LOST about finances?

I'm not a fan of the small group curriculum from Crown Financial Ministeries, so I'm really looking forward to hearing this series!

No QB turnovers? Michael Vick must not be playing...

Let me be the first to say that Atlanta needs to bench Michael Vick and start Matt Schaub.

I've been a fan of Atlanta Falcons backup quarterback Matt Schaub since the 2004 pre-season when he led the NFL in passing yards, completions, and touchdowns. Since then he's been relegated to the bench except when Vick goes out for an injury.

Despite Atlanta's loss to New England yesterday at the Georgia Dome, it was the best home game I've ever seen the Falcons play. As quarterback, Matt Schaub gave the Falcons the best opportunity to win, but our defense let us down.

Yesterday Matt Schaub showed his true colors and why he, rather than Michael Vick, should be the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons. With the exception of Atlanta's blowout against Minnesota, Vick has thrown an interception or fumbled the ball in every game so far this year. Compare this to Schaub, who, playing against the defending Super Bowl champs threw NO interceptions and didn't fumble the ball once.

Matt Schaub is listed as being 6' 5" whereas Michael Vick is listed at 6' 0" (though Schaub looks more than 5" taller than Vick when standing side-by-side). Perhaps it's his height advantage, perhaps it's his accuracy, but Schaub is a much better west coast quarterback than Vick. Understandably you can't rate a quarterback on just one game, but what would it hurt to sit Vick out for another week so his hamstring and sprained knee can fully recover while giving Schaub another opportunity to show what he can do? If numbers don't lie, then I'll let their quarterback ratings do all the talking...

Matt Schaub = 90.3 QB rating
Michael Vick = 83 QB rating

"Heroes" sermon by Andy Stanley

I still remember my first visit to North Point Community Church over four years ago. Andy Stanley is the pastor of North Point and happens to be the son of Charles Stanley who pastors First Baptist Church of Atlanta. My wife and I both have "Baptist baggage" from bad experiences with that denomination, so it was with great cynicism that we visited North Point. Visiting a church whose pastor is the son of a prominent Baptist preacher, we expected to hear a fire and brimstone sermon arrogantly delivered from a self-rightousness point of view, a lot of shouting, and a final altar call. Man, were we ever wrong.

Andy has a way of taking a book that's 2,000 years old and making it relevant to life today. And as a bonus, he does it with humor, sincerity, and a big dose of humility. My marriage is stronger, my friendships are deeper, and I'm a better Dad because of the growth experienced as a result of Andy Stanley and North Point. I never thought I'd get up before 7:00am and drive the 20 miles from Marietta to Alpharetta, GA, just to attend church, but I do. I can't imagine life without North Point Community Church (hereinafter referred to as North Point).

Since attending North Point, I'd never heard a questionable sermon from Andy or one that made me wonder where he was coming from until August when he delivered the 4-part "Heroes" series. In a nutshell, Andy made the case that a hero is defined as someone who has 1) clarity -and- 2) an irresistable urge to act. My immediate thoughts in hearing this definition were, "where is this in scripture" and "whose clarity?" In my humble opinion, he gave weak answers to both questions, but I hoped that perhaps in a followup sermon he would comprehensively address both.

As he usually does, in the second sermon of this series Andy gave several examples of individuals he considered heroes, one of whom I believe he's dead wrong about. Hearing what I considered to be blasphemy from the pulpit left me incensed. I figured that I had several options: 1) leave; 2) throw something at him; 3) listen to everything else he had to say and hope for a clarification. Option #1 was out because I would have had to yank my daughter out of Waumba Land (children's ministry). Sitting in the balcony gave me a great shot at tossing some vegetables towards the stage, but alas, all I had was my bible, notebook, and cell phone, and I didn't think this would pass the what-would-Jesus-do test.

So I tried to listen. I learned it's hard to listen when you're angry. I prayed for peace. I prayed for calm. I thanked God that I hadn't brought other like-minded friends, family, and neighbors who would never return to North Point had they heard this sermon. I prayed for patience. I also learned that it's difficult to believe someone's words after you feel they've spoken a lie. I did sit through the sermon, and my blood pressure fell, but unfortunately Andy offered no retraction or clarification. So I heeded Andy's closing challenge. With clarity and an irresistable urge to act, I felt compelled to share with Andy my experience.

I considered sending him an email, but I figured that there were several administrative assistants who managed and screened his email inbox. I could have phoned, but I figured with 18,000 regular attendees at North Point's Alpharetta campus that I'd have little chance of reaching him. I decided to write.

I've learned it's always wise to let someone else read a letter of this nature as I wanted to be sure my delivery was clear and not an impediment to the message I wished to convey. I listened to the sermon again online and then started writing. I took the wise counsel of my wife to make several changes and then mailed the letter. My hope was that the letter would at least reach Andy, but I had little expectation of ever getting a response. Again, Andy surprised me.

About a week and a half later, I was shocked to find a message on my home answering machine from none other than Andy Stanley. He had received my letter, read it, and wanted me to know that he'd meant no offense in his message. He offered his cell phone # if I wished to call him back, and then he thanked my wife and I for our involvement in leading a community group at North Point. Andy does his homework. I felt like I'd gotten a call from the Pope.

We traded several voice messages and finally spoke a couple of weeks later. He listened patiently. I think he heard me. Andy didn't change my mind about "Heroes"--I thought his definition of hero and biblical support were weak--I hated the series. It appears he adapted the series from his book, The Next Generation Leader [synopsis here] he wrote a few years ago, which IMHO would have made a better sermon.

Pastors deserve a mulligan every now and then. The last sermon in this series did touch on the subject of how a hero needs to do the right thing the right way at the right time, but it sounded like an afterthought and seemed to fall out of chronological order with the rest of the series. Regardless, the fact that Andy took the time to read my letter and respond speaks volumes about the kind of leader he is, and perhaps that is the message God wanted me to learn. As brothers in Christ we may not always agree, but we always need to listen.

Where is Sunshine?

One of the many bright spots in the Atlanta Falcons' receiving corps during training camp was Cole Magner, nicknamed "Sunshine" because of his long blond hair

After the preseason game against Baltimore, Michael Vick said, "He's a guy who goes out and catches the ball with no gloves on, straight hands, so you have to respect that. He's a playmaker. I've been watching him the last month and a half and critiquing him. I think he's going to make this football team." Several days later when asked about Magner again, Vick added, "The kid hasn't dropped a ball since he's been here. I'm not trying to jinx him, but he hasn't dropped a ball. You see him make the tough grabs and the 'Wow' catches that Jim is looking for. He does it all."

After the Falcons beat the Ravens in preseason, Coach Jim Mora even named Magner as special teams player of the game for returning 2 punts for 43 yards.

Magner's only mistake in a preseason game was in the 3rd quarter against Jacksonville where he fumbled a punt return with Jacksonville recovering.

Unfortunately Magner was a victim of the Falcons' final roster cut on September 3.

Probably because of his strong showing against Baltimore, the Ravens signed Magner to their practice squad on September 6. But on September 20, the Baltimore Ravens terminated his contract.

Aside from Finneran and possibly Jenkins, I think the Falcons still are weak in the wide receiver position. Of course I'd like to see Magner back on the Falcons' roster, but if we don't pick him up I hope he finds a place somewhere in the league.

Our God is an Awesome God

It was refreshing to reacquaint myself with the music of Rich Mullins on Saturday. Listening to each of his albums (CDs) from the self-titled "Rich Mullins" released in 1986 all the way to Canticle of the Plains, I was reminded that, with the exception of two songs, Rich wrote the words to every song he ever recorded.

I'm very fortunate to have a younger brother who shares my appreciation for Rich Mullins and his music, and in the fall of 1997 he gave me a two-CD set that was a Tribute to Rich Mullins, released by 20 The Countdown Magazine. I also had the opportunity to listen to these CDs, something I hadn't done in 8 years. [Listen to it here]

From his very first album, Rich wanted the world to know he was ready for heaven and recorded Elijah, a song about this longing. Perhaps it comes as no surprise that he re-recorded Elijah for the last album released before his death, Songs. When asked why he re-did it, Rich simply said, "because nobody listened the first time."

I became a fan of Rich Mullins my freshman year of college as I wore out the album Winds of Heaven, Stuff of Earth. It brought back a lot of memories--friends I had forgotten, Campus Crusade for Christ, and working a Steve Camp concert at Texas A&M University. It all seems like a lifetime ago.

If you've never listened to his music, heard him speak, or read anything about him, you're missing out. Rich was an average guy with a profound simplicity who yearned to know God. His next release, Never Picture Perfect, has my favorite song entitled "My One Thing". I've stolen some of his words as a daily prayer:

Save me from those things that might distract me
Please take them away and purify my heart
I don't want to lose the eternal for the things that are passing

After listening to 12 hours of Rich Mullins, I decided that my favorite album is A Liturgy, A Legacy, & A Ragamuffin Band. There's not a song on this album I couldn't listen to for hours. Rich is a true artist and poet. In this album, he brings together two things that impact our faith experience--liturgy and legacy. The liturgy part of the album (tracks 2-6) is a call to worship while the legacy (tracks 7-12) calls us to reflect on our heritage and those things that make us who we are. The songs "Hold Me Jesus" and "Peace" are especially powerful.

Time will tell what the world will remember about Rich Mullins, but for me it's humility and honesty shown through his words and music. There is something profoundly disarming and inviting about Rich that is rare in this world of smoke-and-mirrors. We miss you, Rich.

Rich Mullins, gone but never forgotten

I just read a blog that mentioned September 19 was the 8th anniversary of the death of Rich Mullins. I still vividly remember learning this horrible news--it was a Saturday, and my wife (then fiance) and I had just pulled into a Target parking lot. I was turning off the car when the radio DJ shared the news that Rich had died in a car accident the previous night. My wife got out of the car while I sat in stunned silence (very unusual for me). The radio station went to a commercial, so I got out of the car and walked with my wife into Target. I couldn't have been 10 feet into the store when it hit me. My eyes welled up with tears. I was devastated.

Life does go on. Two months later I was married, and a month after that we moved to Atlanta. The music and memory of Rich is still with me, though. Long after my Amy Grant, 4 Him, and other crappy christian music has been sold off or given away, my Rich Mullins CDs remain. And every Christmas morning we have a family tradition--I play "You Gotta Get Up" loud enough for the neighbors to hear it.

One of my few regrets in life is that I never saw Rich Mullins live in concert. It's been a while since I've played his music, but fortunately this Saturday I have a full day of work on a remodeling project. It'll be nice saying hello to an old friend.

Cheney gets some honest feedback

Watching the news coverage after Hurricane Katrina, one of the most offensive things I repeatedly heard from government officials was the self-congratulatory ass-kissing and positive spin with no basis in reality. I was relieved to finally hear CNN's Anderson Cooper address this very issue when he ripped into Senator Mary Landrieu (D-Louisiana) the Friday after the hurricane struck. [See the video here]

And not picked up by any of the major news outlets (unless you consider Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" to be a news outlet) is a press conference from Gulfport, MS, by Vice President Dick Cheney where he started with the positive spin and got some honest feedback from a local resident.

It's official--the Bush family is nuts!

Last week, after “more than an hour of solemn ceremony” swearing in Rep. Marco Rubio (R-FL) as House speaker, Florida Governor Jeb Bush stepped to the podium to tell “a short story about ‘unleashing Chang,’ his ‘mystical warrior’ friend.”

Here are some of Bush’s words, “spoken before hundreds of lawmakers and politicians”:

“Chang is a mystical warrior. Chang is somebody who believes in conservative principles, believes in entrepreneurial capitalism, believes in moral values that underpin a free society.

“I rely on Chang with great regularity in my public life. He has been by my side and sometimes I let him down. But Chang, this mystical warrior, has never let me down.”

Bush then unsheathed a golden sword and gave it to Rubio as a gift.

‘’I'm going to bestow to you the sword of a great conservative warrior,'’ he said, as the crowd roared.

I have an imaginary friend too. His name is Fuzzy, and he's a polar bear who likes to play lawn darts.