Is it a Christmas miracle or that which will doom February to the doldrums of the year?

Today as I was driving into the church, I found myself relishing in the fresh powder that was all over the place. For just an instant I was warmed by the illusion of warm fires, hot chocolate, family, friends, stockings hanging from the mantle, presents, the smell of mint, and presents of gold, myrrh and frankincense.

It came to an abrupt end as I was forced to slam on the brakes as some soccer mom in a minivan was completely disillusioned by the presence of snow on the

road. Apparently, green lights are only applicable in dry road conditions! This pericope brought to mind the attitude that Kansans take toward snow. Most Kansans that I have spoken with associate snow with family gatherings; gingerbread cookies; and various other Yuletide amenities; but what happens when there is no light at the end of the tunnel? Where does this affinity for the flakes go when the hope is gone?

It is my contention that the only thing that makes snow suffer

able is the understanding that Christmas comes directly following it. Where is your Christmas carols in February? Where are your presents in January? And during the final unexpected snow in March, to what portly man in red pajamas will you turn? Rest assured the man you wish was there, Old St. Nick, has abandoned you and left you with a cheap imitation known as the Easter Bunny (other than as slippers; he owns no heart warming capabilities!)

Understanding that snow is a great idea now and an inconvenience in February does well to hedge our emotions now. So if you run into me and expound on the beauty of snow; the crispness of the air; and the joy of catching snowflakes on your nose; chances are good that I will remind you of all the negative aspects of snow during your spring break (swimming suits + snowfall = frostbite); slipping on the ice and busting your face; or I will remind you the back breaking shoveling that comes with it?

Persecution in Central Park

For the last couple weeks in Jr. High Youth group, we have been studying thankfulness (see my last post). Two weeks ago we discussed how Paul was thankful for the community that he was a part of.

This week we discussed Paul's thankfulness for salvation. I think Paul had a little bit better grasp on salvation than we do. Why this is I can only speculate; however, I think it is because getting saved by God was an every day occurrence. If you read through Paul's list of tribulations in 2 Corinthians 11.24ff.:

Five times lashed by the Jews

Three times he was beaten with rods (Acts 16.23)

Once he was stoned (Acts 14.19)

Three times he was shipwrecked (Acts 27)

He was in danger from Jews (Acts 9.23ff.; 9.29; 13.50; 14.5;

He was in danger from Gentiles (Acts 14.5)

He was thrown in prison or under guard (Acts 16.23; 23.35)

Paul seemed to be saved by God a lot during his work. I wonder if that is why Paul seems so much more thankful for the work of Salvation. Salvation, for Paul, is a constant occurrence.

This is what I wanted our jr. highers to understand when we talked about being thankful for salvation. On Wednesday night, our jr. high students met at the north end of Central Park Park. Each group 0f 4 or 5 students was led by a sponsor or parent. Their job was to make the perilous trek 800 yards to the south in to the back room of our church. The room has no windows and only one entrance. Their enemies were 8 of our high school kids with the mission of persecuting our jr. high kids to no end (purple nurples, chest taps, noogies, whatever it takes). Once our students entered the back room I spoke to them about being thankful for their salvation, not only for their evading the persecution, but for their eternal salvation.

I played some gunfire in the background and the muslim call to prayer to let them experience what other Christians are going through around the world. It was a lot of fun. We took communion to end the night; as a celebration of what Jesus did for us to save us from our sins.

Thanksgiving and the Epistles

What was Paul thankful for? On what occasion did he find to give thanks to God? And what does it matter to Jr. Highers?

Tough questions that will all come to a head in the next couple weeks of Jr. High youth group.

Paul was thankful for all these things and it was very clear that he understood the place of thanksgiving in his life (the attitude not the holiday). It is a constant attitude and action. Paul mentions it third in his list of continual actions in 1 Thessalonians 5. It isn't the only time that he looks for thanksgiving in every action. Colossians 3.17 says: "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Paul not only saw thanksgiving as an attitude for life but also an integral part of prayer life. It is interesting how often thanksgiving is attached to our prayer life. Paul reminds us in Phil 4.6 to present our prayers of thanksgiving to God. All to often our prayer lives return to our needs and concerns; but time is rarely spent on thanking him for the work he has already done. But what did Paul really have to say about thanksgiving and what was he thankful for:

(1) Paul thanks God because of the community he is in. In many of the letters that Paul writes he affirms the community of believers with thanksgiving for them. Granted, he upholds different aspects of that community in his thanksgiving (to the Romans he is thankful for their faith [1.8]; to the Corinthians it is the grace God has given in his dealings with them [1 cor. 1.4]; to the Ephesians he is tankful for their faith and their love for one another [1.15]; to the Thessalonians not once but twice [1.2; 1.3]; to Philemon [1.4-5]) but ultimately it is the chance to be in a loving community to of faith that Paul is drawn to. He instructs Timothy to pray and give thanks for all people during the course of his worship (1 Tim. 2.1-2).

(2) Paul is thankful for the gift of salvation. Romans 6.17-18: "But thanks be to God that, through you used to be slaves to sin...you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness." Romans 7.25 seems to echo that same sentiment. Thankfulness for the gift of salvation is rampant through the works of Paul. The life that he was saved from through his encounter on the Damascus road is a gift that he is thankful for.

(3) Paul is appreciative of the grace that God has lavished upon him (2 Cor. 9.15). Paul is no stranger to the grace of God. He refers to himself as the "worst of sinners" (1 Tim. 1.12ff.). He holds himself up as an example of God's patience and grace. The same can be said of us. We have tested and expended the grace of God...and if God weren't all that he is our lives should have ended by now. Paul understands that the gesture of grace and the gift of grace is a call for thanksgiving.

Paul's thanksgiving was foundational to his contentment in life (Philippians 4.12) and it is key to our own contentment. If we are able to give thanks where thanks is due, it shows that we understand who is in control which allows us to recognize the provisions of God. Contentment lies in knowing the effort; love; and lengths to which God has striven for us. This isnt just a problem for Jr. Highers but for all of us.

My Sister and Jared

My Sister and Jared are now in Okazaki, Japan (and have been for 2 weeks) working for Mustard Seed Global Fellowship. If you want to keep up with them here is their blog....

http://thefareastforus.wordpress.com/

There is a link to the right for it as well. Check it out for some cool pictures and video of Japan.

"YOU...

follow me!" Its an imperative command that Jesus gives to his disciples. He might not use the word "you" but we all know who he is talking about.

Mark 1.17: "Come, Follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

So much has been written about these verses. Some would argue that it was a massive struggle for these guys to drop their nets and follow him. Others contend that it was a great honor to be called to follow a teacher.

Some point out that Jesus wanted these guys to follow him based on their specific skills; others think Jesus picked them explicitly because of their lack of skills.

I don't know about either of these contentions; however, I do know that Jesus called these guys to follow. But Why? Not "why these guys?" but "why follow?" So much learning today is passive, sit in a desk and listen up. So much of the learning then was passive, set in synagogue and listen up or copy this (until later in life when they would learn from a rabbi). Why does Jesus give these guys in-life training? A couple reasons:

(1) Discipleship is a journey. When you look at the book of Mark much of Jesus teaching comes on the way. Life isn't lived at a desk. Theory would only take these guys so far and definitely not through the trials that these guys would face later on. The only way to expect that these guys would come through the trials in life later would be for them to follow someone through their own. Theory just ain't gonna cut it. Mark continually mentions things on the way: his three passion statements in the book of Mark (8.27-9.1; 9.30; 10.32) come "on the way"; he asks the disciples who he is (8.27); he even healed people on the way (10.46). Disciples move and discipleship is a journey.

(2) Discipleship is a reordering of life. It is a placement of his ideals and vision above your own. Take up your cross is a command to relinquish your own desires and personal security to embrace that which is called of you.

(3) Discipleship has no end. A disciple can expect no better than his teacher. His demise will to be yours. And for many of the disciples it was. Discipleship is continuous expectation for the rest of your life...there is no terms and there are no release dates.

The False Worlds We Create (if you don't have time to read it all, just read the last paragraph)

"Today's youth want to be challenged" -- Wayne West, Jr. High Sunday school teacher, bullfighter

In the last three years as I have been in youth ministry, coached athletics, and worked at bull ridings for adults and youth, I have come to basically the same conclusion.

However, this conclusion has now come to fail me. I find that as I look at many of the situations around me, challenge is not the word I would put with it. Today, many people want security, a quality that we continually provide for our children (often longer than is needed). Here are a couple examples:

My soccer team has actually been in some games this year. I have pushed these kids harder than they really needed pushed, but for the first time in 3 years they are actually a decent team that has a chance of winning when they take the field. Some of these kids have taken me yelling at them as a negative. This year many parents have taken yelling at their precious suzy or timmy as "too aggressive" and "not very nice." Kids are complaining to their parents; parents are complaining to each other. It is not a good situation.

When I was growing up, I played all kinds of sports, excelling at none of them. I have been yelled at many times and in a couple different languages. Why? Because my coach knew I could be better than I was playing. Expecting the best out of people is the only way that you can get the best out of them. Me aiming low is not helping any of these kids get any better at soccer. Me patting tommy on the head and telling him that he is good at soccer isn't helping me, the team, or our chances of winning. If we want to eliminate competition lets get rid of everything that is laborious: instead of "hide and go seek" with its hiding and searching, we could let every kid run free in search of himself. What about instead of "tag your it" we could play "tag your special" with no designated tagger allowing each kid to remind himself or herself (we are going for equality here) that they are special in everyones sight.

That is one of the reasons I love being around the sport of rodeo. If you aint any good...you know pretty quickly. There is absolutely no way of hiding it. If you don't want to try...then you lose every time. And when you lose there is no one back there pointing out moral victories. Yesterday I saw a dad tell his kid to get up and walk out of the arena after being stepped on by a calf. Why is this? Because him lying there in the arena wasn't doing him any good and wasn't doing anyone else any good either.

What worries me is this idea that in sports everyone deserves a chance to play and everyone deserves equal playing time, and no one should get yelled at! We have spent so much time creating these false worlds that protect our kids from all aspects of real life. Upward! basketball and other places where everyone plays equal amounts are for those learning the game and should remain outside the box of common thinking when high school sports comes into play. Pissing and moaning about Johnny getting to play more or a coach yelling is not the correct way to go about anything.

The correct way is to get your butt in the gym, put on a game face, and figure out how far your heart will take you. If it is a matter of skill, a coach can help out, but if it is a matter of the heart then the ball is in your court.

I refuse to say bad things about a coach for this very reason: I have not been at their practice all week to see if little timmy has an ounce of fight in his blood for the ball. I have not been to practice all week to see if he has any kind of coachable spirit. I have not witnessed whether or not my kid has any kind of respect for his teammates or coaches. Therefore I will keep my mouth-shut.

People may disagree with me on that; but as I have seen both sides of coaching and parenting (at their best and at their worst); I cant help but feel uncomfortable about how many people have an opinion about the way coaches handle their business. If you look at them as people who are trying to achieve their own acclaim through the accomplishments of others you might be right. But also remember that they are preparing your student to work hard for everything that they get; to be part of the team even when it is hard; and to find the depth that they have to reach to excell at something. If you ask me, in this no-child-left-behind-world where many graduate and still cant read, sports seems to be the final real preparation for that hard-to-get-along-with-boss, the unfair workplace; the disappointing grade on a college test; or the rejection that comes with life. We don't need less sports; we need more.

PBR Questions

This might be my fault but I doubt it.

My association with the PBR is small, but my interest in it is great. My home page on my computer is www.pbrnow.com. I get e-mail updates about recent activity within the organization and during competition. This may be my fault for being on the ground floor of all the pbr information.

But I do not know when the PBR became so much like the WWE. One thing that bothers me is the amount of trash talk during the World Cup of Bull Riding. The CEO, Randy Bernard, talked bad about team Canada; JW Hart (team USA's captain) talked bad about Adriano Moras (team Brazil's captain); Team Brazil and team USA talked trash to each other; Cody Lambert talked bad about everyone. It was crazy.

One thing I have really liked about bull riding is the understanding that they are not competing against each other necessarily; but against their bulls. I fought in a freestyle contest the other day, a couple of the guys were talking trash to each other before hand. Not the playful stuff, but the getting in their face and talking smack. Both of them got run over (I refuse to talk trash because Im not good enough to back it up). There is the unwritten rule in my mind that "if you cant beat your bull, you cant beat anyone else." The trash talking didn't need to be there in my mind.

Something else that bothers me about the current state of the PBR is the Television contract with Versus. PBR fell into the same trap as the NHL. Each of them signed a more lucrative contract at the expense of viewership. The PBR would have been better served to take less money and less televised events for the opportunity for greater exposure. To be bumming around on Versus when less primetime, but greater exposure (without having to pay extra for it) is the smarter move.

Other things that bug me is the talk about coaches and the big deal that comes with it. There is nothing wrong with having some one coach you (I would actually endorse it, thanks to Bennie Bob), but the whole discussion came about because of a reride controversy by JB Mauney. He was awarded a reride on a bull, that was a questionable decision by the judges. With the instant replay rule, anyone can hit the button to have a replay viewed. This replay could have overturned the reride option. Having a coach to make the decision for a rider to hit the button seems to be a little to much micromanaging. Bullriding schools have furthered the sport (I was helped out a ton at the bullfighting school). Older riders mentor younger ones all the time, but when it comes to competition, your ability and decision making in competition needs to be all your own.

I think the PBR is the best bullriding in the world. As much as the CBR wants to rival it; the PBR has the best bulls and the best riders in the world. The CBR is on the right track to gaining equality by not bogging themselves down in the trash talking crap; and video replay controversies; and sponsorship for every single aspect including the bells ringing on the underside of the bull.