. For me it’s just about trying to honor God with who I am, trying to love my wife the way she deserves to be loved, and trying to do what I feel is right. And for each of us, that will probably look slightly different. (For instance, I kept Deadpsin in my feed, but I’ve developed the habit of immediately turning away from racy photos when I first see them. I know to most guys this is the most ridiculous and counter-intuitive thing in the world, but I knew I had to develop that habit if I was going to continue to get news from Deadspin, which I wanted to do.)
To wrap this up, I think you’re on the right track, Mark, in that you’re listening to your conscience and asking the questions that need to be asked. With God’s help we all need to continue to be aware of what we’re consuming and how it makes us think and what it makes us do. If the results we are experiencing line up with who we are and who we want to be, that’s great. But if we find ourselves going down paths in our thoughts or actions that we don’t want to go down, we’d be foolish to ignore it.
Oh, and thanks about the book. I’m having a blast writing it.
The Schnoz
If you’ve got a question for the Schnoz to answer, be it serious or silly, send it over to prayersforblowouts(at)gmail.com. Until the volume becomes overwhelming, which will never happen, the Schnoz promises to use all the emails he receives in this segment.
The Celtics-Bulls series has been so good, I had to jump in and attempt a running diary. Before we get started, 5 points of clarification:
1. I’m a casual NBA fan and a casual Celtics fan (I was born and raised in Massachusetts). Yes, there might be a little bias in play, I can’t help it.
2. I don’t know if Bill Simmons’ created the running diary or simply perfected it, but I realize I am not him and I’m not trying to be him. I’m a huge fan, however, and I know my writing style has been heavily influenced by him. In fact, in honor of Bill let’s not call this a running diary. Let’s call it a jogging journal.
3. If Bill is writing a running diary for this game, it will be infinitely more interesting than mine. So go read it.
4. I’m DVRing the game in case I need to pause it to type something out or go get a refill on my tea.
5. I won’t be going back and editing this afterward, just in case it’s awful.
Here we go…
8:07pm – we’re about to tip. I can’t believe I made a point to watch an NBA first round playoff game. By the way, Ben Gordon has already tried to shoot the ball twice and the game hasn’t started yet.
8:09pm - We’re two minutes into the game and neither bench has sat down yet. Chicago’s got the early lead 9-2.
8:12pm – In case you’re wondering, I’m sitting in my basement flying solo right now. Kids are upstairs watching that new Jonas Brothers show on the Disney Channel. That show is destined to fail. I bet nobody watches it.[/sarcasm]
8:16pm – The Boston fans just pulled out their first chant of the night and it was “bulls&@%!” in response to a foul on Perkins. I thought it was going to be “Yankees Suck!”
8:18pm – Vinny Del Negro’s part-down-the-middle-and feathered hairstyle is amazing. It should have it’s own NBA “Where Amazing Happens” commercial.
8:21pm – Wait a minute, it’s been 14 minutes without a commercial! Is that some kind of record?
8:22pm – Wow, Derrick Rose just rejected Brian Scalibrine from behind on an open dunk. That was ridiculous. You’ll see that one on Sportscenter tomorrow.
8:24pm – Finally some commercials…hey there’s Ernie Johnson with a promo spot for the NBA on TNT. We interviewed Ernie Johnson for this site you know. check it out here. And hey it’s a Coors Light commercial. What about this new technology that makes our lives better? When the mountains turn blue on your can, you know it’s cold. Astounding! But get this: another way to tell if your beer is cold is to touch your can! If your fingers get cold, you know it’s cold. Also astounding!
8:26pm – With the Bulls up 25-20, Rondo misses again and has yet to score. He’s so cold, his jersey numbers are turning blue.
8:32pm – There’s a commercial for the MLB Extra Innings on. I’ve gotta say, I have it and I love it. Not only do I get every Red Sox game during the season, but I get to hear Vin Scully calling Dodgers games. Love that guy’s voice and his style.
8:34pm – Scalabrine just hit a 3-pointer. He’s got 5 points and the first quarter ends with the Bulls up 27-23.