Why Everything (Stinks)

One of the more awkward subjects (for me, at least) to bring up in Church is the Old Testament subject of idolatry. It's just weird. You melt all your collective jewelry together in the shape of an animal, and then you bow & pray to it? It makes the people of the days of yore sound like morons.

And so the first two of the Ten Commandments are designed to offset this apparently considerable temptation:

#1 - You shall have no other gods before me
#2 - Do not fashion any graven image & bow down or worship it

...which, the phrasing of the first commandment sort of begs the question: ARE there any actual other gods, or deities, that are out there to be worshiped? Well, 1st Cor. 8:4-7 would seem to answer a strong "No" when Paul says, "We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one."

But even he confesses a few sentences later, "But not everyone knows this." Aha! And a few chapters later, in 1st Cor. 10:19-20, Paul teaches that sacrifices to idols are received by demons. Which seems to indicate that they are essentially puppet-masters. And we of course know, from Paul in Eph. 6:10-12, that our struggle is against the forces of that world.

So it would seem that the answer to my question is "Yes" and "No." No in that there is no God but Jehovah. But yes in that there are other powers that prey on the ignorance of humans apart from Christ. And in their ignorance about the truth of the one God -- whether they realize it or not -- people surrender to the realm of demonic-pupeteered idols. And as they pay homage to these spirits, they allow them to exercise power over their lives. And, in doing so, such realities gain for those who acknowledge them actual, objective existence.

Have I lost you yet? I hope not.

All of that serves as a preface for this:



We have a whole industry of magazines & networks that glorify beautiful, young, dumb people in trendy places. Paris Hilton. MTV reality stars. Vampire movie stars. Disney's latest pre-pubescent cash cows. The whole lot of them. They're all part of the deification of youth.

And we don't stop there. We idolize athletes. What is more youthful than young phenoms achieving great athletic feats? We idolize the brands they market that make us feel young with them. It's a whole system integrated into our society.

The part that gets me is how people mutilate their bodies. All to appeal to the expectations of the great god of youth.

So maybe those people in the Old Testament weren't morons at all. Maybe we're even more blockheaded. And maybe the reason everything sucks -- as Craig Ferguson put it -- is because we've been duped into worshipping the wrong god.

My Favorite Prodigal Son Story

The shame of a really great story or sermon illustration is that you only really get to use them once. This is maybe the best story I've ever run across. I can't take credit for it. I heard it presented by a preacher named Ronnie White from Midland, TX. It made an impression on me, as well as others when I've shared it in the past.

---

G.W. Ravensbury was an itinerant preacher back many years ago. That's how he made his living: preaching off of trains. He'd ride a train to one town, preach, get back on the train, and head to another town.

Ravensbury tells the story of a train ride he took that was more strange than many of the others. Ravensbury was sitting at the back of his train car, and he noticed that there was this young gentleman who was sitting a few rows ahead of him. He had this cardboard suitcase stuffed real tight up underneath his seat. And he appeared very anxious. This man would get up, pace the car for a bit, and then sit back down. He did this every 10 minutes or so.

Finally Ravensbury decided that he would go have a chat with the young man. So he got up, asked if he could have a seat next to him, and introduced himself.

"Son, my name's Ravensbury, and I'm a preacher. You seem like you've got a lot on your mind. Would you like to talk?"

Ravensbury said it was like opening up a spigot. The young man's life story just came pouring out.

"Me and my pa didn't get along well at all when I was coming up. We'd fuss & fight. Shoot, we'd get into it over nuthin'.

"One day we were getting after each other real hard -- I can't even remember what about -- when I said something like, 'Well why don't I just LEAVE!' And my Daddy said, 'Son, there's the door, don't let it hit you on the backside on the way out.' I didn't really want to go, but I was so angry that I went to my room & packed everything I could fit into my cardboard suitcase. As I went to leave, my Daddy yelled back at me & said, 'SON... if YOU WALK OUT THAT DOOR... don't you EVER come back.' I was so mad I just left.

"Things didn't go too well for me after that. I kept wandering from one po'dunk town to another working one piddlin' job after another, and I wasn't doing too good. One night I was out drinking with some buddies, and we got this idea to try to rob this liquor store. When we got caught, I got sentenced to prison.

"But before I got out, I decided to write home to Mom and Dad. I told them I was in prison, and about to get out. I said I was sorry for how I left and for what I did. That I'd understand if they never wanted to see me again, but I'd be passing through town. You see, my house is just off the tracks here about 10 miles ahead. I told them that if they wanted to see me to tie something white out in the tree. That if there wasn't anything white, I'd just go on through to the next town & they'd never have to hear from me again.

"Mr. Ravensbury, if there's nothing white hanging out in that tree, I don't know what I'm gonna do. I'm at the end of my rope. I just don't know what I'm gonna do."

Ravensbury said that as they grew closer, the young man became even more nervous. Finally, the young man nudged Ravensbury and said, "My house is right up around this bend. Do you think you could see if there's anything white tied there for me? I just can't look."

Ravensbury said he pressed his forehead up against the window hoping to see something -- ANYthing -- that was white tied up in a tree. And he said as they turned that corner, it was the most majestic sight he'd ever seen. Apparently that family had emptied their house of every towel, every wash cloth, every bed spread, every pillow case, even every piece of underwear -- EVERYTHING in that house was out there flapping in that tree. It was just a tree of white out there in that yard.

Ravensbury called to the boy, "Young man... LOOK!"

As soon as the young man caught a glimpse of the tree, he grabbed his suitcase, rushed out the door, & leaped off the train car as quick as he could. Ravensbury said that the last image he saw was of that young man dragging his cardboard suitcase up the hill, and an older couple bursting out of the house to come greet him.

And Ravensbury said that THAT is a picture of what God's grace is like. That the cross was God's way of emptying Heaven's linen closet of everything white so that it would be known for all-time that God wants us home. No matter what we've done, or where we've been -- for us please just to come home.

---

"If you'd like to respond to the invitation..." ;)

Good stuff, huh?

mmmmm... That's Good Stuff

I've got a buddy who, when he has a rich experience (e.g. quality time with one of his sons, a perfect surprise for his wife, wonderful worship with the saints, etc.), he calls it "delicious." I love teasing him about that. But mainly I love him because of that -- how he savors rich moments in life.

When I read the following, I thought it was delicious. Not because it describes something grand. But because it is as grand a description of human despair as I've read in a while. From Donald Miller's A Million Miles in a Thousand Years...

I clasped my hand over my heart and knelt between the bed and the television and rolled onto the floor and cried out to God a lamenting demand that he would come and save me from the sorrow that, for the immensity of it, I could only attribute to him in the first place. I didn't want to learn whatever it was he wanted to teach me. I cried out to him an angry petition for rescue. I doubted him and needed him at the same time. God seemed to me, in that moment, a cruel father burning a scar into my skin with his cigarette. And yet I knew he was the only one with the power to make the pain go away.

mmmmmmmm. Ever been there? I know a few of you have. I won't give it away, but Miller gives a keen insight on suffering I don't believe I've ever heard or considered. I assure you: it's much more than a cruel father burning a scar into your skin with a cigarette. It was so incisive that it made James 1:2 make actual sense for the first time in my life.

But it's not just about human suffering. If I were to sum it up, what Miller is trying to accomplish with the book is to make you bored of being bored. And I liked it. I think a lot of you blog readers would like it, too. Check it out.

Power 12: The Final Edition... Ever

"What?? No more Power 12's?" That's right. This is the final one. The last one you'll ever see. Never again will you see a poll on this blog that ranks the 12 best teams. The Power 12 is OVER.

Because starting next season, this will become THE POWER 13. As I said in the original edition of the power 12, the number 12 came from the number of Alabama National Championships. That number is now 13. So next year that's what the number will be.

1.) Alabama
2.) Florida
3.) Texas
4.) Boise State
5.) Texas Christian
6.) Cincinnati
7.) Ohio State
8.) Iowa
9.) Oregon
10.) Georgia Tech
11.) Virginia Tech
12.) Penn State

First Person Fanhood

It is a big game for "us" tomorrow.

Only I'm not part of the team.

It's a strange phenomenon in our culture that we can as fans identify so closely with the teams we favor that we speak of them and us together in the first person. It's not, "Alabama had a great season," but "We had a great season."

What is it? Is a measure of one's devotion and love to the great efforts of his favorite group of athletes? Or is it more a measure of a lack of self-esteem that people are moved to latch on to and identify with a group greater than themselves?

I don't suppose it to be either something to self-adulate over or to loathe, although I've heard both. I suspect it has more to do with the shared experiences of emotions over the course of the roller coaster ride of a season. When you're high, you're high together with the team. When you're low, you're low together with the team. So that whatever the final destination is, you sense that you've felt every emotion right along with the team to the extent that you feel a part of the team.

Looking back at the Tennessee game, Terrence Cody embodied on the field (just in this clip) every emotion we were feeling while watching on television at home: from the "we CANNOT let this happen" sense of urgency, to the unbridled outburst of happiness, to the feeling of "OMG, that was too close."



As a Red Sox fan, it was the depth of the doldrums of 2003 that made 2004 so rich and satisfying. The '03 team, one of my favorite Boston teams, brawled with the Yankees like boxers. Those two teams stood toe to toe just exchanging blows. To the point where it went to a 7th game. And when Boston blew a lead in Game 7, and then ended up losing in extra innings, as a fan you took the heartache personally. And you felt the devastating emotions of losing for days. (To the point that, for me, THIS COLUMN still stands as maybe the greatest Simmons column he's ever published)

So, because of that, you take the joy of winning personally too. And obnoxiously so. I've begun to wonder if it's possible to celebrate anything without being perceived as obnoxious. Because celebration is just that: a wild joy that can only be perceived by non-participants as obnoxious. Hopefully you don't become that guy who acts like he's better than everyone just because his team does well. But it's a darn fine line!

So this phenomenon of shared experiences and emotions is such a powerful thing that people begin to refer to their team(s) in the first person.

My only hope for myself is that I keep a healthy perspective for the sake of the players and their accomplishments. Unlike the people in this story from Mark Ingram's hometown of Flint, MI who seemed to take more pride in Mark's Heisman award for themselves than for Mark. I was happier for Mark than I was even for Alabama that night he won the Heisman. He's had a lot of hurdles in his personal life. And also with Alabama having had no Heisman's, the pressure on him had to be immense. So I was glad for him that he wasn't burdened even further, but in fact rewarded.

As for tomorrow, I just hope we get to celebrate. I don't wanna go digging through those Simmons E-mails again.

Just Trying to Be Better People

It's never dull having conversations with folks who are interested in, or skeptical about, becoming part of your church family. The questions asked are usually pointed, and being the answer man means I'm under the microscope.

I had a fun one last week. This particular gentleman sounded like a regular viewer of FOX News. From the tone of his voice, it was easy to tell that he didn't harbor a lot of affection for the current governing party in Washington. His question for me didn't have anything to do with church programs, or doctrine, or even the Bible. He simply asked me a question about Washington liberals, then backed up a half step, raised an eyebrow, opened his eyes wide, and looked to pay close attention to how I answered his question.

I'm not a politician. So, rather than dodging the question & answering the question I wish had been asked, I answered the question he asked. It was an uncomfortable question, and I told him I couldn't speak for every family member at the Lynn Haven Church, but here's what I thought the Bible said & here's what I think about it. He seemed satisfied.

But then I went further. And I told him that from time to time we'll discuss big world matters like that in Bible Class. In fact, he was just a week late to a lively study over Romans 13 and Revelation 13. HOWEVER, by & large, we don't spend a whole lot of time discussing matters that are mostly out of our control. That we try to focus on what we can control, and that's ourselves.

And that, just looking at the various books of the Bible, they weren't written at government, or at the world. The world is going to be the world. Government is going to be the government. Scripture, however, is aimed at God's people. It's written to Israel, and it's written to the Church. It's addressing how they live, not how others should live and conduct themselves and enact public policy.

It's a simple notion, but one that's lost track of from time to time.

So I concluded with the thought that we're just trying to be better people. That God's provided us a way to do just that. And that we were a group committed to following that way.

It's like the parable of the talents. If you're able to read this, it's quite likely that you've been exorbitantly blessed. So are you using your blessings to be an even BETTER blessing? Are you allowing yourself to be sharpened to become a better person? As you look over the last 12 months, do you like who you've become more than who you were?

I do. I actually fell short for all three of my New Year's Resolutions for this year, but that doesn't mean that I didn't reap a better me through the struggle. And I'm encouraged to reset some goals, and maybe set a new one, knowing that it's a better, stronger Philip that's tackling 2010 than tackled 2009.

I love resolutions. If you hate that word, say goals. But set some. And start chipping away at them here in a couple weeks after the harried pace of the Holidays fades away & normalcy resumes. Resolutions or goals may nag you, but they make you better as long as you don't give up on them.

And being better is important. Because that's a big part of what life is all about.

Power 12: Midnight for Cinderella

I was 14 years old. Alabama was in the middle of its best run since "Bear" Bryant had retired.

I became a fan since attending the 1990 Sugar Bowl in person: a loss to Miami. Three years later, Alabama turned the tables by stunning the #1-ranked Hurricanes (and Heisman winner Geno Torretta) 34-13 in the 1993 Sugar Bowl. Alabama finished 13-0, and they became the 1992 National Champions. It was my first taste of a championship as a sports fan, and it was sweet.

The next season was one mired with controversy and injury. Quarterback Jay Barker was injured in the Iron Bowl and suffered his first loss. It was a disappointing season.

But the sting wore off in 1994 when Alabama won each of their regular season games. They held off a late drive by Peyton Manning, and edged Tennessee in a nail-biter. They topped undefeated Auburn in the Iron Bowl, handing Terry Bowden his first ever loss as Auburn's coach (it was his 2nd season). So it seemed inevitable that the Tide would roll through the 2-loss Gators in the SEC "Coronation" Game in Atlanta.

But more than my love for that team, I loved its quarterback. Jay Barker was 34-1-1 as a starter. And he didn't even get to finish the game in that one loss because of his injury in that '93 Iron Bowl. He seemed invincible. Even more than that, though, he was an impeccable role model. After throwing for 396 yards in a comeback victory over Georgia, someone shoved a microphone in Barker's face and asked him about the Heisman Trophy. Barker calmly quoted 1st Peter 5:6, and spoke about how he'd struggled with criticisms and trials, but that maybe this was "due time" for him. THAT was my hero! I wanted to be just like that guy. So that's why four days later, on a Wednesday night, I walked down the aisle & gave my life to Jesus.

But then, two months later, when a Jay Barker pass fell to the turf on a 4th down to end the '94 SEC Championship -- a 24-23 loss to the Gators -- I didn't know how to register that. Pure heartache. It is without question my most painful memory as a sports fan.

So I say all that to say this: I know EXACTLY how so many young Gator fans out there feel right now. For them I feel pity. It's tough to watch your hero fall.

BUT, for so many of those kids who came to faith because of Tebow's influence, maybe seeing that your "idol" actually ISN'T God is ultimately a good thing.

Now... for all the spoiled Gator fans my age and older? For them, I feel satisfaction. It's high time they felt what I felt 15 years ago. What I felt again last year, when the Gators ruined undefeated Alabama's championship hopes again. For that cocky group -- people who braggingly told me that their "Titletown" was the REAL T-Town, and proclaimed that McElroy wasn't half the QB Tebow was, and crowed to me how they would crush 'Bama after beating FSU (as if they'd actually done something by putting up 37 points on that Nole defense), and who generally walked around with an entitled swagger just because they root for a good football team -- at those people, I smile. Maybe they'll be less insufferable now. Enjoy your bittersweet Sugar Bowl.

As for Urban Meyer and teary-eyed Tim Tebow? I also smile. "That's so mean! How could you say that, Philip?" Well let me tell you a story that the media has failed to tell for four years now. Meyer has run up the score and called timeouts to rub in big victories. Tim Tebow has flailed his arms, motioned the Gator chomp, and has shown immunity to more unsportsmanlike penalty flags than can be counted. As much as Meyer and Tebow have done to further a cause higher than football, they had also tarnished that cause with their dishonorable antics. Oh yes. That pair has had it coming to them for a LONNNNG time.

Sure, maybe there's a lot of young Gator fans who love Jesus like Tebow. But there's also a lot of young fans who love the other teams that Tebow played, and who bitterly observed the hypocrisy of Tebow & Meyer supposedly living to a classier standard all while ignoring sportsmanship and rubbing losses in other teams' faces.

So it made me grin even wider when Alabama lined up in the victory formation (to kneel the ball) at the end, up 19 points and driving for more, near the goal-line. It was a statement: "Not only are we better than you, but we're also better than you." Unlike the crew on the other sideline, Alabama doesn't have to run up the score to feel good about themselves when the game is already decided.

And for this Alabama team? I can't say enough. I love this team. So many individuals, so many stories. Redemption, perseverance, overcoming adversity: all the elements of great stories are there. They've been a thrill to watch.

Well, enough pontificating. Here are the rankings:

1.) Alabama* : they made it just barely, but Alabama is still the only school to have won an SEC Championship in every decade of the conference's existence.
2.) Texas Christian : the most deserving of a title shot, IMO.
3.) Texas
4.) Florida
5.) Boise State : they beat the Pac-10 champ.
6.) Cincinnati
7.) Oregon*
8.) Georgia Tech*
9.) Ohio State
10.) Virginia Tech
11.) LSU
12.) Iowa

* I feel vindicated for consistently having ranked each of these teams higher than the conventional polls all season long.

Dropped Out: Pitt and Oregon State