Why I Follow Sports

We live in a messed up world. With all the poverty, hunger, war, unemployment, and general darkness on this crazy planet, I'll be the first to admit there are way more important things than how far someone can hit a baseball or how fast they can run a football. And as a Christian culture we've become very focused on the social and cultural issues (which is good). However, some of us have started to look down on sports fans because we spend a lot of time and energy paying attention to things that in the grand scheme of things are so trivial.

So for some unknown reason I've begun feeling the need to articulate the reasons why I follow sports. So here they are.

1. The stories in sports are tangible dramas of greater life stories. What I mean is whether it's a washed-up has-been like a Brett Favre who comes from the brink of retirement to have one of the best seasons of his career, or a Josh Hamilton who, through the grace and strength of God overcomes his struggle with drugs, alcohol and injuries to be a clear-cut MVP favorite, these stories are better than any fictional soap opera and are played out right before our eyes. How about Drew Brees leading the New Orleans Saints to bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to a city that had been devastated by one of the worst natural disasters in American history? Then there is this-due to his struggles with substance abuse and out of love and respect for him, Hamilton's teammates gave him Ginger Ale showers in lieu of champagne upon winning both the ALDS and the ALCS. Trust me, you can't make this stuff up!

2. Sports give Christian celebrities a platform to share their faith in Christ. I've heard many nay-sayers ask if a certain athlete is such a great Christian why is he/she making millions of dollars playing a game instead of trying to solve the great problems of the world. While there may be some truth to that, there is also something to be said for being able to share one's faith with millions of people because you have them as an audience. Athletes gain credibility by what they do on the field. What they do with that credibility is the reason I believe God allows them to accomplish great things. Former Colts Super Bowl Champion head coach, Tony Dungy, has written Bible study curriculum for use in men's ministries. Had he not been so successful on the football field, would we really care as much about what he thought?

3. Sports provide people with Christian role-models. Unfortunately, pop culture. offers little in the way of positive role models outside of the arenas of sports. Sure, there are Christian singers and actors (Christian singers are role models for Christian kids, but aren't as likely to be admired by a non-believing audience), but in the Hollywood scene their voices are drowned out by the Brangelinas and the Lady Gagas of the world. Well, okay...there's Kirk Cameron and .... uhhhh.... Seriously, though, to the Christian young man who is learning what it means to be a good person, to work hard, and put God first, there are people like Heisman Trophy winner and two time National Champion, Tim Tebow or Super Bowl Champion, Kurt Warner.

4. Sports salaries provide capitol for players and coaches to create opportunities for others. This year while watching the Texas Rangers, a commentator shared that Rangers DH Vlad Guerrero and his brothers have opened several businesses in the Dominican Republic which provide jobs for the local people. Among these are a block and tile factory, a supermarket, a livestock/vegetable farm, and a clothing store. During his playing days and afterwards, Packers and Eagles Defensive End, Reggie White (aka The Minister of Defense) used a lot of his playing salary to operate inner-city ministry opportunities in the Philadelphia area.

5. Cinderella. No, not the fairy tale. But where else can we visibly watch David defeat Goliath. Where can we see a third string quarterback like Tony Romo come out of nowhere as an undrafted free agent to become one of the best passers in the game? Where else can we see a team like the 2010 Texas Rangers defeat the New York Yankees who has more money tied up in between 2nd and 3rd base (Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez) than the entire Rangers player payroll.

6. Morale. Sports simply give people something to cheer about. Maybe it's crazy, but I've been in a better mood this week since the Rangers are now in the World Series. Whether they win or not, I know this was the greatest season in team history and I watched as many of the 160 regular season games as I could. How many other Ranger fans are feeling good this week because of what they've been able to accomplish?

Sure there are a lot of other things going on in the world. But for as long as I can remember I've been pretty well glued to the performance of some of my favorite players and teams. It has just been woven into the fabric of my life that I'm going to sit down and watch my teams play, regardless of what else is on TV. And while sports have become billion dollar industries, I still try to keep things in perspective about what more important stuff is going on in the rest of the world. What about you? Why do you follow sports? Do you think Christian athletes are wrong for making the money they do? If you were a Christian athlete, how would you spend your paycheck?

Why Does it Have to be Black or White?

Last weekend, I went hiking with a couple of great friends in Big Bend National Park. During the time away from TV, internet, office work, family life, and even cell phones, conversations tend to open up. Tommy and I have been friends for over 16 years and our conversations rarely turn to politics, but on the 8-hour car ride home, we went there.

During the course of conversation, though, we discussed how polarized things have become. But when we examined it, it goes way beyond politics. Of course in the political arena everyone seems to be either Republican or Democrat (conservative or liberal). But in other circles, there seems to be equally tremendous dichotomies everywhere. In the church people tend to be either evangelical or mainline. Or in biblical interpretation they tend to be Fundamentalists or Moderates (conservatives or liberals). Even in the area of the environment and the enjoying the great outdoors people either tend to be hikers or hunters. Hikers tend to drive hybrids and AWD crossovers in stark contrast to the 4x4 equipped gas-guzzling hunters (I recently read an amazing article about this). People either support PETA or the NRA. They are either pro-life or pro-abortion. They are either "pro-gay" or "no-gay". Even in our church worship services we are either contemporary or traditional. Some have made attempts at blended worship services, but I've hardly seen it done well.

In all of these walks of life, the bridge (if one exists) between the two poles is one that is never to be crossed. I'll admit, I'm politically and biblically more conservative. But that doesn't mean that I don't agree with certain policies that have been labeled as liberal, which are often more humanitarian. I have spent most of my life hunting as a hobby and pastime. But I'm learning to experience the outdoors without a weapon and it's very enjoyable. I love the modern sound and intimate lyrics of contemporary worship, but I also love the deep theology of the hymns.

But what I've found is that most of us are somewhere in the middle. I guess the thing that frustrates me is that those of us in the middle have no voice. It seems everyone who has a voice has been given that voice because they subscribe to an extreme form of their belief and these polarized right vs. left voices are the only choices we have been given. Are we just a society that celebrates the extreme and doesn't want to hear the things that some might consider normal?

Many things I post on this blog have been shared because I have felt I have discovered an answer for myself. But not this post. I'm simply throwing this out for discussion. Why has our society become so polarized? How do we move beyond that where those of us non-radicals who are stuck somewhere in the middle have a voice again?

Sin and Consequences (What I Learned from Mud Volleyball)

This weekend, I took my youth group to an event at Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, TX called Omega Fest. This was a fun Saturday event that featured a crawfish boil, live music, and a mud volleyball tournament. The sun was hot, the music was great, the mudbugs were spicy, and the volleyball was...well...muddy. You can't participate in a mud volleyball tournament and expect to stay clean. But on a hot summer day, the mud was cool and wet.

As our team was called up, we eased into the cool mud and it actually felt kind of good. It was at least six inches deep throughout the entire court, so none of us were quite sure what was underneath it. After a showdown of Rock, Paper, Scissors, our team got the first serve. I bumped the muddy ball up over the net and it was vollied right back at me just a few feet up from where I was standing. I jumped forward and went down on my knees to get my hands up under the ball. As I watched the ball go back over the net, I realized there was much more than mud in the pit. It seems as I attempted to return the ball, my knees had landed on a pile of rocks under the soft cool mud. After a hose-down and later a real shower I noticed scabs forming on both my knees as I suffered the consequences of a seemingly innocent game of mud volleyball. (The picture above is a shot of my knee taken on Monday after the Saturday match.)

As I pondered my experience, I began to realize that this is how sin is. Just like that soft cool mud (although dirty) looked good on the surface, I didn't realize until after I got in the pit that there were rocks in there. Once the rocks had cut me (both on my knees and the bottom of my feet), I didn't seem to notice it as much as long as I was covered in the cool mud. But when I got out of the pit and cleaned off, I really noticed the pain of what I'd done. James 1:13-15 says: "When tempted, no one should say, "God is tempting me." For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed.Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death." As sin entices us, and we give in, it brings pain in our lives and sometimes it seems like the only way to mask the pain is to keep on sinning (remain in the pit). However, God is light and what light does is expose the pain of our sin. 1 John 1:7 says "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin." If you will allow me to extend the metaphor, God is the one who gets us out of the pit and washes us off and allows our wounds to heal. Thanks be to God that he calls us out of the pit of sin and cleanses us from our pain to bring about healing!