"Consider how hard it is to change yourself and you'll understand what little chance you have of trying to change others" -- Jacob M. Baude

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Last night, I finished my quarter of teaching our teens in the youth house. We had 42 packed in last night as we discussed the virtue of trustworthiness.

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One of the simple pleasures in my life is my Dish Network subscription to Major League Baseball's Extra Innings package. Basically, the package is a season-long feed of every Fox Sports Net broadcast of MLB, typically offering 12 games a day.

The package offers baseball nuts like myself a smorgasboard of baseball. But what has especially riveted me in the three years I've had Extra Innings is the different styles employed by game announcers.

And without a doubt, the best baseball announcer, bar none, is Vin Scully. I was delighted this morning to read in the paper that the Dodgers have extended Scully's contract for two more years, through 2008, which would mark his 59th consecutive season calling Dodger games.

What makes Scully so great? For nine innings, Scully calls the game...solo. His content is unmatched. His preparation is apparent. His delivery is flawless. He exudes class and grace in his presentation of the game.

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I'm blogging this morning between counseling appointments. My heart is heavy as I've just finished a visit with a genuine, sincere person concerned about the future of the church. The concern wasn't that the church is adrift, but that the church's staunch cries for distinctiveness have become so divisive that the world ignores our witness and testimony of Christ.

For every Christian who digs in their distinctive heels, there is another who cries for our distinctiveness to be found, not in our doctrinal positions but in our living out of the way of Jesus.

You know, Baude's proverb rings more true, doesn't it?