Archive for November, 2006
A Response to Tide Fires Shula
Original post is here.
Some cool comments:
You want Croom? You can have him.
signed the Mississippi State fanbase.
Croom? Have you lost your ever-loving mind?
Geez…
I was responding to those comments and it became a book, so I decided to just post on it.
One point of clarification – I didn’t say I wanted Croom NOW. I was trying to communicate that given the 2 choices 4 years ago – I’d taken Croom for reasons I’ll explain later.
But before that, the part of the post where MSU fans get ape mad…:)
No one has ever won at MSU – save Jackie Sherrill and he had to cheat to do it. (Although I loved the castrating a bull incident.) Facilities, talent, location – the list just goes on as to their obstacles but no coach is ever going to turn MSU into a powerhouse especially with their current AD and facilities.
Could have something to do with the state in general. 
Please, MSU fans – relax. No hate toward you at all…just stating the obvious.
Now back to the earlier comment of given the choice between Shula and Croom 4 years ago- I’d taken Croom.
Here’s why – experience and statement.
At that time ‘Bama had 3 major coaches say NO – Spurrier, Saban, and Davis. Everyone knew that it would take 3 to 4 years to rebuild and they didn’t want to do it with NCAA sanctions. Given their track records, who could blame them. That left Alabama in a bind both public relations wise as well as the football side of things. A coach REJECTING an offer from the Mighty Alabama Crimson Tide? Well – it happened so now what?
Now you’ve got a freaking mess – a program on probation, playing bad football, not with a lot of depth or talent. So if you are going to go into survival mode until 2007, might as well do it while making a statement – hire the first black head football coach in SEC history.
It’s not like it was a “poster” hire – Croom has/had a better resume than Shula. He just didn’t have the last name Shula and he wasn’t white.
Seriously, does much change at ‘Bama this past 4 years if Croom is the coach? Nothing except maybe the recruiting improves and the school gets a MAJOR face lift in the public relations department.
It’s pretty obvious that Shula is NOT a great game day coach. It’s obvious that he leaves a ton of points on the field and he’s not exactly the most motivating presence in the world. He’s a younger Houston Nutt. (Which, by the way Arkansas fans – what a bittersweet year for you. Great year but now you’re stuck with Nutt one more year…ala ‘Bama was with Shula last year. Eerie, ain’t it?)
Which leads me to this – if Shula was just one 6-6 season away from being fired, why the extension and the hoopla from Moore and Whitt last year? Everyone knew this year was going to be brutal – loss of key leaders on offense, most of the defense, playing LSU, Tennessee, Florida on the road, and the upswing of SEC schools in top 10 this year.
I just don’t want Alabama in their quest to rejoin the “college football elite” to become Miami University to do it. And gauging by the decisions of these two men over the last few years, I think they’ve lost the forest for the trees.
[tags]Alabama football, Mike Shula, Mal Moore, Robert E. Whitt, Sylvester Croom, MSU[/tags]
The Soap Opera of House Buying
aka – What I’ve Learned By Buying A House In Colorado…
1. Avoid buying a house that is listed with a relocation company AND a real estate agent. Of course, you won’t know this until you actually make an offer but avoid it anyway. 2 companies means 2 times the paper to sign.
2. If the sellers are going through a nasty divorce, it really isn’t that great of house or deal. Trust me on this one.
3. The nice neighborhood covenants keep people from becoming…well, rednecks. No weeds taller than 6 inches, no cars on blocks, no dogs under the porch. However, read the fine print.
4. Nice neighborhood covenants can go overboard. 4 inch thick rule book that includes this gem: Basketball goals must either be clear or match the color of the house and may not be mounted on the house. Christmas lights must be removed by the 1st of February. (I like that one.)
I have more but the update is this – we didn’t close yesterday but will close on Thursday. After some fairly intense artillery rounds back and forth, (“You know, if both the husband and wife love that house so much, they can keep it. Since you’ve failed to close just give us the earnest money and we’ll find another house.”) we have a key to the house and can take possession today.
Of course that was after I delayed the movers to Wednesday.
Oh well. We are no longer homeless.
Tide Fire Shula
Well, I thought Alabama was smarter than this. I said they wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) fire Mike Shula because he led the University out of NCAA probation well, he put Bama back in the bowls, and they just gave him a $4 million guaranteed contract extension. Obviously I was giving the Tide way too much credit.
An Open Letter to Mal Moore, the AD at Alabama and his immediate subordinate Robert E. Witt, the President of the University.
Dear Sirs,
As a life long Tide fan, let me first congratulate you on paying more to coaches who aren’t coaching at Alabama than the ones that currently are. It’s a rare gift to spend millions of dollars on coaches to make sure they don’t coach for you. (I would like to let you know that I am much cheaper to pay to not coach Alabama than your next hire. I’m available.) It’s good to see Alabama being the pioneer of new hiring practices – at least on the college level. I would be wary of Al Davis of the Oakland Raiders, however. He will probably sue for copyright infringement.
It’s good to know that you fired Mike Shula so that Alabama could return to the “College Football Elite.” As a warning, you should know that Miami University is doing the same. You might want to consult with them on their coaching candidates to save time.
It’s quite clear now that Mike Shula was of the same ilk of Mike Dubose, Dennis Franchoine, and Mark Price – other than of course he didn’t cheat with his secretary, lie to students, pay recruits, visit strip joints and land Alabama on NCAA probation. I mean, other than that – he was exactly like those other coaches – he didn’t win enough.
I’m sure you’ll hire the right guy this time. Don’t let the rejections of Butch Davis, Steve Spurrier, or Nick Saban deter you. Neither allow history to sway your search either. Does it matter that no coach has ever won a national championship then went to another school to win it again? Does it matter that most coaches who have a record of success have it because they were allowed a time to grow and recruit their own players? Of course not. I’m sure Alabama will be the exception.
Finally, thank you for not hiring Sylvester Croom 4 years ago. Looking back, it would have been a disaster – the first African-American football coach in the SEC at Alabama? Much to forward thinking for us. An alumni with ties to Bear Bryant, a national championship, and a Super Bowl ring to lead the football program? A black man who is known first as a leader, then a coach recruiting for Alabama? It’s amazing the kind of insight you two have. I sleep so much better knowing that the future of Alabama football and higher education is in your capable hands.
Sincerely,
Grant English
[tags]Alabama Football, Mike Shula, Mal Moore, University of Alabama, Robert E. Witt[/tags]
Major Wisdom
It was my last week in Little Rock and “by chance” I ran into a pastor-friend-mentor in a coffee shop. I’ve known him since my first month in Little Rock. Ever meet somebody and just instantly there was this connection? You didn’t need a lot of “warm up” time to trust? That was this guy. We’d see each other 6 or 7 times a year and just acted liked we never missed a day. Every time I would leave those conversations a deeper, better man of God.
He was a pastor at a very large church and has had to make some very hard, unpopular decisions in his life on a very public stage. For some reason though, we just connected. I tell him this is it – the final push to Colorado and he bursts into a “when I was a young pastor” story. He talked about how hard it was, how hurtful it was, his sense of betrayal and loss. Most of us have a story or two like that.
What made this story a little different was there was no hint of bitterness or resentment in his voice. In fact, he was smiling. Which was kinda weirding me out.
“You know, there are some things that I think God can only teach us through pain. It made me a better pastor to know what it’s like to be the low man on the totem pole on a staff and be hung out to dry. I couldn’t see it then but it was good for me to get kicked in the gut like that. There were some leadership skills and compassion that could only be grown in me through the middle of the train wreck called [name of church withheld to protect the guilty]. For a long time I thought I had wasted my time and life in that place. That’s completely wrong. God doesn’t waste anything.”
He stops. Leans back. Smiles.
At this point I’m struck by a couple of thoughts. I’ve said those words before – “God doesn’t waste anything” but this was different. It was preachy or the tagline of a Hallmark card. It was deeper than that. I believe those words but honestly there are times when I have my doubts. There are times when I do think that God has completely missed the boat on some issues. So there have been times when those words were hollow coming out of my mouth.
Not this guy. It was almost like he was whispering to himself.
I finally broke the silence. “I have no clue as to how to respond to that.”
He laughed at me – which normally is fine but I wasn’t trying to be funny. “Grant, I’ve watched you for almost 5 years. You have followed and loved Jesus well. You are going to be tempted to look at your time in Little Rock as a failure, a waste of time or maybe even just a detour. I’m betting that you will look back with awe and not just see God preparation in you but major fruit for others as well.” (Which – as an aside – can we come up with a better word than fruit? I’d like a manly word…)
He hugged me. Not one of those sissy hugs but one of those leave-the-grandparents kind of hugs. Right there in the coffee shop. I just stood there and teared up. Like a sissy girl.
So maybe we don’t need a manly word after all.
Cutler for Plummer
Matt Davis is doing cartwheels today. The Rook gets a shot at leading the Broncos.
Of course, neither Jake nor Jay can tackle.
Neither can catch.
Neither can block.
Which if the Broncos really want to succeed in the postseason, they are going to have to do a lot more of things.
Jake hasn’t exactly tore it up. Shanahan didn’t need him to. Shanahan didn’t need him turning the ball over either, which Jake has done alot this year. I’m not a Plummer apologist, but I’ll say a couple of things on his behalf.
First, he’s a stand-up guy. He’s taking responsibility for losses that weren’t his fault. That’s what leaders do. He told the media that given his performance, his given Mike plenty of reasons to change to Cutler. He’s not thrown his teammates – namely his receivers and lineman – under the bus. That’s a good sign.
Second, the team loves him. Griese didn’t have that. Plummer does. Every guy on the roster likes Jake. Does that make the decision harder to swallow? Probably but Shanahan has created an atmosphere here that the team is everything, winning is everything. Guys come to Denver to win and have a chance at a Super Bowl. Everyone knows that the best player plays – regardless of salary.
Third, Jake’s a 10-year vet. He knows that 1) Denver is still in the playoff hunt, 2) injuries are a part of the game, 3) he still has a huge role in helping Denver succeed, and 4) life after football is alot longer than life IN football – therefore he is not going to be burning any bridges.
Kansas City has a similiar situation with Damon Huard and Trent Green. Two guys who could start on a NFL team, only one of them can so the other one has a decision to make – either be part of the problem or part of the solution. Damon should be starting but he’s a good apple. So he’ll keep being ready for the next time Trent gets beat up (and he will).
I have a hunch Jake will act the same way – at least this season. This offseason should be interesting, though.
[tags]Jake Plummer, Broncos, Jay Cutler[/tags]
The Arrowhead Experience
It’s been a hectic few days…I’ll try to catch up over the next couple.
First, Bronco game at Arrowhead. It was by far one of the loudest places I’ve ever been. It was also the largest collection of drunks. The game started at 7…on a holiday weekend…in Kansas City. Dad scored me and Cooper two tickets from a guy in his church and while they were upper row, the view was awesome.
You could really see how wide open the recievers were that Plummer was missing.
Alright, the loss wasn’t all on Plummer. George Foster looked like he forgot how to block and the defense had stupid penalties.
Arrowhead is a tough place to play but the Broncos never were sharp.
On the other hand, Kansas City acted like this was the Super Bowl or something. They beat a slow, tired, beat up Bronco team at home while only scoring 19 points. I’m not thinking that is going to intimidate the Colts or the Chargers or the Ravens for that matter. Green – a great guy in person – looked…frail.
But, Coop wore his Plummer jersey, I wore my Smith jersey and it was a great experience. Great venue to watch a game.
[tags]Arrowhead Stadium, Broncos, Chiefs[/tags]
Gambling With My Life
Coop and I will head to Arrowhead Stadium tonight to pull for the fading Broncos against the confused Chiefs. Should be quite the scene. The whole town is geeked up for the game but the huge controversy is NFL Network broadcasting the game.
If you live in the city of your team – it’s no big deal…a local channel gets broadcasting rights as long as that channel is “open-air.” The cable companies want to get NFL Network then charge the customers an “upper-tier” fee for those subscribers who want it. NFL Network won’t allow the cable companies to do that – they want to remain a part of the basic cable package. Of course the rub is that NFL Network is asking a HUGE broadcasting fee from those cable companies to be able to put their network on the air.
Anyway – that’s way more than I what I wanted to blog about anyway. Weather is awesome here – so Matt – your prayer life sucks.
I’ll blog more about thankfulness….maybe.
Fayetteville on Wednesday
Alright all my wonderful hog-addicted friends – Guido’s at noon on Wednesday in Fayetteville.
Jason – can you leave a link with directions? You the man…
Cooper is still pulling for the Hogs to go all the way.
I’ve failed as a father…….
House packed…
I’ll take pictures tomorrow but the house is packed…
The rooms are silent…
The walls are bare…
8807 Old Spanish Trail is packed…tomorrow we’ll load.
Will I miss it?
No.
The house and memories are wonderful but that hill is AWFUL!!! The only time it was good was when it snowed and we used it as a sled hill. I think we took out a couple of trash cans and a stop sign that day.
Seriously – I’ll miss our friendships but a house is a house.
Right?
What the Chargers taught the Broncos…
1. LT needs a belt. It was bad enough that he torched the Denver defense but then we had to look at his crack all night long. Dang, LT. Get a belt!
2. Martyball is dead. Cam Cameron is the OC in SD and he is letting Rivers and LT loose. They are going to run the table.
3. Jake Plummer can not throw the long ball.
4. He can however find guys in the opposite color jersey.
5. Rule #1 of football watching is NEVER disagree with Madden. He’s 99% of the time right on. I sort of disagreed with him. When Denver went for it with 3 minutes and change in the game, Madden said that it was bad call IF you have confidence in your defense. I sort of agree, sort of disagree. I think the lack of confidence is in Plummer. He didn’t call any bootlegs, he only called a couple of deep throws and I think Shanahan was trying to find something to kick start Plummer.
It didn’t work.
6. LT is a role model for all running backs. He’s scored over 100 TDs faster than any player in NFL history. Does he dance? Does he do some ridiculous spike or trash talk? No. He flips the ball to the umpire (he did keep #100 TD football) and runs to the sideline. Denver RB’s take notice. Run hard, keep your mouth shut, block, catch, then run to the sideline.
7. How to build a team. Pass on Vick to get Tomlinson and Donnie Edwards. Pass on Eli Manning to get Rivers and Merriman. Let the establishment go (Brees) and roll the dice on the young guns.
8. It’s not so much that turnovers that will kill you but WHEN you turn the ball over that will kill you. Like late in the game.
Matt Davis is full form now, calling for Cutler.
I’ll be in KC watching that meltdown as well.
Go Broncs.
Splat
Not a sound you want to hear at midnight…
In a motel….
Then the smell…
We survived. Just a result of all the junk Cooper put in his body yesterday.
“Throwing up is the worse kind of sick.” – Cooper English, philosopher, age 8.
Little Rock Crazy
I’m not making this up – I’ve got an inbox full of people wanting to meet this week.
Which is great. It makes me feel loved and missed.
The problem – I’ve got no time. Between packing and moving and everything inbetween – it’s just nuts.
So this is just an open invitation. I’ll be at the Starbucks in the Heights at 9:30 on Sunday Morning. I know – church time. But it’s all I got. If you want grab some face time – that’s where I’ll be.
Otherwise, you can come by and help pack a box!
The Next Week
We close on our old house in LR.
Pack and move our stuff in LR.
I go to KC-Denver game at Arrowhead – Smith jersey or Elway jersey?
Thanksgiving with mom and dad and brother and his family (whom I’m really looking forward to see).
Preach on Thanksgiving Sunday. (Paul and thankfulness)
Close on house here.
Unpack and move stuff in house here.
God give us our minds.
How Do You Know….?
Between my talk at the conference last weekend (which I haven’t posted yet…I will…my bad) and the normal randomness on this blog, I’ve been asked alot about “How do you know if you are called somewhere?”
To which my favorite response is from a line in Sister Act – “The call? Oh!!! The Call…I got the call in Vegas and sister, you don’t know how hard it is to hear the Call until you’ve been to Vegas.”
I lost count how many interviews we plowed through this summer. All my joking and craziness aside – I knew exactly what I was looking for when I interviewed. Did I connect with the senior pastor?
It’s the lynch pin. If you can’t work, follow, or connect with that top level leader (whatever cool title is draped on it), then you’re not called there (IMHO).
“But what if you KNOW God called you there and you don’t connect with the Senior Pastor?” Are we serious? What if we really love each other and we are going to get married anyway? What if I don’t inhale? If you ask me that question, I’m seriously doubting your calling in the first place. God’s not called us to subterfuge which is what happens when we go places and we can’t follow the leader. If you can’t connect or click with that senior leader, you’re not called there.
“What if you’re there first then the senior pastor is hired and you don’t connect?”
Well…bummer of birthmark, Hal.
That could mean a lot of things. The winds of change are coming and you no longer belong there? The search team made a royal mistake and hired the wrong guy? Could mean a few other things but as a staff guy (use the term generically) you’ve only got two choices.
Shut up and follow.
Shut up and leave.
Either way – shut up.
Doesn’t really matter who is right or wrong or left or whatever. When pastoral teams fight – bad things happen. Churches split, people miss Jesus, families are wounded. Know your role and don’t die fighting on the hill of inevitability.
Some of you might have noticed a comment or two from the “raydog.” That would be my senior pastor – Ray Schwartz. If you’ve listened to the podcast, you hear three guys giving “Ray” a hard time. Same guy. That kinda gives you a window into the kind of relationship we have.
That’s not saying I haven’t had some…spirited discussions… with my bosses. But everyone of them I’ve been able to walk in their office, close the door, vent/argue/complain and then listen. In fact, many times the relationship got stronger because of that. They’ve been huge in helping me be a better man and leader.
So bottom line….ask pointed, hard questions in the beginning. Find a leader who loves Jesus and loves his team. Find a leader who can handle brutally honest talks and rewards loyalty.
Then go enjoy telling people about Jesus with each other.
Then again…I may be full of it.
Inmates Running the Asylum…
First, Ted Haggard did his thing.
Then, Mark Driscoll in yet another moment of sheer blogging brillance (tongue in cheek) wrote his thing.
Which (understandably so) upset some people like this.
Which led to an open letter like this.
At this point – you figure there is a chance for at least a dialogue and perhaps some closure but then this hits the blogosphere. A protest of Driscoll at his church.
I can only imagine the evening news in Seattle on December 3rd starting like this…
“From the ‘tell me again what we are protesting about’ Department…”
Andrew “TSK” Jones has an absolutely hilarious post on it. The Kiwi in comments here and there also spouts out profound wisdom that both sides would do well to follow. (No link – why? I’m fat, tired, and lazy.)
1. A boycott does more damage than good.
2. Seek to solve it at the lowest level of conflict possible – which at this point seems to be a few exits behind us.
As a youth pastor this whole scene feels pulled right out of a middle school lock-in. He said…then she said…then he didn’t do this …so she is going to do this…and then the friends show up and we are all in a circle at the bikeracks talking about each other’s mom.
This will be …interesting? morbid? to watch. I feel like I’m watching a train wreck in slow motion.
UPDATE: Mark responds with this.
Here’s my hunch – it was well written but it won’t be enough for some.
Missed my anniversary
2 years ago I started blogging.
Here was the first post. It’s about planting my Tundra in the creek. I still ache when I think about it.
Other highlights:
Winning the first ever “Best Youth Pastor Blog” from Evangelical Underground. Not sure I exactly fit what they would deem – “conservative” – but, nice to win something every now and then.
Getting a link and mention from Tall Skinny Kiwi. I’ve never met the guy but I love reading him and I love his heart. I hope to one day meet him. Every now and then he gets to the states. I’ve thought about tracking him down, finding him unawares and just going up to him and hug him. Of course with recent events that might not be such a great idea.
I’ve got 1,045 posts and 2,746 comments over the last 2 years.
I’ve met a ton of new friends across the globe and I just want to say thanks to my mom who has read every post since day one.
When did you start reading this blog?
Teacher accused of Sexual Misconduct
My eyes caught the headline on Rocky Mountain News as I was zinging off to the sports page.
Then I saw her picture. Go ahead and go look…I’ll wait. Here it is plus the full story.
Are you thinking what I’m thinking? Yeah…a 17 year-old boy and a blonde 29 year-old teacher (whose husband is the principal).
I remember being 17. I remember having a crush on Mrs. Chase – my trig teacher. Blonde, drove a Toyota MR2. (Why were those cars so popular in the ’80′s? One good wind and it was off to Kansas with it.) I remember alot about 17 – much of it I have tried to forget but I don’t remember being a “man” of much restraint.
Which leads me to this question…am I the only thinking there MIGHT be a difference in “sexual misconduct” with a 12 or 14 year-old than say…oh, a 17-year old that is about to graduate from high school? I’m not excusing the behavior of the teacher…I just doubt the 17 year-old is completely innocent.
Jeremy is at it again…
I dare you not to laugh at this.
I will never think of ultrasound the same way again.
The Weekly Devo from StudentParking.org
Did you know we have a student ministry blog? We do – it’s at studentparking.org. Plus the podcast over there – which this week is turning out to be quite the contraversial podcast! We did some teasing of Fernando Ortega. All in good fun, I assure you.
But this was my weekly evo…
eBay and God
I’m running out of space on my laptop – who’d ever thought 30 gigs wouldn’t be enough? Well it isn’t. So after months of deleting everything I could possibily delete, I came to a hard conclusion. I either “need†a new computer or an external hard drive.
Enter eBay. I love ebay. I’ve gotten steals of a deal through them – guitar, digital camera, cell phone accessories, clothes – you name it. It’s a habit at our house – thinking about getting something? Check eBay.
eBay thrives off the principle that one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. (I’m convinced that women have never ever owned or purchased anything that could be classified as junk…insert sarcasm here.) eBay is the answer to the question is it possible to get what I want at the very lowest price.
Craig’s List is another service. I bought a $1,000 refrigerator for our new home for less than $400. In fact, I paid less for this refrigerator than the one we sold with our house in Little Rock and it’s nicer. What more could you ask for?
eBay and Craig’s List are allowing me to fulfill my dream to be the laziest consumer on the planet!! In other words, I’m getting exactly what I want for the least amount money.
I started thinking about this during Ray’s sermon yesterday. No, I wasn’t daydreaming – Ray was preaching on giving and why we give and what the Bible says about it. Ray said some pretty awesome things yesterday – like giving keeps us from being selfish, it helps us remember what God has done for us, what we spend our money on shows us what we think is most important.
Then I started thinking about the recent stats on church giving – which honestly haven’t changed in a while. Only 6% of people who go to church, tithe (give 10% of their income) to that church. 35% of all attenders give NOTHING to the church. Mars Hill Church in Seattle just recently sent out a letter telling their congregation that close to 400 households give nothing annually to their church. Nothing????
Has our eBay/Craig’s List mentality bled over to God? Let’s ask some hard questions for those of us living in the student culture. How much time do we spend listening, engaging God compared to other things? How much money do we spend on entertainment in comparison to God?
I’m not saying the other stuff is bad. I’m saying if you have more of an investment in them than God – it’s bad. Who’s the big loser in all this? Inquiring minds want to know.
Da Hogs
Those who know me know I am no Hog fan. I don’t hate ‘em. Just not my favorite…kinda like Sprite.
But the latest BCS poll just shows the ridiculousness that is college football. USC and Notre Dame jump up in the top 5? Florida falls? This is the biggest reason why pro football is so better than college. The national media is just a collection of East-Coast/West-Coast lovers who don’t know jack about football.
Let’s all hope it plays out. If…and that’s a big IF… but IF Arkansas wins out (or Florida for that matter) there is no reason to keep them out of the national championship game.
Get ready, Hog fans and SEC fans everywhere to be royally jerked around by the BCS.
[tags]Arkansas Razorbacks, BCS[/tags]
Meeting Shannon Sharpe
Amy picked up Cars on Tuesday and noticed that a new DVD was out – Broncos: The Complete History AND that Shannon Sharpe would be signing copies tonight at 6 pm. That was odd because of all the Broncos, Sharpe normally doesn’t do autographs.
But we went and he was there and we stayed in line. Here’s Coop in line.
As we are standing in line, the “info” starts coming back. He’s not signing anything but the DVD you had to buy at the store. A guy three people back from me had a seat from Mile High Stadium with like 30 signatures on it. The guy in front of me had a Super Bowl XXXII football he wanted Shannon to sign, he was a fireman. He bought 5 balls a few years ago and set out on a mission – get the principle players that brought the first Super Bowl trophy to Denver to sign them. He’s got Rod Smith, John Elway, Eddie McCaffrey, and Terrell Davis. He lacks Sharpe.
It’s not surprising. Those other 4 guys – if you stumble upon them in Denver almost always great with fans. This guy ran into Elway in his restaurant and John signed the ball for him.
Sharpe was always quick with the one-liners – not so quick with the pen. Rumor is he’s waiting for the Hall of Fame.
My favorite Sharpe quotes:
After winning Super Bowl XXXII – “I’d like to thank the Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts for making that dumb trade back in ’83 and giving us Mr. Elway.”
During press day Super Bowl XXXIII – “”I won’t talk about someone’s mother. I won’t talk about their girlfriend or their wife. But if you have a deformity, I would talk about that.”
“I’ve pretty much been in Atlanta my whole life, and I never liked the Falcons. What was there to like about them? They lost all the time. If you had a pair of cleats on and you were in Fulton County (Stadium), they’d put you in the ballgame, they were so bad. For $20, you could sit in the luxury box with the owner.”
“Coach, I’m really convinced with all of the talk is going on that I can get at least two or three personal fouls in the game because people won’t be able to keep their poise.” He did. He got three personal fouls from the Chiefs on a Monday night game.
Anyway, we get up there and I honestly think he could still play. Shook his hand, thanked him for being a great Bronco, Cooper shook his hand. He smiled at us, posed for a pic with the camera phone and signed the DVD.
We had a blast! Fun night. Now off to watch my 2 DVD version of heaven.
[tags]Shannon Sharpe, Shannon Sharpe quotes, Broncos:The Complete History[/tags]
Student Ministry Issues
Got an email from Tim – who I’ve never met but he’s a youth guy…so he’s got that going for him.
He threw 3 questions at me (and others).
What do you see as some of the main issues youth ministry is struggling with today?
What do you see as some of the main issues youth ministry is responding to effectively?
In what ways does youth ministry need to change?
Let’s tackle the first one…What do you see as some of the main issues youth ministry is struggling with today?
Senior Pastors. [insert rim shot here]
Thank you, I’ll be in town all week.
Seriously, there’s a couple of ways you could answer this question. The truth is the issues facing teenagers hasn’t changed in 50 years – heck, maybe even 1500 years. Identity issues, sexuality issues, authority issues, and vocation/purpose issues. Everything you name is an outcropping of one of those issues. Rewind the tape to any era – they will be waiting for you there.
What has changed is the context in which those issues are dealt with. For the longest time, the corporate church wanted their students to sit down and shut up therein gave rise to parachurch organizations who said – “Take your stuffy suits and songs and …”, well, I can’t repeat the rest of it but you get the picture. The “church” was paralyzed when facing a changing culture and how to deal with it. The people who could have helped lead through that were NOT allowed to, left and did it anyway.
Campus Crusade, Young Life, Youth Specialities, FCA, YFC, and others can point to a date in the 60′s when they started. Coincidence? I think not.
Over the years, the “youth pastor” came into position on most church staffs and there has been a resurgance of sorts in reaching the student culture (not without its mishaps).
But I think we are at another crossroads of sorts in student ministry. This generation is facing the same issues but in a much more intense, aggressive, combative, pluralistic context. I’ve posted on this before but this generation tends to value…
global issues over national issues,
community over isolation,
authenticity over polish,
interaction over performance,
risk over caution,
questions more than answers (thanks marko at youth specialties),
experiential over observation,
impact over incubation.
Here’s the rub, VOLUME 1
Each value statement stands in conflict with how we’ve done student ministry over the last 50 years. Most of us are hired to run polished, high performance, event driven, right answer, isolation from adult world, “safe†kinds of ministry. We don’t want to release students for impact because they’re young and need time to “incubate” before they can serve.
In what ways does youth ministry need to change?
Create a student ministry environment where these values can be embraced and then start reproducing other spiritual leaders to do the same.
Here’s the rub, VOLUME 2
That’s probably going to mean a relational, small group kind of ministry. Most churches (potentially) have 2 huge obstacles at this point.
Obstacle 1: Slow return on investment. Relational-driven is more work and less to show…at first. It’s possible to fill the calendar and do all the events – and that’s work but it’s nothing compared to putting teenagers in church of life groups/small group bible study. You have so much relationally intensive work, groundwork, and training/discipleship to do. There is more work in protecting and guarding that kind of vision, casting that kind of vision so that the entire body gets what we’re doing. It’s intensive, up-close, slow work.
Obstacle 2: New Wine/Old Wineskin. I’ve got a buddy who was asked to resign because his bosses didn’t feel like they “were on the same page.” Allow me to translate, they have this new building and about to build another and they want it filled. It’s not about releasing student leaders to impact their campus, it’s about building buildings and filling them. It’s understandable on one hand – spent millions of dollars on a new building, want to get the most out of it.
The problem is it completely stands in conflict with the values of this generation of students. A church that spends millions of dollars on a building is offensive to a mid-20 year old and younger who thinks more should be done about the AIDS problem in Africa.
“Let me get this straight – we NEED a 35 million dollar building when the one we have is fine and thousands are dying in Africa because they can’t get clean water?”
HOWEVER….
And I say this directly to hired, paid student workers – know your role. If you are the hireling to implement the plan of your senior leaders – then that’s what you are and do it. If they completely disagree with how your doing things, either change or find another job but don’t split the church so that you can be ‘right.’
Do your deal, follow Jesus, create this environment in the student ministry IF YOU CAN. If you can’t – shut up and leave and find a place where you can if it’s that important to you.
As much as I believe this is how to do ministry, splitting a church does more damage than good. Both the new wine and the old wineskin is ruined.
And for some reason, Jesus saw value in perserving both. So should we.
[tags]student ministry, post-christian culture [/tags]
Weeds In Real Life
Jesus’ teaching on weeds has got to be one of the most bizarre parables ever. He tells us that there are people in the church that don’t have an eternity with Him. He tells us that they got there because they were placed there by the enemy. He tells us that the enemy did this while God’s servants were sleeping.
So let’s get the weeds out, right?
Jesus seems to be pretty insistent that He be the one that gets them out…on His timetable, His way. We don’t. Why? Because we can’t tell the difference between wheat and weeds. Living in Kansas, I can appreciate that comment. In early spring, you can’t tell the difference. Both are brown. Both are sticking straight up in the air.
But something happens in the fall. Wheat stalks have grain in their heads. So much grain that it starts to bend over. The stalk can barely sustain the weight of the seeds. Weeds? They have no seeds so they are still sticking straight up in the air. You can only see this at harvest time…none other.
I’m thankful that I’m not responsible for getting the weeds out. I make too quick of judgment calls sometimes. I can’t see the whole picture of what God is doing in other’s lives. My ‘insight’ can be just a calloused heart. I’m thankful that is God’s job because at one point in time (maybe even now?) I’m sure I was branded a weed by others.
So what are to do then? Keep loving and growing, let Jesus handle the weeds. Simple, right? he he…Simple seldom means easy.
Why Shula Should Be Fired But Won’t
If you’re Alabama, you don’t lose to Mississippi State…ever…at home.
Should Shula be fired?
I don’t know. A few years ago – yes. And he would have been. But now? At some point, ‘Bama fans are going to have to realize that until the probation is completely over and they get all their scholarships back – this is the life in the SEC.
After the debacles of Franchione and Price and DuBose, Alabama just needs to keep a coach that’s a nice guy and is going to run a clean program for few years. As much I as want us to win another national championship, I don’t want to become Miami to do it.
Besides that – who are you going to hire? Butch Davis? While he’s probably available now that Houston Nutt isn’t coaching Arkansas anymore (yes, he’s still walking the sideline and giving interviews but we all know who’s calling the plays), He’ll do no better than what Shula’s doing. Trying to implement the pro offense at a school that was built for the wishbone.
Just keep him one more year – see what happens.