Yesterday I ended up getting very upset at some people in my Pop Warner football organization. Last night I lied awake in bed and replayed every word I said. I hate the attitude that I had but I have been pushed and pushed lately. As I replayed this in my head I started having a secondary thought – What would people say if they knew how I (as a Pastor) had acted? That lead me to come up with today’s title.

This may not be true of every pastor, but I know it is true of a few – especially me.

1. Sometimes I get really mad. In the last 4 years I can count at least 6 times that I have had a meltdown. Twice it has been fairly public. I wish this were not true of me, but I have strong emotions and when I get pushed and pushed, or worse, when my family gets pushed, I get angry.

2. Sometimes I dislike certain people. A pastor friend of mine is sometimes called into Churches as a consultant when they are experiencing difficulties. One of the things he does is ask people to raise their hand if there is one person in their life that they really do not like. Usually almost everyone raises their hand. He then says, “If that is true of all of you, do you think it might be true of your Pastor?” Sorry, it is true.

3. I fight hard to like people somedays. I often get to see and experience people at their worst. I see how couples treat each other behind closed doors. I hear the lies people tell in public after I find out the truth in counseling. I could go on and on. Some days it is hard for me to like people. I have to continually fight with my heart to see the best and think the best of people.

4. I have bad days. There are days in my life when I see the glass as half empty. Things break at my house, kids disobey, I don’t get enough sleep and on and on. It is hard to be a pastor when things feel like they are falling apart.

5. I desperately need second chances. The reason I preach about grace and second chances in Jesus so much is because of my life experiences. Last night as I lay awake all I could think is, “God please forgive my lousy attitude.” Pastors and preachers are people saved by grace just like everyone else.

So if you are a Christ follower and you know of a time that your Pastor didn’t act like a Christian. Can I ask that you would forgive him his sin. Can I ask that you would forgive me?

After watching Miley Cyrus disgusting performance on the VMAs, angry mom Kim Keller wrote an open letter to her 13-year-old daughter to turn this ugly display into a teaching moment.

Here is Kim’s “Dear Daughter” letter:

“Dear daughter, let Miley Cyrus be a lesson to you.

Yes, this is what happens when you constantly hear everything you do is awesome. This is what happens when people fawn over your every Tweet and Instagram photo. This is what happens when no responsible adult has ever said the word ‘no,’ made you change your clothes before leaving the house, or never spanked your butt for deliberate defiance.

If you ever even consider doing something like that, I promise you that I will run up and twerk so you will see how ridiculous twerking looks. I will duct tape your mouth shut so your tongue doesn’t hangout like an overheated hound dog. I will smack any male whom you decide to smash against his pelvis – after I first knock you on your butt for forgetting how a lady acts in public.

Why would I do that? Because I love you and I want you to respect yourself. Miley Cyrus is not edgy or cool or sexy. She’s a desperate girl screaming for attention: Notice me. Tell me I’m pretty. See how hot I am. I know all the guys want me. All the girls want to be me.

You probably know girls who will emulate this behavior at the next school dance. Don’t do it with them. You are far too valuable to sell yourself so cheaply. Walk away. Let the boys gawk and know in your heart that they see only a body that can be used for their pleasure and then forgotten.

I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt sad because I haven’t gushed over everything you’ve done. My role is to praise when praise is due, but also to offer constructive criticism and correction when it is needed as well. I’m sorry if you’ve ever felt demoralized because your Instagram following isn’t in the thousands, and I’m sorry those ‘selfies’ can never capture how amazingly beautiful you truly are. I’m sorry if you’ve ever wished you had a friend instead of a mom, and I promise you that I will probably get worse when you hit high school.

Dear daughter, I am going to fight or die trying to keep you from becoming like the Miley Cyruses of the world.

You can thank me later.”

This was taken in Homer several years ago of a moose at our McDonald’s – it still makes me smile.

Last night the NFL season started for the 2013-2014 season. Here is why I am glad that it started again. Some of these are very Christian and some are not. You are to guess which is which.

1. I get to watch my Packers play and hopefully win another Superbowl.
2. When I watch football I can usually shut my brain off and relax. It is a needed time of rest.
3. I get to spend time with my boys watching and talking about the game.
4. Sunday naps during the 2nd and 3rd quarters🙂 More rest
5. It is nice to watch something I do not have to participate in.
6. Something to talk to the men of the Church about that is non-threatening
7. I can pull out my entire Packers wardrobe for the season without questions.
8. Strangers stop me and ask me about the Packers. It is a great discussion started with non-Christians
9. I am getting very tired of the food network and I have seen all of the Duck Dynasty episodes.
10. Every season is full of surprises. I love to see a new player rise above expectations. I even enjoy seeing an underdog win games unless it is against the Packers.

*Bonus – Parties at my house with lots of food.

Once my mind started thinking about this topic I have had several additional thoughts. These are just simple Christian lessons I am learning from youth football. So continuing from yesterday…

6. There is a difference between experiencing pain and being hurt – I recently had a conversation with a couple of my coaches and they were telling me how many of their kids were hurt and then we got into an interesting conversation about pain. One coach commented that if you play football you are going to hurt after a game. But then he added there is a difference between hurting and being injured. If you are injured you need to see a doctor, and if you are hurt you need an ibuprofen and toughen up. Unfortunately, there are a large group of kids that want to set on the sidelines the moment they experience any pain when they are not really injured. Some kids just need to get back out there and learn to play with a little pain.

*Christian application – Life is hard. A life of faith may be harder. There will be pain and disappointment that are encountered throughout this life and sometimes we just have to hang on and endure it. The Church is full of people who want to set on the sidelines because something went wrong one time and they had a difficult experience. We need more people to get out there and keep playing.

7. Dads are invaluable in a young boys life. This is just a generic observation. Every year I notice which children have their dad’s support in football and which ones do not. The season is usually a lot more difficult for those with no support from dad. I also notice those kids without support looking to the coaches and their peers for some male role model.

Christian application – Where are you dad? Your kids need you to a vital part of their lives.

8. Volunteers are vital everywhere. I have noticed through the years that for anything good to happen in the world someone has to give up their time to make it happen. This is true in school, sports and Church. Youth football is just like every other area though in the fact that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. We need more volunteers to make the world a better place for our children.

Christian application – Where do you give your time? Do you give it to activities that really matter? Do you give it to activities that may not benefit you in any way? The world is a better place (more like the kingdom of God) when people donate their time to worthwhile causes.

That is it for today. Perhaps I will write more tomorrow. Until then, thanks to all of the dads who volunteer to do anything in this world, I know it is not always easy.

I am the president of the local Pop Warner football and cheer organization here in Homer. I am also the father of 4 boys who are involved in football. My oldest plays Varsity, the next one plays Junior Varsity, the next one plays on Unlimited Pop Warner and the youngest on Pee Wee Pop Warner.

As you can imagine youth football has been a big part of my life for the last several years as the boys all enjoy playing. So today (and maybe all this week) I am reflecting on the lessons I learn from being a part of youth football.

1. Kids enjoy football but they love their friends. Many of the kids who go out for football just do it because their friends are playing. Before each practice the kids love to throw the ball to one another and goof around. After each game they hang around and talk about each play.

*As Christians – we need to be very aware of who our Christian young people hang out with regularly, their influence is enormous.

2. Kids need to know the basics. Every year we have this same process. We start the season and after a game or two we realize the kids are lacking the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. Many of the kids have played before but they have forgotten the basics from one year to the next.

*As Christians – we need to teach and re-teach and teach again the basics of the faith.

3. Some kids will never be great football players. This is just a fact. While many of the kids love playing football, they are not big enough or fast enough to compete at a high level. The old high school coach said in the first practice, “Look around. Probably only 1 or maybe 2 of you will play at the college level.” This is not just a mean statement it is an honest truth. His point was to get the kids to enjoy every game and every minute you get to play, because it might be your last.

*As Christians – we need to realize that not all young people will be preachers and missionaries. That is okay, we just need to help them do their best for God right where they are now. They need to enjoy the life and the gifts that God has given them.

4. Losses are forgotten quickly. I cannot remember our team records from 3 years ago or 2 years ago and I could only give you highlights from last year. What seems so important in the moment fades into history quickly.

*As Christians – we need to let kids know that their mistakes now can be forgiven and forgotten. What seems huge to them today will seem minor in a few years.

5. Victories are great, but they are passing too. I tell my boys over and over that when they get to high school no one will care how great their Pop Warner team was this year. When they got to college, no one will care how good their JV team was this year and probably their varsity for that matter. I want kids to enjoy their victories but don’t allow them to inflate their ego and make them into arrogant jerks.

*As Christians – we need to celebrate successes that kids have in every level of their life. We also need to spend time preparing them for the life ahead. No one will care how often they went to Church in Jr. High if they quit going in college.

These are just a few of my thoughts and mostly they are directed at parents, but if you are a part of a community of faith then there is some responsibility on you too. It takes a Church to raise a child.

Today I read an article on the Christian Standard website that I found thought-provoking. It is about Miley Cyrus initially but it is mainly about our addiction to fame. It is worth a read

You will find it HERE

I recently read this story from Brian Jones in his email devotional. Enjoy.

My three daughters know that I have one sacred, unbreakable rule when our family drives anywhere on vacation: If you have to go to the bathroom once we’re on the highway, you better have a Pringles can close by because we’re not stopping.
There have been times, however, I’ve been tempted to break my own rules. For instance, I’ll never forget the time we drove from Dayton, Ohio, to Dallas. We had just stopped in Louisville to fill up, and after twenty minutes we had successfully emptied all the bladders, gotten situated with our snacks, and pulled back on the road heading toward the highway. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a plume of smoke rising from the rooftop of a small apartment complex. I looked for a chimney but saw none. I reassured myself that surely someone had already called 911 and everything would be fine.
Besides, I thought, I can’t even tell for sure if there’s a fire.
Yet something inside of me kept wondering, What if I’m the only person who is seeing this right now? As I approached the on ramp I went back and forth in my head, Should we stop? Should we keep going? We don’t have time for this! I swerved to the left at the last second, drove past the on ramp, and circled back into the apartment complex.
My guilt (or basic human decency) had won out.
As I pulled up I discovered that it was in fact a fire, and by then the flames had engulfed a large part of the roof. Worse, my suspicion was accurate—we were the only ones there. I asked my wife, Lisa, to call 911, and then I ran inside to warn people to get out.
Once I reached the third floor, I frantically started to bang on the doors, one by one, but at each door there was no response. I then ran down to the second floor and did the same. As I was about to go down to the first floor, a shirtless young man with disheveled hair stuck his head out of one of the second-floor units. He cracked the door open, and as I ran back to meet him, I was hit with a wall of marijuana smoke.
“Yo, my man, what’s up?” he said with a slight grin.
“What’s up is that your apartment is about to burn to the ground. Put your joint down and help me get people out of here!”
We ran down the steps to the first floor. Two couples responded to our knocking. “There’s an elderly lady on the third floor!” one woman shouted. “Did you get her out?”
My heart sank. After racing back up to the third floor, we began furiously pounding on her door. The first-floor neighbor yelled, “She gets confused easily. We may have to break down the door.” But just as she said that the handle slowly began to turn. Coughing, confused, and minutes away from being consumed by the fire, she followed her neighbors down to safety. As we stepped out the front door, we heard sirens in the distance. After we guided the elderly woman into the hands of the paramedics, I turned around and watched the firemen storm up the apartment steps to stop the blaze.
As I stood there, the weight of it all hit me. I let out a deep sigh and thought to myself,What would have happened if I had kept driving?
A few hours later, when my adrenaline had finally worn down and the kids were asleep, a bizarre thought came out of nowhere. I call it a “thought” because to this day I’m still not sure if what popped into my mind came from God or from the triple stack of chocolate chip pancakes from IHOP digesting in my stomach. Here’s what came to my mind:
Let me get this straight: You’re willing to run into a burning building to save someone’s life, but non-Christians all around you are going to hell and you don’t believe it, let alone lift a finger to help.