Stop Thief

I got my basketball goal stolen from my house tonight. That stinks!

My Lucky Number 238

My Mom turned 65 on Saturday! She is an absolutely amazing woman of God, an incredible Mother, and THE glue that has kept our family seeking Jesus! She has a blog called String A Pearl. Last week she was reflecting on her life thus far and I thought you would be blessed by her writing. Enjoy…

My Lucky Number 238

I’m coming up on my 65th birthday this week. Funny, when I started dreaming of life I never actually dreamed of this moment in time. Thanks to Medicare and all the mailings that arrive for this mile stone moment in life I’ve been thinking of this for months. Feeling a slight disconnect to my youth as our grandchildren gaze upon family photos from the 70's & 80's and recognize everyone but grandma and the dog. The dog died people but that’s me and I’m still here. I gathered photos of myself at all ages. Laying them side by side it’s rather startling. I wound up selecting a few from my childhood then adding one from each decade. Suddenly life was pretty short. If, in a perfect world, one had 10 decades to live I’ve already used 6½ of them. It’s too late for a do over and frankly I don’t have the energy. It just might be prudent to enjoy what God has given me and stop fighting so hard to improve it. How did those 900 year old people in Biblical days deal with the crinkled, brown speckled, parched skin look? Oh, pardon me, I digress.

This is about my lucky number 238. Odd I know but it happens to be my address from when I was a kid. I use to think of the bad things that happened to me when I was a kid and feel sorry for myself. Poor little thing I would think. A couple of decades ago a pastor friend encouraged me to see my pain through God’s eyes. I began to realize all the trials and any suffering was in fact my strength. Endurance and perseverance built into me by God. Only God can see a whole life and only God can build a ship that will survive the stormy seas of life. God built me after he created me in my mother’s womb. So now I look back at my start in life and see the goodness of the Lord. I see the numbers on my house and it reads 238 – pretty lucky huh? I have a Scripture verse that reveals the truth of my lucky number and a fun little story to showcase that truth.

An elderly woman had just returned to her home from an evening of church services when she was startled by an intruder. She caught the man in the act of robbing her home of its valuables and yelled,”STOP! Acts 2:38!"

The burglar stopped in his tracks. The woman calmly called the
police and explained what she had done. As the officer cuffed the man to take him in, he asked the burglar, "Why did you just stand there? All the old lady did was yell Scripture at you." "Scripture?" replied the burglar. "She said she had an Ax and Two 38's!"

A pearl to string: Remember knowing Scripture can save your life in more ways than one!!! Repent and be baptized, in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. - Acts 2:38 Turn your love away from the wiles of this world and……

Turn your heart toward Jesus,
He’s got a gift for you.
Lyndi

Take a Risk

Brian Mosley and I recently went to an IMAX Theatre to see the grand opening of U2 3D. It’s released nation wide this week and if you are a U2 fan – it’s a must see. I have to admit that it was pretty amazing to see Bono so close and feel the thunder of the crowd bouncing up and down with hands raised to the sky. The sound was crystal clear and the images were completely life like. The whole deal was fascinating. It was so cool that Brian and I wondered if this was the future of concerts. We only had to drive 9 miles and pay $10 to see U2 in Argentina… wow! While I don’t think that we could replace actually being at the concert with a movie – I do think we live in a culture that won’t mind settling for the cheaper, more convenient version.

We recently sat down with Erwin McManus and asked him a ton of questions about God, our culture and our generation. I can’t get something that he said out of my head,

“We’ve become accustomed to watching life happen, rather than living it.”

Brian and I watched the concert, we didn’t live it. We didn’t feel the heat of the Argentinean Summer night. Our ears weren’t ringing from standing so close to a speaker. No sore throats from overly loud singing. Our calves weren’t sore from jumping up and down for 90 minutes. We just sat and watched. In this clip, Erwin helps us understand the danger of living as Christians with this type of voyeuristic mentality. He directs us to have a faith that is alive and even risky.

I can’t wait for you to hear Erwin live at LeadNow and Fusion. In the mean time watch this video clip of Erwin and ask yourself what kind of faith you want to have.

I hope to see you in Orlando, Seattle, or Dallas.

Marc McCartney

Is This the Generation of Change?

I was watching this clip from LeadNow speaker Marcus "Goodie" Goodloe on Nehemiah. God used Nehemiah’s generation to change the world. The RightNow Campaign has a passion for our generation. When people think about the word generation, Tom Brokaw and his book, The Greatest Generation quickly comes to mind. The book is a magnificent picture of a generation’s tenacity to endure such hardships as the Great Depression and World War 2 in route to building America. I like that. I like honoring great men and women for their efforts. I’m proud that my Grandfather fought in World War 2. But I don’t want to be the Greatest Generation…

…The RightNow Campaign is a movement of 20 & 30 somethings trading in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ! We don’t need to become the Greatest Generation; we need to become the Generation of change! Erwin McManus, while speaking at one of our past Fusion events said this:

“What I like about RightNow is that it’s not centered on believers. It really is centered on calling the church out to care about the world. And that’s not only needed… It is what will change this time in history.”

Erwin and Goodie are telling us that we can be the Generation of change, but in order to do it we must do away with the myopic view of life that has permeated our culture and realize that when the Church becomes activated then change will happen. We can be that Generation!
Erwin, Goodie and many others will be at LeadNow08 in Orlando, April 24-26 and Dallas, November 13-15. I hope to see you there!

Chants

I love Super Bowl Sunday. We always seem to find our way into someone else’s home to watch the Super Bowl. It’s genius really. Think about it. I get free food. I watch the game on a bigger, more expensive TV than I have. My kids destroy someone else’s home. I get credit for being social just for showing up. And I get to watch football while doing all of this! What a great day!

Super Bowl Sunday reminds me of all of the days I spent at practices growing up. Since my Dad was a football coach, I practically lived around the practice field. I understand the blood, sweat, and tears that these two teams have put into getting to the big game. I know about the hours in the weight room, the film sessions, the emotional investment, and the physical beating. But I also know the camaraderie, the brotherhood, and the sweet feeling of giving everything you have and it being worth it. One of my favorite things about football were the chants that coaches and players would say to either motivate or unify.

In Junior High we thought we were pretty tough when we would chant, “Let’s Get Psyched Up.” Sure, it sounds corny when reading it, but do realize that after rhythmically chanting these words we would follow up by slapping our thigh pads twice and then clapping twice. It was so cool. Then in High School our Defensive line coach would conclude every drill with, “good, better, best – never let it rest – till your good is your better and your better is your best.” I love these chants so much that I created one for my daughter’s soccer team, “We’re rough. We’re tough. We are the Fusion!” Chanting is really big with eight year old girls.

But my all time favorite chant was one that my Dad’s football team at Colorado used to do. Now this chant was not your ordinary chant. The team didn’t do it at practice and they didn’t do it after every game. In fact, if they were lucky they would do it only 12 times a year –because they only did this chant after a victory. The word victory reminds me of another Junior High chant, “V-I-C-T-O-R-Y, that’s our Trojan Battle Cry.” Back to Colorado…

It may sound trivial to know that the chant was only two words long, but being a part of it was magical. The chant transcended the actual words that were said and cut deep into the emotion behind the words. I remember being in the locker room after we beat Michigan in 1994 on a 64 yards pass from Kordell Stewart to Michael Westbrook to win the game. It’s still one of the greatest finishes in the history of sport and what I will never forget about that game is the two word chant that began right when we entered into the locker room. The chant lasted four minutes! Now that’s a long time for a two word chant, but it just kept going. “Offense, Defense”… that’s it. The offensive players would begin chanting the word “Defense” in unison and the defensive players would return with “Offense.” The chant was loud. The guys screamed it with everything they had. The echoes of “Offense, Defense” would ring off the locker room walls creating a thunderous feeling. The floors would shake. Think about it. These guys had given everything they had and the ultimate prize each week was a victory. But the amazing thing about football is that you can have the greatest offense of all time, but if your defense stinks – you will still lose. What I’m trying to tell you is that football offers an amazing look into the virtue of dependency. The offensive team is so motivated to scream out the word “Defense” because they know the work the defense put into the game. They know that they couldn’t do it with out them. So they give it up for each other.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Jesus Christ / John 15.6

Dependency is a key aspect of my faith in Jesus. I have learned that there is nothing worthwhile that I can do with out Christ. Since I know myself better than you know me, you are going to have to take my word for it, but I have serious issues. OK – so maybe that isn’t so difficult to believe… The truth is that I am in desperate need of Christ and His guidance in every single area of my life. As a husband. As a Father. As a brother. As a friend. As an employee. As a leader. I seriously can’t think of an area of my life that doesn’t need Jesus. So the challenge for me is to remain in Him. My favorite definition of the word remain is: to be left after the removal. I love that because when I become a branch that is a part of the vine, I remove the selfish aspirations that permeate my life and what is left is total dependency on the vine.

Jesus concludes this teaching about the vine and the branches in John 15.16 by saying: “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last.”

Sounds like there is a chant in there somewhere…

Bears Win in 5 OT's!

#25 Baylor 116
#16 Texas A&M 110

Just Do Something!

In the early 90’s Nike came up with their slogan of “Just Do it!” That resonated with our culture because people don’t like excuses. We like action. We like results. Of course we don’t always like the effort or hardships that we have to endure with the Just Do it mentality, but we sure do like the way it sounds. And we love our athletes to have this mindset. Just Do it has helped professional and amateur athletes alike to focus on the task at hand and disregard the pain that it may take to succeed.

I thought about this slogan after watching the San Diego Chargers lose to the New England Patriots on Sunday. Phillip Rivers is the quarterback of the Chargers and two weeks ago he was most notably known for trash talking and jawing with opposing crowds. But after his gutsy performance on Sunday his status has elevated to a Just Do it guy… even though he lost! Why? Because he played after having knee surgery earlier in the week - and on top of that – he is going to need further surgery because he decided to play. Just Do it! It’s moments like this that define people and set the trajectory of their careers. This may be that moment for Phillip Rivers?

Just like Nike’s Just Do it, Erwin McManus made a very similar statement that gave me a great deal of clarity in my Christian walk. While speaking at our Fusion Experience in Dallas he ended an inspirational message by chanting the mantra: Just Do Something! He was talking about the way that we go about discerning Gods will for our lives and how we want God to give us a Google Maps turn by turn directions of everything we should do in our lives. But God doesn’t work like that does He? Instead he gives us spiritual gifts. He wires us with passions to pursue. He burdens us with a desire to stamp out injustice. He places us in relationships that help us see where He is at work. God gives us everything we need, just not in the way that we may want it. Erwin was telling us that we need to stop waiting for the “voice from heaven” because He has already spoken! God has given us our charge and we need to Just Do Something! Watch this clip where Erwin is delivering that same message and let me know what you think…

The RightNow Campaign is a movement of 20 & 30 something’s trading in the pursuit of the American Dream for a world that desperately needs Christ! We are calling for a revolution of other 20 & 30 something’s who will Just Do Something and put our faith in action!

Erwin will be with us once again at our Leadnow and Fusion events this year. Please make plans to join us at one of these events!

Bears Crack Top 25

The Baylor men's basketball team is ranked in the Top 25 for the first time since 1969! I could not miss the chance to blog about this historic achievement. Scott Drew is in his fifth season at BU and many experts have said that it would be impossible for him to rebuild this program after the disaster of Dave Bliss. Way to go Coach Drew!

Customer Service… Deal or No Deal?

I have a confession to make that I know will shock you, but nonetheless I shall make it. I watch Deal or No Deal. That wasn’t the confession… I don’t watch it every time it’s on, but I do like the show. I was watching on December 13^th with Robin and I couldn’t tell you what happened on the show that night, except for the fact that they ran about 13 ads asking me to text in my vote for the lucky case. They said that if I picked the correct winning number that I would be entered into a drawing with all of the other Chachi's who also picked the correct winning number and one of us would win the grand prize that night of $20,000. If you watch the show then you know that at the end of the night they always tell you the name of the lucky case winner and what city they are from. Since it was December 13^th and my Christmas purchases were looming – I though how nice it would be for them to call someone from Rockwall, TX and why not make it me! So I texted in the number 3 for obvious reasons, knowing good and well that standard text messaging rates would apply. That’s my confession.

So I was looking at my AT&T (formerly known as Cingular) phone bill today to see how much this impulse text would really cost me and I cringed when I saw the $.99 fee. Then I totally lost it when I saw the line below the $.99 fee because it read $19.99 - a charge from a company called Fun Mobile. It turns out that when you text in your vote for Deal or No Deal, you actually sign up for a monthly subscription with Fun Mobile at the tune of 20 bucks per month. I say no deal because that doesn't sound fun or mobile to me. Further researched showed that they had already charged me for two months worth of a subscription! My little standard text messaging rates apply rendezvous was now costing me more than $40! And I knew it was about to get worse. UGH! I was going to have to call in to AT&T and get this taken care of. When was the last time you called a big corporation like AT&T looking for customer service and actually got some? The irony is a little too thick that companies even have the term customer service anymore because it is almost impossible to reach someone on the phone. But this was $40 I was talking about here. So I had to make the call!

Four minutes later, not only had I talked to an actual person who was kind and helpful, but they had explained to me that I had signed up for a subscription by making that Deal or No Deal phone call and that she would take care of it immediately for me! In fact, about three seconds after she said that I got a text confirming my cancellation and she got me my money back! Way to go AT&T Customer Service… now that’s a Deal!

A Season To Remember

I went to four LSU games this year - and boy do I know how to pick em...

September 8th :: LSU vs. Virginia Tech
This was my birthday and Steve Hayes took me to Tiger Stadium and taught me everything I needed to know about being an LSU Tiger. Virginia Tech was ranked in the Top 10 at the time and the Tigers totally dominated them 48-7.

October 6th :: LSU vs. Florida
Tim Teabow and the boys came into Baton Rouge ranked in the Top 10 with national title aspirations and gave the Tigers an epic fight. By converting on 4th down 5 different times throughout the game the Tigers pulled out a 28-24 come from behind victory that Lee Corso called the greatest game he had ever seen in person.

October 20th: LSU vs. Alabama
I got to take all of my girls to this game and introduce them to the Golden Band from Tigerland. With the game starting at 8 pm, Robin and I didn't think we would even make it to halftime since they normally go to bed at 7:30 pm. But the electricity of Tiger Stadium kept them up all night long. They loved it and the Tigers won the game 30-24 with a phenomenal TD pass with one second to go.

January 7th :: LSU vs. Ohio State

The whole family went to New Orleans to watch LSU beat top ranked Ohio State 38-24. The game was an absolute blast. While it really couldn't compare to being at Tiger Stadium, the atmosphere in the Superdome was still pretty incredible.

Colossal Fanatic

A Fan: an enthusiastic devotee, follower, or admirer of a sport, pastime, celebrity, etc.

Everyone is a fan of something. It may surprise you to learn that I am a fan of various sporting activities. Well, I am... And as I think about being a fan, I have some baggage that not everyone has. My enthusiastic devotion to the teams I have followed has often been tied to the fact that a family member of mine was intricately involved in that sports team. Case in point: Colorado Football. Since my Dad was the Coach of the team, my fandom of Colorado Football was not ordinary. This was my Dad's job. The teams performance greatly affected our lives. It made the difference between staying or moving, fame or infamy, security or vulnerability, friends or enemies, etc... Colorado Football was very important. So when I cheered my favorite team on, I just didn't cheer for them - I was cheering my Dad on. The depth of care that goes into this fanatical devotion is impossible to measure. Let me try to give you a glimpse...

My brother Tom is a high school football coach. His team, the Fairview Knights, is my favorite team in all of sports. I care infinitely more if they win or lose than any other team that exists on this planet. Why? I already told you - my brother Tom is the Coach! My Friday nights in the Fall consist of several dozen text messages to determine the score of Tom's games. I can't sleep until I know how the Knights did. I scour the internet to see if their are any radio broadcasts available. I purchase packages on the satellite dish that enable me to see even highlights of his games. I forgo a night at the movies in favor of 19 phone calls from my sister updating me on the progress of the game. I have driven 16 hours one way to watch his games and turned around the next day and driven 16 hours home... many times! What I am trying to tell you is that I am more than just a fan. I am a Colossal Fanatic. I am tied to the Fairview Knights in a way only few can imagine. The result of being a Colossal Fanatic is that your stress level is at an all time high for these games. In a very real sense - I live and die by the outcome.

This year, I entered into a new season and became a Colossal Fanatic of two teams. My nephew TC used to play for Tom at Fairview, which admittedly took my addiction to a whole new level. But this year, TC is a freshman at LSU. The day TC decided to go to LSU, I instantly became a Tiger. I'm sure it's difficult to imagine, but I dove in head first. And it was so sweet! Monday night was the culmination as LSU rocked Ohio State to win the National Championship... and I was there! Here's some proof:

Geaux Tigers!

BCS Solution

College Football is my favorite sport, but I wish so bad that we had a playoff. I think it would go through the roof in popularity. My brother Tom came up with a simple scenario that would include the tradition of the Bowl games with the need for a playoff. He thinks we should play all of the Bowl games just like we do with the exception of the four Biggies (we chose Cotton over Fiesta). Take the Major Conference Champions and give them in automatic birth to a predetermined Bowl game and then use the BCS to determine the two at-large teams to come up with a total of eight teams in a playoff. This would give teams like Hawaii (not in a Major Conference) and Georgia (possibly hottest team in the nation) a chance to make the tourney.

You would use the four traditional Bowl games for the first round and the winners would advance to a Final Four. It would look like this:

Rose: Big Ten Champ vs. Pac 10 Champ
Sugar: SEC Champ vs. At large
Orange: ACC Champ vs. Big East Champ
Cotton: Big 12 Champ vs. At large

You could make the argument that they should use a variation of this system, but just seed the teams 1-8 and then let play the typical 1 vs. 8, 2 vs. 7, etc… I could go with that. I just think that the tradition built through this proposal would allow teams to make their conference championship the focus. So Big 12 teams could eye the Cotton Bowl as the ultimate prize because winning the Cotton Bowl will mean entry into the Final Four. There could be some phenomenal conference rivalries that develop as well like the Rose Bowl has already seen with the Big 10 & Pac 10.

This is how it would look this year:

(1) Ohio State vs. (6) USC in the Rose Bowl
(2) LSU vs. (8) Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl
(3) Virginia Tech vs. (7) West Virginia in the Orange Bowl
(4) Oklahoma vs. (5) Georgia in the Cotton Bowl

The Final Four would then have the Rose Bowl vs. Cotton Bowl winners and the Sugar and Orange Bowl winners. Just to make sure you are with me – I will simulate the tourney:

Round 1
USC 24 – Ohio State 9
LSU 45 – Hawaii 42
Virginia Tech 13 - West Virginia 10
Oklahoma 33 – Georgia 10

Semi’s
LSU 48 – Virginia Tech 7 (sounds familiar)
Oklahoma 27 – USC 24

Final
LSU 21 – Oklahoma 14

Wow! That would be a tourney!

Tom suggested that the first round be on Christmas Day, the Semi’s on January 1^st, and the Championship on January 8^th. After consulting with my wife, I have decided to start the first round on December 22^nd or 23^rd (no games on Sunday’s) and make sure that people still celebrate Christmas on December 25^th!

Just to prove how amazing this would be, I looked up the conference champions from 2000 and combined the BCS rankings to show you what could have been. Enjoy…

2000
Rose Bowl: (4) Washington vs. (8) Michigan
Sugar Bowl: (5) Virginia Tech vs. (7) Florida
Orange Bowl: (2) Florida State vs. (3) Miami
Cotton Bowl: (1) Oklahoma vs. (6) Oregon State

2001
Rose Bowl: (4) Oregon vs. (7) Illinois
Sugar Bowl: (2) Nebraska vs. (5) Florida
Orange Bowl: (1) Miami vs. (8) Maryland
Cotton Bowl: (3) Colorado vs. (6) Tennessee

2002
Rose Bowl: (2) Ohio State vs. (4) USC
Sugar Bowl: (3) Georgia vs. (6) Washington State
Orange Bowl: (1) Miami vs. (8) Florida State
Cotton Bowl: (5) Iowa vs. (7) Oklahoma

2003
Rose Bowl: (4) Michigan vs. (7) USC
Sugar Bowl: (1) Oklahoma vs. (2) LSU
Orange Bowl: (6) Florida State vs. (7) Miami
Cotton Bowl: (5) Ohio State vs. (8) Kansas State

2004
Rose Bowl: (1) USC vs. (8) Iowa
Sugar Bowl: (3) Auburn vs. (4) Texas
Orange Bowl: (6) Virginia Tech vs. (7) Pittsburgh
Cotton Bowl: (2) Oklahoma vs. (5) California

2005
Rose Bowl: (1) USC vs. (3) Penn State
Sugar Bowl: (4) Ohio State vs. (6) Georgia
Orange Bowl: (7) Florida State vs. (8) West Virginia
Cotton Bowl: (2) Texas vs. (5) Oregon

2006
Rose Bowl: (1) Ohio State vs. (5) USC
Sugar Bowl: (2) Florida vs. (3) Michigan
Orange Bowl: (6) Louisville vs. (8) Wake Forrest
Cotton Bowl: (4) LSU vs. (7) Oklahoma

Somebody please make this happen!