Redeeming THIS World

Lately I've been coming into another perspective of why Jesus came into this world and in turn what our mission is. I've always subconsciously believed his main intent was just to get us to heaven. Lately however, from what I've been reading in N.T. Wright's Simply Christian and Lee Camp's Mere Discipleship, this was not the main focus of Christ's ministry. They emphasize that Jesus came not just for a kingdom in the far off heavens at a distant time, but to establish his kingdom in this world for the here and now.

Lee Camp says that we make Christian religion "something ultimately unrelated to this world, to time, or history, or human culture, and instead make it about the "other world." We wait for the "sweet by and by" when we will diet on love and mercy and goodness and God and heaven, but in the meanwhile, "down below" we wait out our time, where we have to put up with the violence and hatred and injustice and unkindness and hunger and poverty, fighting fire with fire."

In response to this worldview Camp says:

"Jesus called his disciples to participate in a kingdom that was invading human history, a kingdom so present you could reach out and touch it, a new order in their very midst [....] And it is also "this worldly" in the sense that we now see in Jesus, what it means to live life fully according to God's will, in the midst of the concerns, hurts, and pains of human history. The kingdom is not unrelated to human history, but is the new reality that redefines human history." (57-58)

This idea kind of floored me a little bit. I've always been for trying to help out this world, but it's tough to have much hope in it when you know it's all going down in flames one day anyway. It's like trying to build a giant sand castle when you know the waves are just going to wash it away anyway. I've looked at ministry as an attempt to see how many people we could get off this rock and into the world we've always dreamed of. But it seems that Christ calls us to at least attempt to make THIS rock the world we've always dreamed of. As we look at the Bible, God clearly does care about this world. We sing songs that say, "This world is not my home, I'm just a passin' through" and while that may be true, we are still called to be God's instruments to redeem this fallen world while we are "a passin' through." We are called to "make all things new" spiritually, socially, vocationally, and even ecologically. The kingdom of God has come here in this place.

So what is this kingdom? N.T. Wright puts it this way:

"With Jesus, God's rescue operation has been put into effect once and for all. A great door has swung open in the cosmos which can never again be shut. [...] We are offered freedom: freedom to experience God's rescue for ourselves, to go through the open door and explore the new world to which we now have access. In particular, we are all invited, summoned actually, to discover, through following Jesus, that this new world is indeed a place of justice, spirituality, relationship, and beauty, and that we are not only called to enjoy it as such but to work at bringing it to birth on earth as in heaven." (92)

Now I must admit to you while all this seems great at first thought, I struggle with it the more I think about it. If we are indeed called to redeem this world, why are we so terrible at it? Instead of acting as the driving force for good in this world, why are we so often the source of unfathomable evil? When you look back at the history of the Church, we see the Crusades, the Inquistion, and looking the other way at the Holocaust. Even in our own country we see the church as a force for the Salem Witch Trials, justification for slavery and racism, and blatant hatred today toward people we see as "sinners." Why do so many unbelievers see us as a plague upon the earth when they should be seeing us as the salt and the light of the world? Sometimes I wonder if the world would really be off any worse without us. It's been said that more people have been killed in the name of Christ than any other name in history.

This is a very tough struggle, and one that is not easy to answer. Eventually, I just come to the conclusion that this is a fallen world and we ourselves are a fallen people. But we cannot just sit on that conclusion and be content in our despair. We must try with all of our might to change this world and to be ministers of reconciliation. We must right the wrongs, bring light to the darkness, fight hatred with love, war with peace, and despair with joy.

I know that one day this fallen world will indeed pass away and our ultimate dreams for this world are unattainable in actuality. I know that God's ultimate plans are for "a new heaven and a new earth." But God does not call us up into heaven as soon as we come out of the water. For the short time we are on the earth he calls us into the mission of bringing redemption to this world. In that light, there are very real goals that we can accomplish. We can bring hope to oppressed, food to the hungry, clothes to the naked, joy to sorrowful, and peace to those in anguish. We can live as a true community of believers, an army of love spreading out to the horizon.

May we truly become the people of God and may we work to help establish here in this place a kingdom without borders or limitations that will stretch on from here to eternity.

Quick Hits

Just some quick observations from this week:

• It's Pledge Week here at Harding! Get your screaming voice and crazy clothes ready! I've actually gone to two All-Club Devos this week to hear Jimmy and Coleman (both of whom did awesome), and I have to say that I was fairly blown away by the craziness. These clubs really take the roll call seriously (you can tell when the pledges sound almost too hoarse to even belt it out, because they've been yelling so much before). I was a little worried that Ju Go Ju and Xeta Rho we're going to throw down tonight when both clubs we're yelling their chants at each other before the devo started. Mmmm....feel the Christian love!
• It's been bitter cold here in Searcy. It's officially entered "don't go outside for anything" status. It's pretty much the perfect storm of coldness for me: Cold temp, windy, stinging icy rain, and the fact that I haven't busted out my winter clothes yet, so I just put on a hoody over my t-shirt. I asked Tom, a British guy in my Human Situations class, if this felt like England and he said, "Yeah, pretty much exact." Welcome to Liverpool, Arkansas everyone!
• Less than 24 hours from the 1st pitch of the World Series!
• Jail Ministry went well tonight. I talked about Joseph's statement to his brothers about what they meant for evil, God used for good. These guys are such a blessing to me. The only problem was at some point last week one of my favorite guys got moved to a different pod because he called another guy a not nice name and the guy almost beat him up. The lesson as always: watch what you say in jail.
  
• I'm listening to Ben Folds right now over the shared ITunes network, and it always reminds me of when some of us in our youth group made a trip to Harding when I was in 7th grade and listened to "Brick" like 872 times. That was a fun trip. I remember hating Harding at the time and especially the dorm we stayed in. 6 years later I moved into Harbin dorm as a freshman and loved every second. Good times. She's a brick and I'm drowning slowly.
• I was talking to Jimmy yesterday about how cool it would be if they introduced preachers the same way they introduced the Chicago Bulls in the 90's. Can't you imagine?

(Crowd cheering and strobe lights going with the Alan Parson's Project song Sirius playing)

And now, at Youth Minister, from Harding University, delivering a sermon on Romans Chapter 8, number 4.......DYLAN PYEATT!!!!!

(Crowd goes wild)

Anyways, that's just some random ramblings for the night. I'll have something more substantial later.

Best Weekend Ever???

So, this was a FANTASTIC weekend. The best way to describe it is probably a quick play-by-play.

Friday

2:50-Class is over!!
4:59-Send in an assignment for Christian Education just before the 5:00 deadline. Phew!
5:30-Really fun dinner including a game of hot potato with a pepper shaker in which Coleman slapped the shaker across our table, nailing someone's Dr. Pepper at the table beside us.




9:00-Corn Maze!!!! Is there anything more fun than being a laboratory rat surrounded by corn. Classic moments included the moment when everyone finally had the courage to say what was on their mind: that this reminded us of Harry Potter 4 (there's a dementor around the corner!) and our pun off about the corn maze including:

"This corn maze is a-MAZE-ing"
"You guys are so CORN-y"
"You're not the captain of this corn maze, but you sure are the KERNAL"
"We need to HUSK-LE"
"We're being STALK-ed"
"Aww....SHUCKS"


10:30-Trip to the bluff! Woo hoo! We had lots of good bluff questions and lots of laughs including Sam saying,
"Your music is lame. I like Ludacris and Sean Paul"







Saturday

1:30 a.m.-Halo 3. Highlight included betraying everyone over and over again in Zombies
12:00 p.m.-1st half of UT-Alabama game. Not the best moment of the weekend. Let's just move on.
1:00-Went over to Jimmy's house and had a real good talk.


3:00-Went to Latona with Coleman and Tiffany to see the cliffs and a sweet cave! It's always great to get out and see nature. Lots of fun!










6:45-Depart for Gurden with 12 people to see the haunted railroad tracks. The 2 hour car ride over there is a lot of fun with all the singing games we played. Good times!
9:00-Railroad tracks end up being pretty lame. Too many are people in our group. People are in front of us so that we can't see the headless ghost's lantern. Not the best visit ever, but the car trips are fun.
10:00-Without me getting to see it, the Red Sox cruise to a big win to tie the ALCS 3-3. That was a good thing to find out when I got back into the dorm.

Sunday

11:00 a.m.-Good times at West Pleasure COC. Great people, great singing, entertaining preaching. It's always fun to go to a church that is different from what you've always grown up with.
1:00-Fun times at Jimmy's house
2:00-Good conversation with Laura. That's all I can say right now.
3:00-Played football with Jimmy and Coleman on Woodruff Street hoping some kids would come. None came, but we had fun anyways. We know if we keep coming out regularly then we'll start to get a good turn out. If you play, they will come.
3:15-Without me knowing it at the time, the Titans hang on for a miracle win behind Rob Bironas' (Ma-Ma-Ma-My Bironas) 8 field goals to go to 4-2 for the season.
4:00-6:30-Fun Cowboys game as da Boys win a sloppy game 24-14. Not our best game, but we move to 6-1 for the season.
6:45-Quick phone call to Mom before the Red Sox game starts.


7:00-Here we go! Game 7 of the ALCS! Can Dice-K get it done? Can we keep our bats rolling? Can we complete a comeback from a 3-1 deficit? Will this game give me an a heart attack? Playoff baseball.......there's nothing better!
7:25-former Red Sox and 2004 "keep the dugout loose MVP" Kevin Millar announces our lineup. I'm feeling much better now.
8:30-After 3 innings the Red Sox lead 3-0, but we've left a lot of guys on base. I'm hoping this won't come back to haunt us. Dice-K is looking solid. Can he keep it up?
9:15-5th inning, score is 3-2. Dice-K is struggling. Men on first and third. Jacob comes in and tries to talk to me, but I am deathly silent. Dice-K strikes out Asdrubal Cabrera for the third out. Celebration! Exhale. Exhale again.
10:05-After Lugo makes an error on a fly ball he should have gotten, Guitierrez singles to put men on first and third with one out. Luckily, Kenny Lofton gets held up at third. Still, fears of 2003 ALCS game 7 come back. I can't breathe. You couldn't cut the tension in the room with a chain-saw. I might not survive this game.
10:06-Okie gets Casey Blake to ground out for a 5-4-3 double play. I'm jumping around and screaming at the top of my lungs. We might just pull this out. Then I walk around just giggling like someone in an insane asylum. The up and down emotions have officially driven me crazy. Good thing I'm alone in my room or someone would be calling the counseling center. You gotta love October!
10:25-Dustin Pedroia hits a 2-run home run! Red Sox leads 5-2!!!! Pandemonium breaks out in Keller 300!! I'm shouting, yelling, screaming oddly high-pitched noises. Dustin Pedroia was already one of my favorite players (short, skinny, quick, fun guy, initials of D.P........remind you of anyone?) and now I love him even more!
10:45-Papelbon comes into the 8th with two men on and pitches brilliantly. Jacoby Ellsbury makes a great play in center to get the third out! 3 outs away baby!!
11:07-The Red Sox have just blown the doors wide open!! D.P. hits a bases loaded double, Youk bangs a 2 run- homer, and suddenly the Red Sox are up 11-2. I've lost my voice at this point. I'm starting to wonder if it will still be snowing in Colorado next week.
11:22-Every out that Paps gets I jump out of my seat and start jumping up and down like a 6-year-old. You have to love sports just because they give you an excuse to act like a complete idiot.
11:23-Fly ball to deep center field, Coco Crisp running it down, and makes an amazing catch....and THE RED SOX ARE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!!!!!!!!! WOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!!!! I jump up and down some more as I watch the Sox celebrate around the pitching mound! Rene watches me like I'm going to a mental institution.
11:37-After watching the trophy presentation and champagne celebration, I run through all 3 floors and the lobby of Keller holding up my Red Sox hat and shouting WE'RE GOING TO THE WORLD SERIES!!! Did I mention how sports gives you an excuse to act like an idiot?
11:44-I walk around the front lawn just looking for someone to celebrate with. Nobody is out tonight, so I just walk around with a stupid grin on my face and skip a little bit. I think a couple that was making out on a swing snickers at me, but what do I care? Did I mention that we're going to the World Series?
11:59-While walking around I thank God for blessing me with such an amazing weekend. What an incredible 3-day span! It's been tough to be able to keep from smiling all weekend. Wow!
12:00-Finish my lap around campus and remember to move my car so that I don't get a parking ticket. Woo ho! No parking ticket!
12:02-Text Mom: "We're going to the World Series!"

Back To Boston!

After a fantastic pitching performance from Josh Beckett (8 IP, 1 ER, 11K) and some solid hitting, the Red Sox staved off elimination with a 7-1 vicotry to get the series to 3-2 and take it back to Boston. If the Sox can keep the momentum from this win going into Boston they will be tough to beat. On the mound for the Red Sox on Saturday is Curt Schilling, one of the best big game pitchers ever. The Indians will pitch Carmona, one of the best young pitchers in baseball. Both pitchers were beat up in game two, and it will be interested to see if they can bounce back for this pivotal match-up. I feel confident in Schilling for game 6, but I gotta say that I'm worried about Dice-K pitching in a potential game 7, if we make it. But for now, none of that matters. Right now, I'm just going to enjoy this win.

There's Something Happening Here.....

It's tough to really explain how fantastic the past few weeks have been. Each day has really been better than the next. The best way to describe it is a quick sports analogy......but don't lose interest. I'll go through it quick so that I can really explain what I'm really trying to say.

I've been re-reading Bill Simmons' Red Sox book and I love his description of Pedro Martinez's run of utter domination from April 1999-May 2001. He talks about how every one of Pedro's starts was an event, and how people would drop everything to watch his games because they didn't want to miss something special. Each start seemed to be better than the one before it and just when you thought Pedro couldn't be anymore dominant, he would take it to an even greater level. He talked about how Pedro could bring the fans at Fenway to a higher place and how they would stand in awe of this master artist, who pitched better than any pitcher has ever pitched during a two year span. You knew you were in the presence of greatness watching Pedro and you just wanted to take everything in and appreciate it to the fullest extent, because what was happening was something that might not ever happen again.



That's really been the best way to describe the past two weeks. Just when I think things can't get any better, they somehow do. God has blessed me with so much. I've had great friendships, great conversations, great times, great laughs, great growth experiences, great fun, and just pure, wonderful joy. I just want to soak in every second.

I sometimes hate it when kids my age or younger try to offer life lessons or advice to older people that make it sound like what we know what's really going on in the world (my all-time least favorite was Avril Lavigne's song "Complicated" that started off with the repeating line of "Life's like this....." Oh please Avril, grace us by imparting your divine wisdom O great sage..................stupid emo chick). However, please indulge me as I make this observation in all humility:

At least in my life, great moments sometimes seem to happen in these short beautiful moments, and before you realize it, they've passed you by. Those moments when everything is right with the world, when God seems to have come down into this place and touched you with a little glimpse of heaven. Those days when you just can't contain your joy and you just smile all day. Those days when even things that would usually drive you crazy (say for example.....off the top of my head......the Red Sox, Titans, and Cowboys losing all within 24 hours of each other) don't make the slightest impact into your mood. These moments are special, and I think it's important to soak them in, enjoy them for all their worth, and praise God for every second. Smile, laugh, and open your eyes to the beauty that's all around you.

Of course, I know that it is important to look at God's blessings and be thankful even when times are tough. That is definitely true. But I also think it's important that when times are really really good, that you take some time to really let it soak in. I think David says it best in these words of praise in Psalm 37:4-9

I sought the LORD, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.

Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

Taste and see that the LORD is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

Fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him lack nothing.

Times like these are really wonderful and I thank God for each and every moment. Plus, they make me dream of a time when moments like this will go on for all eternity, and that gives me even more joy. May we all look at our blessings and truly "Taste and see that the Lord is good."

Mid-Semester Review

So now that midterms will be done after tomorrow (once my dreaded Greek III final is done), the first half of this semester will officially be over. Sometimes it feels like I just got here and other times it feels like it's been years since I pulled up in my Altima and met the guys in Keller. Anyway, I figured it would be a good time to look back on what's happened.

Eight weeks ago I can honestly tell you that I wasn't crazy excited about coming back to Harding. I was coming off of one of the best summers of my life after a fantastic internship in Huntsville and a 3 week tour of fun in Kingsport. I was sure it would be a good semester and I'd have some fun, but there wasn't much waiting for me in Searcy. Little did I know then that in the next eight weeks a 38-year-old burnout preacher, a felon awaiting trial, a book by an ethics professor from Lipscomb, and some soccer with some kids in the "shady" part of town would turn my life completely upside-down.

Coleman had told me about meeting Jimmy over the summer and all the ministry plans they had. For those that don't know, Jimmy is a former preacher, who moved to Searcy a few years ago and is perhaps the most idealistic man I have ever met when it comes to spreading the love of Christ. I know that I'm not going to learn anything in any of my classes this semester that will come near to what I'm going to learn from Jimmy. It's really nice to have a good friendship with a real adult here (something that I never managed to get in my first two years in Searcy). I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen with Jimmy and Coleman's plans, and neither did they, but I knew I wanted to be a part of it. By the second week of school, a group of us had our first meeting talking about how we could get involved with the disenfranchised of Searcy. The next week, we had our first Wednesday Night "Bible Study" with the slogan of "No More Phase One!" (Phase one is the act of sitting around and TALKING about how important serving and being missional is, but without actually doing anything). The next week, we had already planned out how we were going to get involved in a neighborhood on Woodruff Street (if there's a "bad part of town" in Searcy, most residents would point to Woodruff Street). The next week we were playing soccer and football with the kids in the neighborhood and starting to build relationships, and we've been doing that every week since. Now we're planning on adding more time in the neighborhood and service projects on Sunday, and our plans are only going to get more and more exciting from this point on.

Another exciting aspect has been the opportunity to get involved in Jail Ministry again. Coleman and I got to start our "Batman and Robin of Jail Ministry" routine again. By our third week, we had a completely new batch of guys, who are by far the best group I have ever had in jail. These guys come excited every week, come up with harmonies for our old-school "I'll Fly Away" songs, get totally involved in our lessons, and will spend hours just talking to us afterwards about their lives and spiritual journeys. Their stories break your heart and then lift you up again. I couldn't have asked for a better experience.

Meanwhile, I have been going through a pretty significant worldview shift over the past few weeks. I've been having many long conversations with Jimmy, Coleman, Colby, Jon, Jesse, and many others about taking our faith in a more radical direction. The book we've been reading Mere Discipleship by Lee Camp and the conversations and ideas sprouting from that has added gasoline to this fire. Now, my dreams of comfortable suburbia have been replaced by dreams of communal living (possibly sooner than later) and minimalism. Mr priorities of girls, sports, sleep, X-BOX and my desires for my comfort are being pushed back. New ideas are continually coming and will probably continue to grow exponentially.

In past semesters, I would have mentioned a lot of other things first in a mid-semester review. I guess they don't seem as important. Classes are good, boring but good. My friends are good. I'm making new friends, and my older friendships with some are strengthening while some have lessened, but it's all good. All in all, things are going great! Exciting things are happening and exciting things are on the way. God has really blessed me this semester more than I could possibly imagine. It's only halftime, and hopefully this semester can be like the Cowboys and be really strong in the second half (I think the Cowboys have outscored their opponents by something like 989-3 in second halves this season). I'm excited by what God has in store. Let's go!

Mighty Men

Last night in Jail Ministry I gave a devo on David's Mighty Men from 2 Samuel 23. This is one of my favorite little sections in the Old Testament and it's one that gets skipped over a lot. The section just quickly summarizes the exploits of David's elite soldiers. Some of my favorites are Josheb-Basshebeth, who killed 800 men in one encounter with just a spear, Eleazar, who fought off Philistines till his hand froze to his sword, and Beniaiah, who armed with only a club took on a huge Egyptian who had a spear, and ended up killing the Egyptian with his own spear.


Basically I talked about how God was able to do mighty things through them and can also do amazing things through us (though hopefully less violent!). MIGHTY was the theme for last year's IMPACT and it's something that has stuck with me going into this year. Being a mighty man for God calls you to transcend the usual ho-hum and passive style of life and calls you into something greater. It was interesting, because after Jail Ministry, Coleman and I met Jimmy to hear out his plan for doing some cool service projects on Sundays. I was resistant at first because my Sundays are usually reserved for Church, food, football, napping, and more football. But doesn't following God call me to leave my usual comfortable way of living and call me into something greater?

There have been a lot of things causing me to challenge my normal way of living my daily life. Jimmy and Coleman have been challenging me a lot (especially my dream of living in a nice suburban house), Dr. Neller has challenged me to be a radical disciple in daily life, my sisters examples in China and Brazil have challenged me to truly live out your life in service to others, and the book I've been reading, Mere Discipleship by Lee Camp has challenged me go beyond my normal beliefs of Christianity and look at Jesus' call in a whole new way. All of these seem to be calling for me to leave my easy way of living and thinking into something greater.

Perhaps God is calling me, and all of us, into a relationship beyond the parameters of comfort and ease into a something that is perhaps.....MIGHTY?

I'm Getting Kind of Good At This School Thing

Due in about 6 hours is a monster assignment that I just got done. We had to read a 300 page detailed commentary on John and write a 3 page summary/critique of it. Going into today I had only read the first few chapters, so I knew I had to kick it into gear. But, I couldn't sleep last night, so I had to take a nap this afternoon. Then I had to watch the Red Sox complete their sweep of the Angels. Then I had to get some dinner. Then I had to watch the beginning of the Packers/Bears game before I went to Downtown's night service. After that I knew I had to start on this beast when Coleman texted me telling me to come over to Jimmy's. I figured I'd stop by, and we ended up talking about communal living, biblical theology, and movies till midnight. I got back and read what I could until about 1:00.

So there I sat, 1:00 in the morning with nothing written. But I was like Vince Young on this one and didn't flinch. I ate some Ramen noodles, had a Dr. Enuff, made a quick outline of what I was going to write (which actually helps out a whole lot) and went to work. An hour and a half later, not only did I have the 3 minimum pages......I had 5! And you know what? It's pretty darn good. I rocked out that paper! Of course, maybe I just think it's good because it's 3:00 in the morning. But, I really think I'm getting the hang of college. At least for now. We'll see when I start my seminar classes next year!

Anyways, I'm gonna take a 5 and half hour nap and then go print this thing off in the library at 8:30 before my 9:00 class. Hmmm......sounds like another nap is coming up tomorrow afternoon.

Minimalism

Lately, my friends and I have been talking about what it would look like to be a people not tied to earthly possessions. We've been talking about how we could be minimalists in the future and even now at college. My friend Coleman talks about being good stewards here. He's been making real changes, such as not buying Coke and other various things. I've been thinking about this a lot for my future and for right now.

Am I a minimalist? Not yet. I want to be, and I feel that there are ways that I try to live minimally. However, many of my minimalist ways are just forced on me because I'm a poor college student. If I had more funds, I would probably buy a lot more crap. So I started thinking, "If Jesus told me to sell all my possessions, what would I have trouble parting with?" I'll call these my big 6:

1. My Computer

2.My cell phone

3. My hats (My Red Sox hat is in my car, but I love it too)

4. My TV (not the XBOX 360, that's my roommate's)

5. My books/movies

6. The camera I took these pics with


There's probably some more that I can't think of. I should probably put my car down, but anyone who knows the history of me and my Nissan Altima, they probably wouldn't be surprised if I just sold it in a fit of rage.

Are these things bad in and of themselves? No. In fact, I use things such as my computer, cell phone, and car to coordinate ministry activities. I read Christian books. I wear my hats to identify with people (okay, that one's a stretch). Am I going to sell all these and give the money to the poor? Probably not (however, if Jesus actually told me to, then I hope that I would). Being a college student, there's not a lot that ties me down, and I'm really happy about that. My point is not that I'm hoping to get rid of ALL my worldly possessions. I guess really I just want to try not to add any more to that list (or at least maybe not much more). I know that as I get older and start to have more money, responsibilities, and possibly a family, the temptation and possibly the necessity to have more things are going to grow. So is very important that I start building a discipline for good stewardship now before those come. I still have a long way to go, and God may call more of me soon (he may even call me to give up some of the big 6 someday). But I know that God calls us to more than just having a good heart or attitude of detachment from our treasures in this world, he actually calls us to actually live that out. I hope that in the future and in the present I can do a better job of honoring God by what I "give" and "give up". It's time to really start pondering what it means to be one who places their treasures in heaven instead of in this world. May God give me wisdom and courage to find out!

Rocky Top Strikes Back!

After, two tough losses and pitiful displays from our defense all season, the Vols finally showed up this season. And boy did they show up! Eric Ainge was perfectly efficient, our receivers made plays, and Foster did fantastic. Most importantly, our defense finally showed their stuff and DOMINATED a strong Bulldog offense. UT completely obliterated the Bulldogs, taking a 28-0 lead into halftime and never looked back.

With Florida's losses to Auburn and LSU, the Vols actually control their own destiny in the SEC. If they can somehow win out, they can go all the way to the SEC Championship. Of course, in the the way are several tough opponents such as South Carolina, Arkansas, Alabama, and Kentucky, as well as teams that could possibly surprise us such as MSU and Vandy (how can anyone possibly think the PAC-10 is better than the SEC?). After our beating by Florida two weeks ago, I would have said that was next to impossible. But now, if we play the way we did today, anything's possible.

In 2001, UT won against Florida and were a game away from the National Championship, when they went to play LSU in the SEC Championship. Matt Mauck and the Tigers ended up upsetting us in a devastating game. My dream: sweet revenge as LSU could likely be in position to go to the National Championship, only we upset them in the SEC Championship. Haha! That would be perfect! Hey, a guy can dream, can't he?

2007 MLB Playoff Picks

I know I was supposed to do this before the playoffs started, but I didn't get a chance to. Anyways, I gotta go here soon, but I'll go through and throw out some picks.


Yankees vs Indians

This is a very intriguing match-up, and it's tough to pick. The Indians possibly have the best two pitchers in the playoffs this year. Sabathia and Carmona have been dominant this season. The Yankees meanwhile have Wang, a tired looking Pettite, Clemens (who hasn't pitched in 23 days), and some other terrible pitchers. The Yankees have a better offense, but the Indians have a spry underrated offense and they could possibly get a lot of runs across, especially against the Yanks starters.


However, this is the big x-factor. The Indians closer is Joe Borowski, who is horrible and has an ERA over 5. Do you really think he can handle the Yankees line-up in the pressure cooker situation of the playoffs? Meanwhile, the Yankees have the red hot Joba Chamberlain (which will be the single most annoying subplot of the playoffs as announcers ramble on and on about the Joba rules) and of course the Sandman, Mariano Rivera. I think the Yanks can steal one in Cleveland and then finish it out in New York.

My pick: Yanks in 4

Angels at Red Sox

A few weeks ago, as the Red Sox huge lead over the Yankees kept slipping away, I was more worried. Now, they're healthy, their pitchers seem to be getting back on form, Manny's back, J.D. Drew actually has a soul, and Big Papi is being Big Papi again. As Bill Simmons says in his playoff preview:

"In 2007, he stopped locking in. He looked tired. It looked like his knees were bothering him. Something wasn't right. Statistically, there wasn't a significant difference from 2004-06 except for the home run drop ... but something wasn't right. You could see it. Then he caught fire in mid-August, kept it going into September and morphed into the old Big Papi again. In the process, the Red Sox stopped resembling the team that broke out to a 36-16 start thanks to starting pitching, two great relievers and a solid offense; now they have decent starting pitching, one great reliever, three decent relievers and a much more dangerous offense. In other words, they look like the 2004 team, mostly because David Ortiz looks like the 2004 David Ortiz again. For the other seven playoff teams, this is a bad thing."

It seems like the Sox have been saving up the past few months to try and peak in the playoffs. I like they're starters, bullpen, lineup, and defense. As far as this series goes, the Sox have owned the Angels all year, and especially their ace John Lackey. The Angels have some spunk, and you never know what they are going to do. The Red Sox just look a lot better on paper though. However, in the playoffs, usually what's on paper is not what ends up happening. I mean, an awful looking Cardinals team came in and won the World Series last year. So, you never know what's going to happen.

My Pick: Red Sox in 4

Rockies vs. Phillies

The N.L is a lot harder to predict that the A.L. Part of this is because all the teams finished very strong, and partly because the players and teams are not nearly as well known. This is a really tough series to judge. Both teams came in really hot down the stretch, with the Rockies coming in really really hot , winning 14 out of 15. I think the Phils just have more talent on offense and better pitching in this one. Even though I just watched Colorado win Game 1, I think it may be a case of peaking too early. But who knows?

My Pick: Phillies in 5

Diamondbacks vs. Cubs

This could be a very weird series. Arizona is the first team since the 1906 White Sox to have to worst batting average and the best record in the league. I think their offense is pretty terrible. After Brandon Webb, their pitching is good, but not great.

On the other side, the Cubbies were only able to squeeze their way out of a terrible NL Central. They do have a pretty good offense (for NL standards) and good pitching. I don't know, I think this could come down to who wins the big game 1 pitching match-up of Zambrano and Webb. If Arizona can force it to a game 5, I might give them the edge, but I think I'm going to go with the Cubs.

My pick: Cubs in 4

ALCS

The Yankees scare the snot out of me against the Sox. They've owned us in August and September, winning 5 of the last 6. It almost seems like they've gotten back that edge over the Sox. Either way, it's going to be a gut-wrenchingly stressful series and Armageddon could happen because of this series. After the 2003/2004 series it's impossible to pick what's going to happen in these series, but since Big Papi is looking good again, I'll go ahead and say he makes a big hit in game 7 at Fenway to win the series.

My Pick: Sox in 7

NLCS

I think if the Cubs win a series and start gaining some steam, they could end up being really tough. With their crowd behind them, I think it will be very tough to win in Wrigley. The Red Sox and White Sox proved there's no such thing as curses anymore, so I'm going with the Cubs.

My pick: Cubs in 6

World Series

Cubs and Red Sox? Wait, how did that happen. But hey, no matter who's in the world series all the AL teams are a lot better than the NL teams (which I hate since I'm a big NL fan). Again, this was the case last year, and somehow the Cards got hot enough to fly through and win it all. However, this year I think the disparity is even bigger. I'm saying a big win for the Sox (come on, did you really think I would pick against my 2nd favorite team to win it all?)

My pick: Red Sox in 4

Thinking about the Future

With the sudden realization of "Oh snap! I'm going to be a real adult in 19 months!" suddenly coming upon me, I've been thinking about the future lately. In 19 months I'll be out in the real world and I'm going to have to get a real job, real housing, and start paying my real student loans. My little safe haven of Harding will be gone and I'll be out in the world beyond Searcy, Arkansas. Again I say to you, "Oh snap!"

Now, of course this is just an over-reaction. Obviously, I have plenty of time until May 2009. But this is the first time that this graduation date has come into the real foreseeable future. Of course, this is much too far away to make any sort of plans. It's too far away to even think what I want to be doing. A million things could come up between now and then and could change my direction entirely (not to mention the fact that Jesus could come back......I mean, literally anything could happen). I see in front of me hundreds of different opportunities that could possibly arise and hundreds of different directions that my life could take.

Still, with a combination of fun, excitement, and unbelievable fear, I still catch myself glimpsing about what could happen past that May 2009 date. Career wise, my options that seem the most viable to me as of now (key phrase: as of now) are either going to Grad school, getting a youth ministry job, or doing mission work. Other things could definitely pop up, but those are the ones I dream about the most. I would be happy with any of those options, though perhaps not really thrilled about the idea of Grad School so soon after under-grad.

Anyways, I bring this up to talk about a fun conversation my good friend Coleman and I had tonight. Coleman and I have been friends since early freshman year, and we've been ministry partners in various things, such as jail ministry, a Nicaragua mission trip, and our big plans for this year (that's for another blog). Anyways, we've always worked well together, and we kind of balance each other out. He's very realistic, pragmatic, and practical, while I can be idealistic, emotional, and unrealistically optimistic (sorry if there's too many "-ics" in there). Coleman has always dreamed of moving up north to a city like Seattle, be a history teacher, and starting a church plant. My dreams usually tended to be something like stay south around some place like Nashville, get a good youth ministry job, and shack up there. So, I guess we always figured our ministry partnership would be over after college. However, today we finally had the conversation of, "What if we could still work together in some way using some combination of those dreams?" We have no idea how this would take place and in what form it could take, but it was fun coming up with possible hypothetical situations of how we could minister to any number of cities (we came up with tons: Seattle, Portland, St. Paul, San Francisco). It's all just guesses and it's all totally hypothetical, but it's fun and exciting to think of what God could do through us. The chances of any of this happening is probably very low and it would probably be tough to find a situation where both of us could be in the same city. But hey, it's fun to dream, and you never know what God is going to do.
I sometimes get so frustrated when people tell me that "College is the best time of your life." I mean, I love college and I'm going to soak everything out of it and enjoy it as much as I can while I'm here. But, I'm also really excited about what God has planned for me next. I believe and I hope that there are many amazing things to come. It's scary, but bring it on. Future, let's see what you have in store.