Matt Murton's New Circumstances

Matt Murton has had an interesting year. After struggling through parts of 6 seasons up and down through the minor league system with the Cubs, A's, and Rockies, Murton's contract was sold to the Hanshin Tigers for the 2010 season. All of a sudden this red-haired Gaijin that knew nothing about Japan was headed off to join one of the most popular teams for a country that goes nuts over baseball, and he had no idea what to expect. It's safe to say though that he didn't expect to shatter the single season hits record. Even though the previous holder, Ichiro, did his 210 hits in 130 games, and Murton did his 214 in the newly lengthened season of 144 games, it's fine to say that he enjoyed a great season (even if it wasn't legendary) with a final line of 349/395/499 with 17 HRs. Now he's been using his new platform to talk about God!

Murton was never anything fancy stateside. After a good season in 2006, he had his 2007 shortened with the acquisition of Cliff Floyd, relegating Murton to a 4th outfielder role. He spent 2008 and 2009 up and down without ever receiving regular at-bats in the MLB. By his own admission, Murton struggled to figure out what was going on after 2007. He often prayed to God, wondering if God had other plans for him. It turned out that God did. A Christian since the age of 6 after praying with his mother one day, Murton was sent to a foreign land where he relied on God exclusively to take care of his family, who braved the journey with him. God came through in spades, to say the least, blessing Murton's endeavors in baseball and allowing him a platform to preach the gospel.

Behold, God is my salvation;

I will trust, and will not be afraid;

for the Lord God is my strength and my song,

and he has become my salvation. -- Isaiah 12:2

Often times we may wonder why things aren't going well. We pray for God to humble us and draw us closer to him, then question God as to why he seems to be cursing our efforts in the world. Trusting in God is just that; trust. God wants to use you, and he alone knows what it takes to bring you to a place where you can trust fully in him to follow him. When things go off of our plans, it's not because God has abandoned us, forgotten us, or is actively working against us. Rather, God is working through our circumstances in order to show us the better plans he has in store for us. Matt Murton probably would not have gone to Japan without this sort of strange path, but I don't think he'd argue the notion that he's happy he's there now. God will provide us strength, opportunity, and inspiration to accomplish his plan, and we only need to trust in his power and not work against it.

Christmas

Just a quick post this week as we all head into Christmas; take a moment sometime this week to think about how amazing it truly is that God sent his son in human form to save us. He was born from a woman as we are, and faced all the trials and tribulations we do, and yet still lived to become a perfect sacrifice for us. Sports these days (and society in general) are so focused on how much we can harness our own individual talents in order to better ourselves that we forget the model that we are supposed to follow; one of complete reliance on the Father and amazing selflessness. Jesus lived and died sinlessly in order to save us, and all we have to do is trust in his salvation. That should blow your mind.

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. -- John 1:4-5

Ted Barrett's Humble Strength

Being an umpire is rough. It's impossible to get every call right, and when you don't, everybody hates you. Even the people who respect you hate you. It's easy when taking up that call to put up a similar proud aura; you're running this show, and you demand respect. Ted Barrett, though, handles his business a little differently.

Do not be lead away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace... -- Hebrews 13:9a

As an umpire, Barrett knows he has to have confidence in there or he'll be eaten alive by fans, players, and coaches ready to jump anything close to a mistake. Berating the umpires is one of the great traditions of the game, and any umpire worth his salt knows how to ignore it and run the game the way he wants to. That said, it's possible to do this with humility and quietness. Common wisdom says that the great umpires are "seen, but not heard." They are able to command respect in the game based on their abilities, and keep the game going without making a show of their presence. In umpiring as well as the rest of life, taking direct insults without pushing back is extremely difficult; fortunately we lean on a God who has given an identity which he is responsible for, and he has justified our lives for us.

The vexation of a fool is known at once,

but the prudent ignores an insult. -- Proverbs 12:16

If you let them get under your skin, then they've won that battle. You have shown them that you are placing your worth, your justification, on something which needs your personal involvement to uphold. We don't need to do this. God is perfectly capable of justifying himself. When someone accuses the fatherless, the widow, and the poor, take up their cause. When accusations come from the ungodly, the Lord will defend our cause.

I will bear the indignation of the LORD

because I have sinned against him,

until he pleads my cause

and executes judgment for me.

He will bring me out to the light;

I shall look upon his vindication.

Then my enemy will see,

and shame will cover her who said to me,

"Where is the Lord your God?"

"My eyes will look upon her;

now she will be trampled down

like the mire of the streets. - Micah 7:9-10

God has come out and judged, and Jesus has born the punishment. He vindicates our cause against the baseless accusations of this world. Place your worth in Jesus' salvation and you'll be able to shrug off insults; they're not what you place your ultimate worth in. Be a little bit like Ted Barrett--confident, strong, and humble, but because the Lord has made him that way, not because he has worked for it.

We're talkin' 'bout Practice

As you may have realized by my incessant attempts to put words on a page, I'm the sort of person who enjoys forming arguments. I like to have my thoughts planned out ahead of time so that when the situation comes around to talk about it, I'm ready to do so. I think this stems at least partly from my competitive nature raised in sports. Only the incredibly elite and/or lucky can go into a high profile game unprepared and still excel; the rest of us have to practice in order to hone our skills.

The word "practice" has a nifty double meaning for Christians. In modern athletic terms, it means to drill and prepare beforehand so that our bodies and minds are ready to perform well when we are commanded to do so. In biblical terms, the word "practice" means to actively engage in activities so that they may have a profound impact on our lives. I don't think the two meanings are mutually exclusive in our lives.

Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you, by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. -- 1st Timothy 4:14-16

Practicing God's design is a lifestyle rather than an activity. By continually and diligently rooting out sin in our lives and instead working for God's favor, we facilitate a more godly mindset. People who are able to be humble in the good times are much more prepared to be confident in the bad times; the practice of devotion makes us more wholly devoted people. We still take cues from our Father and he still provides us with the commands to act, the tools to succeed, and the insurance of his fruit, but we can ready ourselves for such times. The practice of living for God inherently begets a more Godly lifestyle, and will allow us to be confident in God's plans when he presents them.

Glen Coffee's New Plans

It's not often you get players that up and leave a good career to follow Christ, but that's what Glen Coffee did. A backup runningback for the 49ers brought on to help Frank Gore out, Coffee was considered a fine NFL football player with a promising future. Back in August though, Coffee elected to quit football altogether because he said he felt like God had been calling him away from the game for a long time.

Go home to your friends and tell them how much the LORD has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you. -- Acts 5:19

Though we may have talents in sports, God does not always work through the things we find fun. Yes, I believe often that God does, but God will use you the way he wants. If he knows you'll do amazing things by going out of your element, then he'll have you do it. If he wants you to do what you have been doing your whole life, he'll make that clear too. The glory of God living in us is that he gives us the power to do everything he wants us to do. God does not delegate tasks and leave us to fulfill them; he empowers us to do them. God works this way so that the world will see him working, loving, living, and breathing in such a way that the events that transpire are wholly divine in nature.

Glen Coffee saw this. He saw that God used football to take him to college, where he would learn about Jesus' death and resurrection. Now that he has come to know God, Glen believes that God is using his life in new, more adventurous. It's almost certainly more difficult to abandon a life of fortune, fame, skill, and worldly prize for one of service, but God wants his people where he wants them. Whatever God's reasons are, we know that they are more amazing than anything we could think of. Continue to pray that God shows you what he wants you to do, and you too may find yourself somehow, by known of your own merit, accomplishing spectacular tasks you never thought you'd embark on.

God's House

Yet the most high does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

Heaven is my throne,

and the earth is my footstool.

What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,

or what is the place of my rest?

Did not my hand make all these things? -- Acts 7:48-50

It's a good thing that the Lord doesn't rely on the crafts of my hands, because that house at this point would be shoddy, ugly, and nowhere close to finished. Still, there is work to be done on the earth.

As an athlete takes the field, sometimes they may wonder if this is the work they should be doing. I imagine often that sports are thought of as a distraction from the real goal, and at times we may even hope that God is averting his gaze for a short time while we have a little fun, but it doesn't have to be this way. If we go into sport (as with all daily activities) with the mindset to give it to God, then it can become a joyful, godly activity. How can we do this?

1) Remember that the Lord is above all the earth. The Lord doesn't want to just control the spiritual part of your life; he wants it all. The Lord created us the way we are so that we can be beacons for him in our daily lives. Jesus encourages people many times (Mark 2:11, 5:19) to take the healing given and go into the world and proclaim it. This does mean our purpose has changed; it does not mean our activities need to change. While we should pursue God in everything we do, and some harmful activities need to be plucked out, sports can be done with the idea that we are growing close to other people in order to show them God's love. God is with you in sports just as much as everything else.

2) We can create God's house within sports. If you frequent this blog at all, you may know that this can be done either overtly (Josh Hamilton) or subtly (Brad Ziegler.) There's no reason to think of sports as outside God's realm. We need to remember the community that grows through sports, and we can use that to propel God's word into the kingdom at large. Make sure everyone knows how much of God's glory you take in when you finish a long run, or take the field in the bottom of the ninth, or nail your 5th free throw in a row, and people will eventually notice that you're getting something out of it that they're missing out on, and they'll gravitate toward it.

3) Remember that God made sports and wants them included as a material for his house. God made you the person you are, he made you the witness you've become, and he gave you the activities you enjoy for the purpose of glorifying him. If we think of sports as God's personal ministry he's entrusted to us, then it gives us that sense of purpose we may have been dodging or seeking for a long time.

Manny Pacquiao's Prayer

Pac-Man is pretty much at the height of his game right now. He's still winning fights against much larger opponents, he is appearing on nighttime talk shows, and he is a congressman in his home country of the Philippines. Regardless, Pacquiao still finds time to pray to the Lord, thanking him for all the blessings in his life. As you can see by the picture, he does this with incredible sincerity and quietness despite everything going on around him. Pacquiao's life right now is clearly one of incredible turmoil, chaos, change, and pressure; yet he still finds time to go directly to the Lord in silence.

But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. -- Luke 18:13-14

Too often we neglect this time of prayer. It's hard enough for most of us to get prayer in during a public meal; how are we supposed to pray during sports? The fact is that we need heartfelt prayer for everything we do, and sports are no exception. Pacquiao's way of praying shows his incredible gratitude for the Lord, and his humility in being able to express his faith so quietly. Ironically, this quiet display becomes very loud in the public's eye. In a world that is encouraging Pacquiao to revel in his accomplishment and be proud of his amazing athletic prowess, he refuses and goes back to the Lord for guidance. When we go to the Lord for prayer while in public, even when we're scared and confused of what form it should take we can remember this example. Just be thankful for everything the Lord has given you, and faithfully request his guidance henceforth; no grand public displays needed. The Lord will provide everything else you need if you have this attitude.

God's Design: Where We Fit In

A young man asked me recently how one is supposed to deal with insulting situations. He told me that when somebody confronts him and tries to put him down, he feels obligated to defend himself in whatever manner the situation warrants; physically or verbally. As humans most of us boil down to one of two impulses in these situations: fight or flight. As Christians though, and new people in God, we are given a third option; trust.

I think its fair to say that some people involved in sports practice as a way to justify themselves to other people. They want to let their actions speak for themselves so that everyone knows what sort of person they are, and if confronted, they can point out their accomplishments. If somebody called me slow in High School, I could prove them wrong with medals and ribbons, and doing so filled me with an intense, albeit shallow, sense of pride. To borrow a metaphor from a comedian I heard a long time ago, this sort of pride is a lot like Fruit Stripe gum: extremely gratifying for a few seconds, although quickly replaced by boredom and staleness unless constantly refreshed.

You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. -- Ephesians 4:20-24

As Christians, we don't need to justify our identities anymore. We give our lives to God precisely because our actions without him are meaningless, and we desperately desire him to come and save us from ourselves. When we give our lives to God, we recognize the fickleness of our accomplishments, and finally let God define what we are. Since God is defining us, we don't need to prove anything to anyone. When people around us question what it is that's defining us as people, we can simply tell them that Jesus died on the cross for us, loves us eternally, and we live our lives trying to help him in whatever way he wants. We let God's actions speak for us; and we delight in the fact that his actions are infinitely more worthwhile and amazing than anything we could ever do.

God's Design: Ben Zobrist

I'll go ahead and reveal a startling revelation to you all: Not everyone is called to full-time ministry. While everyone is called to give their life to God, not everyone is meant to be a Priest, Pastor, or other such jobs that require extraordinary charisma and articulation. On a related note, Ben Zobrist is not Grant Desme. In addition to being a Major League Baseball player instead of a prospect turned Priest, Ben is a man who felt God's call was for him to pursue baseball.

Coming out of High School, Ben didn't receive any calls from scouts. As the son of a pastor, while a very talented athlete, he had planned to go to college to begin his path as a youth minister. He felt God nudging him a little bit, so he decided to use his leftover birthday money and attend a college scouting camp despite his parents' misgivings. Ben received an offer from a school, but told his parents he would submit to their will if they believed God's call for him was in ministry. His parents asked him what he thought God was telling him, and he told them he felt like God wanted him to play a little more, and his parents let him play having showed such maturity earlier. He took the scholarship, was drafted a few years later, and broke into the MLB soon afterwards.

Unlike Grant Desme, he struggled a little coming through the Minors. Despite the gaudy numbers he put up in 2009, Zobrist was always seen as a super-utility player--A great piece on a winning team, but not a cornerstone to build on. Whereas Desme experienced the thrill of being at the top and felt God tug him away, Zobrist felt the dredge of mediocrity and felt God push him on towards greater success.

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed...Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit, and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. -- 1st Corinthians, 12:1,4-6

If we see God calling some of us away from our mediocre jobs, and others on to greater glory in our current fields, does this mean God is inconsistent? No. This means God has personal plans for each of us, and we need to leave our hearts open for that plan to take hold of our actual lives. Both Ben and Grant's choices were huge leaps of faith; Zobrist risked angering his family and losing out on valuable schooling to pursue a pipe dream, and Grant gave up a possibly highly lucrative career to pursue a lifetime of service. We need to trust God that he gave us the gifts he wanted us to have, has put us in a place to either use them or prepare to use them, and will move us to where he wants his glory to be seen. Let's just hope that we're smart enough to realize his voice instead of shutting him out in favor of our own machinations.

God's design: Grant Desme

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. -- Proverbs 16:1

Grant Desme has more physical talent than most of us could ever dream of. God gave him excellent speed, strength, and willpower to harness it in sports. Grant Desme could go back to baseball today and be ranked among the league's top 100 prospects. For those of you who don't know, Grant Desme is the former As prospect who quit baseball after an amazing 2009 minor league season to join the priesthood.

All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,

but the LORD weighs the spirit. -- Proverbs 16:2

Many people who read about this are simply confounded; why would such an amazing athlete simply walk away to become a priest? Why would anyone want to abandon such fame and money to live a life of subservience? Why can't he stay in baseball and still be a man of God? Why doesn't he try to find a way to use his abilities in conjunction with his faith? The answer for Grant came down to God's design. Grant said, among other things, that he "aspires to higher things." He says he has no regrets, and that having such an amazing season as he did only strengthened his desire to follow God in the priesthood. He felt that the rush of exceeding at such a high level, yet still feeling God tugging him to work elsewhere, finally made him realize that God had other plans for him.

Commit your work to the LORD,

and your plans will be established. -- Proverbs 16:3

What this comes down to for Grant and us is that we have to pray relentlessly and earnestly for God to show us what he wants for us. While it may seem convenient to try and find a way to serve God in baseball, that may not be what God has for us. Only he who has given us life can explain what he wants us to do with it. We weren't saved because we are amazing people who God needs to use; we were saved because we were desperate for God's hand to save us from ourselves. If God is telling you to re-evaluate your life's course and follow him in a drastic manner, then the only answer you can give is "Yes."

The heart of man plans his way,

but the LORD establishes his steps. -- Proverbs 16:9

Team Unity

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the LORD added to their number day by day those who were being saved. -- Acts 2:44-47

Sports are naturally social events. We train with, are coached by, interact with, and compete against other people at all times. Even the most solitary of athletes has coaches overseeing them and other theoretical athletes putting up records that become goals to reach. The spirit of competition breeds fierce individualism in some, but nearly every athlete has memories of great communities in which they've seen a lot of growth. Just as the Bible commands us to work towards furthering a community, we should work towards building greater community with others involved in their sports.

The above quote comes from Acts, just after Jesus ascended into heaven and commisioned the disciples to spread the gospel. Jesus had trained them for this, and sent them out in pairs to learn how to do this (Mark 6:7) The Lord encourages us to participate in community, for he knows that others can compensate for our weaknesses and embolden our spirits in the difficult times. We can apply this mentality to sports. God has placed us in the lives of our team members to strengthen them, help them, and compliment them (and they for us.)

If you're on a team, get to know the other members of the team. Learn what drives them, entertains them, and helps them so that you can establish commonalities and a relationship with them. Through teamwork not only can we accomplish our athletic goals, but we can accomplish our spiritual goals. The above passage tells us that the members of the Church had all things in common--not just a love for Jesus, Baseball, or whatever. The more we establish community with people that enjoy the same things as we do and find delight in the same earthly activities as well, the more we can find tangible ways to evangelize in the world.

Start today. Find someone whom you work with, practice with, compete with, and try to find something new about them which you can relate to. Reach out to them and try to figure out a way to grow in your friendship with them through that activity, and then pray for God to guide you through this time as you grow in community. Most of all, pray that God can use the time for his glory, and that you can eventually show your faith to your friend. For when people meet in community and are passionate for the Lord, then their numbers multiply by the grace of God, and we can happily begin the same process anew.

Dwight Howard's Plan

Its not always an easy thing to try to use the situations one is in to exalt the name of God. Sometimes we feel like we're just random people who happen to be playing sports, and that we don't really have a proper medium for any sort of life-changing evangelism. We can look at Dwight Howard for inspiration in these times. Howard came into the league with a set plan, picks his battles, and uses action to prove the reality of God's love in his life.

Dwight Howard was, like most professional athletes, gifted from youth with sporting prowess. Both of his parents were/are athletes, and he was sent to schools his entire life which allowed him to harness his gifts in a competitive environment. When he was drafted in 2004, he famously proclaimed that he wanted to use his status as an NBA athlete to "raise the name of God within the league and throughout the world." Howard has a plan here; he'll use his status to try and be an influence on the inner circle in which he takes a part, and spreads that influence to those looking on as well.

Isn't this an apt looking glass through which we may view our own mission? We can translate Howard's mission to ourselves: Use the position God has put us in to influence those around us, and live a godly life for those looking onwards in curiosity. Howard isn't the most in your face Christian ever either. He does have moments in which he boldly proclaims the gospel (slamming Phillippians 4:13 on the backboard during the Dunk Contest comes to mind) but for the most part he goes about his life confidently and with quiet action. He was nominated in 2009 for the Jefferson Award for Charitable Athletes. His blog gushes about how much Haiti needs help, and he's done his part. Furthermore, he still finds time to help out with the youth programs at his home church.

We don't need to have amazing skills or influence to serve God. We need to follow God where he leads us and do our best to help those around us know God better. The opportunities may come infrequently and perhaps at inopportune times, but if we are confident in God's plan, then he will reward us with great chance for ministry.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. -- Philippians 4:13

The Value of a Good Teacher

Think about the athlete you like the least. If the person is anything like mine, the person is arrogant, self-centered and egotistical. The person isn't grounded and assumes that their talent and skill can carry them regardless of whatever competition may come. I think it goes without saying that, in a vacuum, we don't want to be arrogant, but in sports we can forget that at times. Some teachers may teach us to be ruthless, fearless, and even careless at times. Often the winner's mentality is based on the assumption that you are the best and there is no room for doubt. When someone grows up with this mentality its easy to see why they may crash and burn when they fall. This mentality needs to be remedied early on with the choice of a solid mentor.

Unless you truly are the greatest athlete ever, there's slim to nil chance you're going to get anywhere without the guidance of those who know better than you. These people can help you hone your craft and allow you to learn from experience. Whether its a coach, a supervisor, an advisor, or a parent, these people can profoundly shape your world view in addition to your athletic ability. As responsible people, we need to examine our teachers with a broad spyglass so that we can ensure that when we allow ourselves to be molded that we come out as better people. I've definitely seen coaches who are respected for their knowledge but I couldn't dream of working under because their goals simply don't align with mine. If you allow yourself to be changed by the wrong mentor, you may end up similarly to the person we thought of earlier. This mentality doesn't stop with sports. In our spiritual lives there's no sense in attempting to live and learn by ourselves--we need accountability, coaching, and help from those who know better than us. That said, coaching does nothing if we're not ready to be molded, and we need to be sure that our coaches will lead us where it is we want to go.

And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men." -- Mark 1:17

Jesus called his men with direction, purpose, and confidence. These men made a choice to follow Jesus based on these actions. When we go through our spiritual and athletic endeavors we need to be confident in our teachers designs so that when we take a leap of faith we can land in the right place. The disciples were never perfect--they often quarreled amongst themselves, questioned their master's abilities, and avoided work when it was difficult, but they had chosen a master who had also made a promise to them. As long as they would follow Jesus, Jesus would continue to work them in his amazing fashions. Discipleship isn't always a process of perfection; we have teachers because we recognize our need to improve.

The right teacher is right because they have the qualities we're willing to sacrifice ourselves in order to gain. Do not choose a teacher because you want to improve yourself; choose a teacher because you need to change what you're doing wrong. Jesus has a teacher in mind for you so that he can work to fix that which you've clung to in vain. Discipleship is a two way street to be sure; teachers choose us because they see potential in us. That said, the choice to follow is on us. Pray, search, and be intelligent in your choice so that you can be pleased with where you end up.

The Activism of Kaká

American fans may not know too much about Kaká--I sure didn't. My friend George tipped me off about him, and I've been engrossed ever since. Kaká is a midfielder for Real Madrid, the cover athlete for the popular video game FIFA 11, and a former member of Time's 100 Most Influential People. The picture you see on the left is him after Brazil won the World Cup in 2002, and Kaká is known for such displays after other championship victories.

Kaká was born in Brazil to a reasonably well off family that allowed him to pursue soccer without too much distraction. As a child he was set apart early for his skill and talent. For most of his early years he focused on soccer, but he had a devastating injury when he was 18. Much like other great Christian athletes (see: Barton, Daric; Patrick, Andy), he dove into a pool and didn't quite find the deep end. He found out later he had broken a vertebra, was temporarily paralyzed in parts of his body, and wasn't sure he'd ever be able to play soccer again. Fortunately, as Kaká puts it, "the doctors said I was lucky; I am certain that it was God's will." Kaká recovered, and pursued his career with a newfound zeal for showing God how much he appreciated his healing hand.

Among other amazing things in his career, he was named an ambassador of the United Nations World Food Programme, and was the youngest person ever to be named as since its inception in 1960. Despite his status as a successful athlete, Kaka remained a virgin until he was married in 2005. He has claimed that when he was young, he “learnt that it is faith that decides whether something will happen or not." We can learn from Kaká that prayer is not simply another drop in the bucket of hope; rather it is a guarantee from God that he will take care of the situation in his glorious and magnificent plan.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.

We should all be so blessed as to live our lives with Kaká's faith; attributing all success and glory to God, praying nonstop for everything in our lives, and rejoicing in every time God blesses our endeavors and answers our prayers.

The time for God

Often times people feel like they need to take time out to focus on God. Most Christians feel guilty at times and feel like they've been focusing so much on their daily lives that they need to separate time out of their busy schedules and focus on God. Many very strong Christians may encourage you to do this, and I wouldn't argue against any time one takes to focus on God, but perhaps the problem here is perspective.

Let's look at the example of the competing athlete. She's in the stretch run, trying hard to make the playoffs, and it seems like every waking hour she spends is devoted to finding whatever edge it takes to get to the postseason goal. When she gets home at the end of the day, opening the Bible and reading is so hard that she finds herself looking at the words but not comprehending them due to exhaustion. She resolves to take 15 minutes at the beginning of the day to read her Bible, and focus on God. This works for a while, but after a while it becomes 12 minutes before she rushes out the door. Then 10 minutes over breakfast. Then 5 minutes while brushing her teeth. Then every other day she fits it in. It's obvious every day that it's just a chore she puts herself through, but she feels justified by the routine, and so she sticks with it.

If you're anything like the above gal, then maybe you need to focus on living out God in a broad scale. Your prayers should be focused on God giving you direction, mission, and clarity. If your goals in life that you work towards are for the benefit of God, then you won't have the need to set aside time for God simply out of necessity. By all means, continue waking up in the morning and reading, praying before sleep, and praying before every meal, but don't let that be your daily God fix. Live God in your actions, job, work, competitions, practices, and relationships and he'll give you all the fulfillment you'll need.

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. -- Philippians 2:13

Let's face it--we stink. Trying to schedule God into our lives is backwards and mostly ineffective. God didn't save us in order to have the portion of our lives that it's convenient to allow him. God saved us so that he could use our whole lives for him, and so that we can delight and rejoice in his plans for us.

Dan O'Dowd and the Rockies' Mission

An article was published a few years ago about the tight bond between the Rockies, and the high concentration of Christians on the team. Lead by general Manager Dan O'Dowd, the Rockies organization sought to put a higher emphasis on player development and team chemistry built through finding and acquiring players of high moral character. O'Dowd acknowledges the high ratio of Christians compared to non other teams, but he asserts that he simply tries to find men of good ability and good moral character. No player was ever questioned about their faith, and the players attest to an accepting atmosphere regardless of religion.

We can take a good lesson here. Everybody in baseball knows that the Rockies tend to have a lot of Christians--the players attending Chapel, the general manager, former manager Clint Hurdle, and even the chairman of the team claim faith in God. This doesn't stop them from trying their best to remain accessible to the places they were called and live as examples to those around them. When I heard Heath Bell speak at Giants Fellowship day some months ago, he spoke of how when things turned sour in his life, he was embraced by the Christian guys on the Padres and how he felt the love of God through those men. We can only try to live like such men; where our faith in Christ guides us with such a strong moral compass that when it comes that people need a rock to lean on, they find Christ using us to help them out.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. -- Colossians 3:12-14

When our Gaze does not meet God's

When I was in High School, I based a lot of my personal self-worth on sports. God was just a steady constant for me, school wasn't worth my time, and my social life was reasonable enough. During my sophomore year of High School I began to put a lot more of my dedication into sports in the hopes that I could finally excel at a sport I tried. During my Senior year, I caught an awful 48 hour flu two days before a crucial meet for Cross Country which caused me to miss the meet. I turned to God afterwards, but it was in a confused, bitter, and angry manner. I was still recovering from a bout with Depression from the year before, so my prayers weren't quite what they should've been.

How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

How long must I wrestle with my thoughts

and every day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me? -- Psalm 13 1-2

I'm sure we've all felt like the psalmist at some point. We work hard for things, we pray, we thank God for our gifts, we do our best, and for some inexplicable reason it doesn't work out. Maybe we're not good enough for the goal, or circumstances beyond our control stop us, or maybe we just mess up along the way. In times like these it's easy to blame God and to wonder why he hasn't helped his loyal followers achieve their goals.

Look on me and answer, O LORD my God.

Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death;

my enemy will say, "I have overcome him,"

and my foes will rejoice when I fall. -- Psalm 13 3-4

It's easy to forget at times like these what hold the world still has on us. We may say we trust in God, but oftentimes prosperity is just as difficult to remain grounded through. We feel like perhaps we've overcome some adversity in the past by relying on God, and now he's rewarding us with a time of accomplishment. We need to remember that God does not operate on a "Worship=Worldly Success" model. We can never let our gaze stray from God, even when the enemy may lure us away and subsequently taunt us when we fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in your salvation.

I will sing to the LORD,

for he has been good to me. -- Psalm 13:5-6

Every time I read this passage, I imagine David's physical state. I imagine a man yelling at God and probably crying. His hair is a mess from all the shaking he's done. He's sweating because of the physical toll the stress is taking on him as he unleashes his emotions on his Father. Like any kid, he's losing himself in anger at everything but himself. I imagine things this way because this is what I did when things got screwed up when I was in High School. I got angry, I raged, and I forgot what I owed to my father even in these times of hardship.

I think back to my own parents during this time. They rebuked me when I screwed up, but more importantly they remained patient with me as they knew that I needed to figure out what was really important to me. They waited patiently as I toiled through the mental gymnastics only to come out on the other side exhausted and needing love. When I did, they were there to assure me that everything would be alright, and that they were here to help me every step of the way. I came out knowing that sports, while a good thing and worthy of our best efforts, are not the reason that I am loved. God is the same way, multiplied infinitely. We can no longer see God in times like this, and we assume it's because God has turned his gaze away from us in our most desperate times. The reality is that it is we who have turned away because something glistens and pries us away from the rock of dependability, love, and trust which we forgot we so earnestly need.

As you may rant at God, I hope you come out on the other end exhausted and ready once again for God's love. God did not put you in the awful situation you're in now, but he is ready to fix it for you. Let us remember everything God has done for us, praise him for it, and rest easy knowing that he loves us in spite of how much we may misuse his gifts and forget his unending love.

Brad Ziegler's One Verse Evangelism

If you don't know anything about Brad Ziegler then you're probably in the majority. Brad is a relief pitcher for the As who broke the record a few years ago for consecutive scoreless innings to start a career. This feat was especially cool considering that his submarine style of pitching induces a lot of groundballs (which means he has to rely on his defense for outs) and the fact that he was not a highly regarded prospect (he was asked to switch to the submarine style after pitching coaches came to the conclusion he probably wouldn't be very good overhand.) These facts combined together make it so that only a few people ask for Brad Ziegler's autograph--the big As fans and the underdog lovers mostly. When Brad signs an autograph, he also writes down the phrase "1 John 5:5."

This is normally the part of the blog where I quote the verse in italics, but I'm not going to do that. Brad says that he writes the verse down partially because he loves the verse, but also because most people will have to go look it up. Brad uses this as a way to redirect people's praise for him back towards God and the Bible. I love this tactic for a few reasons; he lets the people choose if they want to read it or not, he leaves them with a permanent sign of his faith, and he picks a powerful verse which summarizes the entire gospel.

The moral here is that if you're not sure how to interpret the Bible for others, or if you don't necessarily want to screw things up, then just let the Bible speak for itself. If folks come to you with questions about Christianity and your belief, just go straight to the word and let God do his work. God gave us his word so that we could use it for ourselves as well as let it shine to the Earth as the good news. Don't be ashamed of the word; let God's magnificent deeds do for others what it has done for you.

The Sports-Related Prayer

When I was in High School I did full seasons of five different sports at different points in time. Few memories stick with me like the time my JV Football coach picked me out of the team of over 70 to pray. I didn't really know how to react at first--questions about the relevance of prayer in public school, the morality of praying for a game's outcome, and many other things quickly swirled through my mind before instinct took over, and I simply bowed my head and started praying as I had done many times in the past. I prayed for safety, that God's hand be over us, and that we grow as a team. It seemed to satisfy the coach enough that he continued to ask me to pray before each game, and I prayed basically the same prayer 10 times throughout the season while wording it slightly different any time. Why was I so nervous, insecure, and awkward, and what could I have done to fix that in such a rough time in my life?

"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the spirit intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." -- Romans 8:26

Its not easy to know exactly how to go about prayer. New believers or questioning folk certainly see the idea of talking to a supposedly omniscient and all-loving God to be somewhat trivial, nonsensical, or downright silly. As new believers grow up they often take up a mantra which may sound something like "Pray for the strength, but get the job done yourself." Its a good thing the bible tells us how to pray since we can't figure it out for ourselves (at least most of us can't.)

"This, then, is how you should pray:

Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

your kingdom come,

your will be done

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us today our daily bread.

Forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one." -- Matthew 6:9-13

What can we learn from this prayer (that we've all heard before, and even memorized?)

1) We need to begin prayer with affirmation and praise for God. There's nothing awkward about praising God for all that he is--powerful, loving, great, etc. We need to remind ourselves of this as much as anything; starting our prayer with these affirmations puts us back into the mindset that God is fully capable of answering prayer. We need to pray with confidence and faith, and not simply hope and routine. Asking for prayer but not expecting anything is a defeatist attitude which sets us up for failure--let's believe that God will help us when we go to him.

2) God's plan is better than whatever we have in mind. While Jesus does tell us that he wants us to come to him with everything in our lives (and the lives themselves for that matter,) adoration of God should beget the wisdom that he can take care of it much better than we can. If I am hungry, I do not ask God for a brown haired man in a black suit to come by and drop off his half eaten BLT from the local deli; I ask God for food. Whatever way God wants to give me food would be more than I'm capable of doing at that time, and I can be confident that God will provide for me. Let's take the same attitude towards the outcome of the game. We don't need to pray for victory; desiring God's work in the outcome seems infinitely more fruitful than me getting my way. Furthermore (and this is me spitballing) I'm happy to know that God doesn't limit his ways of working to my feeble and short sighted mind-he works on a much bigger scale to provide for his children.

3) Pray for the grand scale as well as the immediate. Its good to give up things that press on you to the Lord, but be careful not to become too wrapped up in them. God has everything else about us in mind, and he wants us to give that all up to him too. So we may pray for our current job search or difficult exam approaching, but we also need to affirm his guidance and continue to rely upon him in the future.

So as players, fans, and coaches we need to take this model directly for our game related prayers. Thank God for his providence in allowing you a field to play on, fans supporting you, the money to enter the league, and the fact that our ability to execute athletic achievements has zero bearing on our salvation. Pray that God can work through the game and the competition; that he uses the time spent competing and striving for him rather than our own proud devices. Pray for humility in victory and for confidence in loss--God is working beyond the scale of this one game. Most importantly, pray that you do not allow the evil one to use your passion for sports as a way to draw you from God. Pray for the wisdom of how to use your God-given talents and passions in a way that glorifies him.

There's nothing wrong with praying for Sports--they're part of the everything that Jesus wants to handle for us. We simply need to take the same attitude towards it as we do the rest of our lives. God wants to use it, you, and everything else for his glory, and we need to pray for the wisdom to recognize his plan as he reveals it to us.

Jeremy Affeldt's Realistic Belief

If you're not a Giants fan or as big a follower of Christian Lefty Middle Relievers (CLuRMs) as I am, you may not know about Jeremy Affeldt. Let's start with the basics; he's a Christian, an athlete, and he makes no claims to live those two lives separately. He runs a blog and frequently makes efforts to speak at charities and events like the recent Giants Fellowship Day last Saturday. He's dealt with injuries his entire career, and many times has had to face the uncertainty of knowing whether or not he will ever again be able to effectively do that which he feels God has called him to do. A few things I gleamed from his talk:

Affeldt is honest with God and his faith. Despite the fact that he's a professional athlete he, like the rest of us, constantly faces frustrations with the path his life takes. He also doesn't attempt to simply let things slide and accept it. Affeldt constantly makes an attempt to understand God's plan for his life so he can better fulfill it. He claims that he (sometimes to a fault) "yells at God." Often times this yelling arises from an inner desire to follow his own path instead of God, and when these two ideas collide he's stuck in the middle frustrated. I'm sure we can all relate to this; God's plan is rarely the most obvious and direct path. Jesus has an answer for this though;

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going." -- John 14:1-4

Jesus is both the road paver and the guide. We walk the road ourselves, but Jesus has gone ahead of us to insure that the path is true and has come back to guide us anyway. Unfortunately the presence of the Lord is often not enough to calm our own stubborn hearts. We continue to fight even though we know the correct path to take. We need to remember not only God's guidance but his assurance that things will be fine. The path is scary, this is certain, but the savior of all mankind has gone out to insure that the path is not too treacherous for us to undertake. That's not to say there aren't dangers along the way:

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -- John 10:10

During his talk, Affeldt also stressed the necessity of following Jesus and

the threat of Satan. "The thief" as Jesus refers to him here comes to steal, kill, and destroy. This verse comes from a passage explaining Jesus as the shepherd and us as the flock; the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy us (the sheep.) It's not enough unfortunately to think of the devil as just an evil force bent on nondescript bad acts; he wants to keep us from God for all eternity.

How do we stop this from happening? We need to stay close to the shepherd. Jesus is the embodiment of love, to be sure, but part of that love is protection. He is the savior who goes off to take back the one stray sheep. He is the savior who will lead us in victory in the end times. Most importantly, Jesus is the savior who would rather himself die than allow any of us who want to follow him be taken by the devil. Jesus is more powerful than our frustrations, our inhibitions, and our concerns. He is more powerful than the thief, the murderer, and the destroyer. This is the crux of Affeldt's argument; all we need do is stay close to the shepherd and he will guide us down the path he knows well.

Loving the Anonymous Referee

We've all had it happen to us--as coaches, fans, or as players. We've had a call go against us. Maybe we were one out away from a perfect game when the first base umpire botched the call, or maybe a player threw up a hand to stop a surefire goal and it wasn't called, or maybe our son was ejected from the game after just a dirty look. Its easy in these situations to blow up; to vent our frustration and tell the official just how wrong they are. After all, they wronged us, and as the victim we're entitled to a little lip, right? While the world at large may agree with this and push us to hold this attitude, we have to remember that we don't live by what the world tells us.

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." -- James 3:9-10

As is a recurring theme in this blog, I'd like to stress the importance of living every aspect of our life for God. When we go to the ballpark, we're not just fans of a sport; we're still living examples of the love of God. We need to remember that the men and women officiating a game are just as much God's children as we are, and we're just as much a sinner as they are. It may be culturally encouraged to get passionate about sports, and vicariously make enemies of the officials, but God calls us to reject such a culture's mindset. Despite the fact that its fun to bark at referees and boo, if only to be part of the community around you, that's no reason to live a second life on the field then you do in the rest of life. Sometimes as citizens of the world we're looking for an excuse to get mad at something, so we look for ways we've been wronged and speak out. This is the wrong way to deal with our anger.

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." -- Ephesians 4:31-32

God teaches us that if we are to model our lives after Jesus, then we must be ready to forgive trespasses against us. Do not allow yourself to drift back into anger by lashing out at the seemingly anonymous person behind the whistle. While passion is a fine thing to have, we need to let God direct our passion towards his goals instead of letting it run free like a wildfire. Speaking from experience, I know that I am often not able to tame my tongue when I do it by myself. At my core I am a bitter, selfish, proud man who thoughtlessly mocks those around me. In my case, I pray that the Lord helps me tame my tongue and instead gives me ways to practice using my tongue for the building up of others. I imagine I'm not alone in my struggles against this sin, and I've found that letting bitterness during sports have any place in my mind only allows the poison to spread.

So friends, don't take the easy way out. Even outside of sports, don't slander and mock public figures simply because they seem anonymous and outside earshot. Every thought we give to that mindset; every space in our heart we're allowing it to rent is another place in our life we're barricading God from entering. Let's humble ourselves and allow God full entrance into our lives instead of just the parts where it's convenient.

Player Profile: Tim Tebow

With NFL training camps recently breaking, controversy is beginning to swirl again about last year's high draft picks. Few figures in the draft class are as polarizing as the newly drafted Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow. While he's praised as an amazing college quarterback, few experts have him pegged to be a success in the NFL, due to his team's reliance on the Spread Offense (a formation which is often employed to great success at lower levels, but rarely sees success in the NFL.) What's most interesting to me though is how unabashedly brave he is in using his platform to preach the Gospel.

If you follow college football closely, you've probably heard the story of young Tim. He was born to Christian missionaries in the Philippines. When his mother was pregnant, she became infected with a condition that threatened her life should she go through with the pregnancy, and doctors recommended an abortion in order to insure she lived. She insisted on having the baby, and Tim grew up learning from his parents about the Lord. Despite being homeschooled, he played football extensively at a local school in Jacksonville, and accepted an offer from Florida to play college ball. At Florida, his career took off. He earned a Heisman Trophy his sophomore year, was third in the voting in 2008, and 5th in 2009. He continually impressed fans with his ability to both throw and run efficiently, and lead his team to BCS Championship games twice. He was drafted by the Broncos last year despite concerns that he does not have the talent to excel in the NFL.

To say Tim is a great football player is easy, but its not giving him nearly enough credit. To fully understand his motivation and desire, you have to look to his roots. Tim has used every platform he's been given up to this point for the Lord. Not only does he do the little things like writing bible verses on eyeblack and praising the Lord in postgame interviews, but he does community service extensively in the offseason. He's brought people to Christ while visiting them in jail cells. He takes mission trips back to the Philippines spreading the word and giving medical help to those in need.

"I could spend my Spring Break hanging out; having fun. Or I could spend my Spring Break ministering to Orphans, people in the Hospital who only have a few weeks to live...and I think: 'What really matters?'"

Tebow doesn't take his stand lightly. In an interview with ESPN, he states that his goal has always been to use football as a way to get to a place where he can tell people about the Lord. Where other athletes shy away from the spotlight and insist that children don't look at them for an example, Tim embraces it. He uses football because he wants to show everyone else how he's able to live life so joyously. This may seem proud, but it enforces faith in the Lord. The scriptures tell us that we should be living examples to Christ, and be bold in how we live our lives in faith so that others may see our confidence in Jesus as real, genuine, and providing.

"But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." - 2nd Corinthians 10:17

The example we can learn from Tim is that we shouldn't be shy about what the Lord is doing with us. We need to aspire to greatness and be confident that the Lord will bless our endeavors if we plan on using them for his glory. We can use the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) as a parallel. The Lord may give us small portions to start, but if we prove faithful in using our gifts for the Lord, he will bless us in abundance as we have learned the proper way to use our gifts. Perhaps Tim is simply being entrusted with a greater portion due to his faith and diligence. While we may not all earn the platform that Tim has due to our individual gifts, we can all take pride in what the Lord has given us.

The moral here is to give the Lord praise in all you do. Shout to the world what the Lord has given you; the Lord delights in having joyous children who love him and tell the world of his love. If we are faithful, diligent, and loving in our lives, then perhaps we will simply end up as Tim has; our cup overflowing with grace, mercy, and opportunity.

SFNewTech Recap

I wrote this piece after attending an event for SFNewTech. It's a little more freestyle than I usually go with my posts, but I was hoping it would help the organizer draw some looks with innovation.

So you finally decided to pull the trigger and come to this SFNewTech thing, huh? You've heard thing from friends about how they saw some amazing new ideas which sparked their own creativity and got them out of their rut at work. You remember hearing about your friend who met a man there who ended up helping her start her own business. You couldn't ignore it any longer; there must be something to the events there that keep people so interested and coming back, so you decided to attend the event on the 21^st, and how did it go?

You showed up around 6, which was as quick as you could get there from work, but luckily the event was geared around people scrambling from work, and there was even a taco truck waiting and people were enjoying drinks. You caught your breath and strolled in to be greeted with a smile and a nametag to make introductions easier. Waltzing to the bar somewhat nervously, you were greeted by a software engineer from AT&T who wanted to know all about what you do. You explained your situation, and asked about his. He admitted this is was first time here too, but he'd already met some great people who swore by these events. You found out you share a love of social networking and exchanged business cards, twitter account names, and added each other on linkedin. You had already made a friend within 5 minutes, and you had your ear on several other conversations going on. There were well dressed venture capitalists, bright eyed innovation scouts, and charismatic product managers eager to share all about whats going on in the technology world with you. Before you know it, the event started.

You found a seat next to the man you met earlier, and began listening to the talks. First you heard about Doochoo, which aims to be a building platform for opinion-related apps. They talked about Couchin, which allows you to ask your friends opinions on movies, television, and other media through a Nielsen-lite rating system, and you were already intrigued. Before you know it, a man from Lunch.com talked about how their new community feature lets you further personalize your social networking by allowing you to facilitate opinions from people who are similar to you. You agreed that you'd rather one opinion from a friend then 800 opinions from the masses, and vow to sign up later. Next a man from Crisp talked in a no-nonsense manner about how they plan on helping companies weed out garbage from online communities through profiling their chat behavior. Then MotherApp raved about how they'll allow folks to make apps that span across multiple mobile devices, instead of restricting themselves to just the iPhone or the Android. Finally, Sococo aimed to solve your problem of having meetings with your branches across the country and the world by selling virtual meeting rooms where you can chat, share media, and network in a secure environment.

There were even people like you, who got a turn on the mic to promote their new startup, or were looking for connections having moved to town just recently. You were amazed at how it seemed like so many people were just like you—trying to find that one spark to catapult them up the chain in Silicon Valley. This was more than a think tank you realized. SFNewTech is people helping people make their careers and lives better. It's no wonder that people keep coming back. You walked out the door with 5 business cards, a great new idea for your product, and a vow to pencil in the next three events, because this is too good a resource to pass up.

Disassocation, Trust, and Bunting

The conundrum of disassociation is something that affects everyone to be sure, but Christians in sports need to be especially wary of it. I spent a lot of time crafting that opening sentence, so you should keep reading and see what I mean by it. By disassociation I mean the quandary of whether or not to tell people of a certain important aspect of your life knowing the repercussions it may bring. For example, a homosexual school teacher may want to shout to the world how proud they are of their life; they may also want to hold back on that for fear that it may invite trouble from parents who don't agree. I've even heard stories of doctors and other academics holding back telling the world that they are geeks because of the negative stereotypes geeks hold in such circles.

Let's look at a tangible example. Daric Barton (the 1^st baseman of the Oakland As) told the Chronicle's Susan Slusser recently that he came to know Christ in the offseason. She mentioned in the same article that Daric has been sacrifice bunting a lot more recently on his own volition, because he wants to help the team. To Slusser's credit, she didn't connect these two items directly (other than featuring them in the same piece, and relating them with the vague notion of "being humble and wanting to help the team) but that didn't stop fans from doing so. (see comments for most of the connections) Most of the comments are in a negative tone, since bunting as often as he does while being a good enough hitter that he should be swinging the bat in the hopes of driving the run in, is statistically bad.

I'm sure most Christians can relate to this issue. A lot of Christians have become too comfortable in their faiths, having experienced God's love but lost the fire to share it with others. We may feel we're at a delicate balance in our lives--the money is just enough to sustain us; our families have enough on their plates to think about God; or the ever popular "Evangelism just isn't my thing." While preaching from the pulpit certainly isn't everyone's call, I do believe we need to allow God to work through us, and our circumstances. I would argue that to deny the world of our story in God is to be ashamed of what we have become.

Why are we ashamed? We have allowed ourselves to become too concerned with how the world wants us to think, rather than what God tells us to do. The world tells us that God is a crutch for the weak, a catch-all belief for the ignorant, and simply illogical. So we stay silent. We let the world come to us, and often times feel woefully unprepared for the chances we get to tell people about Jesus. Can't we remedy this? Isn't it possible that we can be a little more up front in our faith, so that when people do come asking questions, we're no longer the two-faced overly comfortable Christian?

So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. - Hebrews 10:18

With Christian athletes, this takes a very important role. These days folks are trying to examine the mental aspect of performance just as much as the physical role. We're seeing more cases of Performance Anxiety Disorder, Depression, and other crippling mental illnesses. We may fear that the acknowledgement of dependence on God may lead to people seeing us as unstable and/or weak. This is, again, shameful rather than careful. We need to trust the Lord. He has brought you to the place he wants you to be, and he has prepared good works for you to do, and entrusts you with them. We are not alone in these endeavours--we have God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and our fellow Christians to help us persevere. Though it may seem scary at times, and it may be a humbling experience, the Lord will do great things with what meager steps we may take.

So what do we do with Daric's case? Though it's probably not true that his faith has caused him to bunt more, we can trust that this peculiar story has helped out folks reading it. We can learn from Daric that letting the world know that we are Christian will draw scoffs, but it will also draw curiosity and eventual praise. People may use our mistakes as a way to insult God, but God will overcome their misgivings if they are prepared to allow him to work. While we don't need to throw a Bible at every person we meet, we can be more vocal about attributing things in our life to God to the public. Let's start by praying that God will give us confidence, boldness, and trust in him, so that he can do amazing things.

Player Profile: Josh Hamilton

Josh Hamilton may be the most well publicized name in Christian athletes today. He's had a Sports Illustrated cover story, numerous interviews, and his behavior is scrutinized by both media and organization alike to make sure he doesn't slip. Day after day he proves that he has been refined like silver and gives all glory to God. For those who are unaware, the story of Josh Hamilton is almost too well scripted to be true.

He was the number one overall pick by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in 1999. He amazed scouts with his effortless power and "No-Ceiling" athleticism. Like most young kids who are athletically gifted, Hamilton was unprepared for life as a professional athlete. He signed for a staggering $4 million up front, and was tossed into the waters just like every other prospect. He did reasonably well his first year, reaching the Sally league (High-A ball) in ample time, and seemed to be working his way towards his destiny. In 2001, though, tragedy struck. He was in a car accident with his parents, and his injury left him unable to play for a period of time. Unprepared for life away from home and without baseball to fall back on, Hamilton began escaping into drugs.

Hamilton had troubles all over, he was an addict, his wife couldn't rely on him, and he felt like a failure. To try and set things straight, he started small. While attending rehab, he worked at a baseball academy in Florida, surrounded by men who loved him and cared for him, and taught him about God. Hamilton attributes a lot of his turn around to the godly men in his life who cared for him because he was a man who needed love; not because he was a great athlete. Within a couple years, Hamilton was in the major leagues threatening for the Triple Crown and carrying teams on his back for stretches.

Every interview Hamilton gives, he is quick to give up all of the credit to Jesus. When Harold Reynolds told him that he really was Roy Hobbs (a reference to The Natural,) Hamilton quickly corrected him and said "It's a God thing." In every interview, Hamilton raves on and on about Jesus, and seems almost flabbergasted as to how much God has taken care of him when he had done so little to deserve such help. Hamilton lives by James 4:7 these days:

Humble yourself before God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Hamilton has truly learned what its like to humble himself before God. He was given great talent, skill, and a platform to preach, but he needed God to help him before he could put any of it to use. God is the creator, and the giver of talent-he wants to help you use it. The devil tempts us at every turn, but God wants to help us resist him. If we are able to resist temptation by invoking God's name and power, the devil will have no choice but to flee before such awesome power.

So what do we learn from Josh Hamilton's story? Giving ourselves to God means giving ourselves to a purpose. Jesus didn't make disciples so that they could simply acknowledge him and go on with their lives; he did so because he wanted strong followers who could prove to the world the power and love of God. If we feel the world is beating us, all we need to do is remember that God loves us, and is using circumstances that we have put ourselves in to make us stronger and more confident in him. Be confident in what God has done in your life; he has done and will do awesome works through you. Prove to the world that God loves through your actions, and God will bless your endeavors.

The Split

In recent years, gaming has legitimized itself in society. What used to be a weekend distraction for children has now become a lifestyle for perfectly sane adults. As technology crept forward so did gamers' preferences. I believe at the beginning of this console generation a great split occurred as gamers decided what they want out of games--a lifestyle or a distraction.

It's no secret that gaming has become more expensive with time. As gamers have demanded more quality from the developers, the technology required to both create and use such quality has also skyrocketed. With the release of the Playstation3, gamers saw a $600 price tag staring at them if they wanted every feature they've been clamoring for. While this price tag has dropped over time, so has the total functionality of the machine. The XBox360 by Microsoft has only kept its price lower by putting out a product with slightly lower maximum output. The XBox360 originally was a superior product to the Playstation3; probably because as much as gamers claimed they could notice the difference between 1080i and 1080p, they couldn't.

With the prospect of a gaming investment staring at the face of gamers, suddenly they had to decide whether or not it was worth it to start budgeting for video games. The majority of gamers also were coming to a point when there money was their own--the crop of young children during the Nintendo era had suddenly become a harvest of young professionals. These were men and women with their own money to spend, and could theoretically buy as many games as they desired. The question then is, how much do they really care? Are games at this point something to live for, or something that happens to happen while living?

I'm willing to put myself out there and say that most gamers actually made a conscious decision as to what type of gamer they were. Industry veterans might recognize the gamer type-buzzwords that were floated around a lot a few years: Hardcore, Core, Casual, etc. In a society and age when people struggled to individualize themselves, gaming certainly played its part. Just as people decided if they were the marriage type, or the workaholic type, or the political type, so did they decide whether they were the gaming type. Those that did now find themselves probably playing, ironically, one game a ton (World of Warcraft, Street Fighter IV, Modern Warfare 2, etc.) and others to completion. These gamers often maintain a shelf display of accomplishments (now in virtual form thanks to the onset of Achievements and Trophies.) The rest mostly play the games they're given, or find their systems collecting dust either under the DVD player or in the closet next to the rest of the party items.

The question then, is how does the industry move forward? Is it possible for one giant to create a platform facilitating of both cultures? Can one of these groups put forth enough actual buying power to legitimize catering to them? The serious gamers may not play too many games overall, or may buy their games used only to sell them back. The casual gamer may only buy the best games out there so as to insure their gaming time is well spent. With the advent of information being so robustly available to the common man, is it even worth publishing a game that isn't the highest quality?

My theory is that in the next 5 years the trend of gaming company consolidation will probably continue. Studios which can't afford to publicize their game to the masses, or polish it to a crisp will find themselves bought out by larger companies. Games intended for the serious gamer will continue to grow in quality and price, and the trend of fewer games per player will continue. Furthermore, the casual gamer will drift more towards smaller titles and digital distribution. Instant satisfaction and impulse buys will be provided by the $15, 6 hour title complete with a story to tell later.

Then again, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the idea of self-assigning gamer type is a fashion which has gone the way of the CD collection and the long winded blog post. Perhaps gamers don't even care what they're called, and just want something to keep them occupied until the next big occupation comes. Thoughts?