Brandon C. Jones's Blog, page 3
October 6, 2016
The Book of Romans – What You Need to Know
What? The Book of Romans is actually a letter with an author, recipient, secretary, and courier.
Who? The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Rome who were likely meeting in several house churches at the time.
Where? Paul likely wrote this letter toward the end of his third missionary journey during a three-month stay in Corinth, which is in modern-day Greece, before leaving there to go to Jerusalem. He was planning to deliver a collection of relief aid to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that he took up from several Gentile churches in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
When? We do not have an exact date, but somewhere around AD 57 makes good sense. This places Paul in Corinth toward the end of his third missionary journey and allows for Jewish Christians who were expelled from Rome by Caesar Claudius to return after his death in AD 54.
Why? After delivering his collection to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, Paul wanted to head west to plant churches in Spain and other parts of the Western Mediterranean region, perhaps using Rome as his home base. His current home base of Antioch, which is in modern-day Syria, would have been too far away. Paul hadn’t started any churches in the Western Mediterranean region, so Rome figured to be a strategic church to partner with him. The overarching theme of the letter is a defense of the gospel Paul preaches, so in some ways his letter is a reassurance that were the church in Rome to partner with him he believes the same things about the gospel as they do.
One other theme in the letter is the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Jewish Christians probably began the church in Rome and were its early leaders. However, after Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome Gentile Christians would have had to lead the church in their place. After Claudius died the expulsion expired and Jewish Christians were coming back to Rome. There were now some issues within the church about how the two groups would get along. If you are familiar with Acts and Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, then you know this was a volatile issue for many first-century churches. In response, Paul’s letter focuses on the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians, noting their similarities and differences, but most of all their unity in Christ.
Who? The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Rome who were likely meeting in several house churches at the time.
Where? Paul likely wrote this letter toward the end of his third missionary journey during a three-month stay in Corinth, which is in modern-day Greece, before leaving there to go to Jerusalem. He was planning to deliver a collection of relief aid to Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that he took up from several Gentile churches in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
When? We do not have an exact date, but somewhere around AD 57 makes good sense. This places Paul in Corinth toward the end of his third missionary journey and allows for Jewish Christians who were expelled from Rome by Caesar Claudius to return after his death in AD 54.
Why? After delivering his collection to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, Paul wanted to head west to plant churches in Spain and other parts of the Western Mediterranean region, perhaps using Rome as his home base. His current home base of Antioch, which is in modern-day Syria, would have been too far away. Paul hadn’t started any churches in the Western Mediterranean region, so Rome figured to be a strategic church to partner with him. The overarching theme of the letter is a defense of the gospel Paul preaches, so in some ways his letter is a reassurance that were the church in Rome to partner with him he believes the same things about the gospel as they do.
One other theme in the letter is the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians. Jewish Christians probably began the church in Rome and were its early leaders. However, after Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome Gentile Christians would have had to lead the church in their place. After Claudius died the expulsion expired and Jewish Christians were coming back to Rome. There were now some issues within the church about how the two groups would get along. If you are familiar with Acts and Paul’s letter to the Galatian churches, then you know this was a volatile issue for many first-century churches. In response, Paul’s letter focuses on the relationship between Jewish and Gentile Christians, noting their similarities and differences, but most of all their unity in Christ.
September 29, 2016
Ten Things You Need to Know about Paul*
1. Paul was born less than ten years after Jesus
We don’t know the exact date or even year, but we can narrow down Paul’s birth to the first decade of the first century. His generation was among those who grew up the same time as Jesus did and were the first to encounter Jesus’ followers, who were known back then as “the way.”
2. Paul was Jewish
Paul was born to Jewish parents of the tribe of Benjamin, whose family had in generations past relocated from Galilee to Tarsus, a Roman colony on the southern coast of what is now Turkey. Paul was part of his three-part Roman name. His Jewish name was Saul, in honor of his tribe’s most famous member, Israel’s first king.
3. Paul was a Roman citizen
The family business was leather-working, and some time before Paul was born his forefathers gained Roman citizenship, which was rare for people living far from Rome and even rarer for Jews. We don’t know exactly how or when Paul’s family obtained both their city and Imperial citizenship, but once they did it was a valuable thing to pass down to their children. Paul utilizes his rights as a Roman citizen a few times when facing legal issues within the Empire, including his appeals to have a hearing before Caesar.
4. Paul was highly educated
Paul’s writings and speeches reflect someone who was familiar with a wide body of literature and philosophical thought, making it likely that he was rhetorically trained in his home city. He also sought biblical training in Jerusalem as part of an established rabbinical school.
5. Paul persecuted the early church
Readers of the book of Acts are first introduced to Paul at the death of the church’s first martyr, Stephen. Those responsible for stoning Stephen reported to Saul/Paul. Paul focused his efforts on persecuting Greek-speaking Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, sometimes chasing Christian refugees out of Jerusalem and even out of Judea. It was on such a persecuting trip north to the Syrian city of Damascus where everything changed for Paul in an instant.
6. Paul converted to Christianity
Paul shares his conversion story three times in the book of Acts. He had official papers from the Jewish High Priest to persecute known Christians who fled Jerusalem north for Damascus. He and his traveling party were almost to their destination when a light from heaven flashed around them, startling their horses and causing Paul to drop to the ground. He then heard a voice that said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked the voice who it was and the voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up, and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Paul got up and went to the city, temporarily blinded by the bright light, fasting for three days as he processed what just happened.
Meanwhile in Damascus, God prompted a Christian there named Ananias to go to Paul, welcome him, and baptize him.
7. God Commissioned Paul as an Apostle to the Gentiles
When God spoke to Ananias he revealed his plans for Paul. Paul would be a special servant to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, even appearing before kings on God’s behalf. He also says that Paul will suffer much for God’s name.
8. Paul was himself persecuted
Ananias and others had difficulty trusting Paul’s conversion, and likewise Paul’s former crew that persecuted Christians were greatly enraged at his change of heart. Wherever Paul went in Jesus’ name as a missionary, trouble often followed. In one of his letters Paul recounts the amount of times he was whipped, beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and shipwrecked.
9. Paul wrote about one-fourth of our New Testament
Paul’s letters include Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
Some people think he might have written the book of Hebrews, but there are good reasons to think this unlikely, including the fact that Paul identifies himself in each of his letters. Go ahead and look it up. Literally, the first word in each of Paul’s letters is. . .“Paul.”
Some scholars question whether Paul really wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, but their reasoning for thinking that includes arguments about vocabulary, as if your personal letters obviously must include the same set of words as the letters you would write to an entire church.
10. Paul died at the hands of the Roman state
The book of Acts concludes with Paul in prison in Rome awaiting his hearing before Nero, the Caesar at the time. Other sources piece together that Paul was likely released from that imprisonment but less than three years later imprisoned again in Rome, awaiting a hearing before the same Caesar. This second time, however, Nero had already begun a campaign against Christians and likely had Paul executed as part of it. Ancient historians place Paul’s beheading by sword around AD 65 near the Tiber River just a few miles south of ancient Rome’s walls.
*This list was produced with the help of F. F. Bruce’s “Paul in Acts and Letters” in the IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.
We don’t know the exact date or even year, but we can narrow down Paul’s birth to the first decade of the first century. His generation was among those who grew up the same time as Jesus did and were the first to encounter Jesus’ followers, who were known back then as “the way.”
2. Paul was Jewish
Paul was born to Jewish parents of the tribe of Benjamin, whose family had in generations past relocated from Galilee to Tarsus, a Roman colony on the southern coast of what is now Turkey. Paul was part of his three-part Roman name. His Jewish name was Saul, in honor of his tribe’s most famous member, Israel’s first king.
3. Paul was a Roman citizen
The family business was leather-working, and some time before Paul was born his forefathers gained Roman citizenship, which was rare for people living far from Rome and even rarer for Jews. We don’t know exactly how or when Paul’s family obtained both their city and Imperial citizenship, but once they did it was a valuable thing to pass down to their children. Paul utilizes his rights as a Roman citizen a few times when facing legal issues within the Empire, including his appeals to have a hearing before Caesar.
4. Paul was highly educated
Paul’s writings and speeches reflect someone who was familiar with a wide body of literature and philosophical thought, making it likely that he was rhetorically trained in his home city. He also sought biblical training in Jerusalem as part of an established rabbinical school.
5. Paul persecuted the early church
Readers of the book of Acts are first introduced to Paul at the death of the church’s first martyr, Stephen. Those responsible for stoning Stephen reported to Saul/Paul. Paul focused his efforts on persecuting Greek-speaking Jewish Christians in Jerusalem, sometimes chasing Christian refugees out of Jerusalem and even out of Judea. It was on such a persecuting trip north to the Syrian city of Damascus where everything changed for Paul in an instant.
6. Paul converted to Christianity
Paul shares his conversion story three times in the book of Acts. He had official papers from the Jewish High Priest to persecute known Christians who fled Jerusalem north for Damascus. He and his traveling party were almost to their destination when a light from heaven flashed around them, startling their horses and causing Paul to drop to the ground. He then heard a voice that said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked the voice who it was and the voice replied, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up, and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” Paul got up and went to the city, temporarily blinded by the bright light, fasting for three days as he processed what just happened.
Meanwhile in Damascus, God prompted a Christian there named Ananias to go to Paul, welcome him, and baptize him.
7. God Commissioned Paul as an Apostle to the Gentiles
When God spoke to Ananias he revealed his plans for Paul. Paul would be a special servant to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, even appearing before kings on God’s behalf. He also says that Paul will suffer much for God’s name.
8. Paul was himself persecuted
Ananias and others had difficulty trusting Paul’s conversion, and likewise Paul’s former crew that persecuted Christians were greatly enraged at his change of heart. Wherever Paul went in Jesus’ name as a missionary, trouble often followed. In one of his letters Paul recounts the amount of times he was whipped, beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and shipwrecked.
9. Paul wrote about one-fourth of our New Testament
Paul’s letters include Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
Some people think he might have written the book of Hebrews, but there are good reasons to think this unlikely, including the fact that Paul identifies himself in each of his letters. Go ahead and look it up. Literally, the first word in each of Paul’s letters is. . .“Paul.”
Some scholars question whether Paul really wrote 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, but their reasoning for thinking that includes arguments about vocabulary, as if your personal letters obviously must include the same set of words as the letters you would write to an entire church.
10. Paul died at the hands of the Roman state
The book of Acts concludes with Paul in prison in Rome awaiting his hearing before Nero, the Caesar at the time. Other sources piece together that Paul was likely released from that imprisonment but less than three years later imprisoned again in Rome, awaiting a hearing before the same Caesar. This second time, however, Nero had already begun a campaign against Christians and likely had Paul executed as part of it. Ancient historians place Paul’s beheading by sword around AD 65 near the Tiber River just a few miles south of ancient Rome’s walls.
*This list was produced with the help of F. F. Bruce’s “Paul in Acts and Letters” in the IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters.
August 30, 2016
My Favorite Prayer
“Thank you dear God for Ryan, and I hope he continues to grow and get big and strong. Thank you also for Erica. May the doctors find out what’s wrong with her, and may she be able to do well as she travels a lot and has to be in different places.”
My oldest daughter Monica just started fourth grade. She has yellow hair, despises American cheese, is learning how to play the guitar, and goes crazy if we suggest she thinks one of the boys in her class is cute.
A lot of people think she is shy and quiet, which she is among strangers and crowds, but at home she talks a lot. She can tell long stories with unnecessary details that bog things down so much it’s easy to forget the main point of her story.
While her long stories are sometimes boring, her nightly prayers never are. She prays to God in the same way she would talk to anyone else. She mentioned last week to God that grown-ups like school, but kids don’t always, but it’s important they don’t grow up and be stupid, so thanks for school too.
While different things come and go in her prayers, she prays for Ryan and Erica every night.
Ryan is a boy who lives in the Philippines. We’ve sponsored his family for over a year through Compassion International. We pray for him after our family devotion times and exchange translated letters every few months about life. Our devotional prayers have a new thing to pray about for Ryan every day of the month, and Monica often builds on them by mentioning his physical health, family support, or faith in Christ, depending on the night. Although we’ve never met Ryan and his family in person, they are part of our hearts.
Erica, which isn’t her real name, has been with us most of the last two months. She is a foster baby with a cute smile and hilarious belly laugh. She has a lot of appointments that make life for her difficult, on top of living in different homes in her short life. Monica sees that, as all of our kids help care for foster children in their own way, and one of my favorite ways is through her prayers.
People often say they could never be foster families because it is too hard to love people and let them go. I don’t say this out loud, but I think to myself, “yes, it’s extremely hard for us too.” Likewise, people don’t invest in charities because, while they like to think of themselves as generous people, a monthly commitment just seems too much in light of the bills to pay and wants to finance. Sure, some months I wouldn’t mind having more money in my account either, but I never really miss what we send to Ryan’s family, certainly not as much as they would.
The great London preacher John Stott once remarked about a vacation he had in the English countryside. He happened upon a village church service one Sunday and heard prayers to God for a handful of that village church’s needs, ranging from someone’s vacation to another person’s minor illness, but there were prayers for nothing else. Stott remarked that the village church had limited itself to a village God, unaware both of the bigness of the world and its creator.
It’s easy for families and churches to be so focused on ourselves we become oblivious to the world around us and what God’s doing outside our homes. Someone shared with me just this week how they felt our church wasn’t doing enough for its own members while we cared for others, which was bittersweet to hear. The bitter part was that it was too bad a member felt this way, and I’d be the first to admit there’s more we could do to obey our command to care for the widows and widowers entrusted to us as a flock, but the sweet part was that at least our message of being outwardly focused as a church is getting through.
Being a member is not about benefits, but service. Worship is not about receiving, but giving. Proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom is not about just our family, but the world at large. The focus goes beyond ourselves, because God goes beyond himself by loving the world and sending us his Son Jesus Christ.
When our family extends outside of ourselves as we have with Ryan and Erica I find more love, more joy, but also more heartache and even tension sometimes. But what better way for a child growing up to learn how to pray to something more than a village God.
And as I listen each night holding her little hand I learn something too.
My oldest daughter Monica just started fourth grade. She has yellow hair, despises American cheese, is learning how to play the guitar, and goes crazy if we suggest she thinks one of the boys in her class is cute.
A lot of people think she is shy and quiet, which she is among strangers and crowds, but at home she talks a lot. She can tell long stories with unnecessary details that bog things down so much it’s easy to forget the main point of her story.
While her long stories are sometimes boring, her nightly prayers never are. She prays to God in the same way she would talk to anyone else. She mentioned last week to God that grown-ups like school, but kids don’t always, but it’s important they don’t grow up and be stupid, so thanks for school too.
While different things come and go in her prayers, she prays for Ryan and Erica every night.
Ryan is a boy who lives in the Philippines. We’ve sponsored his family for over a year through Compassion International. We pray for him after our family devotion times and exchange translated letters every few months about life. Our devotional prayers have a new thing to pray about for Ryan every day of the month, and Monica often builds on them by mentioning his physical health, family support, or faith in Christ, depending on the night. Although we’ve never met Ryan and his family in person, they are part of our hearts.
Erica, which isn’t her real name, has been with us most of the last two months. She is a foster baby with a cute smile and hilarious belly laugh. She has a lot of appointments that make life for her difficult, on top of living in different homes in her short life. Monica sees that, as all of our kids help care for foster children in their own way, and one of my favorite ways is through her prayers.
People often say they could never be foster families because it is too hard to love people and let them go. I don’t say this out loud, but I think to myself, “yes, it’s extremely hard for us too.” Likewise, people don’t invest in charities because, while they like to think of themselves as generous people, a monthly commitment just seems too much in light of the bills to pay and wants to finance. Sure, some months I wouldn’t mind having more money in my account either, but I never really miss what we send to Ryan’s family, certainly not as much as they would.
The great London preacher John Stott once remarked about a vacation he had in the English countryside. He happened upon a village church service one Sunday and heard prayers to God for a handful of that village church’s needs, ranging from someone’s vacation to another person’s minor illness, but there were prayers for nothing else. Stott remarked that the village church had limited itself to a village God, unaware both of the bigness of the world and its creator.
It’s easy for families and churches to be so focused on ourselves we become oblivious to the world around us and what God’s doing outside our homes. Someone shared with me just this week how they felt our church wasn’t doing enough for its own members while we cared for others, which was bittersweet to hear. The bitter part was that it was too bad a member felt this way, and I’d be the first to admit there’s more we could do to obey our command to care for the widows and widowers entrusted to us as a flock, but the sweet part was that at least our message of being outwardly focused as a church is getting through.
Being a member is not about benefits, but service. Worship is not about receiving, but giving. Proclaiming the good news of God's kingdom is not about just our family, but the world at large. The focus goes beyond ourselves, because God goes beyond himself by loving the world and sending us his Son Jesus Christ.
When our family extends outside of ourselves as we have with Ryan and Erica I find more love, more joy, but also more heartache and even tension sometimes. But what better way for a child growing up to learn how to pray to something more than a village God.
And as I listen each night holding her little hand I learn something too.
August 10, 2016
Ready for the Storm
The walls vibrated as the skies lit like a rock concert. The trees angle this way and that, sometimes losing a branch or two. Items fly across the ground; sometimes it’s hard to pick out what they are. And then the power goes off.
We scurried around to secure flashlights and candles, “where are they, again?” An old kerosene lamp from my childhood home was brought up from storage. It worked fine right away. Old technology always does.
I poured a drink. It was quiet. I never realized how much noise electric things create at all times until they are turned off for a while. I looked out the window at the light and wind show.
Safe.
I was ready for the storm.
I never finished that drink. There were neighbors scurrying about outside. A pipeline for oil is coming through our area, bringing dozens of workers for the summer. Some of them stay in motels, but many have campers to sleep in. And campers are hardly ready for a storm.
A wind gust blew and rolled a few of them. One shed at the campground rooted up completely. They grabbed children and pets and got out, seeking shelter. There was no time to wait for putting on the right clothes or getting the right supplies. Who knows when the next camper will roll off the ground?
In older times church buildings provided shelter. Their doors would remain unlocked for prayer, asylum, and safety. It just so happened that our doors were unlocked on the night of the storm, and the people knew to come to us. We’d already told them we’re here for them and praying for their safety.
I grabbed a flashlight. My wife grabbed pillows and blankets. I found some candles that were once used in worship, but long forgotten in a cupboard. They were ready to be used in worship once more, flickering brightly after a few failed attempts to light them.
Although it was safe and somewhat quiet, people were nervous. Friends were headed to the hospital. Property was quite damaged. Other people were not accounted for just yet. And another wave was coming, full of rain, wind gusts, and possibly hail.
But this time we were all ready in God’s house. I prayed.
Tomorrow came, and things must be put back together that were broken. I thought of heaven, hell, and the life ever after. How many of God’s people are content with their drinks, candles, and quiet, not caring that their neighbors are about to be blown away?
You don’t have to run away from God to be like Jonah. Sometimes all it takes is sitting in your dining room, only caring about yourself and your family.
We scurried around to secure flashlights and candles, “where are they, again?” An old kerosene lamp from my childhood home was brought up from storage. It worked fine right away. Old technology always does.
I poured a drink. It was quiet. I never realized how much noise electric things create at all times until they are turned off for a while. I looked out the window at the light and wind show.
Safe.
I was ready for the storm.
I never finished that drink. There were neighbors scurrying about outside. A pipeline for oil is coming through our area, bringing dozens of workers for the summer. Some of them stay in motels, but many have campers to sleep in. And campers are hardly ready for a storm.
A wind gust blew and rolled a few of them. One shed at the campground rooted up completely. They grabbed children and pets and got out, seeking shelter. There was no time to wait for putting on the right clothes or getting the right supplies. Who knows when the next camper will roll off the ground?
In older times church buildings provided shelter. Their doors would remain unlocked for prayer, asylum, and safety. It just so happened that our doors were unlocked on the night of the storm, and the people knew to come to us. We’d already told them we’re here for them and praying for their safety.
I grabbed a flashlight. My wife grabbed pillows and blankets. I found some candles that were once used in worship, but long forgotten in a cupboard. They were ready to be used in worship once more, flickering brightly after a few failed attempts to light them.
Although it was safe and somewhat quiet, people were nervous. Friends were headed to the hospital. Property was quite damaged. Other people were not accounted for just yet. And another wave was coming, full of rain, wind gusts, and possibly hail.
But this time we were all ready in God’s house. I prayed.
Tomorrow came, and things must be put back together that were broken. I thought of heaven, hell, and the life ever after. How many of God’s people are content with their drinks, candles, and quiet, not caring that their neighbors are about to be blown away?
You don’t have to run away from God to be like Jonah. Sometimes all it takes is sitting in your dining room, only caring about yourself and your family.
July 21, 2016
Pornography of the Mouth: Gossip As a Way of Life
“What do you think makes the English the way they are?”“Opinions differ, some say our history, but I blame the weather” – Rosamund Painswick to her mother, Violet Crawley, from Downtown Abbey
When I moved to the Dakotas I encountered a brand new culture. The people here were unlike any I had encountered. During my first several months I often asked myself the question, What makes Dakotans the way they are?
History and weather are certainly factors. Most families came here from Germany, via Russia, and their stories lie several generations deep. People can be held unfairly accountable for something a grandparent did decades ago. As for the weather, it gets too hot in the summer and much too cold in the winter. The wind is relentless. It stings your eyelids in January and fills your teeth with dirt in June. I’ve heard not a few people say that the weather keeps the riff raff out.
While everyone talks about the weather, and many people have sharp memories of our community’s shared history, no one ever talks about a large factor that makes us who we are—Gossip.
I once worked for a mortgage servicer in a cramped attic of an old house in midtown Kansas City, surrounded every day by thoroughly unhappy people. We were debt collectors, which is depressing in its own right. But my coworkers were unhappy about everything: their jobs, their friends, their bodies, and especially their spouses. The one bright spot was their Dads who were such saints walking among us that the average husband could only dream of shining these Dads' shoes with their own tears of unworthiness. As office work got done in the background the gossip continued as people piled on with story after story about the latest let down and betrayal.
Once five o’clock struck we’d disperse, never to see each other again until the next workday. In a city of two million it was unlikely any of us would ever meet in real life the subjects of the office gossip. They’d become an afterthought to me the second I left the cramped attic and returned to my real life. The large city with its traffic, concerts, and sporting events moved on without a beat, despite the gossip from our little--cramped--corner of the world.
Not so in small towns. The people gossiped about every hour of every workday in every workplace here are our neighbors, family members, so-called friends, teammates, children’s teachers, bus drivers, church members, grocery clerks, bank tellers, mail carriers, clinic nurses, auto mechanics, and so on. The gossip has nowhere to go but deep within our hearts, where it poisons how we view everyone else we meet.
It’s difficult to get a greedy person to wake up to their greed, because greed isn’t a one-time decision where you splurge on a glorified golf cart that will sit in your shed eight months out of the year, despite costing as much as the average family mini-van. No, greed is a way of life. It’s waking up each morning fixated on acquiring more. It’s not sleeping at night, worried about losses. It’s viewing the world as a means to your end of gain. It's coming up easily with numerous reasons to keep more of what you have for yourself on top of listing even more reasons not to be generous with someone else in need.
Gossip is no different. One theologian calls it pornography of the mouth because you get a cheap thrill at someone else’s expense with zero commitment to them. Only, in small towns, that thrill is quite costly. Everyone poisons every relationship to the point that there is no community or trust. There are just people looking to pile on the latest scoop, the whole time knowing that as soon as they aren’t around the gossip will be about them.
No one is safe.
No one is happy.
It isn’t the weather or the history.
It’s sin.
As Christians we are warned about gossip. James says, “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another” (4:11). In case you forgot, slander is spreading rumors and lies about someone else. James follows this up by saying that whenever we slander we are breaking all of God’s law.
Likewise, Paul speaks even more harshly about gossip when he writes: “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32, emphasis mine).
A gossiper is captured by a depraved mind, and although a gossiper knows that God hates gossip, gossipers gossip anyways and approve and encourage fellow gossipers. What a vicious cycle.
I joke that I’ve never been around a community of busier people than where I live now. Only, whenever I visit workplaces people aren’t that busy at all. They certainly aren’t too busy for gossip. I remember sitting at a workplace in our county waiting for a meeting to end. I sat just out of sight of all the employees. Their gossip was relentless. It never ended. As soon as one subject was exhausted a new one came up in its place without even time for a breath. Like a weed, you have to kill gossip at its root to get lasting results.
One way to kill gossip at its root is to replace it with positive speech. Paul says, “Don’t let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:29-30).
What would it look like for our gatherings to be centered on building others up with our speech instead of tearing them down? Confess, repent, and ask God for help. His Spirit is within you to spur you on to love and good works. He’s got this. Let yesterday be your last day as a gossiper.
When I moved to the Dakotas I encountered a brand new culture. The people here were unlike any I had encountered. During my first several months I often asked myself the question, What makes Dakotans the way they are?
History and weather are certainly factors. Most families came here from Germany, via Russia, and their stories lie several generations deep. People can be held unfairly accountable for something a grandparent did decades ago. As for the weather, it gets too hot in the summer and much too cold in the winter. The wind is relentless. It stings your eyelids in January and fills your teeth with dirt in June. I’ve heard not a few people say that the weather keeps the riff raff out.
While everyone talks about the weather, and many people have sharp memories of our community’s shared history, no one ever talks about a large factor that makes us who we are—Gossip.
I once worked for a mortgage servicer in a cramped attic of an old house in midtown Kansas City, surrounded every day by thoroughly unhappy people. We were debt collectors, which is depressing in its own right. But my coworkers were unhappy about everything: their jobs, their friends, their bodies, and especially their spouses. The one bright spot was their Dads who were such saints walking among us that the average husband could only dream of shining these Dads' shoes with their own tears of unworthiness. As office work got done in the background the gossip continued as people piled on with story after story about the latest let down and betrayal.
Once five o’clock struck we’d disperse, never to see each other again until the next workday. In a city of two million it was unlikely any of us would ever meet in real life the subjects of the office gossip. They’d become an afterthought to me the second I left the cramped attic and returned to my real life. The large city with its traffic, concerts, and sporting events moved on without a beat, despite the gossip from our little--cramped--corner of the world.
Not so in small towns. The people gossiped about every hour of every workday in every workplace here are our neighbors, family members, so-called friends, teammates, children’s teachers, bus drivers, church members, grocery clerks, bank tellers, mail carriers, clinic nurses, auto mechanics, and so on. The gossip has nowhere to go but deep within our hearts, where it poisons how we view everyone else we meet.
It’s difficult to get a greedy person to wake up to their greed, because greed isn’t a one-time decision where you splurge on a glorified golf cart that will sit in your shed eight months out of the year, despite costing as much as the average family mini-van. No, greed is a way of life. It’s waking up each morning fixated on acquiring more. It’s not sleeping at night, worried about losses. It’s viewing the world as a means to your end of gain. It's coming up easily with numerous reasons to keep more of what you have for yourself on top of listing even more reasons not to be generous with someone else in need.
Gossip is no different. One theologian calls it pornography of the mouth because you get a cheap thrill at someone else’s expense with zero commitment to them. Only, in small towns, that thrill is quite costly. Everyone poisons every relationship to the point that there is no community or trust. There are just people looking to pile on the latest scoop, the whole time knowing that as soon as they aren’t around the gossip will be about them.
No one is safe.
No one is happy.
It isn’t the weather or the history.
It’s sin.
As Christians we are warned about gossip. James says, “Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another” (4:11). In case you forgot, slander is spreading rumors and lies about someone else. James follows this up by saying that whenever we slander we are breaking all of God’s law.
Likewise, Paul speaks even more harshly about gossip when he writes: “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. They invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:28-32, emphasis mine).
A gossiper is captured by a depraved mind, and although a gossiper knows that God hates gossip, gossipers gossip anyways and approve and encourage fellow gossipers. What a vicious cycle.
I joke that I’ve never been around a community of busier people than where I live now. Only, whenever I visit workplaces people aren’t that busy at all. They certainly aren’t too busy for gossip. I remember sitting at a workplace in our county waiting for a meeting to end. I sat just out of sight of all the employees. Their gossip was relentless. It never ended. As soon as one subject was exhausted a new one came up in its place without even time for a breath. Like a weed, you have to kill gossip at its root to get lasting results.
One way to kill gossip at its root is to replace it with positive speech. Paul says, “Don’t let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:29-30).
What would it look like for our gatherings to be centered on building others up with our speech instead of tearing them down? Confess, repent, and ask God for help. His Spirit is within you to spur you on to love and good works. He’s got this. Let yesterday be your last day as a gossiper.
June 3, 2016
The Wonder Years: Why I'm Glad I Have Kids
“Enjoy your time without kids,” she said.
And I do, for an evening out or a weekend getaway. But that’s about it. Anything longer, and I miss my children dearly. Our family invests in making memories more than in buying stuff, and kids make our investment all the richer. Usually.
When our kids were still in diapers and they weren’t sleeping through the night, memory-making was risky. My only time in Boston was cut short because I had an infant who couldn’t brave the November winds outside. And who could blame her? Although I would’ve loved to visit Paul Revere’s house and the USS Constitution, duty called. I drove by Fenway Park on the highway and said to myself I’d be back some day.
Our kids are all school-age now. When we go to parks they climb, hike, and freak me out. They push me to get over my fear of heights. They prod me to try to be healthy, so I have energy to enjoy living with them. We play ball. We run. We explore. And just about anything worth doing, is worth doing with them. They even think I’m a great pitcher. At home they share with us books, movies, and games. During family devotions they think through the Scriptures and our heritage as God’s people, full of insightful questions and observations. Their prayers are beautiful yearnings of a heart full of wonder.
God has planted wonder within our souls, and children know this better than the rest of us. They point my head up to the stars, when our culture keeps wanting to force it back down. The height of modern man was once reproduction, as evidenced by the industrial revolution. Thanks to the sexual revolution the height (or depth) of postmodern man is consumption. Increasingly, kids aren’t part of the picture of the decadent “good life” our culture preaches as it tells people to look within for identity, meaning, and salvation.
Charles Taylor says we inhabit a disenchanted age. We think we know how everything works, as if we’re bound to repeat the 18thcentury here in the west. But we don’t really know how anything works. We seem to know as much about our digestive systems as we do the ocean floors. And don’t get me started on space.
The greatest joy in parenting is the gracious daily bundle of sharing wisdom, wonder, and worship with little pieces of you that grow into unexpected amazings. And you get to grow with them humbly day by day.
No one comes out of parenting the same. There’s a weightiness to it that pries open your heart while keeping you grounded in responsibility. The rewards far outweigh the costs. People who say out loud they don’t want kids or are glad they never had kids are at least honest about considering the cost. Parenting will change you, and change often shows up to a costume party looking like loss. I’m happy to have lost the early-twenties me when I did.
My 20th high school reunion is coming up this month, and once again I’ll be absent. I barely know those people anyways. Besides, my career means little to the world. I’ve no fancy clothes to wear or braggy stories to share. My legacy is my children. And I can’t wait for them to become teenagers and then adults.
When I found out my wife was pregnant six weeks into our marriage I sought out the one friend who knew what I was going through. He also married in hasty fashion, and he became a father much sooner than he thought he would. We went out to a favorite cave in our college town, smoked a cigar, and quietly processed these strange new chapters of our lives. Fewer games. Fewer concerts. More pointless jobs. More responsibility.
He now has five kids, and I have three. When his kids were little—his youngest two are twins—and they’d be out shopping as a family of seven, strangers would ask inane questions such as, “Are all these yours?”, among other unpleasantries. Eventually, their Mom would come to say, “You bet they are. And you should be thankful there are five of them. They are wonderful. And I can’t wait to see how they will contribute to this world.”
And so I’ll miss my kids while I’m away from them for two weeks this month. I’ll still enjoy my time. But were my kids coming with me, I would’ve enjoyed it more.
That’s not only true for a two-week trip. That’s true for a lifetime.
March 17, 2016
Don’t be so heavenly minded you’re no earthly good…and other lies: Reflecting on Colossians 3
There’s a famous scene in all four Gospels where Jesus is alone praying. His disciples were getting anxious, so they approached him and warned their master that he might be getting so heavenly minded that he’d be no earthly good. He replied to them, “Verily, verily I say unto you, you are right. Thanks for the warning.” And then he stopped praying, so he could attend to what everyone else said was the most pressing need of that morning.
Wait a minute. That’s not in any of the Gospels, so why does the saying, “don’t become so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good”—a saying that cuts across the grain of Jesus’ teachings, behavior, and what the early church preached in the New Testament—get passed around churches as gospel truth? Because it tells us what we want to hear. We get to keep our lives instead of lose it. We get to remain alive to our old habits, old friends, old worries, old hopes, and old sins. We’ve sunk so much cost into them that we struggle letting go.
The author of Hebrews shares Jesus’ heavenly-mindedness as the very reason he could endure the pain, shame, and mockery of the cross. Jesus was thinking of the joy set before him of bringing many brothers and sisters into glory. Few people want to give up their earthly lives so easily in exchange for heaven, which is why we are commanded to be heavenly minded like our Savior was.
Paul writes:“Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” – Colossians 3:1-5.
The heart of Paul’s command is we each have died and been raised again in Christ. Our new life in Christ can’t be the same as our old life without him, so what does it look like to put to death our old life? Consider these four realms:
Identity
Sin has so corrupted our world and each human to the point where we no longer accept our identity as creatures made in God’s image. Instead, we turn to our culture, upbringing, means of finding pleasure, accolades, mistakes, children, jobs, entertainment, and hobbies to tell us who we really are.
None of these things could change our true identity, anymore than telling my cat to consider himself the King of Burma would stop him from pooping in the litter box in the basement of our house in South Dakota. We are what we were created to be, and we were created for much more than the crookedness sin has given us. In order to live our new life united with Christ, we have to let go of whatever old identity we gave ourselves, or let others label on us, and see ourselves as precious creatures made in God's image and in the process of being conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Citizenship
Many citizens find meaning and value in their group. They have shared history, shared geography, shared culture, and find privileges and responsibilities for carrying their communities forward. We proudly want to be on what everyone tells us will be the right side of history. We yearn to be part of something greater than ourselves, and our citizenship will offer several means of accomplishing that.
In order to be citizens of heaven as members of Christ’s body, the church, here on earth, we will have to take hold of a different community. The church’s and Israel’s history is our history. The scattered people of Christ across the globe are our people. The privileges and responsibilities of worship, discipleship, and proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom are our civic duties, more than anything else ever could be. Fellow believers are our family. Jesus says plainly that people have to be willing to cut family ties for his sake, if it has to come to that. He goes on to say if we aren’t willing to do that, then we aren’t worthy of him. In reality, though, when we cling to another community more than we cling to Christ’s church, we’ve already told Jesus by our actions that we don’t think he’s worthy of us.
As Christ’s church we get to be part of the greatest movement the world will ever know. It spans the globe, trots across history, and will endure when all other things pass away. But to take hold of this new community with our all, we will have to let other citizenships take a back seat, whether they are national, regional, local, or even familial.
Habits
If you want to know someone more deeply, observe their habits. Habits include: what we do without being asked; what we make time for without question; what we purchase, even when money’s tight; what we will travel great distances to attend even when we're busy; what we talk about without being asked; and what we fantasize about when we’re alone.
Habits reveal which gods we worship, whether it is work, pleasure, sports, grown-up toys, and so on. Jesus says he has come to give us an abundant life. We don’t have to give up that which is true, good, and beautiful to follow him. But too many of us refuse to put to death our old idolatrous habits, because we fear Jesus won’t deliver on his promises as well as they already do for us.
Besides, we don’t want to discipline ourselves to learn new habits. We’re too invested in the old ones. The New Testament mentions the word “habit” just once, describing people who had the habit of refusing to worship with the church regularly.
Thoughts
Paul’s command is to set our minds on things above, so what do you fear? What do you hope?
When I was a doctoral student my fears and hopes were far different than they are now. I feared that a student somewhere would write the same dissertation as me. I feared my interview for a professor position would go from nervous fast-talking to engulfing me in flames. I feared I’d graduate with nowhere to go.
Likewise, I hoped to be a teacher at a school. I hoped to be part of the guild of professors, whisking away to conferences, seminars, and even churches as an adored expert. I hoped to write more books and articles that showed off my learning. I hoped young adults would fawn over my knowledge.
It took some years, but by 2016 I’ve put all that to death. I no longer have such fears or hopes. I’ve replaced them with new ones. It wasn’t easy to put something to death I’d invested so much in. It’s still difficult to see what others are doing who are now living that old life of mine. Every now and then I’m curious about what my life would've been like, were I ever let into the club. But I’ve mostly set my mind on other things.
What do you need to set your mind on, so you can move forward? Figure out why this election cycle is getting you so worried. Explore why you care so much about what another person supposedly thinks about you. Introspect on why God’s people are the last group of neighbors you ever want to be around. To paraphrase fictional ad executive, Don Draper, if you don’t like what your fears and hopes say about you, then change the conversation.
Jesus tells us not to fear, for it gives our heavenly Father great pleasure to give us his kingdom. The author of Hebrews tells us to put our hope in Gods’ promises, secured by his oath and lived out by Christ. That's real security, so put to death whatever is making you so insecure.
Please be heavenly minded, so you can do earthly good
Heavenly minded people have changed the earth for the better. Just read Hebrews Chapter 11 and continue on from there throughout church history till today. I could only imagine how much better our earth would be if God’s people became more heavenly minded than they already are. But to do that, we’ll have to die first. And death is ugly.
Wait a minute. That’s not in any of the Gospels, so why does the saying, “don’t become so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good”—a saying that cuts across the grain of Jesus’ teachings, behavior, and what the early church preached in the New Testament—get passed around churches as gospel truth? Because it tells us what we want to hear. We get to keep our lives instead of lose it. We get to remain alive to our old habits, old friends, old worries, old hopes, and old sins. We’ve sunk so much cost into them that we struggle letting go.
The author of Hebrews shares Jesus’ heavenly-mindedness as the very reason he could endure the pain, shame, and mockery of the cross. Jesus was thinking of the joy set before him of bringing many brothers and sisters into glory. Few people want to give up their earthly lives so easily in exchange for heaven, which is why we are commanded to be heavenly minded like our Savior was.
Paul writes:“Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry” – Colossians 3:1-5.
The heart of Paul’s command is we each have died and been raised again in Christ. Our new life in Christ can’t be the same as our old life without him, so what does it look like to put to death our old life? Consider these four realms:
Identity
Sin has so corrupted our world and each human to the point where we no longer accept our identity as creatures made in God’s image. Instead, we turn to our culture, upbringing, means of finding pleasure, accolades, mistakes, children, jobs, entertainment, and hobbies to tell us who we really are.
None of these things could change our true identity, anymore than telling my cat to consider himself the King of Burma would stop him from pooping in the litter box in the basement of our house in South Dakota. We are what we were created to be, and we were created for much more than the crookedness sin has given us. In order to live our new life united with Christ, we have to let go of whatever old identity we gave ourselves, or let others label on us, and see ourselves as precious creatures made in God's image and in the process of being conformed to the image of his Son, Jesus Christ.
Citizenship
Many citizens find meaning and value in their group. They have shared history, shared geography, shared culture, and find privileges and responsibilities for carrying their communities forward. We proudly want to be on what everyone tells us will be the right side of history. We yearn to be part of something greater than ourselves, and our citizenship will offer several means of accomplishing that.
In order to be citizens of heaven as members of Christ’s body, the church, here on earth, we will have to take hold of a different community. The church’s and Israel’s history is our history. The scattered people of Christ across the globe are our people. The privileges and responsibilities of worship, discipleship, and proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom are our civic duties, more than anything else ever could be. Fellow believers are our family. Jesus says plainly that people have to be willing to cut family ties for his sake, if it has to come to that. He goes on to say if we aren’t willing to do that, then we aren’t worthy of him. In reality, though, when we cling to another community more than we cling to Christ’s church, we’ve already told Jesus by our actions that we don’t think he’s worthy of us.
As Christ’s church we get to be part of the greatest movement the world will ever know. It spans the globe, trots across history, and will endure when all other things pass away. But to take hold of this new community with our all, we will have to let other citizenships take a back seat, whether they are national, regional, local, or even familial.
Habits
If you want to know someone more deeply, observe their habits. Habits include: what we do without being asked; what we make time for without question; what we purchase, even when money’s tight; what we will travel great distances to attend even when we're busy; what we talk about without being asked; and what we fantasize about when we’re alone.
Habits reveal which gods we worship, whether it is work, pleasure, sports, grown-up toys, and so on. Jesus says he has come to give us an abundant life. We don’t have to give up that which is true, good, and beautiful to follow him. But too many of us refuse to put to death our old idolatrous habits, because we fear Jesus won’t deliver on his promises as well as they already do for us.
Besides, we don’t want to discipline ourselves to learn new habits. We’re too invested in the old ones. The New Testament mentions the word “habit” just once, describing people who had the habit of refusing to worship with the church regularly.
Thoughts
Paul’s command is to set our minds on things above, so what do you fear? What do you hope?
When I was a doctoral student my fears and hopes were far different than they are now. I feared that a student somewhere would write the same dissertation as me. I feared my interview for a professor position would go from nervous fast-talking to engulfing me in flames. I feared I’d graduate with nowhere to go.
Likewise, I hoped to be a teacher at a school. I hoped to be part of the guild of professors, whisking away to conferences, seminars, and even churches as an adored expert. I hoped to write more books and articles that showed off my learning. I hoped young adults would fawn over my knowledge.
It took some years, but by 2016 I’ve put all that to death. I no longer have such fears or hopes. I’ve replaced them with new ones. It wasn’t easy to put something to death I’d invested so much in. It’s still difficult to see what others are doing who are now living that old life of mine. Every now and then I’m curious about what my life would've been like, were I ever let into the club. But I’ve mostly set my mind on other things.
What do you need to set your mind on, so you can move forward? Figure out why this election cycle is getting you so worried. Explore why you care so much about what another person supposedly thinks about you. Introspect on why God’s people are the last group of neighbors you ever want to be around. To paraphrase fictional ad executive, Don Draper, if you don’t like what your fears and hopes say about you, then change the conversation.
Jesus tells us not to fear, for it gives our heavenly Father great pleasure to give us his kingdom. The author of Hebrews tells us to put our hope in Gods’ promises, secured by his oath and lived out by Christ. That's real security, so put to death whatever is making you so insecure.
Please be heavenly minded, so you can do earthly good
Heavenly minded people have changed the earth for the better. Just read Hebrews Chapter 11 and continue on from there throughout church history till today. I could only imagine how much better our earth would be if God’s people became more heavenly minded than they already are. But to do that, we’ll have to die first. And death is ugly.
March 10, 2016
Ugly babies and quiet singing: Where’s the joy?
What brings you joy?
A quiet sunrise blasts an array of colors out your window. Your home team won the big game. You finally get to watch that new episode of your favorite television show. The meal was even more delicious than you expected. Your vacation was timed perfectly. Your child didn’t cower in the spotlight. Your joke was well received. Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring us joy.
The hymnals at our church mostly contain songs from the early to mid twentieth century. A lot of them are upbeat. Many of them tell a story about finding Jesus and thereby finding joy. No doubt the writers must’ve felt such things when penning these upbeat lyrics and fast tunes, but our church often sings them half-heartedly at best, if at all. Some songs are so quiet they seem to be mouthed or whispered rather than sung.
Whatever gives us joy, the story of the gospel doesn’t seem to be it. That sounds bad, like someone admitting out loud that the baby they just saw for the first time is kind of ugly. But joy cannot be manufactured, no matter how firmly we are scolded to create it. We either have it or we don’t. Singing at a whisper level about supposed joy creates as much real joy as merely talking about making money creates real wealth. So where can joy be found?
The hymnal of God’s people, Israel, handed down to us in the book of Psalms contains a variety of moods for every occasion: celebration and lament, triumph and defeat, loneliness and togetherness, hope and despair. Were it written by just one person, we’d have serious doubts whether or not they were manic-depressive. Even within the same psalm the author can describe wanting to be dead before expressing hope in God’s goodness.
When the villages of Israel laid in ruins and God’s temple was a heap of rubble, a psalmist describes the day God would restore everything as he had promised. When someone is pursued by enemies, fleeing for his life, a psalmist wonders what it would be like for God to smash those same enemies for their wickedness. When God’s people make their regular pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship what God has done mightily in the past and what he promises to do in the future, several psalmists speak of the joy to be found when God’s salvation comes in full. The psalms were written by a people unsettled, even exiled, but always hopeful. And sometimes, joyful.
Psalm 126 was written for the pilgrim journey to Jerusalem. It reads:“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the desert. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”
If we only had the first half of this psalm, we’d presume it described great events that already happened in real life. The moments only dreamed about in the past about are now a reality, and the happiness is so palpable that we can hear raucous laughter. God has delivered! He came through for his people. We are finally vindicated. Even our most bitter enemies have to admit it.
But then we read the second half. The desert is still dry. It’s time for planting, not harvesting. Instead of the laughter of a comedy club there is weeping and wailing. Our bright future is not merely a dream, but it’s not yet reality either. The psalm as a whole was written for that space between dreams and reality called faith. It's the space Christians live in most of their lives. With our sacks of seeds and sleeves wet with tears we envision the dusty ground flowing with streams of water and our tiny seeds eventually sprouting into lush crops. Joy will surely come, so in a small way it already has.
March Madness starts next week with 68 basketball teams competing for one championship. Most years a dominant team wins the tournament, but in 1983 an underdog won. That team’s coach had a routine before every season where he had his players practice cutting down the nets like they would after winning the championship. They all dreamed of doing it, so why not practice it? The experience of walking up the ladder with scissors and basking in the joys of victory played into the players’ imaginations. They still had to go out and win the tournament, which was always in doubt, but as Christians we can bank on God’s certain victory. It is secure in Christ, not our performance. There is no doubt.
What we practice today will be sure to take place some day in God's kingdom, so joy can be found in imagining what God’s kingdom will be like. That loved one you saw take their last breath will have a new body with new breath. We'll talk and hug once again. The newspaper with headlines about wars, rumors of wars, poverty, hunger, and disease, will be replaced with harmonious truth, beauty, and goodness. That thrill you receive witnessing a sunset, sinking a putt, or feeling the arms of someone wrapped around you will continue on even better than before. Charlie Brown will finally kick that football.
God’s kingdom is a joyful kingdom, and for the joy set before us we can endure anything in this life, whatever tears may come. That’s the way of Jesus Christ, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, setting aside its shame, and as a result is exalted. His joy was bringing people from all over the world into God’s kingdom with him.
There are times to weep, but our tears while planting are not worthless. The seed we are sowing is not dead. It will crack and sprout. And when the harvest comes we’ll be joyful enough to sing about it. Perhaps one day we’ll all practice what that’s like when we worship together by lifting up our voices in praise to God. It’ll be our version of cutting down the nets before the season begins.
That’s all worship really is, whether we are singing, praying, hearing the Scriptures, or feasting at Jesus’ table.
Some people—even supposed Christians—might find our practice a waste of their time compared to the call of the Internet, golf course, lake, couch, or bed.
I don’t. The more I can imagine myself living in the space between my dreams and God’s future kingdom, the more joyful I’ll be navigating the perils of this fallen world today.
You’ll be more joyful too, if you give it a solid try, not a half-hearted one.
A quiet sunrise blasts an array of colors out your window. Your home team won the big game. You finally get to watch that new episode of your favorite television show. The meal was even more delicious than you expected. Your vacation was timed perfectly. Your child didn’t cower in the spotlight. Your joke was well received. Sometimes it's the little things in life that bring us joy.
The hymnals at our church mostly contain songs from the early to mid twentieth century. A lot of them are upbeat. Many of them tell a story about finding Jesus and thereby finding joy. No doubt the writers must’ve felt such things when penning these upbeat lyrics and fast tunes, but our church often sings them half-heartedly at best, if at all. Some songs are so quiet they seem to be mouthed or whispered rather than sung.
Whatever gives us joy, the story of the gospel doesn’t seem to be it. That sounds bad, like someone admitting out loud that the baby they just saw for the first time is kind of ugly. But joy cannot be manufactured, no matter how firmly we are scolded to create it. We either have it or we don’t. Singing at a whisper level about supposed joy creates as much real joy as merely talking about making money creates real wealth. So where can joy be found?
The hymnal of God’s people, Israel, handed down to us in the book of Psalms contains a variety of moods for every occasion: celebration and lament, triumph and defeat, loneliness and togetherness, hope and despair. Were it written by just one person, we’d have serious doubts whether or not they were manic-depressive. Even within the same psalm the author can describe wanting to be dead before expressing hope in God’s goodness.
When the villages of Israel laid in ruins and God’s temple was a heap of rubble, a psalmist describes the day God would restore everything as he had promised. When someone is pursued by enemies, fleeing for his life, a psalmist wonders what it would be like for God to smash those same enemies for their wickedness. When God’s people make their regular pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship what God has done mightily in the past and what he promises to do in the future, several psalmists speak of the joy to be found when God’s salvation comes in full. The psalms were written by a people unsettled, even exiled, but always hopeful. And sometimes, joyful.
Psalm 126 was written for the pilgrim journey to Jerusalem. It reads:“When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then it was said among the nations, ‘The Lord has done great things for them.’ The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. Restore our fortunes, Lord, like streams in the desert. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”
If we only had the first half of this psalm, we’d presume it described great events that already happened in real life. The moments only dreamed about in the past about are now a reality, and the happiness is so palpable that we can hear raucous laughter. God has delivered! He came through for his people. We are finally vindicated. Even our most bitter enemies have to admit it.
But then we read the second half. The desert is still dry. It’s time for planting, not harvesting. Instead of the laughter of a comedy club there is weeping and wailing. Our bright future is not merely a dream, but it’s not yet reality either. The psalm as a whole was written for that space between dreams and reality called faith. It's the space Christians live in most of their lives. With our sacks of seeds and sleeves wet with tears we envision the dusty ground flowing with streams of water and our tiny seeds eventually sprouting into lush crops. Joy will surely come, so in a small way it already has.
March Madness starts next week with 68 basketball teams competing for one championship. Most years a dominant team wins the tournament, but in 1983 an underdog won. That team’s coach had a routine before every season where he had his players practice cutting down the nets like they would after winning the championship. They all dreamed of doing it, so why not practice it? The experience of walking up the ladder with scissors and basking in the joys of victory played into the players’ imaginations. They still had to go out and win the tournament, which was always in doubt, but as Christians we can bank on God’s certain victory. It is secure in Christ, not our performance. There is no doubt.
What we practice today will be sure to take place some day in God's kingdom, so joy can be found in imagining what God’s kingdom will be like. That loved one you saw take their last breath will have a new body with new breath. We'll talk and hug once again. The newspaper with headlines about wars, rumors of wars, poverty, hunger, and disease, will be replaced with harmonious truth, beauty, and goodness. That thrill you receive witnessing a sunset, sinking a putt, or feeling the arms of someone wrapped around you will continue on even better than before. Charlie Brown will finally kick that football.
God’s kingdom is a joyful kingdom, and for the joy set before us we can endure anything in this life, whatever tears may come. That’s the way of Jesus Christ, who, for the joy set before him, endured the cross, setting aside its shame, and as a result is exalted. His joy was bringing people from all over the world into God’s kingdom with him.
There are times to weep, but our tears while planting are not worthless. The seed we are sowing is not dead. It will crack and sprout. And when the harvest comes we’ll be joyful enough to sing about it. Perhaps one day we’ll all practice what that’s like when we worship together by lifting up our voices in praise to God. It’ll be our version of cutting down the nets before the season begins.
That’s all worship really is, whether we are singing, praying, hearing the Scriptures, or feasting at Jesus’ table.
Some people—even supposed Christians—might find our practice a waste of their time compared to the call of the Internet, golf course, lake, couch, or bed.
I don’t. The more I can imagine myself living in the space between my dreams and God’s future kingdom, the more joyful I’ll be navigating the perils of this fallen world today.
You’ll be more joyful too, if you give it a solid try, not a half-hearted one.
March 3, 2016
Will the Body of Christ Rise Up?
An early second-century letter from the Roman governor Pliny the Younger to his Emperor Trajan asks advice on how to deal with people denounced as enemies to Rome because they are Christians.
Pliny had heard of this group before, but did not know much about what they thought or did. In order to find out more he arrested two women, who were called “deaconesses,” and tortured them to uncover the secretive things Christians liked to do whenever they gathered. Once they fessed up, the governor was a little let down. It turns out Christians met at a fixed time each week at sunrise, sang hymns to their Christ “as if to a god.” They bound themselves by oath to do good things and not evil things. And then they ate a meal, which consisted of “ordinary and innocent food.”
Pliny concluded that Christianity was little more than excessive superstition, but it was a threat to the state because it appealed to men and women of all classes, including people who lived in cities and villages. The once bustling pagan temples were becoming emptier as more and more people were caught up in the contagion that is Christ. What was a good Roman governor to do?
The Emperor told Pliny not to seek out Christians by way of a witch hunt, but do prosecute them if they are brought before him already denounced as Christians. Before sentencing Trajan says to prove the accusation true by forcing them to worship “our [Roman] gods.” If an alleged Christian would worship Roman gods, then that person would receive a pardon from the state. Trajan didn’t know much about the Christian faith, but he learned quickly that real Christians refused to worship other gods, even if it meant a pardon from their crime.
This correspondence, written decades after Jesus' ministry on earth, shows that Roman authorities at least bothered to investigate the rumors they heard about Christians before jumping to conclusions. A lot of people back then just went by what they heard from the rumor mill. Early Christians were called atheists, because they did not worship the Roman gods like everyone else. They were known as cannibals because they claimed to eat someone’s flesh and drink his blood at their gatherings. People also accused them with incest because they called each other brothers and sisters, even when referring to their own spouses, parents, and children.
While atheism, cannibalism, and incest are no longer lumped in with Christianity, other mischaracterizations abound for Christians today. Nearly two thousand years ago the most powerful human in the world knew more about the Christian faith than today's average American.
A few months ago a prominent political candidate remarked in a speech that he needed “the body of Christ” to rise up and support him. Some reporters and commentators were struck by what they thought was a bizarre claim. Did the candidate expect Jesus Christ’s physical body to come out of its grave like some zombie and give a stump speech? No, he was just using the biblical metaphor for God’s people, the church, to rise up. Not to mention, Christians believe that Jesus Christ’s physical body was only in its grave for three days before rising again to new life.
In America there is talk of the Bible belt, which often gets thrown around with the phrase “evangelical Christians,” and whatever bad thing happens anywhere in the south reflects poorly on all Christians everywhere. Just this week a top pornography search engine released results for its most-searched-for terms state by state. It did not take long for people to bash the Bible belt Christians for the hypocrisy of the porn Web searches of the populations of entire states, as if only church-going Christians live in certain states. It is likely some Christians used that site in the past year, regardless of which state they live in, but anyone who actually knows about the Christian faith knows that all Christians are by confession sinners. There are no great Christians, only a great Savior.
As a church-going Christian, I am often shocked by the things people presume I believe. I’m supposedly perfect, and if I’m not then I’m obviously a hypocrite. I’m also pro-war, pro-death penalty, pro-Republican, love to judge people because I know I’m better than they are, hate fun, and arbitrarily hate people who aren’t just like me. To be sure, my life is a work in progress. By default I am drawn to serving myself and maybe my family. But as a Christian, I thankfully don’t have to go by my default. In Christ, with his Spirit in me, I can strive to think and act more like him, which draws me outward rather than inward.
How I wish Christianity was characterized by things we actually believe more than the things we don’t.
We believe in a God who created everything and everyone, who has spoken through his prophets and also his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe sin has corrupted God’s good creation, bringing death with it.We believe God has defeated sin, death, and the Devil by sending his Son out of love to die on the cross and then get raised up again to new life. We believe that just as Jesus rose from the dead, so will we some day when he returns. We believe in eternal life. We believe in God’s coming kingdom, which we get to experience a small taste of today as his church in worship. We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the dignity of all humans, the stewardship of natural resources, and being generous to the least. We believe that God has woven what is right and wrong into the fabric of this world, so what is morally good is identical to what is for our best flourishing as created human beings. We believe in wonder at the beauty of the world, including the symphony of human creativity within it.
Some of these beliefs are mockable in the eyes of the world. That’s fine. I’m more than willing to be mocked for them. But instead, during every election cycle, I have to hear about what Christians presumably think and do from people who seem to know less about the faith than Emperor Trajan. Every now and then I may receive a backhanded complement that I as an individual Christian am not as irrational, angry, ignorant, and hateful as all the rest. Thanks? I guess.
There’s no need to torture any of our churches' deacons or deaconesses to change presumption into truth. I already stated what we think, so here’s what we do. We still sing hymns to Christ. We still eat ordinary and innocent food, although some of our potlucks over-do it. We still take oaths to follow Christ, but we don’t always live up to them. And if any government were ever to detain us, torture us, and demand we worship some other god to receive a pardon from the denouncement of being a Christian, I'd like to think most of us would still worship no other god than the God of Jesus Christ.
I pray for the body of Christ in this country to rise up again, and if it ever does it will be to proclaim the good news of God's kingdom by word and good deeds, rather than to cast a vote for some political candidate.
Pliny had heard of this group before, but did not know much about what they thought or did. In order to find out more he arrested two women, who were called “deaconesses,” and tortured them to uncover the secretive things Christians liked to do whenever they gathered. Once they fessed up, the governor was a little let down. It turns out Christians met at a fixed time each week at sunrise, sang hymns to their Christ “as if to a god.” They bound themselves by oath to do good things and not evil things. And then they ate a meal, which consisted of “ordinary and innocent food.”
Pliny concluded that Christianity was little more than excessive superstition, but it was a threat to the state because it appealed to men and women of all classes, including people who lived in cities and villages. The once bustling pagan temples were becoming emptier as more and more people were caught up in the contagion that is Christ. What was a good Roman governor to do?
The Emperor told Pliny not to seek out Christians by way of a witch hunt, but do prosecute them if they are brought before him already denounced as Christians. Before sentencing Trajan says to prove the accusation true by forcing them to worship “our [Roman] gods.” If an alleged Christian would worship Roman gods, then that person would receive a pardon from the state. Trajan didn’t know much about the Christian faith, but he learned quickly that real Christians refused to worship other gods, even if it meant a pardon from their crime.
This correspondence, written decades after Jesus' ministry on earth, shows that Roman authorities at least bothered to investigate the rumors they heard about Christians before jumping to conclusions. A lot of people back then just went by what they heard from the rumor mill. Early Christians were called atheists, because they did not worship the Roman gods like everyone else. They were known as cannibals because they claimed to eat someone’s flesh and drink his blood at their gatherings. People also accused them with incest because they called each other brothers and sisters, even when referring to their own spouses, parents, and children.
While atheism, cannibalism, and incest are no longer lumped in with Christianity, other mischaracterizations abound for Christians today. Nearly two thousand years ago the most powerful human in the world knew more about the Christian faith than today's average American.
A few months ago a prominent political candidate remarked in a speech that he needed “the body of Christ” to rise up and support him. Some reporters and commentators were struck by what they thought was a bizarre claim. Did the candidate expect Jesus Christ’s physical body to come out of its grave like some zombie and give a stump speech? No, he was just using the biblical metaphor for God’s people, the church, to rise up. Not to mention, Christians believe that Jesus Christ’s physical body was only in its grave for three days before rising again to new life.
In America there is talk of the Bible belt, which often gets thrown around with the phrase “evangelical Christians,” and whatever bad thing happens anywhere in the south reflects poorly on all Christians everywhere. Just this week a top pornography search engine released results for its most-searched-for terms state by state. It did not take long for people to bash the Bible belt Christians for the hypocrisy of the porn Web searches of the populations of entire states, as if only church-going Christians live in certain states. It is likely some Christians used that site in the past year, regardless of which state they live in, but anyone who actually knows about the Christian faith knows that all Christians are by confession sinners. There are no great Christians, only a great Savior.
As a church-going Christian, I am often shocked by the things people presume I believe. I’m supposedly perfect, and if I’m not then I’m obviously a hypocrite. I’m also pro-war, pro-death penalty, pro-Republican, love to judge people because I know I’m better than they are, hate fun, and arbitrarily hate people who aren’t just like me. To be sure, my life is a work in progress. By default I am drawn to serving myself and maybe my family. But as a Christian, I thankfully don’t have to go by my default. In Christ, with his Spirit in me, I can strive to think and act more like him, which draws me outward rather than inward.
How I wish Christianity was characterized by things we actually believe more than the things we don’t.
We believe in a God who created everything and everyone, who has spoken through his prophets and also his Son, Jesus Christ. We believe sin has corrupted God’s good creation, bringing death with it.We believe God has defeated sin, death, and the Devil by sending his Son out of love to die on the cross and then get raised up again to new life. We believe that just as Jesus rose from the dead, so will we some day when he returns. We believe in eternal life. We believe in God’s coming kingdom, which we get to experience a small taste of today as his church in worship. We believe in the forgiveness of sins, the dignity of all humans, the stewardship of natural resources, and being generous to the least. We believe that God has woven what is right and wrong into the fabric of this world, so what is morally good is identical to what is for our best flourishing as created human beings. We believe in wonder at the beauty of the world, including the symphony of human creativity within it.
Some of these beliefs are mockable in the eyes of the world. That’s fine. I’m more than willing to be mocked for them. But instead, during every election cycle, I have to hear about what Christians presumably think and do from people who seem to know less about the faith than Emperor Trajan. Every now and then I may receive a backhanded complement that I as an individual Christian am not as irrational, angry, ignorant, and hateful as all the rest. Thanks? I guess.
There’s no need to torture any of our churches' deacons or deaconesses to change presumption into truth. I already stated what we think, so here’s what we do. We still sing hymns to Christ. We still eat ordinary and innocent food, although some of our potlucks over-do it. We still take oaths to follow Christ, but we don’t always live up to them. And if any government were ever to detain us, torture us, and demand we worship some other god to receive a pardon from the denouncement of being a Christian, I'd like to think most of us would still worship no other god than the God of Jesus Christ.
I pray for the body of Christ in this country to rise up again, and if it ever does it will be to proclaim the good news of God's kingdom by word and good deeds, rather than to cast a vote for some political candidate.
February 25, 2016
Rookie of the Year: On movie magic 23 Years Later
My grandparents lived just minutes away from Kauffman Stadium, where the Kansas City Royals play, so when I would visit them I’d want to go to games. We’d often go to McDonald’s and the movies instead.
Their theatre of choice was a palatial six-screen venue just off Interstate 70, where my grandparents and I watched baseball movies, instead of live baseball down the highway. One movie that I loved as a teenager was 1993’s Rookie of the Year, about the down and out Chicago Cubs signing the boy Henry Rowengartner to be a pitcher after he throws a home-run ball 100 miles per hour from the bleachers to home plate.
Now that I have my own family, I’ve wanted to share my favorite movies from growing up with them, but Rookie of the Year has been tricky. Netflix hasn’t streamed it. It’s never a staple of the cable television networks that show A Few Good Men, Crimson Tide, and Steven Seagal movies on a running loop. The MLB network shows three baseball movies each day during the offseason, but Rookie of the Year is never broadcast. I guess the network needs to make room for one more viewing of a Bad News Bears movie, since there’s only 7 to choose from. There is no Blu-Ray version of Rookie of the Year, and even DVDs have been hard to find. That is, until I found one in a bin at Shopko for $5.99. Family movie night here we come.
As we settled into the playroom with popcorn and drinks, I had high hopes for this movie I hadn’t seen in over twenty years. My kids loved it. Even my youngest, who still doesn’t pay as much attention to real-human movies as cartoons, stayed awake through most of it. There were laughs, tears, surprises, and relief at the end. All’s well that ends well.
As an adult who just watched his team lose and win the real World Series the past two years and who also happened to reside in the Chicago area a decade ago, I had trouble enjoying the movie by turning my brain off to all its ridiculousness. I’m not even including the idea of a kid breaking his arm and having his tendons heal oddly so he can throw 100 miles per hour accurately without pain or fatigue as being ridiculous. I’m willing to concede that as a fun plot device for a kids movie, so here is my list of things that really baffled the adult me:
Where does Henry live? In one scene he and his friends visit his Mom at her work at an urban flower shop, presumably in the city proper of Chicago. In some scenes he lives in an urban house in an urban neighborhood, presumably in the city proper of Chicago. But in other scenes he and his friends are refurbishing some boat within walking distance of their houses and have a beach day in a huge park that has a small lake full of coves and surrounded by trees and glistening with hot sandy beaches all around. This is certainly not Lake Michigan. There is no area of the real Chicagoland that remotely resembles this setup at all. And if there were, the boat the kids left unattended in some city park in the woods would’ve been stolen or defended by a drifter as a makeshift house, or even worse, used as a toilet when the boys weren’t tending to it.
Where are all the parents? The two friends spend all their time with Henry, except for one scene where they are without him working on said boat and super angry that he wasn’t with them the whole day. They have no families. Henry’s Dad is out of the picture, so the Mom takes a big role. I get that, but she stays in Chicago on road trips. What? Are you kidding me? Instead, the kid has a hotel room by himself and is guardianed by a crazy pitching coach and a not-yet-crazy Gary Busey, who plays the aging pitcher Chet Steadman. Steadman does seem a little deranged for remarking to Henry about how delicious his salisbury steak meal is on the plane to the hotel.
Why all the off days?Major league baseball is a grueling 162-game regular season with only a handful of days without games each month. In the movie, despite playing for the Cubs, which means going to practice, home games, and road trips, Henry still attends school every day and has plenty of time to do off-field stuff like shoot commercials and build a boat with his friends on non-game days. Presumably this big day off for shooting commercials and boating in the mythical tree-secluded Chicago pond was on a weekend, which would never be a scheduled off-day in the Major Leagues.
How do the playoffs work? This movie came out during the old 4-division Major League baseball setup where the Cubs and Mets were in the same division of the National League. In real baseball the one division winner would enter the playoffs against the league’s other division winner and play a best-of-seven game League Championship Series to decide which team will go to the World Series. In the movie the Cubs and Mets seemingly square off in a regular season game, maybe the last game of the season, with the league championship on the line, thereby bypassing having to play the other division winner and the League Championship Series altogether. There is talk during the game that by winning the big game against the Mets the Cubs will go to “the playoffs,” but the announcer, played by John Candy, also tells us before the game begins that the winner will go to the World Series. I’m no Hollywood screenwriter, but if you’re going to make a baseball movie at least get basic details right about some of this stuff when it doesn’t affect other things you want to do in the movie. There’s no harm in saying this big game with the Mets would send the winner to the playoffs, while the loser goes home, and leaving it at that.
Why can’t anyone else pitch? In real baseball you get 25 people to fill out your roster for most of the season and then 40 people in September, which was when the big games down the stretch for the Cubs were taking place. But the movie shows just nine position players and two pitchers take the field. Period. One pitcher is the aging Chet Steadman, who is struggling to be an innings eater as a starter. The other one is our boy hero Henry, who was signed by the team in mid-August. There are no other starters or relievers shown in the movie actually playing on the field, although they do sit in the dugout. The fate of the Cubs will rest on these 11 players so much so that when Henry loses his special pitching ability in the 9th inning of the big game by falling on his arm again, he inexplicably stays in the game to pitch and resorts to trickery, instead of being yanked by the manager for someone who could actually pitch. But after the big game presumably these other Cubs players step up and win the World Series without Henry, as shown in the last scene of the movie when Henry wears a World Series champion ring on his hand. To make matters worse Steadman injures himself earlier in the game and is out forever. He retires. That’s both pitchers gone in one game. I guess the other pitchers on the roster needed some rest before the World Series. Good thing they didn’t have to play in the LCS first.
What is the General Manager doing? Every kids movie has to have a bad guy, and in Rookie of the Year the Cubs’ General Manager and the Mom’s sketchy boyfriend/agent team up to be the antagonists. The GM convinces the agent to sign Henry to sponsorship deals that will bring in money (oh, the horrors), but at the expense of not being able to be with his friends for every second of these mythical weekend off-days. When the GM is not busy playing co-agent with Henry’s agent, he is trying to take over as the new owner of the Cubs after the current owner dies. I guess the GM is also a family member or something. Thanks to this rampant nepotism in the Cubs the GM makes nonsensical baseball moves. And why not, the manager does too. The GM trades Henry to the Yankees for cash, instead of a package of players. Never mind this would have been long after the trading deadline had passed. Getting rid of Henry without getting more arms back in return should be a problem, since Henry is acting as one of only two pitchers on the team. Thankfully, the trade never happens because the Mom steps in to nix the deal. As part of this Yankees move, the GM barters with Henry’s agent/Mom-sketchy-boyfriend to get rid of the only other pitcher who actually plays on the team, Chet Steadman, who has taken a romantic liking to Henry’s Mom. But instead of actually getting rid of Steadman like promised via, oh, I don’t know—designating for assignment, release, waivers, etc.—the GM tells the manager to bench the guy. Steadman gets unbenched within 3 minutes of movie time, which is good since the Cubs don’t seem to have any other pitchers except for Henry. By the end of the movie the GM is demoted and ends up selling hot dogs in the bleachers during the big game, which seems to be the most reasonable part of his character’s arc, save he was hired because of nepotism.
Why can’t hitters feast on Henry’s pitches? It’d be one thing if the movie portrayed Henry as throwing something like 120 miles per hour pitches, but instead it is the mortal speed of 100 miles per hour or so. That’s not an easy pitch to hit when mixed with other kinds of pitches, but most major league hitters can make contact with it easily if they already know it’s coming. Hitting is timing, and if a pitcher has just one pitch with no variations in speed, then sooner or later that pitcher will get lit up, unless their name is Mariano Rivera. During Henry’s first pitching appearance a cartoonish Mets slugger crushes his fastball into the stands. That should’ve happened in the movie a lot. A whole lot. Like, just about every inning Henry pitches, a lot.
Movie magic and real-life magic
I could go on, but come to think of it most sports movies I loved as a kid have some baffling elements when I watch them now as an adult. I don’t know why the Cobra Kai karate students hated Daniel LaRusso so much. It makes no sense that the referee refused to stop the Ian Drago/Apollo Creed boxing match before things got so out of hand that Creed dies in the ring. I’ll never figure out why Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger’s brother hated Rudy’s guts so much for going to college at Notre Dame and then having the nerve to be part of the school’s football practice squad. And I don’t care how good of a shot you have off the ice, if you can’t ice skate you won’t last more than 5 seconds in an ice hockey game outside of the world of the Mighty Ducks movies. Despite their conundrums, I still enjoy all those movies as an adult, and my kids like many of them too. It’s fun to turn the brain off and enjoy the ride of what might be or might have been.
But sometimes it’s also fun to leave that old brain turned on and think about what it’s like to root for things as an adult as opposed to being a child. I still want my teams to win. I still hope for the improbable. I still believe. And the magic of sports is that the real product is far more surprising, entertaining, and memorable than every movie made about it. Life’s also like that. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it’s also more endearing.
The theatre my grandparents took me too has long been torn down, and my grandparents died a while ago, but I thought of them during our family movie night. Experiences. That’s the stuff of life. Don’t let your years pass by chasing after the wind while your family grows up right before you, unnoticed. Invest in them. You’ll be rich beyond measure.
Their theatre of choice was a palatial six-screen venue just off Interstate 70, where my grandparents and I watched baseball movies, instead of live baseball down the highway. One movie that I loved as a teenager was 1993’s Rookie of the Year, about the down and out Chicago Cubs signing the boy Henry Rowengartner to be a pitcher after he throws a home-run ball 100 miles per hour from the bleachers to home plate.
Now that I have my own family, I’ve wanted to share my favorite movies from growing up with them, but Rookie of the Year has been tricky. Netflix hasn’t streamed it. It’s never a staple of the cable television networks that show A Few Good Men, Crimson Tide, and Steven Seagal movies on a running loop. The MLB network shows three baseball movies each day during the offseason, but Rookie of the Year is never broadcast. I guess the network needs to make room for one more viewing of a Bad News Bears movie, since there’s only 7 to choose from. There is no Blu-Ray version of Rookie of the Year, and even DVDs have been hard to find. That is, until I found one in a bin at Shopko for $5.99. Family movie night here we come.
As we settled into the playroom with popcorn and drinks, I had high hopes for this movie I hadn’t seen in over twenty years. My kids loved it. Even my youngest, who still doesn’t pay as much attention to real-human movies as cartoons, stayed awake through most of it. There were laughs, tears, surprises, and relief at the end. All’s well that ends well.
As an adult who just watched his team lose and win the real World Series the past two years and who also happened to reside in the Chicago area a decade ago, I had trouble enjoying the movie by turning my brain off to all its ridiculousness. I’m not even including the idea of a kid breaking his arm and having his tendons heal oddly so he can throw 100 miles per hour accurately without pain or fatigue as being ridiculous. I’m willing to concede that as a fun plot device for a kids movie, so here is my list of things that really baffled the adult me:
Where does Henry live? In one scene he and his friends visit his Mom at her work at an urban flower shop, presumably in the city proper of Chicago. In some scenes he lives in an urban house in an urban neighborhood, presumably in the city proper of Chicago. But in other scenes he and his friends are refurbishing some boat within walking distance of their houses and have a beach day in a huge park that has a small lake full of coves and surrounded by trees and glistening with hot sandy beaches all around. This is certainly not Lake Michigan. There is no area of the real Chicagoland that remotely resembles this setup at all. And if there were, the boat the kids left unattended in some city park in the woods would’ve been stolen or defended by a drifter as a makeshift house, or even worse, used as a toilet when the boys weren’t tending to it.
Where are all the parents? The two friends spend all their time with Henry, except for one scene where they are without him working on said boat and super angry that he wasn’t with them the whole day. They have no families. Henry’s Dad is out of the picture, so the Mom takes a big role. I get that, but she stays in Chicago on road trips. What? Are you kidding me? Instead, the kid has a hotel room by himself and is guardianed by a crazy pitching coach and a not-yet-crazy Gary Busey, who plays the aging pitcher Chet Steadman. Steadman does seem a little deranged for remarking to Henry about how delicious his salisbury steak meal is on the plane to the hotel.
Why all the off days?Major league baseball is a grueling 162-game regular season with only a handful of days without games each month. In the movie, despite playing for the Cubs, which means going to practice, home games, and road trips, Henry still attends school every day and has plenty of time to do off-field stuff like shoot commercials and build a boat with his friends on non-game days. Presumably this big day off for shooting commercials and boating in the mythical tree-secluded Chicago pond was on a weekend, which would never be a scheduled off-day in the Major Leagues.
How do the playoffs work? This movie came out during the old 4-division Major League baseball setup where the Cubs and Mets were in the same division of the National League. In real baseball the one division winner would enter the playoffs against the league’s other division winner and play a best-of-seven game League Championship Series to decide which team will go to the World Series. In the movie the Cubs and Mets seemingly square off in a regular season game, maybe the last game of the season, with the league championship on the line, thereby bypassing having to play the other division winner and the League Championship Series altogether. There is talk during the game that by winning the big game against the Mets the Cubs will go to “the playoffs,” but the announcer, played by John Candy, also tells us before the game begins that the winner will go to the World Series. I’m no Hollywood screenwriter, but if you’re going to make a baseball movie at least get basic details right about some of this stuff when it doesn’t affect other things you want to do in the movie. There’s no harm in saying this big game with the Mets would send the winner to the playoffs, while the loser goes home, and leaving it at that.
Why can’t anyone else pitch? In real baseball you get 25 people to fill out your roster for most of the season and then 40 people in September, which was when the big games down the stretch for the Cubs were taking place. But the movie shows just nine position players and two pitchers take the field. Period. One pitcher is the aging Chet Steadman, who is struggling to be an innings eater as a starter. The other one is our boy hero Henry, who was signed by the team in mid-August. There are no other starters or relievers shown in the movie actually playing on the field, although they do sit in the dugout. The fate of the Cubs will rest on these 11 players so much so that when Henry loses his special pitching ability in the 9th inning of the big game by falling on his arm again, he inexplicably stays in the game to pitch and resorts to trickery, instead of being yanked by the manager for someone who could actually pitch. But after the big game presumably these other Cubs players step up and win the World Series without Henry, as shown in the last scene of the movie when Henry wears a World Series champion ring on his hand. To make matters worse Steadman injures himself earlier in the game and is out forever. He retires. That’s both pitchers gone in one game. I guess the other pitchers on the roster needed some rest before the World Series. Good thing they didn’t have to play in the LCS first.
What is the General Manager doing? Every kids movie has to have a bad guy, and in Rookie of the Year the Cubs’ General Manager and the Mom’s sketchy boyfriend/agent team up to be the antagonists. The GM convinces the agent to sign Henry to sponsorship deals that will bring in money (oh, the horrors), but at the expense of not being able to be with his friends for every second of these mythical weekend off-days. When the GM is not busy playing co-agent with Henry’s agent, he is trying to take over as the new owner of the Cubs after the current owner dies. I guess the GM is also a family member or something. Thanks to this rampant nepotism in the Cubs the GM makes nonsensical baseball moves. And why not, the manager does too. The GM trades Henry to the Yankees for cash, instead of a package of players. Never mind this would have been long after the trading deadline had passed. Getting rid of Henry without getting more arms back in return should be a problem, since Henry is acting as one of only two pitchers on the team. Thankfully, the trade never happens because the Mom steps in to nix the deal. As part of this Yankees move, the GM barters with Henry’s agent/Mom-sketchy-boyfriend to get rid of the only other pitcher who actually plays on the team, Chet Steadman, who has taken a romantic liking to Henry’s Mom. But instead of actually getting rid of Steadman like promised via, oh, I don’t know—designating for assignment, release, waivers, etc.—the GM tells the manager to bench the guy. Steadman gets unbenched within 3 minutes of movie time, which is good since the Cubs don’t seem to have any other pitchers except for Henry. By the end of the movie the GM is demoted and ends up selling hot dogs in the bleachers during the big game, which seems to be the most reasonable part of his character’s arc, save he was hired because of nepotism.
Why can’t hitters feast on Henry’s pitches? It’d be one thing if the movie portrayed Henry as throwing something like 120 miles per hour pitches, but instead it is the mortal speed of 100 miles per hour or so. That’s not an easy pitch to hit when mixed with other kinds of pitches, but most major league hitters can make contact with it easily if they already know it’s coming. Hitting is timing, and if a pitcher has just one pitch with no variations in speed, then sooner or later that pitcher will get lit up, unless their name is Mariano Rivera. During Henry’s first pitching appearance a cartoonish Mets slugger crushes his fastball into the stands. That should’ve happened in the movie a lot. A whole lot. Like, just about every inning Henry pitches, a lot.
Movie magic and real-life magic
I could go on, but come to think of it most sports movies I loved as a kid have some baffling elements when I watch them now as an adult. I don’t know why the Cobra Kai karate students hated Daniel LaRusso so much. It makes no sense that the referee refused to stop the Ian Drago/Apollo Creed boxing match before things got so out of hand that Creed dies in the ring. I’ll never figure out why Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger’s brother hated Rudy’s guts so much for going to college at Notre Dame and then having the nerve to be part of the school’s football practice squad. And I don’t care how good of a shot you have off the ice, if you can’t ice skate you won’t last more than 5 seconds in an ice hockey game outside of the world of the Mighty Ducks movies. Despite their conundrums, I still enjoy all those movies as an adult, and my kids like many of them too. It’s fun to turn the brain off and enjoy the ride of what might be or might have been.
But sometimes it’s also fun to leave that old brain turned on and think about what it’s like to root for things as an adult as opposed to being a child. I still want my teams to win. I still hope for the improbable. I still believe. And the magic of sports is that the real product is far more surprising, entertaining, and memorable than every movie made about it. Life’s also like that. Truth may be stranger than fiction, but it’s also more endearing.
The theatre my grandparents took me too has long been torn down, and my grandparents died a while ago, but I thought of them during our family movie night. Experiences. That’s the stuff of life. Don’t let your years pass by chasing after the wind while your family grows up right before you, unnoticed. Invest in them. You’ll be rich beyond measure.
