“But I’m here to show you what it’s really like to live. To show you the best possible, most life giving way to exist.” (John 10:10 RSV)
One of the most annoying things about moving into a new place is filling it – especially when you don’t have a lot to fill it with. As we moved into our most recent place, my roommates and I combined to have ourselves…drumroll please… a television, television stand, and DVD player. Yes, that is all. Couches? Nah. Kitchenware? No chance. Bed? Come on, let’s not be ridiculous. So as you can imagine while the last month has been spent carrying out our various soccer vocations, it has also been spent scouring craigslist and badgering friends for used (but still awesome) ‘stuff.’ And while we still aren’t finished, we are a long way from where we started.
Our most recent purchase has been a grill; but not just any grill. We are talking about the lean mean, fat reducing grilling machine, George Foreman Grill. It fits in our apartment, follows the no actual grill on the patio rule, and reduces our protein fat intake. Not bad at all. We ripped it out of the box and started grilling some chicken right away.
Because it is the beginning of the season, as a team, we are also working on getting settled. Guys are coming in day by day and different players are coming in on trial. As things have yet to be set, some guys living situations aren't exactly ready for them yet. Being one of the few groups of guys on the team not married and not with a host family, we get asked to host players from time to time. On this particular occasion, we were hosting a newly signed midfielder. Not only had he been newly signed, he had also become and brand new believer.
Like out of the box new.
Still very much fighting his old life with so many questions, we would sit and dialogue with this guy. I would love to say we perfectly and without issue answered every single question he asked.
I can’t.
I’d love even more to say he asked really easy questions. You know, the ones we are taught to answer perfectly, with scripture references and everything?
He didn’t.
This guy actually cared. He was legitimately curious. And he didn’t ask about Heaven, or ‘being in’, or saying a prayer. No, all of his questions had to do with today. He wanted to know why so much bad happens with a good God. Why Christians stand out as some of the biggest hypocrites out there. What to do when we call out to God and He doesn’t seem to answer, or maybe even care. What good is the Bible anyway? This guy’s stuff was tough!
It was apparent this guy didn’t need a faith that would get him to Heaven. This guy needed a faith that would bring heaven to him! In the midst of talking with him, I have come to a deeper understanding and realization of what I have thought for quite a while now:
I need a Jesus for today.
Yes, someday, we will inherit Heaven, and all its glories. We will get incredible crowns to lay back down at Jesus’ feet. Sin will be washed away. There will be no more tears, no more pain. It will be awesome
But there still is suffering today.
There is still sin,
There are still tears,
There is still pain.
If Jesus can’t be some source of hope for today, for now, how can I ultimately trust him with my eternity? Do I even want to?
And as I have wrestled with this I am blessed to come back to the same conclusion: the Christian life is the best life to live. I ultimately believe that forgiveness and grace far outweigh grudges. That patience and love beat out a ‘have it my way’ theory. That to serve and give to others defeats a me first attitude.
Ultimately I believe this to be the case for two reasons.
1. I see it in everyday life.
There are fewer things that catch our eyes with more clarity than beauty, redemption, grace, and mercy. The list goes on, but we love to see these stories unfold before our own eyes. This redeeming part of humanity is absolutely beautiful.
2. God’s word is littered with this reality.
Throughout the scriptures God give his people guidelines and ideas for how to live. I think too often we think of these as dos and don’ts - laws that get in the way of our living. The reality is, these have all been set up to protect us. These have all been put into place so that we might be able to live life the way it was meant to be.
And who knows better than our creator. Who would be better fit to help us understand the best way to operate other than the God who made us. The one who knit us together, knows our in and outs, the actions we take, and the words we speak.
As we continued to dialogue, I actually began to think about our newly acquired George Foreman. See, as we originally popped that thing out of the bag and threw the chicken on it, we all started asking each other, “Well how long does it stay on for?” “Do we need to flip the chicken?” ”What does this button do?”
So what did we instinctively turn to? The instructions, of course.
I mean, who would know how better to use the device than the original creator?
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Fulfilling Requirements
"Over here! Pick Me! Tag Me in! Come to me. I want to do this with you." (Ezekiel 36:36-37 RSV)
I’m back! Not so much to blogging, but rather to life as I knew it near the end of 2010. The past few weeks have been crazy as I have been resettling myself in Charlotte. I have moved apartments, added a roommate, picked up an additional job, and spent an inordinate amount of time at Chic-Fil-A. I am a bit more ‘in place’ at this point as I try to orient the next several months here.
As most of the 4 people who glance at this know, I spent the end of November and all of December and January back in Chicago. Yes, currently, I am doing Southeast summers and Midwest winters; I am a moron. While back in Chicago I work in house for a company called Crown Graphics. ‘The Shop’ as it is effectively called wears many, many different hats. Most days it is a silkscreen and embroidery business. On others, it is a budding soccer agency business (check it out www.bridgesfc.com). And still other days it operates as a research venue for new business ventures the likes of RedBox, Storage Wars, and Pawn Shops. Every day however, there is some form of joke or laughter that takes place; usually at someone else’s expense. It is inevitable. Those who are in or around ‘the shop’ joke that A&E should come in and do a reality show. I have no doubts people would watch it.
While in Charlotte, my role with Crown is different as I am not on site. I do more distance based sales, and am helping to build the Bridges agency. When I am in town though, I help with all of the day to day aspects of the print side. There are screens to be cleaned, shirts to be boxed and shipped, film to be made, and of course items to be screened.
Since screening is the majority of the business we do, it is guarded heavily. Though not a particularly difficult task, in theory, if you mess up it costs the business money. There is a certain art to it and while I am making it sound potentially more difficult than it is, there really isn’t a whole lot of margin for error. No new employee screens. It is a process in which over a period of time you are anointed an ability to take the steering wheel.
After lots of mess ups on sample shirts and ink order the task becomes fairly simple. It can be a one man job and doesn’t require a whole lot of thinking. On big shirt orders it can tend to get a bit tedious.
During one week I was screening a rather large order for a best friend of mine. (Check out his blog: www.chiphuber.blogspot.com). Chip is in charge of the Freshman Experience at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids. He has basically flipped the thing on it’s head in the past year and asked that we make some shirts for all of his freshmen.
The design on the front was a cool, albeit dizzying pattern that looked a little bit like something out of Dr. Mario. Want to disagree? I screened it over 500 times. I’m pretty confident I’m correct in my analysis.
On the back was a simple line; right below the neck on the upper back. In a skyish blue read the words: “Build a Life That Matters.”
I can’t imagine it takes much to see the ridiculous irony in this.
I sat there, listening to oldies, painting the phrase “Build a Life That Matters’ on over 500 T shirts. Put shirt on board, screen down, wipe the ink across, screen up, shirt on dryer. Repeat.
I screened in borderline agony as these t shirts screamed out to me, questioning, “Are you building a life that matters?”
It is a question that for those who know me, has more or less haunted me for a some time. Have you ever felt like this? We are told in the Scriptures that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). I cannot speak for you, but I for one have been given much. I have won the parent lottery. I am educated, well traveled, well experienced, and fairly well versed. The ‘much given’ part is definitely in tact.
And in a quest for ‘required’ I have been in 4 cities in 4 years. I have coached, played, sold, moved, input, and handed out just to name a few. I have yet to find that I have filled this required mandate. I have yet to find exactly what it is that is being asked.
So often I just want the simple answer. I want someone, I want God to just tell me what ‘much required’ is. I want to just know. Tell me so I can go and do it. Tell me, so that it can be done; finished.
Others’ grass seems so freaking green and it drives me crazy.
And yet in the midst of this tension, we are offered comfort.
My favorite analogy is that contrasting a hospital room and a rain storm. In the hospital room everything is so neat. Everything is clean. All of the sheets are folded perfectly. The word that gets thrown around in hospitals is sterile. Everything is sterile. It has to be. With all of the sickness and disease in a hospital you don’t want to risk the spread to other rooms and subsequently patients.
On the contrary, this morning as I went out to church I sprinted to my car through pouring rain. I tried to take a short cut through the grass and landed in a massive puddle. As I looked around the flower and tree beds, they were all overflowing with mud and mulch. It was disgusting. It was gross, and dirty, and anything but sterile. But this mess will result in beauty in the coming weeks. Spring will arrive and buds will be in blossom. Grass will be green and animals will be all over the place. The reality that any gardener will tell you is that growth happens in the mess.
Our lives mirror the exact same reality.
Our lives are shaped in process; in the mess. See, I had read the back of those shirts all wrong. My brain actually read, HAVE a life that matters (1). The beauty of what was actually written was in the opening word: BUILD.
Building is messy. There are wood shavings, marks on the floor, mistakes, trash to be taken out. A house isn’t just a take out of the box and add water product. Our lives are no different. Even Jesus grew (Luke 2:52). He was subject to the same mess.
And I could be wrong, but I believe we serve a God who loves to see his children in process. He struggles when we make wrong turns, he cringes when our own actions lead to pain, and he is ecstatic to see our successes and our growth. He loves to partner with us in figuring out ‘required.’
I have to believe that if God were a T Shirt guy, he might in fact have one that reads, “Building Lives That Matter.”
(1) Even that understanding is ironic and misplaced. Having a life that matters is already established as a follower of Christ.
I’m back! Not so much to blogging, but rather to life as I knew it near the end of 2010. The past few weeks have been crazy as I have been resettling myself in Charlotte. I have moved apartments, added a roommate, picked up an additional job, and spent an inordinate amount of time at Chic-Fil-A. I am a bit more ‘in place’ at this point as I try to orient the next several months here.
As most of the 4 people who glance at this know, I spent the end of November and all of December and January back in Chicago. Yes, currently, I am doing Southeast summers and Midwest winters; I am a moron. While back in Chicago I work in house for a company called Crown Graphics. ‘The Shop’ as it is effectively called wears many, many different hats. Most days it is a silkscreen and embroidery business. On others, it is a budding soccer agency business (check it out www.bridgesfc.com). And still other days it operates as a research venue for new business ventures the likes of RedBox, Storage Wars, and Pawn Shops. Every day however, there is some form of joke or laughter that takes place; usually at someone else’s expense. It is inevitable. Those who are in or around ‘the shop’ joke that A&E should come in and do a reality show. I have no doubts people would watch it.
While in Charlotte, my role with Crown is different as I am not on site. I do more distance based sales, and am helping to build the Bridges agency. When I am in town though, I help with all of the day to day aspects of the print side. There are screens to be cleaned, shirts to be boxed and shipped, film to be made, and of course items to be screened.
Since screening is the majority of the business we do, it is guarded heavily. Though not a particularly difficult task, in theory, if you mess up it costs the business money. There is a certain art to it and while I am making it sound potentially more difficult than it is, there really isn’t a whole lot of margin for error. No new employee screens. It is a process in which over a period of time you are anointed an ability to take the steering wheel.
After lots of mess ups on sample shirts and ink order the task becomes fairly simple. It can be a one man job and doesn’t require a whole lot of thinking. On big shirt orders it can tend to get a bit tedious.
During one week I was screening a rather large order for a best friend of mine. (Check out his blog: www.chiphuber.blogspot.com). Chip is in charge of the Freshman Experience at Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids. He has basically flipped the thing on it’s head in the past year and asked that we make some shirts for all of his freshmen.
The design on the front was a cool, albeit dizzying pattern that looked a little bit like something out of Dr. Mario. Want to disagree? I screened it over 500 times. I’m pretty confident I’m correct in my analysis.
On the back was a simple line; right below the neck on the upper back. In a skyish blue read the words: “Build a Life That Matters.”
I can’t imagine it takes much to see the ridiculous irony in this.
I sat there, listening to oldies, painting the phrase “Build a Life That Matters’ on over 500 T shirts. Put shirt on board, screen down, wipe the ink across, screen up, shirt on dryer. Repeat.
I screened in borderline agony as these t shirts screamed out to me, questioning, “Are you building a life that matters?”
It is a question that for those who know me, has more or less haunted me for a some time. Have you ever felt like this? We are told in the Scriptures that to whom much is given, much is required (Luke 12:48). I cannot speak for you, but I for one have been given much. I have won the parent lottery. I am educated, well traveled, well experienced, and fairly well versed. The ‘much given’ part is definitely in tact.
And in a quest for ‘required’ I have been in 4 cities in 4 years. I have coached, played, sold, moved, input, and handed out just to name a few. I have yet to find that I have filled this required mandate. I have yet to find exactly what it is that is being asked.
So often I just want the simple answer. I want someone, I want God to just tell me what ‘much required’ is. I want to just know. Tell me so I can go and do it. Tell me, so that it can be done; finished.
Others’ grass seems so freaking green and it drives me crazy.
And yet in the midst of this tension, we are offered comfort.
My favorite analogy is that contrasting a hospital room and a rain storm. In the hospital room everything is so neat. Everything is clean. All of the sheets are folded perfectly. The word that gets thrown around in hospitals is sterile. Everything is sterile. It has to be. With all of the sickness and disease in a hospital you don’t want to risk the spread to other rooms and subsequently patients.
On the contrary, this morning as I went out to church I sprinted to my car through pouring rain. I tried to take a short cut through the grass and landed in a massive puddle. As I looked around the flower and tree beds, they were all overflowing with mud and mulch. It was disgusting. It was gross, and dirty, and anything but sterile. But this mess will result in beauty in the coming weeks. Spring will arrive and buds will be in blossom. Grass will be green and animals will be all over the place. The reality that any gardener will tell you is that growth happens in the mess.
Our lives mirror the exact same reality.
Our lives are shaped in process; in the mess. See, I had read the back of those shirts all wrong. My brain actually read, HAVE a life that matters (1). The beauty of what was actually written was in the opening word: BUILD.
Building is messy. There are wood shavings, marks on the floor, mistakes, trash to be taken out. A house isn’t just a take out of the box and add water product. Our lives are no different. Even Jesus grew (Luke 2:52). He was subject to the same mess.
And I could be wrong, but I believe we serve a God who loves to see his children in process. He struggles when we make wrong turns, he cringes when our own actions lead to pain, and he is ecstatic to see our successes and our growth. He loves to partner with us in figuring out ‘required.’
I have to believe that if God were a T Shirt guy, he might in fact have one that reads, “Building Lives That Matter.”
(1) Even that understanding is ironic and misplaced. Having a life that matters is already established as a follower of Christ.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Don't Think We Had That On The List
Every piece of weaponry; anything that has the faintest spell of blood has nowhere to go but to ashes; it’s all going to be juice for the flames. Today, my friends…a child is born. (Isaiah 9:5-6a RSV)
It is definitely Christmas time. I came back home to Chicago around Thanksgiving and have been here ever since. But there are always unique things about Christmas, right? More family is around, things are busier, more things to be eaten, errands to run, etc, etc, etc. This year I find myself in a position not unlike other years. My Christmas shopping is last minute. And while that in and of itself isn’t a huge deal, this year it has become one. As I have gone back to each of my family’s list (and checked it way more than twice) I haven’t been able to find (or fund) any of it!
So what have I done? Well for starters, I have included receipts in each and every gift. But more specifically, I have more or less taken a stab at what I think they might like based on what I know about them and what they might like. As brilliant as this might sound, the idea wasn’t all mine. I kinda stole it.
When I was doing some Christmas shopping I ended up in a favorite store of mine. Does this happen to anyone else? Surely I can find something for my brother who shares almost no interests with me in one of my favorite stores! Please tell me I’m not the only one. Anyway, there I stood and one of the many Christmas displays read the following:
“Find gifts to surprise and delight.’
Brilliant I thought. I could certainly do the first half of that! Here’s to hoping the second would follow. So this Saturday evening, I will hand my family members items that they will most likely be surprised by. What they open from me will not have been on their lists.
As I continue to think about these surprise gifts my mind wanders back to the original Christmas gift. What has become the biggest catalyst for our understanding of gift giving today was the biggest surprise and delight we could have never guessed.
Isaiah 9 marks all of the things that the Messiah will one day possess or do. Among those are that the government will rest on his shoulders, he will be mighty God, everlasting father, prince of peace. There will be no end to his reign.
This was THE list! Check it as many times as you want; this is what needed to happen. Israel had seen plenty of kings before and they all did similar things and had similar short fallings. King David himself led the Israelites into military victory against the Amalekites, Ammonites, Edomites, Moabites, Philistines and Syrians (2 Samuel 8). Others still had established peace (1). Some were even considered to be a father (2). Still other leaders took the Israelites out of exile, Moses most notably.
But none of their kingdoms lasted forever.
And so with great anticipation, the people wait. And wait. And wait. They wait for the day when a Goliath sized man is a part of their tribe. A time when it is clear that Israel will beat down everyone who dares enter. A time when this Messiah will establish his throne, making the Jews the top dog.
This King will have walked where Angels have. This King will come out of nowhere to bring peace, through victory. This King will lead the rightful heirs out of exile and back to their rightful place. Make no mistake, you will know this King.
Enter the surprise.
The books were right; you will know this King. As a matter of fact the angels tell us exactly how you will recognize him and where to find him: “You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:12)
A baby?
A small, innocent, smelly, not strong at all, entirely dependent baby? This is going to be THE King?!?! Surely you are kidding! It makes complete and total sense that there is such struggle amongst people to believe that this was the Messiah. It wasn’t how things had ever been done before. Surely it wasn’t the fulfillment of the prophecies!
But this surprise was just the beginning of so many more to come. This King wasn’t going to do it like anyone else had. This King would establish peace through sacrifice. This King would return his people from exile. Not to the land they desired; but to a God who desired them. This King, would sit on the throne…forever.
And so this Christmas, whether you are surprised or not by what sits under that tree for you, be reminded of a God who surprised; who showed up, no, who still shows up in the ways and places we wouldn’t have ever guessed. May the gift of the true Messiah, Jesus Christ be both a delight and in the forefront of your minds as you celebrate this year.
1. Peace throughout the reign of individual kings had been established through military triumph. It has been called “Peace Through Victory.” Your king (and his armies) would take over individual territories, lands, or peoples and establish his own peace. The only problem? Peace would exist only so long as you weren’t taken over by someone else. Peace was really just a king of the mountain type game.
2.) To this day area in other parts of the world will refer to their ruling king as father. Someone who has the people's best interest at heart. Someone who, like a father, watches after and protects them.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Coastal Transcript
Here is the transcript I worked from when I spoke to the Coastal Carolina Men's Football Team a few weeks back.
Well, as I thought about all of the different things I could get up here and share, a few ideas came to mind. For starters, you don’t play until 1:30 tomorrow. So having me coming in to fire you up would be kinda dumb; to give an inspirational speech that makes you want to run through a wall, when the reality is you have to go to bed soon.
So I am not going to do that.
I thought about standing up here and delivering all of these football analogies. Talking about how in life sometimes you have to hit someone, or real men go for it on fourth down. But as I thought about that, the ideas were all really cheesy and there was an even bigger problem – I’ve never played a down of organized football in my life.
So I am not going to do that, either.
Finally, I thought I could sit up here and lament with you guys about a less than ideal season thus far. Talk about teams that I have been on that haven’t gotten the results we wanted; bad breaks we suffered, or calls we never got. But this isn’t meant to be a pity party, so that went out the window.
Instead I thought we might take a look at the reality you are facing. That though things haven’t been ideal; maybe not the way you had originally planned them, you still face a task at hand. And in order to approach it appropriately you need to know what that task is, what’s expected of you, and how to move forward accordingly.
The question then becomes how are you going to respond? How are you going to deal with what has been put in front of you.
Now, if we are to deal with this task, we need to know exactly what it is and whom we are doing it with.
FIRST of all, though it has become clichéd in athletic circles I honestly believe it is the job of a team to become the best team by the end of the season that it possibly can be. And in this, it is up to you whether or not that happens. Now, regardless of what has or what will happen this team has a unique opportunity that no Coastal team has had before and no Coastal team will ever have again. The men that comprise your 2010 roster will never again be recreated. Sure, the majority of guys may come back. A high percentage of starters might return from year to year. But this specific squad will only exist for one year. Seniors will leave and new freshmen will join. Certain things might get re created but you only exist in whole for one season.
Additionally, you love to play football. I know you do. You may be frustrated with results, playing time, teammates, or anything else, but there is something about this game that you fell in love with. Have you seen the movie The Rookie? It’s a baseball movie, but I think there is an incredibly cool picture painted in it. As things aren’t going well for Jimmy Morris in Triple A Durham he makes a phone call to his wife to tell her he is coming home. Soon after he walks to a nearby little league field and takes in a game from beyond the fence. He sees kids laughing and playing, enjoying the game. The camera pans back to him and we see him smile before the scene cuts out. The next day we see Jimmy Morris approach his teammate and ask, “You know what we get to do, Brooks? We get to play baseball.” See, that was it for him! He LOVED to play the game. There are countless other movies and stories like it. When THIS is over, there is no going back. Forgive me for being the old “I”m telling ya…” guy in the room, but believe it! Ask your seniors? Where’d the time go, guys? Tomorrow, you have the opportunity to go out and play the game you love. And you get to do it alongside your teammates, your roommates, and your best friends. You get to represent your school, your coach, your families, and yourselves. I cannot myself think of anything better than that.
SECONDLY, if we are going to deal with the task at hand, we have to know what is expected. Now…I cannot answer that for you, but I do know this. Back in August, and probably back in December last year, you each made a commitment to Coastal Football for the 2010 season.
Whether it was committing to play here, showing up to off-season meetings, or checking into camp this summer, you all made an initial and continuing commitment.
I understand those commitments may be what I like to call “Coffee Conversations.” Do you know what I’m talking about? Things that sound great in theory; over a cup of coffee on a nice afternoon. For me anyway, I love to talk about how I am going to work hard, or how great things are going to be when I am sitting on my ass. That’s easy. Anyone can sit there and dream of how things are going to be.
But it takes a man, one who is in the arena, who has been knocked down and kicked in the teeth, to continue striving after the task. That shows commitment.
In front of you is a choice. I have seen your results. There have been some pretty tough losses. Are you a team, are you an individual who is going to cash in his chips, or put them all in?
But let me tell you, this decision extends well beyond your football team. Too often in life, the realities don’t exactly line up with the dream. How do I know? On the outside, I’m a pro soccer player who walked in with a cute girl and seem to have it together, right? The reality? I get paid almost nothing, live paycheck to paycheck, am simply friends with this great woman, and have no real idea what life looks like for me after soccer.
But that’s life. Hopefully most of you will be married some day, with a family. At some point no matter how good you are you will probably be in a different job. And I can promise you at some point or another all of those are going to suck. I promise. Your wife won’t look hot, your kids will annoy you and your boss will be an idiot. Trust me, it will happen.
Then what? Do you walk out? Do you quit your job? Your wife? Your kids?
And I know what you are thinking. But Ryan, that is life. This is just football. And I tell you what, how you act now is exactly how you will act then. Are you a man who is going to run away from the problems, or towards them looking to get things fixed? In front of you is a perfect opportunity that you are a man, a group of men that exemplify the latter.
AND FINALLY, if we know what the task is, who it’s with, and how committed we are to it, the final question becomes, how then do we go about completing it?
Now, you can say whatever you want to about this book. You can say it’s inspired. You can say it’s dumb. You can say anything in between. But I will tell you this, there is some good stuff in here. Whether or not you view it as a religious book doesn’t matter. There is wisdom in here.
I want to read you a section from Philippians. Maybe you have heard it before. Now, to give a bit of context, the speaker Paul has basically started a new job. He has all of these old credentials that one might be worried about. Things that might keep him from occupying his position in this new vocation. But his response is amazing. He says in Chapter 3, starting in verse 13: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize…”
I don’t believer there was football in Phillippi, but if there was, what a pre game speech Paul has just given!
Look at what he says! He addresses the group as brothers! Now, if he sees them as brothers he must understand that they are in this together; not unlike the group of men sitting in this room. He knows it must be done together.
Next he admits that he doesn’t have it all together. He hasn’t accomplished everything that there is to accomplish. No one in here would make that claim either; I hope.
He goes on…Forgetting that is behind…
There it is. How do you continue to deal with the task at hand? In complete and total freedom.
There is a straining that is necessary, but Paul is very clear. Forget what is behind. Press on to what is next.
The men in this room have the opportunity to press on. To, in complete and total freedom, forget about what has, or hasn’t been and to, as one team, press forward together toward the goal, towards the prize.
And I for one, completely and totally believe it is possible. Now, it’s up to you guys.
Well, as I thought about all of the different things I could get up here and share, a few ideas came to mind. For starters, you don’t play until 1:30 tomorrow. So having me coming in to fire you up would be kinda dumb; to give an inspirational speech that makes you want to run through a wall, when the reality is you have to go to bed soon.
So I am not going to do that.
I thought about standing up here and delivering all of these football analogies. Talking about how in life sometimes you have to hit someone, or real men go for it on fourth down. But as I thought about that, the ideas were all really cheesy and there was an even bigger problem – I’ve never played a down of organized football in my life.
So I am not going to do that, either.
Finally, I thought I could sit up here and lament with you guys about a less than ideal season thus far. Talk about teams that I have been on that haven’t gotten the results we wanted; bad breaks we suffered, or calls we never got. But this isn’t meant to be a pity party, so that went out the window.
Instead I thought we might take a look at the reality you are facing. That though things haven’t been ideal; maybe not the way you had originally planned them, you still face a task at hand. And in order to approach it appropriately you need to know what that task is, what’s expected of you, and how to move forward accordingly.
The question then becomes how are you going to respond? How are you going to deal with what has been put in front of you.
Now, if we are to deal with this task, we need to know exactly what it is and whom we are doing it with.
FIRST of all, though it has become clichéd in athletic circles I honestly believe it is the job of a team to become the best team by the end of the season that it possibly can be. And in this, it is up to you whether or not that happens. Now, regardless of what has or what will happen this team has a unique opportunity that no Coastal team has had before and no Coastal team will ever have again. The men that comprise your 2010 roster will never again be recreated. Sure, the majority of guys may come back. A high percentage of starters might return from year to year. But this specific squad will only exist for one year. Seniors will leave and new freshmen will join. Certain things might get re created but you only exist in whole for one season.
Additionally, you love to play football. I know you do. You may be frustrated with results, playing time, teammates, or anything else, but there is something about this game that you fell in love with. Have you seen the movie The Rookie? It’s a baseball movie, but I think there is an incredibly cool picture painted in it. As things aren’t going well for Jimmy Morris in Triple A Durham he makes a phone call to his wife to tell her he is coming home. Soon after he walks to a nearby little league field and takes in a game from beyond the fence. He sees kids laughing and playing, enjoying the game. The camera pans back to him and we see him smile before the scene cuts out. The next day we see Jimmy Morris approach his teammate and ask, “You know what we get to do, Brooks? We get to play baseball.” See, that was it for him! He LOVED to play the game. There are countless other movies and stories like it. When THIS is over, there is no going back. Forgive me for being the old “I”m telling ya…” guy in the room, but believe it! Ask your seniors? Where’d the time go, guys? Tomorrow, you have the opportunity to go out and play the game you love. And you get to do it alongside your teammates, your roommates, and your best friends. You get to represent your school, your coach, your families, and yourselves. I cannot myself think of anything better than that.
SECONDLY, if we are going to deal with the task at hand, we have to know what is expected. Now…I cannot answer that for you, but I do know this. Back in August, and probably back in December last year, you each made a commitment to Coastal Football for the 2010 season.
Whether it was committing to play here, showing up to off-season meetings, or checking into camp this summer, you all made an initial and continuing commitment.
I understand those commitments may be what I like to call “Coffee Conversations.” Do you know what I’m talking about? Things that sound great in theory; over a cup of coffee on a nice afternoon. For me anyway, I love to talk about how I am going to work hard, or how great things are going to be when I am sitting on my ass. That’s easy. Anyone can sit there and dream of how things are going to be.
But it takes a man, one who is in the arena, who has been knocked down and kicked in the teeth, to continue striving after the task. That shows commitment.
In front of you is a choice. I have seen your results. There have been some pretty tough losses. Are you a team, are you an individual who is going to cash in his chips, or put them all in?
But let me tell you, this decision extends well beyond your football team. Too often in life, the realities don’t exactly line up with the dream. How do I know? On the outside, I’m a pro soccer player who walked in with a cute girl and seem to have it together, right? The reality? I get paid almost nothing, live paycheck to paycheck, am simply friends with this great woman, and have no real idea what life looks like for me after soccer.
But that’s life. Hopefully most of you will be married some day, with a family. At some point no matter how good you are you will probably be in a different job. And I can promise you at some point or another all of those are going to suck. I promise. Your wife won’t look hot, your kids will annoy you and your boss will be an idiot. Trust me, it will happen.
Then what? Do you walk out? Do you quit your job? Your wife? Your kids?
And I know what you are thinking. But Ryan, that is life. This is just football. And I tell you what, how you act now is exactly how you will act then. Are you a man who is going to run away from the problems, or towards them looking to get things fixed? In front of you is a perfect opportunity that you are a man, a group of men that exemplify the latter.
AND FINALLY, if we know what the task is, who it’s with, and how committed we are to it, the final question becomes, how then do we go about completing it?
Now, you can say whatever you want to about this book. You can say it’s inspired. You can say it’s dumb. You can say anything in between. But I will tell you this, there is some good stuff in here. Whether or not you view it as a religious book doesn’t matter. There is wisdom in here.
I want to read you a section from Philippians. Maybe you have heard it before. Now, to give a bit of context, the speaker Paul has basically started a new job. He has all of these old credentials that one might be worried about. Things that might keep him from occupying his position in this new vocation. But his response is amazing. He says in Chapter 3, starting in verse 13: “Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize…”
I don’t believer there was football in Phillippi, but if there was, what a pre game speech Paul has just given!
Look at what he says! He addresses the group as brothers! Now, if he sees them as brothers he must understand that they are in this together; not unlike the group of men sitting in this room. He knows it must be done together.
Next he admits that he doesn’t have it all together. He hasn’t accomplished everything that there is to accomplish. No one in here would make that claim either; I hope.
He goes on…Forgetting that is behind…
There it is. How do you continue to deal with the task at hand? In complete and total freedom.
There is a straining that is necessary, but Paul is very clear. Forget what is behind. Press on to what is next.
The men in this room have the opportunity to press on. To, in complete and total freedom, forget about what has, or hasn’t been and to, as one team, press forward together toward the goal, towards the prize.
And I for one, completely and totally believe it is possible. Now, it’s up to you guys.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Kingdom Pursuit
'Let me put it this way. In my Kingdom, if you go running off…I’ll drop everything; that’s right everything, in order to come and find YOU.' Matthew 18:12 (RSV)
One of the cool things I was able to be a part of this past season with the Eagles was just a simple team retreat before the season began. We went out to a supporter of the club’s ridiculous property in South Carolina to hang out, and do some other team activities. One of the more unique opportunities while we were there was to carry this absolutely massive cross a considerable distance as a team. I know this doesn’t sound difficult, but trust me…it was.
Now, I was fortunate enough to not be a part of last year’s team. Well at least as far as the morning team activity consisted of. The team got up early and met outside of their sleeping arrangements and played a game entitled “PURSUIT.” In short, the team would take off one by one with equal spacing in between each guy. The goal was to run the covered distance (it was either a mile or two, I don’t recall. Either way, it sucked) and you were to pursue and chase down a teammate, trying to pass as many teammates as you could by the end, with repercussions for being passed, etc.
Additionally, I have been living here in Charlotte for a little while and have had the incredible privilege of making some amazing friends. The majority of them are believers whose life example, friendship, and accountability are absolutely amazing. It is a unique group in that people here are in all sorts of different walks and places in life and yet it has no real bearing on the community. We have married couples, soccer players, medical workers, singles, office traders and all other kinds of classifications you could put onto someone.
What has been really interesting to me though is the inner workings of single people here. Because of the teams in the summer and the general community being in their mid twenties there are a fair amount of single people who have similar passions and interests. And while it is done very well and tastefully, I have found one aspect of it has particularly tuned my ear to it.
There is a code word here in Charlotte. One that everyone knows and will tune anyone else in to know exactly what is going on. The word: pursue. It is amazing! It is the default word everyone around here uses when describing a relationship that might be starting, how one started, or the misuse or judgment of one gone awry.
It is usually used in conjunction with males and their intention with women. You might hear someone say, “Yeah, he was very intentional about his pursuit of her.” Or you might hear a woman say, “I just really want to be pursued by a (certain) guy.”
In general, you get the idea. It seems that there is much ado about nothing until the P word is thrown out. Until a guy is declaring his intentions as pursuit, there is at best cloudiness.
I do find it a bit funny. It is literally like a magic word.
And while I laugh, understand I do think it is a good thing. The Scriptures speak very clearly of guarding your heart, as it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). Song of Solomon cautions not to arouse love until it so desires; or until it is ready (2:7, among others). So in this sense, I totally buy in. There shouldn’t be a whole lot of middle ground; there are intentions or there aren’t. This isn’t something to be messed around with.
Yet, this pursuit, of a woman by a man only seems to mirror that which is so available; that which we all long for amidst our own daily pursuits.
I have found myself pursuing a woman, a job, a title, a position, a friendship, a grade, and a number of other things. And as I think about what that has meant it seems to me anyway, an almost agonizing rejection of self for whatever it is I am pursuing. Haven’t you been there? We lose sleep, don’t eat, train without stopping, study til we fall off our chairs in order to obtain that which we are pursuing.
But for myself anyway, in the midst of my own pursuit I end up running from that which is pursuing me; or should I said He that pursues me.
There is a song by the band Third Day called “Just to be with You”. It is one of my favorites. The lyricist speaks in a tone as if God himself were singing to us. He uses some clichés that are usually said of a man pursuing a woman. He talks of a man that would climb a mountain just to be with the one he loved. Or another man, who would cross the sea, just to be with the one he loved. He goes on, “how many times has he broken that promise? It has never been done.”
He’s right! I know men who have been head over heels for a woman and yet none of them literally climbed a mountain. None crossed a deep sea.
Now as we know Christ didn’t do that, he pursued us in such a manner that led him to the cross. That his pursuit knew and understood how messed up we were; how much it would take for us to be reconciled to him. And yet he did it.
But not only did he do it, he also continues to do it.
This is my biggest struggle.
We serve a God who pursues us. And he does it in such a way that is greater than anything we have ever pursued in our life. And all we have to do is give up; give in.
As one who is always pursuing I will be honest and say that is difficult for me; very difficult. Yet as I continue to run, continue to pursue whatever it is I am after, I truly believe that if I slow down and quiet myself just enough I will be able to hear rustling behind me; accompanied by a faint voice calling my name; desperately wanting me to come back to the pen; to join the other 99.
It is in this location that our pursuits can ease. In the midst of our Shepherd, grades, jobs, titles, spouses, none of it matters compared to being in the midst of the Shepherd who left everything to come after and pursue us.
One of the cool things I was able to be a part of this past season with the Eagles was just a simple team retreat before the season began. We went out to a supporter of the club’s ridiculous property in South Carolina to hang out, and do some other team activities. One of the more unique opportunities while we were there was to carry this absolutely massive cross a considerable distance as a team. I know this doesn’t sound difficult, but trust me…it was.
Now, I was fortunate enough to not be a part of last year’s team. Well at least as far as the morning team activity consisted of. The team got up early and met outside of their sleeping arrangements and played a game entitled “PURSUIT.” In short, the team would take off one by one with equal spacing in between each guy. The goal was to run the covered distance (it was either a mile or two, I don’t recall. Either way, it sucked) and you were to pursue and chase down a teammate, trying to pass as many teammates as you could by the end, with repercussions for being passed, etc.
Additionally, I have been living here in Charlotte for a little while and have had the incredible privilege of making some amazing friends. The majority of them are believers whose life example, friendship, and accountability are absolutely amazing. It is a unique group in that people here are in all sorts of different walks and places in life and yet it has no real bearing on the community. We have married couples, soccer players, medical workers, singles, office traders and all other kinds of classifications you could put onto someone.
What has been really interesting to me though is the inner workings of single people here. Because of the teams in the summer and the general community being in their mid twenties there are a fair amount of single people who have similar passions and interests. And while it is done very well and tastefully, I have found one aspect of it has particularly tuned my ear to it.
There is a code word here in Charlotte. One that everyone knows and will tune anyone else in to know exactly what is going on. The word: pursue. It is amazing! It is the default word everyone around here uses when describing a relationship that might be starting, how one started, or the misuse or judgment of one gone awry.
It is usually used in conjunction with males and their intention with women. You might hear someone say, “Yeah, he was very intentional about his pursuit of her.” Or you might hear a woman say, “I just really want to be pursued by a (certain) guy.”
In general, you get the idea. It seems that there is much ado about nothing until the P word is thrown out. Until a guy is declaring his intentions as pursuit, there is at best cloudiness.
I do find it a bit funny. It is literally like a magic word.
And while I laugh, understand I do think it is a good thing. The Scriptures speak very clearly of guarding your heart, as it is the wellspring of life (Proverbs 4:23). Song of Solomon cautions not to arouse love until it so desires; or until it is ready (2:7, among others). So in this sense, I totally buy in. There shouldn’t be a whole lot of middle ground; there are intentions or there aren’t. This isn’t something to be messed around with.
Yet, this pursuit, of a woman by a man only seems to mirror that which is so available; that which we all long for amidst our own daily pursuits.
I have found myself pursuing a woman, a job, a title, a position, a friendship, a grade, and a number of other things. And as I think about what that has meant it seems to me anyway, an almost agonizing rejection of self for whatever it is I am pursuing. Haven’t you been there? We lose sleep, don’t eat, train without stopping, study til we fall off our chairs in order to obtain that which we are pursuing.
But for myself anyway, in the midst of my own pursuit I end up running from that which is pursuing me; or should I said He that pursues me.
There is a song by the band Third Day called “Just to be with You”. It is one of my favorites. The lyricist speaks in a tone as if God himself were singing to us. He uses some clichés that are usually said of a man pursuing a woman. He talks of a man that would climb a mountain just to be with the one he loved. Or another man, who would cross the sea, just to be with the one he loved. He goes on, “how many times has he broken that promise? It has never been done.”
He’s right! I know men who have been head over heels for a woman and yet none of them literally climbed a mountain. None crossed a deep sea.
Now as we know Christ didn’t do that, he pursued us in such a manner that led him to the cross. That his pursuit knew and understood how messed up we were; how much it would take for us to be reconciled to him. And yet he did it.
But not only did he do it, he also continues to do it.
This is my biggest struggle.
We serve a God who pursues us. And he does it in such a way that is greater than anything we have ever pursued in our life. And all we have to do is give up; give in.
As one who is always pursuing I will be honest and say that is difficult for me; very difficult. Yet as I continue to run, continue to pursue whatever it is I am after, I truly believe that if I slow down and quiet myself just enough I will be able to hear rustling behind me; accompanied by a faint voice calling my name; desperately wanting me to come back to the pen; to join the other 99.
It is in this location that our pursuits can ease. In the midst of our Shepherd, grades, jobs, titles, spouses, none of it matters compared to being in the midst of the Shepherd who left everything to come after and pursue us.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Kingdom Voice
"Don't worry. It will be real quick. I'll be back to get you in no time. I won't ever forget you; I've got your back." -John 14:3 (RSV)
My schedule these days is all over the place. To paint a bit of a context picture you need to know that Davidson College is about 30 miles directly north of the center of Downtown Charlotte. Now, where the Eagles train and play, and where all of my personal goalkeeping training is located is about 25 miles south east of the center of Charlotte. I think you can begin to see the problem. I am actually renting two places right now; one in the Davidson area with my friend, teammate, and colleague Greg. The other is in SoChar (ok, so it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it).
On any given day I could find myself in either or both places. It has been a little annoying at times, but the benefits of both make it worth it more often than not. But as you might imagine it is tough to be in two places at once. I use multiple gas stations, grocery stores, and restaurants. In house, I use different silverware, tables, and showers. There have been several occasions where I have woken up and not known where I was.
A remarkably unfortunate consequence of this has been my church attendance. It is a little random because of my training schedules, as I have really adopted Monday as more of my traditional Sabbath day. When I am able, I absolutely love the church I attend in south Charlotte. If you know me, you know that is a borderline miracle. I am an idealist to the core. It explains (though doesn’t excuse) a lot of me. As I wrote earlier, the fact that I am still here and love it says a lot.
Because of my weekend, I was unable to attend church in the south. I chose to go to a church closer to where I was yesterday morning based on the recommendation of another friend of mine. Now, this is no ordinary friend. He actually coaches with me. He used to play for the Eagles. He is just a step or two ahead of where I am at right now. His wisdom and insight have been immensely helpful. He and he wife are just awesome. And his kids are really, really cute.
This particular Sunday Greg and I decided to go to different services. I was looking to be up a little earlier and we both agreed it would just be different to attend alone; get a chance to really worship in solitude.
So I left my place a little early to allow myself time to find the church, and to grab some coffee of course. As I entered the building I looked around for the entrance to the auditorium. I really enjoyed being in a new place where I could walk around without anyone knowing me.
As I turned the corner, there he was. “Heeeyyyy, Sooouuudddddsss. What’s up, buddy?” It was my ‘step or two ahead’ friend with his youngest kid Keegan in hand. I certainly didn’t expect to see him but watched as he dropped off Keegan at the nursery. We went and freshened up our coffee and grabbed a seat in the auditorium.
Now, after all that prep reading you’re thinking this must have been the greatest service ever. There was something so revolutionary that I had to get it up on the blog less than 24 hours after it took place.
Not really.
Great service. I’m a big believer that anytime we really get in the Word, everyone wins. Though there was a larger passage drawn from my attention was particularly focused to James 3:16, “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” We’ll save that for another entry however.
As church ended we walked out to grab his kids. As we entered the ‘kids area’ chaos was ensuing as each parent tried to get to the door to grab their kids from their respective classrooms.
What happened next absolutely amazed me.
As we approached the classroom, my friend was talking to me about some soccer stuff. He doesn’t exactly have a quiet voice. We were a good fifty feet away and as I glanced at Keegan’s classroom door, I saw him come around the corner and start to try and climb the fence that separated the classroom from the lobby.
Make no mistake, he had heard his father. He knew that Dad was on his way.
As I looked into the classroom, Keegan wasn’t the only one doing this. As different kids’ parents came to get them they approached the gate, some screaming to get back to their parents. Some tried to climb the fence. Still others tried to squeeze through it. They were going to try and do anything to get into their parents arms.
It’s the simple things, isn’t it? An eighteen-month-old kid revealed to me in a new way a secret of the Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples this. In John 10, verse 27 he says, “My sheep know my voice.”
We see in other parts of the scriptures that when his sheep hear his voice, they will do anything to get to Him. Many traveled for days. Others crushed through large crowds to touch him. Still others climbed trees just to get a glimpse. There was even a group crazy enough to cut a hole in someone’s roof.
It seems as though when people come into contact with Abba, they continue to search for him, continue to wait for Him. They do any and everything possible to get to him. There is nothing that will stop them from trying.
And what is even more beautiful is that our Daddy does exactly what my friend did yesterday morning…
He calmly went over and exclaimed, “There’s my boy! I missed you buddy!” He reached down and picked him up. He grabbed him and pulled him close.
Dad was there; everything was going to be ok.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Kingdom Health
“We’re all in this together. We’re in the same boat. Just keep doing what you’re good at. If it’s rowing, row. If it’s adjusting the sail, hurry! Looks like the wind is changing. If you’re more of a course charter, here…grab a map!” Romans 12:6-8 (RSV)
I love to water ski. I’m not particularly good, but I absolutely love it. I take that back, I love any water sports; swimming, boating, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, anything. I love the water. I have actually acquired the nickname of ‘the fish’ from my group of friends back home. I am always up for a swim or a trip on the lake.
A few years back my group of best friends, which can only be called ‘the guys’ went to one of their lake houses up in Wisconsin. It was to be a complete and total guys hangout weekend. Lots of eating, hanging out on the lake, poker, cigars, fighting and talking of sports. A man’s weekend if you will. (1)
After a quick boat ride and dinner Friday, we had a late night poker tournament. After a long, grueling, drawn out process, I defeated the heavily favored Mark Tibbit in a heads up battle for the title. Does this have much to do with the story? No. I just thought you should know I was at one time a poker champion.
Anyway, after Blake’s drive for 12 pancakes Saturday morning, we went back out on the boat for some skiing while Blake lay on the dock in horrible pain from grotesque pancake intake. As I went to ski I decided though it has been a while I would get up on two and drop to one so I could slalom. I did, effectively and continued to stroll around the lake. As I took a turn heading back to the center of the lake I started to lose my balance. I rocked and swayed and tried to stay up. My feet started to move forward and in response I threw my head forward trying to regain balance. Bad idea. I felt what I would describe to this day (which is saying a lot) as the worst pain I have experienced in my life.
Long story short, I ripped my hamstring in half. Instead of tearing it at the origin or insertion (fancy kinesiology word. Degree at use.) I split it right down the middle and it rolled to either side of my leg. Pretty awesome.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the dock with Blake. We were both in exceptional pain.
I sat there and thought about how I had just ruined my college athletic career. I was due to report for baseball as a freshman in 4 weeks and there was no chance this was going to be healed in less than 6.
When I got on campus I limped around and did as much as I was either allowed or capable of doing athletically.
In another twist of God’s hilarity (which would take way to long to explain here), I ended up playing for the soccer team. I know, I know, such a huge skip of events, but just trust me for your time’s sake it happened.
As I started to train with the soccer team it was VERY apparent I was not healthy. I couldn’t sprint (At all. Like, even for me.), couldn’t dive correctly, couldn’t really do anything the way it should have been.
Guys on the team kept telling me to go see the trainer, but I refused. Every time I went into the training room it was packed. And as far as I could tell it was packed with people who played lots of minutes. I literally said to guys, “Nah, I’m fine. I don’t even play. That’s for the guys who are getting minutes.” They tried to disagree and debate with me but I would have none of it. We didn’t have a trainer at my high school. As I understood it trainers (and subsequently their time) was only for the guys on the team that mattered; only for the ones who contributed.
All the while, my leg got no better. As a matter of fact scar tissue was building up from continuing to try and play. Thus making it worse.
What’s funny is that looking back I couldn’t have been more wrong. As a rostered member of the soccer team I had every right to use the training room and its capabilities. Not only was I allowed to, it was encouraged. I was supposed to get back to 100% as soon as I possibly could. It didn’t matter whether I was playing or not.
I feel like that is us sometimes when it comes to the church. We think that certain things are only for ‘super Christians.” That if we didn’t grow up in a Christian home, or go to a Christian school we aren’t as good. That if we aren’t a vocational missionary or a pastor we are somehow less valuable to the church.
I have struggled with this for years. As a matter of fact, I still do. I struggle with what vocation should look like and what being a believer in the workplace means.
And yet in the midst of this strife, this tension the Apostle Paul’s fights this with gusto. He compares us, in the church, to a body. He notes that no one piece is more important than another. That each part must do what they are gifted or called to at that particular time.
For me, it was to get healthy. For me, it was to get better at soccer so that one day I could be the one playing. For me, it was to encourage and spur on my teammates to good deeds already prepared for them.
God’s picture is most often different than the world’s and I find it is more than not different than my own. As I wrote about earlier, Paul encourages the Ephesians that ‘they already are…” There is no amount of wins the church of Ephesus can pick up to earn a spot on God’s team. They already have it.
We already have it.
And with it, kinda, sorta like the training room, we get everything that comes along with it. We are a part of the family. We are brothers to the Second Adam. He is the first fruits of a new creation that we are apart of.
And the additional good news, at least for me and my hamstring, is that this family comes with a great doctor. One who has come to heal the sick.
(1) Important side note: I do not in any way, shape, or form want to exclude the mention of Blake ‘two-time’ Nystrom and his incredible pancake showcase at the Copper Kettle. Eating 12 plate sized pancakes, Blake put his name on the map, literally; for the second time. I have never been so impressed with an eating display. Well done, Blake.
I love to water ski. I’m not particularly good, but I absolutely love it. I take that back, I love any water sports; swimming, boating, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding, anything. I love the water. I have actually acquired the nickname of ‘the fish’ from my group of friends back home. I am always up for a swim or a trip on the lake.
A few years back my group of best friends, which can only be called ‘the guys’ went to one of their lake houses up in Wisconsin. It was to be a complete and total guys hangout weekend. Lots of eating, hanging out on the lake, poker, cigars, fighting and talking of sports. A man’s weekend if you will. (1)
After a quick boat ride and dinner Friday, we had a late night poker tournament. After a long, grueling, drawn out process, I defeated the heavily favored Mark Tibbit in a heads up battle for the title. Does this have much to do with the story? No. I just thought you should know I was at one time a poker champion.
Anyway, after Blake’s drive for 12 pancakes Saturday morning, we went back out on the boat for some skiing while Blake lay on the dock in horrible pain from grotesque pancake intake. As I went to ski I decided though it has been a while I would get up on two and drop to one so I could slalom. I did, effectively and continued to stroll around the lake. As I took a turn heading back to the center of the lake I started to lose my balance. I rocked and swayed and tried to stay up. My feet started to move forward and in response I threw my head forward trying to regain balance. Bad idea. I felt what I would describe to this day (which is saying a lot) as the worst pain I have experienced in my life.
Long story short, I ripped my hamstring in half. Instead of tearing it at the origin or insertion (fancy kinesiology word. Degree at use.) I split it right down the middle and it rolled to either side of my leg. Pretty awesome.
I spent the rest of the afternoon on the dock with Blake. We were both in exceptional pain.
I sat there and thought about how I had just ruined my college athletic career. I was due to report for baseball as a freshman in 4 weeks and there was no chance this was going to be healed in less than 6.
When I got on campus I limped around and did as much as I was either allowed or capable of doing athletically.
In another twist of God’s hilarity (which would take way to long to explain here), I ended up playing for the soccer team. I know, I know, such a huge skip of events, but just trust me for your time’s sake it happened.
As I started to train with the soccer team it was VERY apparent I was not healthy. I couldn’t sprint (At all. Like, even for me.), couldn’t dive correctly, couldn’t really do anything the way it should have been.
Guys on the team kept telling me to go see the trainer, but I refused. Every time I went into the training room it was packed. And as far as I could tell it was packed with people who played lots of minutes. I literally said to guys, “Nah, I’m fine. I don’t even play. That’s for the guys who are getting minutes.” They tried to disagree and debate with me but I would have none of it. We didn’t have a trainer at my high school. As I understood it trainers (and subsequently their time) was only for the guys on the team that mattered; only for the ones who contributed.
All the while, my leg got no better. As a matter of fact scar tissue was building up from continuing to try and play. Thus making it worse.
What’s funny is that looking back I couldn’t have been more wrong. As a rostered member of the soccer team I had every right to use the training room and its capabilities. Not only was I allowed to, it was encouraged. I was supposed to get back to 100% as soon as I possibly could. It didn’t matter whether I was playing or not.
I feel like that is us sometimes when it comes to the church. We think that certain things are only for ‘super Christians.” That if we didn’t grow up in a Christian home, or go to a Christian school we aren’t as good. That if we aren’t a vocational missionary or a pastor we are somehow less valuable to the church.
I have struggled with this for years. As a matter of fact, I still do. I struggle with what vocation should look like and what being a believer in the workplace means.
And yet in the midst of this strife, this tension the Apostle Paul’s fights this with gusto. He compares us, in the church, to a body. He notes that no one piece is more important than another. That each part must do what they are gifted or called to at that particular time.
For me, it was to get healthy. For me, it was to get better at soccer so that one day I could be the one playing. For me, it was to encourage and spur on my teammates to good deeds already prepared for them.
God’s picture is most often different than the world’s and I find it is more than not different than my own. As I wrote about earlier, Paul encourages the Ephesians that ‘they already are…” There is no amount of wins the church of Ephesus can pick up to earn a spot on God’s team. They already have it.
We already have it.
And with it, kinda, sorta like the training room, we get everything that comes along with it. We are a part of the family. We are brothers to the Second Adam. He is the first fruits of a new creation that we are apart of.
And the additional good news, at least for me and my hamstring, is that this family comes with a great doctor. One who has come to heal the sick.
(1) Important side note: I do not in any way, shape, or form want to exclude the mention of Blake ‘two-time’ Nystrom and his incredible pancake showcase at the Copper Kettle. Eating 12 plate sized pancakes, Blake put his name on the map, literally; for the second time. I have never been so impressed with an eating display. Well done, Blake.
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