Are we over-scheduling kids?
That was the question posed to me by WNYT’s Dan Bazile in his in-depth interview and piece on the tension between sports and family. Bazile wanted an in-depth take on my thoughts after writing “The Myth of the Elite Young Athlete” with the Albany Times Union.
Here’s the full interview with Dan Bazile:
We know now that Dylann Roof acting alone in the shooting and killing that occurred at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. The outpouring of shock, anger, sadness, and grief was abundant on social media and on television.
As a white preacher on his last Sunday at his current church, I should be preaching to comfort my people upon my leaving. Instead, I will address the Charleston and the problems of hate, fear, and racism. Pastors, if you are preaching the sermon this Sunday or weekend, save it for another day. You need to preach on the racist and hate shooting in Charleston. White preachers and churches, I’m really talking about you.
Racism is alive and well in America. We do not live in a post-racial world. We live in a post-Jim Crow world. Racism is just as ugly today as it was 70 years ago, it’s just not codified.
Dylann Roof walked into a historical black church in Charleston. Sat in the Bible study/prayer meeting and waited. He then killed 9 people. According to witnesses, Roof said, “You have to go… I have to do it… you rape our women, and you’re taking over our country” before he opened fire. A truly racist, hateful, and evil action and words. According to his Facebook page, his profile is full of racist content. A picture of Roof displayed a jacket with flags from apartheid-era South Africa.
Many in the Christianity community have followed Rachel Held’s Evan’s blogging and writing due to her journey of questioning of her upbringing within conservative evangelicalism. As a powerful female voice, Rachel Held Evans created a niche of disenfranchised and exiles from the evangelical community. She has taken on issues such as women’s roles in Christianity, LGBT rights, and challenging traditional evangelical doctrine.
Many on the evangelical right believer her to be a heretic. Other celebrate her ability to question the normative ethos of evangelicalism. Despite her popularity on social media, speaking tours, and as an author, Evans writing and new book, Searching for Sunday is not controversial.
Let me take a full stop here. Rachel is great example of someone who turned their questions of faith and shared those questions with a broader audience. I like Rachel and admire her strength and courage. She is a faithful Christian trying to figure out her faith in a complex and changing world – as all Christians should be doing. She is a very good writer. I like her sense of honesty and humor.
In her new book, Searching for Sunday, Evans writes about her progression towards a more sacramental and orthodox Christian experience. She remarked to Jonathan Merritt of the Religion News Service,
I recently received an email from my brother-in-law that contained several video links.
“Tell me what you think.” My brother-in-law wrote.
I clicked and opened each link and watched my 8-year-old nephew goaltending a lacrosse goal. The video contained the coach’s commentary, superimposed video drawings, and slow motion point-by-point breakdown of his form.
“Wow! When I played that type of analysis and video work was only on ESPN,” I wrote back. I was shocked at the level of sophistication of the coaching analysis.
In the last 10-15 years, there has been an explosion in youth sports training, travel teams, artificial turf fields, video production, websites, private coaches, and “elite” sports teams. According to the news channel CNBC, youth sport travel is a $7 billion dollar industry. With the recent interest in forming “elite” youth athletes, parents are left paying for additional training and sacrificing family time to “elite” sports.
Growing up in the 1980’s and 1990’s, we kids played football, lacrosse, soccer, baseball, street hockey, and basketball. Some of us were on recreation teams and others were not. We tried all sorts of sports and leagues. We played because it was fun.
Now, as a father of three children, I cannot believe how much youth sports culture has changed. What was once a time of fun, team building, and exercise is now a billion dollar industry. Families spend the whole weekend carting around their kids to sport games or leagues. They spend 2-4 nights a week at practices. Their kid’s sports are their life.
It is not supposed to be this way.
A rather provocative religion news story came across my screen this morning and it is something Christians should learn from. The Religion News Service reports that the first Norse temple in a 1,000 years will be built in Iceland. It seems Marvel‘s god-like Thor really does have a following.
Norse paganism is the stuff of fables and bedtime stories. If a religion that has been virtually dead for 1,000 years, how can it come back? What about it makes it so interesting? To add to the mystery, the Religion News Service reports the temple’s membership has grown to 2,400 people. The temple’s leader, Hilmar Orn Hilmarsson, high priest of ‘Asatruarfelagid’ (try to say that 10 times fast) said:
The media is abuzz with a published report from the Vatican regarding the inclusion of divorced Catholics, homosexuals, and those who use birth control. Traditionally, those groups of people inside and outside the Catholic Church are persona non grata of church law. Now, the Vatican is attempting to change the tone of the conversation and Evangelicals need to take some notes.
In very pastoral ways, the new language has open the door to start a conversation. Though no actual church law has changed, the ability of the Vatican to begin a dialogue should be seen as an attempt to bridge religious and cultural divides. The report sought to soften the tone on the issues of annulment, divorce, cohabitation, and communion. On the issue of homosexuality, the report states:
Continue Reading…
As I outlined in my last blog post concerned Robert Griffin III and Christian persecution, it is a false narrative. The myth of Christian persecution was again proved as Kansas City Chiefs safety Husain Abdullah caught and intercepted Tom Brady‘s pass on Monday Night Football.
In celebration of Abdullah’s play, he went down to pray. Abdullah, a Muslim, was penalized and his team incurred a 15-yard penalty on the next kick off.
Chiefs’ Husain Abdullah penalized for post-touchdown prayer http://t.co/pxVl6oVzg2 pic.twitter.com/dwNjwg5ztg
— FOX Sports Live (@FOXSportsLive) September 30, 2014
In response, this tweet was posted on Twitter:
Husain Abdullah was penalized for praying after a pick6…. Smh pic.twitter.com/G2j7plEawE
— NBA RETWEET (@RTNBA) September 30, 2014
If anything pro-Christian favoritism could be argued here. Fortunately, the NFL responded that Abdullah should have not been penalized. The decision for the penalty during the game was:
The prayer drew a 15-yard penalty flag for unsportsmanlike conduct, for “going to the ground” while celebrating after a score. There are exceptions made for religious prayer in the rule…
At the least we have learned two things:
Beware of the danger of the single story.
As my two kids (7 and 5 years old) are learning the 12 Disciples song for Cherubs choir, my wife and I had to find the tune online. We were not really familiar with it. We quickly went to YouTube and discovered. I like the kids should sing this version in church:
First off, I rather like the Weezer-like children’s music. It brings me back to my high school days. Second, I don’t know how I feel about Judas being a Ginger. It just reinforces a certain stereotype. Third, Bartholomew looks like Where’s Waldo with a beard and Thomas better wipe that smile off his face… doubter. Fourth, Simon looks a little wacked out and Jesus could pass for a South Park Jesus. Lastly, the high production value makes viewers enthralled with excitement.
Any other observations for the public good humor?
There were twelve disciples Jesus called to help him:
Simon Peter, Andrew, James, his brother John,
Philip, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus,
Thaddeus, Simon, Judas, and Bartholomew.
He has called us, too. He has called us, too.
We are His disciples, I am one and you!
He has called us, too. He has called us, too.
We are His disciples, I am one and you!
As most everyone has heard, Robin Williams died on Tuesday from an apparent suicide. The reaction on Facebook and Twitter was one of shock. How could someone who brought so much joy and humor to the world be so troubled? Robin Williams brought us a diversity of characters in his movies and television shows.
I remember as a child watching reruns of “Mork and Mindy” and wondering, “Who is this guy? He’s so funny!” His films such as “Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Good Will Hunting”, “Mrs. Doubtfire”, and “Hook” are now classics running regularly on TV. His long filmography on IMDb yields several scrolls from the mouse. As reports surfaced of his drug and alcohol abuse, we began to learn of a troubled man. Robin Williams apparent depression most likely led him down the path of suicide.
Unfortunately, some have made hurtful comments. Fox News anchor, Shepherd Smith gave his own unhelpful perspective of the nature of suicide:
“One of the children he so loved, one of the children grieving tonight. Because their father killed himself in a fit of depression… You could love three little things so much, watch them grow, they’re in their mid-20s, and they’re inspiring you… And yet, something inside you is so horrible or you’re such a coward or whatever the reason that you decide that you have to end it. Robin Williams, at 63, did that today.
As thousands of people stream into the United States from Mexico, people have spoken out against the government’s handling of the border crisis. Children are coming into the United States from Mexico and looking for a better life. Some have criticized the Christian response, or lack there of.
What are Christians supposed to say about this problem?
Some are holding public prayer events. Like this one in Texas:
The collective prayer marked the beginning of “For His Children,” a charity initiative that seeks to provide undocumented migrants with both physical and spiritual support. The event, according to ABP news, was organized by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and three other charitable organizations.
More than 50 Hispanic pastors prayed at the facility where the undocumented children are processed upon arrival, at the Border Patrol station, and at Sacred Heart — a Catholic church where volunteers have set up a temporary shelter where families can rest before setting out to meet relatives across the United States.
One church took a rather pointed position on the crisis with their church sign. Thinking about would Jesus would not say, College Avenue Presbyterian Church in Oakland, CA posted this sign:
As American churches slowly declined, we watched our European neighbors over the pond decline even faster. The “Death of Christianity” was forecasted to spread from England, Germany, and Norway to around the world. Surprisingly, a new study has revealed church growth trends in Europe. The death of Christianity story is greatly exaggerated.
What can we attribute to this growth? Hipper churches? Better social media? Flasher worship bands?
No… none of the above were found to produce long term church growth and revitalization.
The church growth movement in England has discovered deeper trends that can help American churches. A 10 year study was completed by the Church Growth Research Programme to study British churches. The study found that 18% of churches in Britain grew over a 10-year period. The study aimed to uncover what was different about those churches. The findings were reported by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership:
Scam, scam, scams. Internet scams are nothing new. You may have received a scam request for $1000 to be sent to some guy in Asia with a promise of a huge reward. These scams are getting more involved and more creative.
From time to time, I’m asked to speak at conferences, seminars, or denomination gatherings. It is not usual for me to receive an email about a speaking opportunity from someone I do not know. This morning, I received a rather usual email: A “invitation” to speak at an event in England.
Great, right? However, there were several red flags:
Poor wording/spelling/grammar I’m not a super self editor, but when you invite someone to speak, the invite is free of errors. They didn’t spell Baptist right. The email is riddled with errors.
Broken website If you click the website, the webpage is “frozen”. If there’s a conference, then there’s a website.
Use of CAPS No one uses capitalization in an email unless they are YELLING.
They want money No speaking conference is going to ask for money upfront. I learned that this scam is common and the next email is about money. This guy fell for it.
Use of Gmail If a large or small conference invites you, it’s not going to come from a Gmail, Hotmail, or Yahoo account. That’s bogus.
Bottom line, if anyone wants your identity information, passport information, or money – do not give it out! Below is the invite: Continue Reading…
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