Out of the Mouths of Babes

The L.A. media is speaking this morning as if it is a foregone conclusion that Alex Rodriguez will join Joe Torre and Don Mattingly in Dodger Blue next year.

And with that, the overwhelming question seems to be, "Will the Dodgers sell out all tickets for all games before the season begins?" The Red Sox do it each year, in a stadium with 20,000+ fewer seats. Should the Dodgers pull it off, with the star power of A-Rod playing in Tinseltown drawing over 4.5 Million, it will re-write the definition of "big market" in baseball circles.

As Bill Plaschke theorizes in this morning's LA Times, a changing of the guard is happening in LA, with the Dodgers (adding Torre and A-Rod) on the verge of lapping the Lakers (who will soon lose Kobe Bryant) in terms of star power.

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Mandy is teaching the 2's and 3's class during the Fall Quarter on Wednesday nights. Due to a schedule change to accommodate the Fall Festival/Trunk or Treat tonight, we moved our midweek to last night.

So, last night when Mandy and I were putting to Tori to bed, we went through our usual routine of reviewing with her what she had learned in Bible class. This quarter, Mandy is teaching the kids about creation -- how everything finds its origin in God's power. As a part of the class, Mandy has taught the kids the "Days of Creation" song.

Last night, Tori put a new slant on Day Four. The real words go like this: "Day four, day four, God made the sun, moon and stars galore."

Tori's version? "Day four, day four, God made the sun, moon and stars...good Lord!"

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Building Motives

Well, better late than never! This morning was my bi-monthly morning to volunteer in Trae's classroom. There's nothing like an early morning of test grading and craft preparing and general busy work. But it does put me into my daughter's classroom for two hours, twice each month and for that opportunity, I am very grateful.

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Frank Thielman has written an insightful commentary on Philippians as a part of The NIV Application Commentary Series published by Zondervan.

In his contemporary application section of 2.5-11, Thielman speaks of how from infancy our nature is to urge others to meet our needs. A crying baby is evidence of desire to have an unmet need satisfied. For infants, their cries are a part of their survival instinct; for adults, our cries for comfort are often little more than evidence of our fallen nature. As Paul points out to the Philippians in 2.1-4, reigning in the desire to be the center of our world and experiencing personal discomfort and unsatisfied desires so that we might serve others, putting their needs ahead of our own, is inherent in the call to be like Jesus.

Thielman takes this fundamental insight and applies it on a corporate level with a penetrating conviction in a series of paragraphs that relate to modern-day congregations, specifically in the area of capital campaigns and building projects:

"With our minds assaulted by this kind of abusive power (the power to dominate rather than serve others) day after day, it is easy for us and the churches we represent to think that in our own way it is acceptable to dominate others in order to achieve our ends. It is easy to see this in advocates of the 'prosperity gospel' who enrich themselves by preying on the fears and superstitions of their followers about withholding or giving money to God. But we should probably ponder whether the same principles are at work in some church building campaigns and membership drives. Are these genuine efforts to see the gospel advance, or are they ways of enhancing the prestige and comfort of our own group?

Several diagnostic questions might help in determining whether such programs originate in good motives or in motives unworthy of the gospel:

1.) Is this strategy designed to meet the need for every sector of human society to hear the gospel or only for those parts of society with which I feel comfortable?

2.) Would the poorest person in the city assume that the new church building was a place for him or her, or would that thought probably not even occur?

3.) Do evangelism teams give more effort to affluent neighborhoods than to poverty-stricken communities?

If honest answers to questions like these reveal that we are building and recruiting for our own social group, then it becomes difficult to tell whether at the deepest level our concern is for the advancement of the gospel or only for making our own lives more comfortable by providing ourselves with more pleasant quarters and gaining legitimacy among our peers" (129-30).

Monday Stream of Consciousness

On your left, presenting Tori Gardner starring as...Cheetah girl Dorienda. Tori has decided she wants to be a Cheetah girl for our Fall Festival on Wednesday night. We had a dress rehearsal on Saturday for a costume birthday party of a classmate in her ballet class.

Are the New England Patriots the best team in the history of the NFL? If they get by Indy this weekend, they run the table.

While Scott Boras's timing in announcing A-Fraud's opting out of his contract with the Yankees was atrocious, it is the greatest gift ever presented to the Texas Rangers. A-Fraud's money comes off the Rangers' books immediately.

Speaking of baseball, my old buddy from Arkansas Traveler days, Jim Riggleman, was hired last week as bench coach for the Seattle Mariners. My second favorite team has always been whatever team Riggs was a part of. So in 2008, yes, I will wear a Mariners hat and catch the Mariners when they come to Oakland, even if they are in the AL West.

Is CBS-47 in Fresno really going to show the Raiders/Texans game next week over the Patriots/Colts game? That would be a really poor choice by the brass at CBS-47.

Does anybody have a clue what Malachi 4.1-6 really means?

Why is fasting, assumed by Jesus as essential discipline of his followers (see Matthew 6.16-18), so under-utilized in our modern-day walk of faith?

If a person would truly apply the calling of Philippians 2.3-4 in his/her daily life, what would his/her life look like?

Despite recent TRAC superiority, Edison High School has the best football team in the Valley this year.

Have a great Monday!

God: Master or Magician?

Tom Dienhart of The Sporting News Friday night's tussle in Bulldog Stadium between Fresno State and Boise State as the best non-BCS matchup in the nation this week.

Since joining the WAC, Boise State is 48-3. That's 48 wins against only 3 losses. That's really, really good but the game Friday night (ESPN, 6:00 pm PST) is not being played based on historical factors. It's two teams vying for first place in the wild, wild Western Athletic Conference.

With Clifton Smith, Lonyae Miller, and most especially super-freshman, Ryan Matthews carrying the load in the 'Dog run game coupled with Boise's most recent inability to stuff the run, I really like the Bulldogs chances. The old adage is "the team that runs the ball and the team that stops the run wins." Fresno's going to run the ball and a Boise team minus Ian Johnson faces an uphill climb.

Fresno State -- 34

Boise State -- 24

Go Dogs Go! Fight Dogs Fight! Goooooo Dogs!

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On my personal journey to joy, I enjoyed re-reading famed author C.S. Lewis's autobiographical conversion story entitled Surprised by Joy. In typical Lewis fashion, he writes with unique precision and skill in recapping his journey toward belief in God, chronicling the major movements and events in his life that resulted in faith.

In one particular portion of the book, Lewis reflects upon his mother's death and its impact on his life and infantile belief. Lewis was but ten-years-old when his mother died and captures that episode in his life this way:

"My mother's death was the occasion of what some (but not I) might regard as my first religious experience. When her case was pronounced hopeless I remembered what I had been taught; that prayers offered in faith would be granted. I accordingly set myself to produce by will power a firm belief that my prayers for her recovery would be successful; and as I thought, I achieved it. When nevertheless she died I shifted my ground and worked myself into a belief that there was to be a miracle. The interesting thing is that my disappointment produced no results beyond itself. The thing hadn't worked, but I was used to things not working, and I thought no more about it. I think the truth is that the belief into which I had hypnotized myself was itself too irreligious for its failure to cause any religious revolution. I had approached God, or my idea of God, without love, without awe, even without fear. He was, in my mental picture of this miracle, to appear neither as Savior nor as Judge, but merely as a magician; and when he had done what was required of him I supposed he would simply -- well, go away. It never crossed my mind that the tremendous contact which I solicited should have any consequences beyond restoring the status quo" (13).

Faith and Feelings

As I shared with you on Monday, our home computer is currently haywire. We've made contact with Coy Thorp, resident computer guru in El Dorado Hills and he is an enormous help, but a combination of software and equipment issues is making it a rather prolonged repair job. Not being able to update my blog from home throws off my whole routine. So the blogs will be coming but the timing might be sporadic for a few more days.

Speaking of a few more days, it's only two days till the WAC Showdown in Bulldog Stadium. The non-BCS darlings of '06, the Boise State Broncos, show up in Fresno on Friday. Boise -- ranked #26 in the AP and #29 in the BCS poll, winners of 42 of their last 43 WAC games, and owners of the last 5 WAC titles -- shows up short-handed with Romeo himself, Ian Johnson.

I'll save my prediction till Friday but I'll give you a lean on what I'm thinking. Boise played last Saturday night in Ruston, Louisiana. That late night in Louisiana, followed by a cross-country flight, up against a short week plays into the 'Dogs hands since Fresno was at home last Saturday. Preparation-wise, the 'Dogs should be a day ahead. Add to that the Boise State defense has been gashed in the run game by their last two opponents. Both Nevada and La. Tech each rushed for over 200 yards against Boise. The run game just happens to be the strength of the 'Dogs offense with dynamic freshman Ryan Matthews, super sophomore Lonyae Miller, and Batman himself, Clifton Smith.

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The World Series begins tonight. Can the Rockies continue their hot streak after a nine-day layoff? Will the Red Sox ride the wave of their three-game hot streak to close out the Indians? Undoubtedly, the Red Sox are the better team on paper...but they don't play the games on paper.

Rockies in seven.

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It's hard to read Philippians without walking away thinking Paul was some superhero of the faith. His unconfined joy in the face of the most dire circumstances seem to be superhuman. Paul's in prison, but that doesn't rob him of joy. Paul is facing a potential death conviction for his faith, but he stares down the possibility with joy. Paul is opposed by partisan bickering that threatens his reputation, but he meets that opposition with joy.

How does one man beset with so many unfortunate circumstances hold onto his joy?

For the sake of balance, it's good in any expositional study -- such as our current Sunday morning series at Woodward Park entitled "A Journey into Joy" that looks at Paul's joy in his letter to the Philippians -- to look at other parallel passages. For example, to understand Paul's emotions in the face of struggle, it is imperative to read 2 Corinthians 1.8-11 alongside Philippians:

"We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us..."

Reading Paul's letter to the Corinthians helps one see that while Paul's faith never wavered, his feelings did come-and-go. Emotionally, Paul speaks of "despair" and feeling "the sentence of death."

Isolating certain readings, to the neglect of parallel passages, can leave us with an unrealistic view of our faith heroes. Was Paul a stalwart of joy? Absolutely! But does that mean he met every circumstance throughout his entire life as if it were a source of personal pleasure? Hardly.

Learning to maintain faith even when the accompanying feelings are despair rather than joy is a part of mature discipleship. Relying on God even when relying on God doesn't feel good is a sure sign of a strong faith.

Weekend Recap

Sorry for the tardy entry this morning. It's not the Monday morning blues but our home computer that decided to go on the fritz (hey Coy Thorp, are you out there?).

We had a great time Saturday afternoon watching the Bulldogs pound San Jose State 30-0. I expected more of the Spartans, since Keith Burns of Arkansas Razorback Code Red fame is a part of the Spartan defensive staff.

We tailgated with the Avedikian clan and the girls had a blast rolling around and playing on the blanket with Matt and Brooke's son, Caleb.

This Friday night is a WAC Showdown at Bulldog Stadium! The Boise State Broncos, last year's national darling with their win over Oklahoma and winners of 42 of their last 43 WAC games, come to Fresno. Set your DVR's for ESPN, Friday, 6:00 p.m. PST.

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Hey, any of you Arkansans read John Brummet's piece in Sunday's Morning News of Northwest Arkansas? In case you missed it, here 'tis the link.

Ouch!

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Do me a favor. Head over to my sister's blog and read her words to her children on their first birthday. Along with some beautifully written thoughts, she has organized a slide show set to Third Day's "Your Love, Oh Lord."

Happy Birthday, Keaton and Elliot!

It's really hard for me to believe that one year ago today, my little sister, Melissa and her husband, Ryan welcomed into this world their first children.

Twins.

Keaton and Elliot have been such a blessing from God to our family. In back of our cross-country move, in which Mandy and I hauled my parents' only two grandchildren to the West Coast, God especially blessed my parents through the blessing of Mel's kids.

Today, Keaton and Elliot celebrate their first birthday. Mom is there for the festivities and Dad will make it to Northwest Arkansas in time for the big birthday celebration on Saturday.

Mel, give Keaton and Elliot a great big hug today from Uncle Jim, Aunt Mandy, Trae and Tori. We so wish we could be there to take part in the big birthday bash on Saturday. I know you'll pull out all of the stops and we can't wait to see all the pictures!

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All week, I have begun my blog about how dumbfounded I am with the marketing gurus at Major League Baseball.

Apparently, I am not on the only one.

In Thursday's edition of The Fresno Bee, the headline reads: "Interest ticks down as TV, time hurt playoffs." The AP article, written by Tim Dahlberg, raises many of the issues I have raised. "Television and greed," Dahlberg writes, "dictated that the Indians wait another day to try to finish off the Red Sox." Dahlberg points out that the bewitching start times of the NLCS resulted in television ratings half its previous low. "When the Rockies finished off their sweep of the Arizona Diamondbacks, less people were watching than were tuned into the final of the Little League World Series. That's right, 12-year-olds with pimples on their faces proved more interesting to America than the no-name millionaires toiling for the Diamondbacks and Rockies."

Dahlberg concludes: "It's a pretty simple equation: Late (as in start times) and long (as in game time) is killing the postseason. You would think someday baseball folks would figure it out."

Uh, yes you would, Mr. Dahlberg. But this is the regime of Bud Selig, he of the All-Star game tie, were talking about.

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Tonight is undoubtedly the biggest night this fall in Valley High School football. #1 Bullard and #2 Edison battle at Chukchansi Park while #3 Clovis East faces #9 Clovis West.

Last year, East and West battled in the Valley Championship with East prevailing 33-14. Since East took off the Nevada Wolfpack look-alike sticker from their helmets and replaced it with the slick, lightning bolt "E", they have been unstoppable. West, on the other hand, doesn't seem to have its house in order and appears to be in organizational disarray heading into tonight's game.

Tonight will be a rerun of last year's Valley Championship: East 33, West 14.

At Chukchansi, based on my opinion, Edison surpasses Bullard at the skill positions. Edison should dominate but Bullard has had the hot hand all year.

In the battle of #1 versus #2: Edison 27, Bullard 21.

And in this week's bonus pick, San Jose State comes callin' on Saturday afternoon for Fresno State's homecoming. Let's see, it's homecoming against your fiercest rival with Boise State looming on the horizon next weekend.

Trap game?

Not hardly.

Fresno State keeps rolling, 35-17.

Your Best Sermon Ever

Again, the marketing genius's at MLB have me scratching my head. Did the Indians and Red Sox really have an off day yesterday without traveling from Cleveland to Boston?

Why?

Whatever happened to the good old days when a 7 game series went Saturday and Sunday in one city, travel day on Monday, Tuesday through Thursday in the second city, travel day on Friday, and Saturday and Sunday in the opening city? That's seven games in nine days with two travel days and no off days without travel.

I just don't understand.

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This morning, I want to do an "unscientific survey" of my blog community. I want you to think about the most meaningful sermon you've ever heard.

What made this particular sermon especially meaningful to you? Was it the content of the message? Was it the charisma of the speaker? Was it the circumstances of your life that made a particular sermon especially meaningful? Was it an especially insightful message from God's Word that has eternally altered your life?

Email me today (jim@wpcoc.com) and let me know your thoughts. I am really curious as to what you, my friends, would say makes a sermon especially memorable and meaningful.

A Journey into Joy, #2

Tuesday morning's fish wrap informed me that TBS's coverage of the National League Championship Series between the Rockies and D-backs produced the three lowest-rated, prime time games in the history of Major League Baseball playoff broadcasts.

Might the fact that the games' start times were after 10:00 p.m. on the East Coast have a little something to do with that?

The marketing gurus with MLB, under the auspices of one Bud Selig, seem to have an uncanny knack at making the worst choice possible their primary target. Is MLB intentionally trying to alienate an entire generation of future fans with playoff games that end after midnight in two time zones?

Look, living in the Pacific Time zone is awesome as a sports fan! Sleep deprivation due to sports viewing is simply never an issue out here in California. But it is an issue back east and MLB better be careful not to kill the goose that lays their golden eggs.

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Here's the thing about joy -- the thing that is so obvious, yet so difficult to apply in the midst of less-than-ideal circumstances.

Joy is birthed by thanksgiving.

Let that sink really deep into your heart and mind. Joy, that abiding sense of satisfaction that exists separate-and-apart from the circumstances of life, is born from a heart full of thanksgiving.


I went back and studied the etymology of the Greek word chara, translated "joy." Chara is the root word for charis that means "grace." When one is a recipient of God's charis (grace), then chara (joy) is the natural product.


Chara (joy) is also connected etymologically to a couple of other significant words. In Greek, chara is linked together with eucharisteo which means "to give thanks." In Latin, the word for joy is linked with gratia -- from which we get the English word grace -- and means "thanksgiving."


So, all that etymology to simply say that achieving or attaining the joy Paul speaks of in Philippians is born by receiving God's grace and living in thanksgiving to God for his blessings. Joy is birthed by thanksgiving and when thanksgiving is lacking, so too is our joy.


Has your joy been lacking? Perhaps it is symptomatic of a neglect to thank God for his gracious blessing in your life. Praising him for his grace and thanking him for his blessings are the first step on the journey to joy. Why not find some time today, in a quiet place, to remember God's blessings past and thank him for his grace. That very moment will launch you on your journey to joy, that exuberant delight born of thanksgiving for God's grace that exists independent of any and all circumstances in your life.

A Journey into Joy, #1

The Colorado Rockies are the buzzsaw to end all buzzsaws. Good grief, have they ever redefined the definition of "hot streak."

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My preaching path has taken me on a personal journey. The church at Woodward Park is coming along for the ride, but the journey is mine to take.

It is a journey I'm craving. A journey long overdue.

It's a journey into joy based on Paul's little 104-verse letter to the church at Philippi. Among the themes that dominate Paul's writing -- no less than 14 different times within the letter -- is the theme of, you guessed it, joy!

Now, how does one attain joy? That's really what I'm craving to know. How does a person cultivate a life of joy?

I think our contemporary, marketing-crazed society would define joy something like this: "joy is a feeling of pleasure derived from pleasing circumstances." "If my karma is good," the popular notion might go, "and the stars are aligned just right and my horoscope says so, then I can expect the circumstances of my day to be pleasing." In the culture around me, I think that's the gist of how popular thinking regarding joy goes.

But is that all joy is? Is joy simply the residue of a lucky break? Frankly, when I've attempted to manage or manipulate my own life in the hopes of manufacturing what I perceive to be agreeable circumstances, the stress and anxiety of it all saps me of any hint of joy.

Ironically, when Paul penned his inspired letter to the Philippian church, he wrote not from the sanctity of a quiet study but with the clanging of the shackles around his own wrists echoing through his prison cell. Chained to the Roman Praetorian Guard, for nothing more than his faithfulness to the cause of Jesus Christ, Paul pens a letter to a church that had gone above-and-beyond in their care and concern for his well being.

We'd forgive Paul if the tenor of his letter was fraught with anger and bitterness. After all, he's in prison...for doing exactly what Jesus asked him to do! This isn't punishment as a consequence of wrongdoing, this is an injustice of the highest order. Yet, Paul's words offer no hint, no not one, of bitterness or anger.

When he writes, his words drip with, you guessed it, joy!

How did Paul achieve such joy, separate and apart from his circumstances? It's clear that his circumstances are inconsequential to the joy he experiences deep in the bowels of his Roman prison cell, but even deeper in the recesses of his own heart.

Tomorrow, I'll share with you a secret I've learned about attaining such joy -- the joy that rises above the circumstances and sustained Paul, and can sustain you and I, through any trial.

Back in the Saddle

The Sabbath has ended.

The blog is back.

First of all, let me say "thanks" for all of you who overwhelmed my inbox with reminders of the end of my blog sabbath. I can't believe there are people from coast to coast who apparently marked the date of my return from blog exile. Your emails served as a tremendous encouragement boost!

Thanks!

My personal blog sabbath lasted two days longer than I intended, thanks to the worst stomach virus I have ever experienced. I was down for the count for 72 hours last week and am now a full 10 lbs. lighter. After dismounting the scale on Thursday night, I told Mandy I had lost 10 lbs. since weighing in at Urgent Care on Tuesday night.

Her reaction?

"Is there anyway I can get what you've had?"

Trust me, honey, you don't want it, even if there is the side-benefit of some missing girth.

In the time I've been away, the big event for us, pictured above, was the 10th annual Spiritual Growth Workshop at Woodward Park. Our combined attendance for all sessions was 7,464 this year, up from 7,020 last year. Every keynote was splendid and spoke to a particular aspect from John's gospel about how Jesus is our "All in All." The workshop is incredibly demanding but so eternally rewarding.

I've already turned my attention to the 11th Annual Workshop, to be held September 24-28, 2008. A couple of new keynote speakers are already on board and I'm leaning toward a theme based on the book of Genesis.

So here's a question for you. If you were crafting a four-day workshop on the theme of Genesis, how would you organize it? Would you organize it thematically (sin, faith, obedience, trust, etc.) or would you organize it by faith heroes (Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph)? Or perhaps you would organize it some other way? If you have any insightful wisdom, I'm all ears. You can email me your thoughts at jim@wpcoc.com.

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This week, we'll say "so long for now" to a real friend to many Woodward Park'ers. Gene Dupree passed away last Friday evening and we'll celebrate his life on Friday morning.

I shared with the church family yesterday morning how my phone call to his wife, Katherine, went when I learned of Gene's passing. I called Katherine early Saturday morning to convey my condolences -- a call that is always tough. How do you appropriately begin such a conversation?

I began this way: "Katherine, I am so sorry to hear of Gene's passing." At that, Katherine cut me off in mid-sentence with these words: "Jim, if you had been here last night at 2:00 am when Gene passed, you wouldn't be sorry at all!" She went on to share with me the reality of a family praying and singing and remembering as they said "so long for now" to a husband, a father and a grandfather who exemplified deep, abiding faith.

What a blessing to know we can look death, the greatest bullet in Satan's arsenal, square in the face and refuse to flinch. Katherine and her family saw Gene's passing for what it really is: not the defeat Satan intended it but the victory it truly is for those who've placed their eternal destiny in the redeeming work of Jesus at Calvary.