Dirk Kuyt – A man that knows how to be a team player

Dirk Kuyt is a soccer player who plays for my favorite team, Liverpool. He was bought as a forward but has since been converted to a right midfielder role. He does not have a lot of skill or a lot of speed for that matter. The reason he is always in the team is because of heart. He is also a Christian which is awesome. The coach of Liverpool just released this statement about Dirk and I think it deserves some mention pertaining to his attitude. I wish Christians had this type of attitude. Step out side of yourself!

Kuyt was the two-goal hero as Liverpool beat top-four rivals Tottenham last week and was the subject of several questions as the gaffer gave his pre-Wolves press conference on Monday.

“He has a fantastic mentality,” Benitez told reporters. “We talk about him being a striker who has played on the right because we needed it. He can also play as a second striker.

“When we played in the Cup and Philipp Degen had cramps, he said to me that if I wanted he could play at right-back.

“It’s not just his versatility and the fact he’s in very good condition, it’s his mentality. He’s always ready to help the team.

“He is a player that every manager would want in their team. You can play him or not but he’s always available, always ready and always helping the team.

“When you talk about a squad or a winning team, you need players with this mentality. If you have to change something for a game or have to put a player out of position, he is always available. That’s massive for a manager.”

So many times we want to be the one standing out in front, we want to be the star but without the Dirk Kuyts in the team, the stars would not prosper.

How can you be a Dirk Kuyt in your life today?

God in the midst of suffering

In the wake of the quake in Haiti and all the suffering that ensued, the perennial question is raised once again,

If suffering, where is God? Does He even exist? How can He let this happen?

I know that there are a lot of answers out there and that there are a lot of valid ones. There is one though that particularly touches me and satisfies my quest for this answer. This is a really tough question and all worldviews need to answer it. I think that Christianity has the best answer. Nonetheless, I would not like to exhaustively answer this subject since it’s a blog, but give a different perspective. One of God’s promise to never leave us. I also think that it is very easy to speak about tragedy, especially as people in Haiti are suffering unspeakable things, but I think that these answers are true, and true universally.

My teacher gave a story about his 4 year old son who loves Scooby Doo cartoons. My teacher one day bought him a Scooby Doo DVD and as the son was watching it, he called his dad into the room. My teacher asked him what he wanted and the son told him that he was scared to watch this next part and wanted his dad to watch it with him. My teacher was a little surprised and told his son that he has seen a hundred Scooby Doo episodes and that the man in the alligator suit will soon be unzipped and shown. His son then turned to him and said, “I know dad, but I am still scared.”

Rewind 2000 years as Paul was writing the book of Philippians and we see a man that understands what it means to go through suffering. As he is talking about money and having things, he said that he knows what it is to have a lot and a little and that it is through God that he can endure who gives him strength. This verse is often used as a “I can do anything” type of mantra, but that is not what Paul is saying. He is saying that he is content and that through whatever he endures in life, God is next to him giving him strength to endure.

In the face of suffering in our lives and abroad, we ask where is God? We assume that God will take away every pain and hurt and suffering while we are on this earth. Though the promise is after we die, while we are on earth He promises to walk with us as we go through life, through all the suffering. Knowing that He is next to you, weeping with you, gives you strength. Like my teacher’s son who just needed his dad to be in the same room with him so he won’t be scared. Would it have mattered if his dad was in the other room while he was watching? Would it have changed the outcome of the Scooby Doo show? No. But having his dad next to him gave him strength to endure and as we take that knowledge and apply it to our lives, though we suffer, we know that God is right there in the foxhole with us. And that my friends, is where God is.

Dude! We are on the same team!

This past Sunday, I wasn’t preaching and so I didn’t have to prepare/finish up my sermon so I decided to go to the church on my street for an early sunday service. It’s always nice to attend a church service where you have no responsibilities. I always feel like if I go to anything my church does, I need to be involved somehow and I rarely get to just sit back and enjoy myself.

But then, as soon as I was walking towards the church a thought popped in my head, “I wonder if they will greet me, I wonder if they will be friendly and not like a lot of churches.” When the worship leader was praying I thought, “She is probably fake.” The Pastor started speaking, “I wonder if he will teach a watered down Gospel message like a lot of panzy pastors.” Throughout the whole service I kept thinking thoughts like this and telling myself to shut up with those thoughts because there is no set way to do church and I don’t even know these people.  The thoughts ended as I was walking out and a person asked me if I wanted to join their men’s group (which I was interested in doing), but when he said that I should tell my church guys too I immediately thought, “I’m not telling anyone! They are our people not yours!” As I was walking home I was so astonished at myself.

I know that this happens quite often and as I was praying and thinking, why do we think these things? Do we not realize that we are on the same team? It’s sad that as Christians, we are territorial and critical of other churches. OUR way is THE way and everyone needs to conform to us. Pride is at the heart of it. Something that needs to be decimated.

Have you ever had a situation where you experienced that? Do you think that a lot of people go through this or is it just me? What do you think? How should this be fixed?

American professional sports need genuine passion

I realized this at the Clippers game I went to about a week ago. As I saw the cheerleaders getting onto the floor timeout after timeout and putting on a “show” for the fans. Even when the game is going on, the fans are relatively quiet and I even had a girl sitting in front of me starting to get irritated at my yelling and such. It’s a sports game, not a movie! is what I what I wanted to tell her.

I follow the English Premier League and have been for quite a number of years now (Dating back to the mid 90’s is how far my memory goes) and they don’t have any cheerleaders nor big screens telling them to make some noise. They have genuine passion for the game and come up with songs and chants and do not stop yelling for the whole game. If you turn off the commentary, you will hear the roar of the crowd, not silence (like most American sports) I am sure there are exceptions to this rule and I think that I am only picking at the NBA and NHL as I have only attended those matches. Even the MLS is fairly quiet but you do get fans singing and chanting.

Is there no passion for the game? Is it mere entertainment for us? Is it a cultural thing? What do you think?

Don’t waste your time with Social Justice

*This post is written primarily to a Christian audience*

During the past year at our church, as we got more involved in social justice in our local community, we started to forget why we do it. Everything slowly started turning into a humanitarian effort and the initial care and love has slowly dried up. As we have realized this, we are trying to get back to our roots in this matter and remember why we started helping the homeless, going to abortion clinics, etc in the first place.

I haven’t watched porn in 6 years, so why do I still struggle with lust?

*Forgive me if the title is a little disturbing but I really want to deal with some issues.*

Isn’t this a question we hear all the time at church? Not exactly worded this way but along the lines of, “how do I stop watching porn?” “Why can’t I do it?” Our typical answer has been to “cut off the source”. That typically involves getting some filters, canceling internet, canceling cable or putting blocks there. We have sought to cancel out our outward action in pursuit of canceling out what is really going on inside. Another example would be if people don’t like each other they are usually told to stay away from each other but again, this does not deal with the heart of the issue which is hate.

What I am trying to get at here is that this is not spiritual formation. That is not the type of change Jesus called Christians to. Even non-Christians can do those things. but as Paul believed the Gospel as being “The power of God” unto salvation but also for sanctification. We must be changed from the inside out. Now how does this look practically? We need to be more conscious of God in our daily lives. I know it sounds corny but instead of telling God, “I want to watch porn really bad right now!” ask “Why do I want to watch?, why do I hate this person?” We are changed through relationships and a relationship with God along with the people He uses is what is going to change us. Getting to the heart of the issue, not manipulating actions.

What do you think? Do you agree? Have a story of how God changed you? Please share!

Confessions of a High School Pastor

This is somewhat of a follow up to my last blog. This is what I shared with the high school group on sunday. We hear many stories of failure that leads to a great comeback. Well, that’s not what you are going to get here, at least not yet. This is my story, thus far.

I can’t seem to embed the link so just click here to listen

Confession

Just plain old burnt out

I’m tired. Really really tired. Have you seen a post from me for a while? No.

I don’t even know where to begin to explain my situation. I just need to vent a little bit.

Over the past few months (since I started seminary at Talbot) it seems as though I have just been spiraling downward.

Being a Youth Pastor at the same time doesn’t help either because even though I am expected to only work 15-20 hours a week, my mind is constantly thinking about the ministry, people are contacting me, I have a big to do list, etc. And I feel bad because I want to give my High Schoolers the best of myself, not a piece. It’s not a clock in clock out type of job for those of you that are in ministry would know. It’s a clock in and stay clocked in even though you are not clocking in or out type of thing. We can’t dichotomize our Christianity and ‘real life’. It’s who we are all the time. I am glad that it is not on me for ministry but God. Though I would like to be the best tool for Him as possible. Not trying to say I am doing this in my own strength. I understand that.

Then comes school. Wow. I am getting rocked so bad. If I could measure it at 8 hours of sleep a night (ideally) I have probably lost about 2-2.5 weeks worth of sleep since September. Pulling all nighters, almost all nighters, waking up realllllly early to start my homework. As my Greek teacher warned me, “You can only dip into that bank for so long until it catches up with you” Well, it has caught up with me for a while and I am really struggling.

I am also forgetting things. Forgetting things to do because I am just running around all the time. I haven’t done things, I have forgotten to call people, etc.

Worst of all, my relationship with God is stagnant. I can’t think. I can’t pray. All that is in my mind is white noise. I am having a lot of trouble concentrating.

Wondering if anyone else is feeling this way and how/if you got out of it? I don’t want to quit my job but it would be nice to run away for like 2 weeks.

Thanks for reading

The Sanctification Gap – Are we saved…and that’s it?

This is something that I have been dealing with in my Spiritual Formation Class lately and is something that has gotten me thinking as well. It is something I have dealt with personally and I have also seen many others deal with it.

Historically, Protestants have been very good on justification. During the time of the Protestant Reformation the talk was very much geared towards justification. That it was by faith alone. I think we might have forgotten that a Christian doesn’t just get saved and then dies but actually keeps living life after that.

And the process we go through by living is what we call sanctification – the process of which we are made “holy”. The Greek verb used is – hagiazo which means to make holy. How God molds us and builds us up into the image of Christ as we keep in step with His Spirit.

The question is how does this work?

He that is greatest among you…

When Jesus said, “He that is greatest among you is the servant of all” he was, in context, breaking up a debate within his disciples that were arguing over who was the greatest in the kingdom. He was appealing to their pride, I believe. Of course everyone wants to be great, so Jesus said, “Oh, so you want to be great huh? Well, in this Kingdom in order to do that you need to lower yourself to the bottom of all and serve all.”