Archive for August, 2009
The Season From The Hot Place Begins
I’m not sure what was worse last night – watching Cutler finally get his legs underneath him as he sliced open the Denver defense or listening to Cris Collingsworth.
In Case There Was Any Doubt…
It’s official…the Broncos had the worst off-season ever. Any hope of getting over that off-season with real football was completely shattered last night. Let’s cover the bright spots first.
Dawkins – a beast. A terror. Played with a broken hand. Lit up anyone who was near him. He actually reminds me of Dennis Smith.
Doom – Elvis is IN the building. It’s a shame he’s the only pass rusher we have that’s worth anything. He’s going to get double-teamed all season long because teams know that they can block the rest of the D-line with popsicle sticks and harsh language. But…he will be a beast in the linebacker position.
Stupid moment of the night – how in the world did Denver get in a scheme where Doom was covering a WR???? He did it…but what the heck was going on there? Another stupid comment from Collingsworth – “Doom is the best player on the Broncos (pause) along with Champ Bailey.” Doom is good and he has the potential to be great. But Champ is by far and away the best player on the Broncos.
Peyton Hillis, Eddie Royal – I’m in favor of running the option during the year with these two and Knowshon Moreno. Any takers?
Overall – Pathetic
The list is long and repetitive as this point. Quarterback play, penalties, play calling, no power in the redzone, defense giving up big 3rd down plays. Sound familiar? Yeah…just like last year. Glad all those changes were made to correct that stuff.
I thought I was finally okay with the Cutler trade. He is a crybaby. He is a prima donna. He’s immature, cocky, loudmouthed, and has a jerk of an agent. But there is no comparison in terms of talent between him and Orton. Cutler doesn’t miss the easy throws. Cutler can throw the ball down the field. Cutler can take a hit. Cutler can put the ball on a postage stamp while on the run in traffic. Cutler revels in the pressure and adversity. He just didn’t want to play for a team, organization, or coach who wouldn’t commit to not trade him.
I realize that it’s not fair to Orton but he can thank McDaniels for that. It’s not even close and last night was the smoking gun proof of it. There was never any threat of the deep ball from Orton. Part of that is play-calling, part of it is the continued ability of Orton to miss wide open targets. At this rate, loosing Brandon Marshall is not going to be a big deal because the Broncs can’t/won’t throw the ball further than 10 yards.
I’m still a Bronco fan, have been since I was 7. Will continue to be a Bronco fan through this debacle as well. Heck, we survived the Wade Phillips experiment. But there is no way this team goes .500. No way.
Welcome to Oakland East.
Room Full of Leaders
Last night our house was invaded by twice as many people as we expected for our Turbo Group. Basically, it’s a room full of people who are passionate about God and people and want to be better at leading our Life Groups. We talked about the need for community, the obstacles of having it, the 5 key disciplines that have to happen in a Life Group for community to happen.
It was a humbling start to the process of creating a culture that reproduces fully-devoted followers of Jesus. At church that morning, we took the sign up list which only had 12 names on it and started adding up who told us they were coming. It topped out at 31. Amy asked me – how in the world are we going to get 31 people in our house? In the same room?
“I have no idea. I’ve never had 31 people want to show up for something like this. Are these people normal?”
No, they’re not normal and that’s exactly the way we like it.
Bronco Observations from Topeka
It’s game 2 of the preseason and – David, you can just deal with it – I’m not happy about the state of my beloved Broncos.
The Offense
Where should we start? The big complaint from McDaniels was that while the Broncos could put yards, they couldn’t punch in touchdowns, turned the ball over, and the offense stalled out at the 20. Guess what? Nothing has changed so far except this – instead of laser cannon passes for 20 plus yards, we get the screen pass/bubble screen/dink it downfield offense. 4 picks in the redzone for 2 games for the starting offense.
Baby face Josh shares some of this blame. When the QB is racing to the line of scrimmage with 4 seconds left on the play clock, bad things are going to happen – delay of game, timeout, rushed reads…just the short list.
I don’t understand why Peyton Hillis isn’t getting more reps and the retreads of Buckhalter and Jordan are. Hillis has proved over and over again that he will get the extra yard or two, he will block, and he will catch.
The Defense
Fans will quickly point out that the defense has had more sacks in the 2 preseason games than the entire preseason. Two reminders – the 49ers and Seahawks aren’t exactly known for their pass protection. The Seahawks are banged up beyond all recognition as well. Second, the QBs have had time, they’ve held the ball too long.
I think they will be better than last year but with the offense taking such a huge step backward, I’m not sure it will get noticed or matter.
Of course, there is the Marshall saga that just continues to escalates. I’m not sure what either side is thinking. Marshall doesn’t have the leverage to demand a trade due to his off the field issues. McDaniels is pretty much promised a losing season without the presence of Marshall. They both need a monster year to reach the goals they both SAY they have. Which makes me wonder if they both really have that same goal – winning.
Because neither one has acted like that is the most important thing to them right now.
Updated Blog
Upgraded or updated the backside of my blog. Nothing noticable on your end other than a couple of plugins to update.
I can now post and upload pics from my iPhone again. Yeah.
This is Cayden playing a concert for our cul-de-sac.
The Real Tragedy of Favre-Gate
The greatest retirement of any player in any sports has to be John Elway. It’s not just because I’m a huge Bronco fan or that John was/is the greatest quarterback ever – of which there is no further discussion, amen.
It’s because Hollywood couldn’t have scripted out a better exit. Quarterback goes to three Super Bowls early in career and gets blown out in all of them. Puts up Hall of Fame numbers the rest of his career, wins a NFL MVP award but never gets back to the big game. After 16 years in the NFL, he gets to the Super Bowl as the largest underdog in the world and WINS. Comes back the next season, wins the Super Bowl again AND the Super Bowl MVP trophy.
Then retires in the offseason, his last game a Super Bowl win with a Super Bowl MVP trophy. Can you really top that? Of course you can’t.
The only thing that would have been better was Michael Jordan staying retired after he 3-peated the second time. But he didn’t. Or Magic staying retired…but he didn’t either.
But Favre’s situation? It’s different. MJ and Magic – still beloved, they were seen as guys who just loved to play. Favre has gone beyond that…he wants to play as long as it is on his terms and teams he wants to play for. And it’s getting old. There are enough selfish brats in sports, didn’t need another one and sure as heck didn’t need to see that side of Brett Favre.
That’s he’s going into the Hall of Fame one day is not in question. What is in question is what uniform will he wear? Will he have any fans left when he gets there? Will he have a home field, a home team that will honor him as a conquering hero when this is all said and done?
Day of Reality
We normally don’t make a big deal about the first day of school…but this was a new school, our 3rd school this year, new friends, new teachers. It was also the first time this year that our schedule is somewhat normal. Summer was great fun. Then the bus dropped the kids home from school today.
“I have HOMEWORK!!” one kid cried through her tears.
“Our bus driver wouldn’t listen to what we were telling her what to do!”
And the third just kept talking so fast, I couldn’t really make anything distinct out. Amy and I looked at each other. Summer officially ended at 4.07 pm, Monday, August 17th.
The kids started in a brand new school today – brand new to them, brand new to the city, brand new staff. I walked up there today. It’s pretty awesome. High ceilings, bright colors, lots of windows, very modern feel, big hallways. It will be a great place for the kids to go to school but at the moment, we had 3 very tired kids, 2 of which were having a hard time with reality. The third one was just creating her own to anyone who would listen to her.
“Welcome to school, honey. That’s what they do to help you get smart – give homework.”
“So explain to me why a grown woman should listen to a busload of kids under the age of 11 on the first day of school?”
“And you — I want you to breath. Stop talking for 30 seconds, and breath.”
Logic was not going to fix this. Qdoba might. So off we ran to Qdoba where one of the most hilarious exchanges in Camber history happened. To really get the feel of this, you need to imagine her talking as fast as she can with the most extreme level of confidence.
Cam: “My favorite football player of all time is Michael Jordan.”
Amy: “Wait…what sport does Michael Jordan play?”
Cam, without hesitating: “Hockey.”
Cooper about spits his coke, chicken burrito and lunch out at the window he is laughing so hard. Camber looks at us like – “What? Didn’t you know that?” And continues talking about butterflies or her new teacher or the smell of the color purple.
I had a long day as well. 7 am meeting, had a list of things to get done that didn’t but what I did get done was good. It was my good friend Stephen’s birthday. I was going to take him to lunch, I asked him what he wanted.
“A burger….or Indian food.”
Wow…that’s quite a pair. It was his birthday so there was no way I was going to make the decision. Besides that – choosing where to eat with the friends is more difficult than choosing a college.
Stephen picked the Indian place.
“I guess we’re not eating cow today.” He laughed hard.
We showed up and guess what was on the buffet? Beef. Obviously they weren’t orthodox Indians.
All of that to say that today was good in spite of what I didn’t get done.
God reminded me of this as we sat upstairs playing Skip-bo with the fam. I was tired, about fell asleep when Cayden came out with lime green wristbands on, her gold high heel shoes, one white baseball glove one, ear muffs, and sunglasses and started singing the “I’m going to Barf” song.
The hip action and jazz hands and facial expressions were too much. I wish we’d filmed it. One night, we’ll have to ambush video her as she gives us one of her concerts.
So the day of reality is over. Kids are in bed. I know this scene was played out all over our city, this country this week. Families getting into the groove again, early bedtimes, and afternoons filled with tears, homework, and laughter. And you know what? I wouldn’t trade it. I wouldn’t trade a thing of it.
Not Even Close
To being good.
You couldn’t have scripted a worse debut than what Denver did in San Francisco. I mean… 3 INTs? The Orton/McDaniels Experiment is officially started and it doesn’t look bad…it looks horrific. I thought one of the benefits of getting rid of Cutler was the red zone turnovers? I’m glad we got that cured…
The 49ers aren’t even good.
It’s going to be a long season.
Vick, Second Chances, and the Church
By now you’ve heard that the Philadelphia Eagles have signed Michael Vick. Yes, that Michael Vick. And the PR coming out of the NFL, locker rooms, management is a unified — “Everybody deserves a second chance. I’m glad he got one.” This comes on the same week that Dante Stallworth was suspended for at least a year from the NFL for killing a man while driving drunk. Will that same message come through next year for him?
As I’ve watched and listened to the press this week, my thoughts have consistently returned to the Church and how we treat our ‘prodigals.’ The NFL may just be modeling something for us…
While the rest of the media and league were concerned with if Vick should even be given this chance and the fallout if any organization took him on…Vick, Tony Dungy, and Roger Goodell were working behind the scenes to make sure that IF this was going to happen – the context would be perfect for success. Money wasn’t the issue, culture was the issue.
Look at the particulars of the situation. Andy Reid is a straight-up coach, has had to deal with his own family demons, he’s well-respected in the league, and he didn’t blink about benching Donovan McNabb. There are no star treatments in Philly. Vick will get a fair shake and he won’t be treated like a star.
There’s no QB question as to who the face of the organization is in Philly – Donovan is the man. Vick will be a role player at best. End of story. Philly doesn’t worry about selling tickets, they already do that. It’s a blue collar town. Vick has allowed Tony Dungy full access to his life, a mentor. I promise you this alone has MASSIVE weight in the NFL. Dungy may be the most respected man inside (and outside) the league. Reid and Eagle ownership have given Tony Dungy all-access to the Eagle’s organization and to Vick.
Vick, Dungy, and Goodell have done everything they could to set Vick up to win. Should he even be given this chance? A chance to resume a normal life, to work, and get on with his life? Absolutely. A chance to be the leader and the face of a franchise? Never again. And that is exactly what those three have done…the pressure to lead a team or be the face of an organization is not on Vick. The responsibility shouldn’t be on him either, he blew that chance. But he can still contribute.
Now the ball is in Vick’s hands. And the cost is minimal to the Eagles and the NFL. If Vick fails this time, it will cost him everything. It won’t sink the Eagles or the NFL. They are going to do all that they can to help him but ultimately he has to make the decisions and keep walking the path.
It’s almost the perfect example for the church. How To Restore A Fallen Brother/Sister… Surround him with a mentor that will speak truth into their life, no holds barred. Get with the leadership to make sure everyone is on the same page. Put person back in context with minimum risk to the organization, maximum opportunity for the person. Have clear roles and understanding in that context. Have a clear leader to report to. Have clear consequences if it doesn’t work out. Have maximum vulnerability and authenticity in that context. Take the risk together.
Make Known The Mystery
Last week I preached on Ephesians 3 – the mystery of God and how our mission as the mystery is to make known the mystery. KNOW being more than just intellectual assent, but rather an experiential…well…experience. To taste and see that the Lord is good. Today was another example for me.
A bunch of ladies had been sewing nap mats for Kindergartners at McCarter all summer long. They’d meet up at the church on Thursday morning, start about 9 and sew till lunch. They tried to get me in on the sewing but it was quickly apparent I was a lost cause at things that require fine motor skills.
Last week we took school supplies to McCarter and were invited back on the first day of school (today) to help the teachers distribute the nap mats. So this morning those same ladies showed up at McCarter to help put names on nap mats for the kindergartners.
While there, some teachers were spray painting recess lines on the playground. Immediately a couple of our folks started helping. They didn’t get it all done but it was a start. As the ladies were leaving, a couple of teachers pulled aside Amy.
“We’re floored by what you guys are doing. Absolutely floored. Why?” We love Jesus, we love kids, we love our city, and we want to help. No strings attached, in Jesus’ name.
Simple, straightforward, we don’t expect anything in return. Just an opportunity to serve…again.
My prayer for us is this – as school cranks back up and we get refocused on our own lives we don’t miss the opportunites to continue to serve in Jesus’ name. I pray we leave room to continue to chase after Jesus on this journey of serving others.
The First of Many
Posts on my beloved but confused Broncos.
They had a live practice at Invesco Field last night. At first I thought it would have been awesome to be there. After reading the reports…I’m not so sure.
My good friend David has blogged about his experience at training camp this year. I went last year with him. I love David very much. He is a godly man, godly father, and great leader. But I have to take issue with his perspective on things.
Kyle Orton
I realize he looks good in practice…with no hitting…no helmets…no fans…no screaming…and against a defense that has yet to put pressure on any quarterback. This is not going to be a good year at the QB position for the Broncos. It just isn’t. All Bronco fans just need to accept this fact and move on.
Eddie Royal, et al
Our receivers do look awesome…in practice with a quarterback who gets the ball near them with no helmets, no contact, no fans, and no pressure. Seeing a pattern here?
Bronco running game
I understand there is hope among the Blue and Orange that this is the year they return to their normal run dominance. Wake up. As long as Knowshon is a no-show…look at last year, rinse and repeat. With no passing game to threaten the deep part of the field, get used to seeing 8 men in the box.
The best, most rested secondary in the NFL
Panic may set in with the news that Dawkins broke his hand last night. Relax. First, he’ll be ready for the opener. But with Champ and crew in the secondary, no need to panic at all. Teams can’t pass on this secondary.
Of course, they aren’t going to need to pass because when you rip off 7 to 8 yards a carry…
The Phantom 7
No one can tackle on the front 7 of the Broncos. No one. I’m so glad we drafted a RB, a corner, and a tight end. I do think McDaniels needs to run the offensive line and backs through tackling drills this summer as they will have a chance to have as many tackles as the defensive front 7 with the INTs that are coming.
The Schedule
Makes you really wonder why McD traded the 1st round pick for a 2nd this year now. Had to be financial considerations because we’ll have a top 10 pick next year. It’s just brutal and honestly, I’m glad. Just a huge wake up call as to the talent level difference between the Broncs and the rest of the league at this point.
Coaching
I’ll reserve my comments on this until I actually see a game. For all we know, he’s going to be a genius. Let’s hope for that and MAYBE it will make up for the interpersonal relationship problems and draft decisions he’s made so far.
Back to normal life…at least we’re not the Raiders.
Connecting With Other Pastors
Today I feel like crap. Not spiritually, mentally but physically. I’m blaming Bryan Nelson who invited me to sit around the lunch table with some other area worship pastors for lunch yesterday….at Burger King.
What gives with that? Burger King? I love Bryan, met some new friends yesterday but…BK? He wanted fast, cheap, and easy. Hello??? Chick-fil-A?? Qdoba?? My lead pastor title had little authority in venue choice. In fact, it had none.
The company was awesome. Besides Bryan I met two other guys that we just connected with. And even though today I am paying dearly for the meal.
Full Disclosure: Bryan did buy my lunch so technically, this stomach ache is free. So I’ve got that going for me.
Video Editing With Kids
So Brandon took some video for us when we delivered school supplies to McCarter.
I’m not exaggerating…in the background of every single clip, you can hear Camber’s voice. She’s always talking. At first it was a bit annoying…as I’m listening to the final cut…it’s just hilarious. I love her to pieces.
25 Hours of Seeing God Work
Sunday, August 2
9.00 am
I’ve been up at the church for almost an hour now, listening to the worship team practice, smelling the eggs and sausage from the men’s breakfast. I didn’t go to the breakfast this morning. I normally do but today is going to be a long but an awesome day. We’ll spend some time after church with the worship team interviewing our potential new part-time worship leader, youth have a service tonight where we get to hear what God has done in and through them this summer, potential youth volunteer meeting after that…
But before all of that happens, I have to ‘unpack’ Ephesians 2. Struggling with how to end the message. This is the part of my preaching that I struggle with – landing the plane. It’s not how you start but how you finish. I’ve crash landed a few sermons since I’ve been here. It’s painful. I feel like I’m in the groove to start, have good insights in the middle then when it comes time to end it…wheels off the wagon. I’ve slammed it down in the runaway a couple of times and just prayed that no one was injured.
This is where the craft of speaking comes into play. I REALLY want to get better at this. The creative team that meets every week helps with this. The teaching time must end with a point of response. What does God want us to do with this information? How should we respond? It’s not really worship until that happens. It’s just a learning experience, a mental exercise. I want more than that. I want worship, an encounter, a transformational opportunity.
9.20 am
I get out of my office to get wired up and see some old, dear friends from Emporia – the Euseys. I met Don at BK every week at 8 am for about a year. He’ll never know how much he helped me. I wish I had words. Lucy is one of the most creative, insightful people I’ve ever been around. I love catching up with them. It’s not enough time with them.
9.30 am
Service starts with video of last week’s VBS. We had several kids accept Christ last week, we gathered over 1,000 items of school supplies for McCarter Elementary School. I love to see children ‘get’ the gospel but on the other hand I know there will be a time in their life where the re-evaluate their decision. They’ll question the validity, wrestle with the depth of which they made this decision. Almost every kid that makes a decision as a child goes through this. It’s why I’ve never been comfortable baptizing children. I want them to go through that process first, then get baptized so that it means something to them. At any rate, I’ll still think it’s important to teach kids the truth in a way that can understand it. It’s worth the process.
10.43 am
First service over and it was good. I do feel like I struggled with landing the plane but it wasn’t a crash landing. Interview with Brandon was great, plugging the youth service tonight.
10.55 am
Second service is about to start. I’ve met numerous new families that are starting to become regulars at Western Hills. I’m nervous. I love the new faces, I love the slow growth we’re seeing. The need for Life Group leaders who reproduce followers of Jesus is increasing. It’s the missing piece of the puzzle for us. We’re not unique in this. Most churches have a hard time reproducing leaders. This is where we are starting in a couple weeks with a Turbo Group.
We know that people want more than just a good worship experience from their church (as they should). They want a group of other believers to do life with, to serve with. To be discipled and to disciple. We’re heading that direction, we will get there but the unanswerable question is this – will the ‘newbies’ hang on while we get there? Will they go there with us or will they bolt for another church that is further down the road than we are? Ultimately I know this is a ridiculous stupid discussion to have with myself. We are who we are right now and God’s working on us and He’s moving us on His timeframe. Trust that, not anything else. Rome wasn’t built in a day…
12.10 pm
For the first time in a long time, I actually feel decent about how the service ended. Big point this morning – Objects of wrath is self and/or Satan inflicted, not God inflicted. God wants us to be objects of his great, unmeasurable mercy. But it only comes through Jesus Christ – his death, burial and resurrection. Had some folks pray with me after the service…wrestling with the grace of God. It’s a good thing.
12.30 pm
Worship team is meeting with Rick Stones. We’re thinking Rick is the next worship leader for us at Western Hills. It’s been unreal how this process came about. After working with him 4 weeks, seeing him lead practices, work with creative team, how he reacts to critiques – I’m impressed. We’ve had them over for dinner, lunch. I played 17 holes of golf with him. (Don’t ask about 18.) I’ve never been this positive or sure of hire in my life. I’m floored that God has moved the Stones and Western Hills this direction.
Worship team asks some great questions. How’s your walk with Jesus? What is going to be difficult for you moving forward? What prompted this movement at this time? Rick is himself and it’s just wonderful to see it all click. Randi (wife) – gosh…how blessed are we going to be with this couple? The team is amped about them, the future, working with Rick and Randi. We go to Church Council Wednesday night to affirm this. I’m becoming a crying idiot because I’m just overwhelmed at what God is doing.
3.00 pm
Finally home, time for a quick nap before youth service.
5.30 pm
Back at church to help prep for youth service.
7.00 pm
Service is over and the word ‘awesome’ was used at least 97 times. And what incredible life change stories we got to hear! It was….awesome. (98)
8.00 pm
While students are playing volleyball and eating pizza and ice cream, we get a room of around 11 potential youth volunteers to talk about the future of student ministry. I’m floored by the response. We have the makings of an incredible team here. I’m once again humbled at what God is doing in our people. Looks like we’re going to get at least 4 new coaches, lots of support help out this crew.
9.55 pm
Still in gym laughing and goofing off with Rob Ginder. I’ve found a new goofing off buddy. Of course, Lisa T has called me down a few times in meetings. I’m guessing this will continue – us goofing off, Lisa getting us back on task.
10.30 pm
Home, put kids in bed, catch up on Burn Notice.
Monday, August 3rd
8.30 am
Up at church, loading up 3 cars to take school supplies to McCarter Elementary. Dale and Marion Liby are here to help as is Brandon and Hannah. It’s 50 some odd bags of school supplies plus a huge bin.
9.00 am
Get to school, principal is there. She sees the stuff (we’ll have a video on Sunday) and I can tell she’s not sure what to say. She tells us this is huge for them. Many students don’t have all the supplies, this lets them supplement them in a way that isn’t embarrassing. We talk about the mats that Marion and the ladies bible study have made.
10.00 am
Back to WHBC with Brandon.
BG: “That was cool. This is really what it’s about.”
GE: “Yeah…”
I want to say more but that pretty much summed it all up. An extraordinary 25 hours.