Heart Soul and Might

Today I came across this beautiful and reverent lyric penned by Thomas Aquinas:

Devoutly I Adore Thee

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth’s own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too;
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord’s own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world’s entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil’d I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

Saint Thomas Aquinas, translated by E. Caswall

We’re having our third boy in a couple months, but the pregnancy and development process will never cease to amaze me. We’re at 22 weeks now and counting… Our little guy now looks like a miniature newborn, checking in at 10.9 inches and almost 1 pound. His skin will continue to appear wrinkled until he gains enough weight to fill it out, and the fine hair (lanugo) that covers his head and body is now visible. His lips are becoming more distinct, and the first signs of teeth are appearing as buds beneath his gum line! His eyes are now developed, though the iris (the colored part of the eye) still lacks pigment. Eyelids and eyebrows are in place, and his pancreas, essential for hormone production, is developing steadily.

It’s unbelievable to me that our little buddy probably looks close to this picture on the right.

Psalm 139:13-16

For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[a]
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there were none of them.

Rich Kirkpatrick tagged me with one of these things that goes around the blogosphere. So, here is my reading list.

One book that changed your life: John Piper’s The Pleasures of God. Hands down, this is the most God-saturated book I’ve ever read. I might be called a “Piperite” but I could be called worse. Though not overtly a book on worship, there is more worship in this book than possibly any other book I’ve read. A tour de force on the study of the character of God and how ultimately He finds His greatest pleasure in Himself. Sounds arrogant, but read Piper and you’ll find out why this is the only way it can be.
One book that you’ve read more than once: The Seeking Heart by Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon. I think I’m on my third or fourth reading. I try to read a letter a day along with my time in the Word. His letters are very short, but profound and life-changing. Fenelon was a 17th century Bishop in France and played a major role in helping to reform the Catholic Church. On Heart Soul and Might, every Friday is Fenelon Friday.
One book that you’d want on a deserted island: Gosh, how could I answer this with anything but my ESV Bible? I’m guessing that deserted island implies no other people and only one book. In that case, there’s only one choice. Couldn’t do without those precious ancient words…
One book that made you laugh: Death in the Long Grass by Peter H. Capstick. We’re going on a safari when we travel to Kenya in October, so one of my “teammates” Mark Hammond recommended this book to get ready for the safari. Actually, its a very graphic book about man-eating animals like lions, tigers, elephants, etc. Honestly, there’s nothing really funny about people getting eaten by lions, but I’ve found myself laughing out loud at the crazy circumstances of some of these attacks and how unbelievably ferocious these animals are - saying things like “Oh my word!” and “Oh man! What on earth?!?” Don’t read this book if you’re looking for a laugh… it’s just the only thing I knew to do when I was reading some of the descriptions as my eyes were bulging out of my forehead!
One book that made you cry: I’m sure I shed a tear when reading Shadow of the Almighty: The Life and Testament of Jim Elliott by Elisabeth Elliott. I’m not sure I’ve read a more inspiring book. Jim Elliott’s undying passion for the gospel and his unquenchable thirst for the Word of God have so influenced my life. Reading this a few years ago no doubt has had an impact on my journey toward the Global Outreach position I just recently took.
One book that you wish had been written: 10 Ways to Beat Insecurity in Your Teens - I wish I could have dealt with insecurity better as a teenager, because it would have helped me figure it out and deal with it better now. I think we all have insecurities… but I know I’ve been plagued by them in a big way and they’ve shaded how I’ve acted and reacted even to this day. Get over it!
One book you wish had never been written: The Da Vinci Code - I actually really enjoyed reading this book, but I do believe it has done some damage to weak hearts and souls who might be swayed by it’s irreverent and blasphemous claims about Christ. The movie probably didn’t do as much damage as the book, because the movie was just plain bad. But the book made such erroneous claims of fact, woven with true history, art and architecture, that it no doubt caused many people to seriously question the claims of Christianity. For that reason, I wish it hadn’t been written.
One book you are currently reading: Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George Marsden. This is a continuation of my 2006 church history reading focus and I’m looking forward to teaching a church history Equipping Center class in the spring, Edwards being one of the historical figures we’ll focus on.
One book you’ve been meaning to read: Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning. I heard him speak a couple months ago, and it reminded me that I’ve had this book for years and need to read it. I appreciate that he lived in a cave at one point and eventually got out of the Catholic Church. He’s led an intriguing life and has some great insights…

And, now this tagging thing means I’m supposed to tag 5 others to post the same information from their library of reading. So, Samuel Rainey, Chad Jarnigan, Reid Monaghan, Carlos Whittaker and Matt Pregont - you’ve been TAGGED!

I’m going to hear Os Guinness speak at a Porter’s Call event tomorrow morning at Fellowship, so I grabbed my copy of his book The Call from my shelf to remind myself of his thinking and writing style. This is from page one of chapter one:

As modern people we are all on a search for significance. We desire to make a difference. We long to leave a legacy. We yearn, as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, “to leave the world a bit better.” Our passion is to know that we are fulfilling the purpose for which we are here on earth.

All other standards of success - wealth, power, position, knowledge, friendships - grow tinny and hollow if we do not satisfy this deeper longing. For some people the hollowness leads to what Henry Thoreau described “as lives of quiet desperation”; for others the emptiness and aimlessness deepen into a stronger despair. In an early draft of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, the Inquisitor gives a terrifying account of what happens to the human soul when it doubts its purpose: “For the secret of man’s being is not only to live…but to live for something definite. Without a firm notion of what he is living for, man will not accept life and will rather destroy himself than remain on earth…”

Call it the greatest good (summum bonum), the ultimate end, the meaning of life, or whatever you choose. But finding and fulfilling the purpose of our lives comes up in myriad ways and in all the seasons of our lives…

Os Guinness, The Call, pp. 1-2.

I’m immediately reminded of what the Psalmist says in Psalm 138:8: “The Lord will fulfill His purposes for me.” I agree that we are all on a quest for significance - to make a difference and to find our purpose. And when we can trust God and HIS purposes for our lives, we can find true biblical contentment no matter our circumstances. I certainly haven’t arrived yet. The journey has a lot of ups and downs…peaks and valleys. But I have found its easier to have peace in the journey as I trust God for His purpose for my life. When I push too hard with my own self-driven agenda, I spin my wheels. But finding and walking in HIS purposes means patience, perseverance, suffering, humility, steadiness, discipline, pain, time, trust, faith, trials, refining, testing, breaking, serving, dying, loving, giving…

How dark to walk in emptiness or aimlessness that leads to despair. I pray that I don’t get to that point - but if I do, to trust in God’s sovereignty and hope in His goodness and purpose.

I want to live for something definite. That something is God’s glory as revealed in human relationship, the Church, God’s Word, Jesus Christ, the Gospel, creation, truth, beauty, love, eternity… That’s my purpose. Right now it’s being fulfilled in the Church and in particular in Global Outreach, worship, equipping, etc. As long as lives are being challenged and changed, I feel I’m walking in God’s purpose.

Do you sense His purpose for your life? Are you doubting it? Are you questioning it? That’s perfectly normal and OK. Give it to Jesus and let Him carry it. He already knows anyway! The question we all need to ask ourselves is: “What do I need to do or change to know I’m walking in ‘the call’ on my life - God’s ultimate purpose for me?” If we are prayerfully dependent, God will make it known. Trust in Him. Stay saturated with His Word…

There are many reasons why some churches have a negative view of the arts. Art trades in images, and images easily lend themselves to idolatry. Artists know this from their own experience. In their work they encounter the glory at the foundation of things, and they feel its power over the heart. . .

Yet even Christians who are dismissive of art continue to use it. Doing so is inescapable. Every time we build a sanctuary, arrange furniture in a room, or produce a brochure, we are making artistic decisions. Even if we are not artists in our primary vocation, there is an inescapable artistic aspect to our daily experience. The question becomes, therefore, whether as Christians we will aspire to high aesthetic standards. All too often we settle for something that is functional, but not beautiful. We gravitate toward what is familiar, popular, or commercial, with little regard for the enduring values of artistic excellence. Sometimes what we produce can be describe only as KITSCH˜tacky artwork of poor quality that appeals to low tastes. The average Christian bookstore is full of the stuff, as the real artist will tell us, if only we will listen.

Ultimately this kind of art dishonors God because it is not in keeping with the truth and beauty of his character. It also undermines the church’s gospel message of salvation in Christ. Art has tremendous power to shape culture and touch the human heart. Its artifacts embody the ideas and desires of the coming generation. This means that what is happening in the arts today is prophetic of what will happen in our culture tomorrow. It also means that when Christians abandon the artistic community, we lose a significant opportunity to communicate Christ to our culture. Furthermore, when we settle for trivial expressions of the truth in worship and art, we ourselves are diminished, as we suffer a loss of transcendence. What we need to recover (or possibly discover for the first time) is a full biblical understanding of the arts - not for art’s sake, but for God’s sake. Then we will be able to produce better art that more effectively testifies to the truth about God and his grace.

This goal is important and not just for artists, but for everyone else made in God’s image and in need of redemption.

Philip Graham Ryken, Art for God’s Sake: A Call to Recover the Arts, p. 11, 13-14.

I’ve got an issue with my fantasy baseball team because Barry Bonds wants in the starting lineup, but despite obvious doping, his production is suffering. One guy not suffering in the production department, but clearly theo-doping, is Mark Driscoll from Mars Hill Church in Seattle. Challies.com reveals the sordid truth here. No wonder Driscoll’s sermons are so stinking powerful!

Heidi and I are sitting here wiping the tears from our eyes after watching this video that friend and fellow blogger Carlos Whittaker produced in his efforts to raise the necessary $22K to “Bring Losiah Home.” Losiah is a little boy in Korea that Carlos and Heather are adopting and once they raise the money, can bring home. I met Carlos and Heather at this year’s Re:Create Conference.

I don’t think it’s a question of “if” God is calling us to adopt, it’s a question of “when.” Both Heidi and I sense this is from the Lord and are praying about the next steps. Once we have boy #3 in December, we’ll most likely start taking the next step at some point. We’ve talked and prayed about it for years and I look forward to seeing how God moves and works to bring us a daughter.

If you’d like to contribute to the Baby Losiah fund, click on this link and contribute on Carlos’ site Ragamuffin Soul.

I posted Andreas Kostenberger’s first post on singleness here, and author Debbie Maken responded to his post here. Kostenberger’s Part 2 of this discussion is here. I will reserve judgment for now while the debate rages on. Predictably I side with Kostenberger for whom I have great respect, especially since he’s a fellow Trinity grad. (smile)

Five years ago, I was lying on the observation table in my doctor’s office at 9:30pm having 9 stitches placed above my eye following a bad-hop line-drive at shortstop on the softball field. Earlier, when the ambulance was called to the field and I faced the possibility of having an unknown emergency room doctor stitch me up, I called my good friend and family doctor, Charles Marable. Though it was after 9pm, he told me he’d meet me at his office in 15 minutes. When he came to the office to sew me up, he brought with him his friend from college, Aniefiok Udo, a pastor in Nigeria. Aniefiok “assisted” as the good doctor put my eyebrow back together - and I listened to Aniefiok’s story of getting multiple degrees in the States with the intention of going back to his native Nigeria to “win Africa for Christ.” I knew this guy was different. He was on a mission. A mission I wanted to be a part of. We talked of someday partnering in ministry in some way.

Three years later, August 2004, Aniefiok was back for a visit with Charles and came with him to our ritual Monday morning Starbucks meeting with Maridus Kinder and Marty Schwieterman, two pastor cohorts at Fellowship. It was at this meeting that Aniefiok asked me when we were going to come to Nigeria. To make a long story short, we left Starbucks with a plan to take a team to Nigeria three months later in November. Soon after, five of us from Fellowship Nashville were on a plane to Nigeria - Jeff Runion, Bob Elrod, Richard Scott, Charles and myself. It was on this trip that God worked mightily, spoke clearly, and led Aniefiok to share his dream of starting a new church and pastor’s resource center along with a vocational training center. It was on this trip that Africa Outreach, Inc. became a reality. There was no money, no land, no leaders and no people. Only Aniefiok, his wife Judy and a young man named Tosin that Aniefiok had been mentoring. (Pictured at the right are myself and Aniefiok, Nigeria, 2004… it looks like we’re singing a duet.)

Today, there is a fully functioning Board of Directors here in the states, Africa Outreach, Inc. is recognized by the U.S. Gov’t as a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Fellowship Bible Church-Nigeria has over 100 members, and the Pastor’s Resource Center (on 20 acres) which will double as a meeting place for the Church is scheduled to be completed by our planned October 29 visit to Nigeria. It is overwhelming to see how God has moved over these last two years as we (Fellowship) have partnered with Aniefiok to realize this ministry dream. God is at work, and He’s using this humble man of incredible character in a big way. (Pictured at the left is Tosin and Aniefiok on the Africa Outreach land before it was cleared, spring 2006.)

Today we met for our 2nd annual Board of Directors meeting. We listened to the report from a team that went to Nigeria in June from Watermark Community Church in Dallas. We heard from Aniefiok’s heart how God is doing many incredible things as Africa Outreach ministers to and serves the community of Ikot Ekpene in the Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. We talked over the plans beyond Phase 1 to Phase 2,3 and 4 - including how to get their financially. (Pictured at the right is the latest picture of the Resource Center - Phase 1 - which we hope will be finished in two months.)

There is a church where two years ago, there wasn’t. There is a resource center where two years ago, there wasn’t. In the coming years there will be a clinic, a church building and a vocational training center to create jobs and stimulate the economy. How exciting to be a part of what God is doing on the other side of the world. He certainly is a BIG God!

Pictured below is most of the Board that met today (along with the three guys from Watermark). This is a great group of people and I count it a real honor to serve on this board.

Pictured L to R:

TOP: Richard McCauley, Greg Mitchell (President), Steve Pulley, Bob Elrod, Charles Marable, Eleanor Sykes, Paul Daniels

BOTTOM: Bob Rudy, Lori Dryer, Aniefiok Udo, Jeff Runion, yours truly

Fenelon Friday is back, where we drink from the very deep well of my favorite 17th century French Bishop in the Catholic Church. Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon (born 1651) was a mentor to a number of younger men on the court of Louis XIV. In fact, he was given the responsibility of raising the young man who would proceed Louis XIV to the throne of France (the King’s grandson). Many of Fenelon’s writings are actually letters he wrote to some of these young leaders as they sought to walk the life of faith in the face of opposition and adversity. Fenelon’s teachings were met with resistance within the Catholic Church because they aligned more with Reformation teachings than with Catholic dogma at times, and his hope was that once his student became the King of France, he would be instrumental in the reformation of the Catholic Church and bring a real witness of Jesus Christ to France. Those hopes were dashed in 1712 with the premature death of the King’s grandson. Fenelon died not long after that in 1715 at the age of 63, but his teachings live on and continue to influence 300 years after he lived.

Time Apart

If you give up all those things that provoke your curiosity and set your mind spinning, you will have more than enough time to spend with God and to attend to your business. Living your life prayerfuly will make you clear-headed and calm no matter what happens. Your self-nature is overactive, impulsive, and always striving for something just outside your reach.

But God, working within your spirit, produces a calm and faithful heart that the world cannot touch. I really want you to take an adequate amount of time to spend with God so that you might refresh your spirit. All your busyness surely drains you. Jesus took His disciples aside to be alone and interrupted their most urgent business. Sometimes He would even leave people who had come from afar to see Him in order to come to His Father. I suggest the same to you. It is not enough to give out - you must learn to receive from God, too.

Francois de Salignac de La Mothe-Fenelon, The Seeking Heart, p. 113.

There are some exciting new changes in ministry that the Lord has recently led me to pursue! A few months ago, one of our staff elders and good friend Maridus Kinder asked me if I’d consider taking the position of overseeing Fellowship’s Global Outreach ministry. We’ve partnered together extensively over the last few years in developing Worship Global, our Worship and Arts Ministry’s interaction with and influence to the world. Trips to Hungary (2002, 2003), Nigeria (2004) and Peru (2005) and our planned trip in October 2006 to Kenya and Nigeria have fueled the flame in my heart for global outreach. I have sensed my heart beating stronger and stronger with the Lord’s for reaching out beyond our borders to the world. So, I told the Elder Board that I’d pray about this potential during my sabbatical and come back with a decision one way or another.

One important factor in the decision was that I’ve been hands-on involved and/or leading worship and arts ministries at some level for 16 years at two churches, and have greatly enjoyed seeing much fruit come to bear. And not merely leading the ministry, but enjoying shepherding a body of believers toward a higher view of God’s greatness and glory, leading to a more passionate and dependent lifestyle of worship. And through much prayer, I know and am confident that no matter what ministry I’m most directly involved in, that will always remain my heart and posture toward God.

Over my sabbatical, the answer became very clear. God was giving me the “green light” to make a monumental ministry shift - saying goodbye to worship and arts ministry directly, and “hello” to Global Outreach! I will still continue to lead worship on occasion, but my primary focus will now be overseeing the relationship with our Ministry Partners all over the world.

This last year, our church sent out over 15 short-term teams to work with our Ministry Partners in Kenya, Sudan, Nigeria, Russia, Peru, Slovenia and other countries throughout the world. Our vision is to provide “Wind and Water” to these various global partners. Wind is resources, equipping, teaching, teaching materials, financial resources, etc. (ala providing wind in their sails). Water is providing assistance to meet basic needs - food, water, shelter, agricultural training… (ala providing a cool cup of water in the desert).

This is all very new and exciting to me and I look forward to direct ministry and partnership with the many talented and gifted servants we work with throughout the world. If my 5-6 mission trips over the last few years are any indication of the influence, impact, life change and fulfilling ministry that are ahead, I can’t wait!

In addition to overseeing Global Outreach and continuing to lead worship, I’ll also continue to provide leadership in the area of prayer at Fellowship and will be helping to lead and teach in our Equipping Center as part of the Equipping Ministries Team. There are a number of other areas of ministry I’ll be involved in as well, and I hope to expand on those in the days and weeks to come.

Thanks for walking this journey with me!

In this mp3 from the 2004 Reformission Conference, John Piper exhorts believers to glorify God by being satisfied in God. We learn in this audio, that by uprooting the sin that leads to false worldly satisfaction, and turning to the truth of the Lord, we will find the only real satisfaction in this life. As we love God with all our being he will be most satisfied in us because we seek the ultimate satisfaction in him. Loving God includes his attributes, that in contrast, open theism tries to ignore. Whatever undermines the truth and glory of God will undermine our joy in this life. Undermining the truth will also undermine all areas of life and ministry. Open theism distorts God’s truth and is a cancer in the evangelical world today. The practicalities in life and interpretation of scripture are a very slippery slope. The charge is to be aware of open theism and confront it.

Click here to download the audio track…

HT: Resurgence 

Great thoughts on singleness here by Andreas Kostenberger at Biblical Foundations. Here is an excerpt:

“30 and Single? It’s Your Own Fault”—at least according to a recent controversial book, Getting Serious About Getting Married: Rethinking the Gift of Singleness, by Debbie Maken. The author got serious about getting married at age 28, signed up with a Christian web agency, and shortly thereafter entered marital bliss. Maken’s contention, however, that women who are in their late 20s or in their 30s and still unmarried have got only themselves to blame for lack of effort has created quite a stir among those very women who plead “not guilty” and question Maken’s categorical stance (everyone should do what she did, with the same results), not to mention her theology of singleness.

What does the Bible say about singleness? In my book God, Marriage, and Family: Rebuilding the Biblical Foundation, published by the same publisher as Maken’s book, I devote an entire chapter, Chapter 9 entitled “Undivided Devotion to the Lord: The Divine Gift of Singleness,” to this question. The first part of the chapter features a biblical theology of singleness in the Old Testament and New Testament plus a treatment of singleness in the early church. This is followed by a discussion of issues related to singleness, such as singleness and ministry, cohabitation and premarital sex, courtship and dating, and biblical teaching on singleness addressed to particular groups.

HT: Biblical Foundations

I’ve been a part of a fantasy football league with the same group of 10 guys in Wisconsin for the past 14 years and count it one of the highlights of my year to get together with them for our annual “draft.” Since I moved to Tennessee eight years ago, most years I take part in the draft via phone, Instant Messenger and email. But this year, I took the plunge and drove the 650 miles to Watertown, Wisconsin on Friday for the draft on Saturday and drove 650 miles back on Sunday. But, oh, was the drive worth it!

If you’re wondering what on earth Fantasy Football is, here is the wikipedia definition:

Fantasy Football is a game played by Football fans where one assembles a team of real life NFL players and then accumulates points based on their statistical performance on the field. Leagues can be arranged where the winner is the team with the most total points at the end of the season or by a head to head format (which mirrors the actual NFL) where teams play against each other each week and at the end of the year the team with the best win-loss records wins the league.

So every year, the ten of us get together - most in person with one or two on Instant Messenger - and draft our players for the league - with no shortage of verbal barbs poking fun at seemingly bad picks. And no shortage of emotion when one’s targeted player gets picked by someone else! It can get pretty lively to say the least.

What makes this league so fun is not just the football. I love football and this is a fun way to stay engaged in what’s going on in the NFL. But this league is full of guys I’ve known for many years - I’ve known Matt Anderson for 25 years, Bill Stranberg for over 20 and Jeff Helstad for over 20… Making this trip, albeit a short one, was priceless just to see the friends I don’t get to see much anymore. All the guys in this league are friends at one level or another and we usually combine golf with the draft - as we did Saturday morning with a best-ball scramble tournament. My dad was able to join us - he anchored our winning team!

Pictured above on Bill’s deck for the official draft, left to right, is: myself (a.k.a. “Otis”), Matt “Greeko” Maletis, Ted “T-Dog” Schiess, Bill “Cletus” Stranberg (in red shirt and white hat), Jeff “D.A.” Helstad, Matt “Rufus” Anderson, Dan Muleski (Bill and Matt’s father-in-law, sitting in for absent Gery Woelfel), Tom “Pickles” Polzin and Mark Maletis. Matt and Mark’s brother Mike was sitting out of camera range. Notice how serious the mood seems. This is serious business! Everyone is prepared with draft lists, “cheatsheets” and fantasy football guides…and I had my laptop for up the minute advice.

Pictured here to the right are the golfers: Matt, Dan, Bill, Mike, Tom, Matt, Ted, Brian and George (my dad). For the record, the winning team is the four on the right. (smile)

Well, I have to admit, I’m pretty pumped about the team I drafted this year - I was fortunate enough to draw great numbers for the draft order. Although I learned a long time ago that good pre-season feelings don’t always translate into good football season results! So, I’ve prayed, asking the Lord to really bless my efforts and look after my team, keeping my top players free from injury and helping me to beat the rest of the guys in my league.

Ok. Of course that’s pretty ridiculous. I don’t think God is as concerned about my team as I am… But, I was thinking… What if God was in my fantasy football league? What would His team look like? I mean… He is omniscient and omnipotent. Being all-knowing and all-powerful, wouldn’t God draft the perfect fantasy football team? The following are some of my thoughts regarding how God would approach this year’s draft if He would have been on Bill’s deck in Watertown, WI this past Saturday…

My first thought was that obviously God would have drafted Brett Favre at quarterback, Ahman Green at running back, Donald Driver at wide receiver and Bubba Franks at tight end. “Why?” you ask? Isn’t it obvious? They’re all starting for the Green Bay Packers, America’s team! Well, that was my first thought. But my immediate second thought was that my beloved Packers aren’t expected to compete for anything more than last place, so I would lean against God drafting any of the Pack in this year’s draft.

So, aside from the ultimate fantasy team being made up of Green Bay Packers, this is who I think God would have drafted this year:

Quarterback

Player rankings are pretty subjective, but are based on past performance, potential, offensive weapons, team strength, etc. Most ranking systems list Peyton Manning (Colts) at #1 with Tom Brady (Patriots), Carson Palmer (Bengals) and Matt Hasselbeck (Seahawks) as top tier quarterbacks. (I took Hasselbeck) However, I think God would look beyond the cheatsheets and rankings and look at intangibles like character and personal testimony and take Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals. Kurt has aguably the best wide receiver tandem in the league in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin and with the addition of running back Edgerrin James, the Cardinals offense looks to have a great year. With the NFL’s all-time record for passing accuracy (65.7%), two NFL MVP awards and this great cast of offensive talent, I think God would want Kurt and his influence on the field calling the shots. If he stays injury-free, he’s going to put up big numbers.

Running Back

Fantasy players know that this year, there are only three running backs that really matter - and they are almost universally ranked 1-2-3 in this order: Larry Johnson (Chiefs), Shaun Alexander (Seahawks) and LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers). In our draft, they went in the same order and I was fortunate to get Tomlinson, who I believe is going to have another stellar year. But, I’m almost positive God would draft Shaun Alexander for some of the same reasons as Warner. From a talent and production perspective, Alexander had a breakout year in 2005 as the NFL’s leading rusher with 1,880 yards and setting a single season record for rushing touchdowns with 28. He was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player and won 2 ESPY Awards for Best Record Breaking Performance and Best NFL Player. Shaun is also an outspoken Christian and revealed at July’s ESPY Awards that he remained a virgin until he got married at age 24. Clearly a leader and role model, Shaun would be someone God would want on His team - not just for his unquestionable offensive production, but for His character and ability to lead younger players.

I was hoping God would do something miraculous with Priest Holmes, who until he got injured last year, was unquestionably the top running back in the NFL. I think God appreciates his first name - since Jesus IS our high priest (Hebrews 4:14-15), and those of us who are Christians are all priests (I Peter 2:5,9). But equally as important, Priest Holmes was one of my running backs in another “keeper league” I’m in, and I would think God might choose to miraculously heal Priest’s spinal cord issues resulting from a 2005 concussion. If God, our Great Physician and Healer, chooses not to heal Priest, my keeper league season is in severe jeopardy!

Wide Receiver

At wide receiver, it might actually be easier to confirm who God would certainly stay away from… Both
Terrell Owens and Randy Moss are top-tier wide receivers, but both unquestionably lack depth of character and neither would be a role model in the huddle, locker room or community. However, it’s obvious that historically God has taken men who would seem to be totally UN-qualified and helped them turn their lives around and make a difference in the world. Jonah, the disciple Peter and the apostle Paul certainly come to mind. God is so full of grace that I bet He might even give T.O. a chance. (of course He would!) I’m definitely a walking, breathing example of someone who has been shown a LOT of grace by God considering all of the ways I’ve fallen short and the many mistakes I’ve made. But, thank God that 2 Corinthians 12:9 is real: God’s grace is sufficient for all of us. It should give all of us hope knowing that no matter what we’ve done or how bad we’ve been, we’re never too bad for God’s grace and forgiveness in our lives. Even T.O. and Moss qualify for God’s grace. Not only that, but they are the type of guy that God goes after and pursues. Each of us have the opportunity to respond to God’s grace. Yes, I think God might even draft Owens and Moss, but He’d need good insurance, so He’d also most definitely draft…

Yes, Donald Driver of the Green Bay Packers. First, simply put… He’s a Packer. Second, he’s the Packer’s top offensive weapon and why wouldn’t God want the top offensive weapon on America’s Team running deep routes to the endzone on HIS team? It makes perfect sense. Then, you add into the equation that Driver is one of my three keepers in my keeper league, and I really need him to perform this year. I need to see Donald doing the Lambeau Leap following Favre-thrown touchdown bombs on a regular basis and God knows it.

Tight End

There really is only one tight end to consider. And this tight end is often drafted ahead of the most productive receivers because he’s that good. Yes, I believe God indeed would draft Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers. Never mind that he is by far the most productive and most prolific scorer among tight ends in the league, averaging over 1,000 receiving over the last two seasons and amassing 23 touchdowns over the same period of time. He is sure to put up big numbers for God’s team.

But, he’s also a former power forward with the Golden Flashes of Kent State University, my dad’s alma mater. I think God would appreciate that.

I also think God appreciates his last name - because it’s one of the names of Christ. In John 10:9, Jesus says “I AM the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.” In Christ’s role as the gate and gatekeeper, we all have a way to find eternal life in Him if we simply place our faith in what He did on the cross for our sins.

Yet another stellar quality of Antonio Gates is his humility - and clearly, God desires humility from all of those on his team! According to wikipedia, when compared to former leading tight end Tony Gonzalez of the Kansas City Chiefs, Gates said:”Tony Gonzalez is still the best tight end in the league; I still have to learn quite a bit.” God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. (I Peter 5:5)

Plus, if God drafts Gates, he’s sure to have a great year, which helps me in my keeper league, since Gates is my only solid “keeper” from 2005!

Kicker

I don’t think God would feel the need to even draft a kicker for his fantasy team. Following touchdowns, His offense would probably be perfect in two-point conversions, so they wouldn’t need anyone to kick extra points. And I can’t see God’s team failing to make the endzone on each drive they make it to the red zone, so they wouldn’t need a field goal kicker. As far as kickoffs, just about anyone off God’s bench would be able to kick the ball downfield deep enough for His stellar special teams unit to cover the ball carrier. No need for a kicker!

Conclusion

I understand that God most likely wouldn’t join a fantasy football draft here on earth. This was a fun exercise in satirical humor, so please take it as it was intended. (And because God is perfect, it would probably be hard for him to have any humans on his team and be happy anyway, so He’d most likely choose the angel Gabriel as His quarterback and start his own cellestial league…) But there actually IS a message in this. A message of hope. Life. Forgiveness. Freedom from guilt and shame. One simple act - put your faith in Christ who died a horrific death on a cross, paid the penalty we all deserve because of our sin and was raised from the dead so we could have the hope of eternal life. If anyone has a question on how to actually make this a reality in your life, write a comment and give me your email address or phone number. I’d love to walk through this process with you.

Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun and took a guess at the two pictures I posted here. In the end, no one could beat the accuracy of Michael Cates, Worship Pastor of our sister church, Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock, AR. It’s not because he knows me so well (although we have known each other for years, and he’s indirectly responsible for Heidi and I meeting!) but because he is also an ex-Con… That’s what we affectionately call ex-Continentals… The Continental Singers are a Christian music group that started in 1967 and each year travels all over the world sharing the gospel through relevant music and drama. I think Michael was a part of the Continentals in its inaugural year. Just kidding, Michael! I think it was a few years later. (smile)

Micheal accurately picked me out of the crowd in the first picture - the unfortunate soul in the black muscle shirt on the right. Who would ever wear something like that in public?!? And in the second picture, yes that’s me providing the seated profile in the front. Obviously, we were goofballs. I’ll claim being a teenager as my disclaimer.

The year was 1989. We were on “Tour Y”. Michael was four years off (he guessed 1993), but other than my mom, he was the closest. (sorry, mom, you were not eligible for the prize package.)
Darren Scuffi, who in the second picture known as “Tour Y Studs” is directly to my left in some kind of mid-pounce pose, recently came across Heart Soul and Might and after 17 years, sent me some pictures! (Darren… your pose seems SO uncomfortable. What were you thinking?!) This tour was such a blast, and we took part in some very meaningful ministry. Honestly, this Continental tour was highly instrumental in my calling into ministry.

For those of you from Fellowship-Brentwood wondering why someone else in the first picture looks so familiar, no, it’s not Amy Grant… It’s our very own Jennifer McReynolds (formerly Hendrix) on the far left in the cool stripes. It’s neat how we get to serve in the same worship ministry after all these years!

If there are any of you other Tour Y-ers out there, drop me a comment. Or a picture. Or both. I’d love to hear from you!