To be a rung
Watched the movie The Express over the weekend. I highly recommend it. It’s about the 1959 Syracuse University College Football National Champions and more specifically the first ever African American winner of the Heisman Trophy, Ernie Davis aka The Express.
Mr. Davis, following in the footsteps of maybe the best running back to ever play football, Jim Brown, at Syracuse and was also drafted by the Cleveland Browns to share the backfield with Jim Brown yet he was never to play a single down for this NFL franchise. Ernie Davis was diagnosed with Leukemia and died at the age of 23.
Many would look at Mr. Davis’ life only to be saddened by the unrealized potential, and the seemingly unfairness of contracting a deadly disease at such a young age. Yet, what I was struck by as I watched the extras was that this kid left a tremendous impact on the lives left in his wake. Even Jim Brown, known for his cockiness, held a reverence for the friendship he had with this young man. Floyd Little, appearing with other Hall of Fame nominees (watch the video at the end of the link as Mr. Little is introduced – a tremendous man) at the Super Bowl coin toss, still becomes emotional when he recounts the words that he exchanged with Ernie when Ernie recruited him as his replacement at Syracuse.
Last week I posted a post by Mark Batterson asking if this could be the day that Jesus returns. Today I’m asking what if it is the last day you are around? Who is left in your wake? Who is testifying in ten years about your goodness? Who becomes a Hall of Famer by standing on your back?
Here’s the question for me, “Am I willing to be a rung in the ladder to let others climb higher?” I think Ernie’s greatest testimony is that he was, and because of that I think he was great.
A Review of Primal by Mark Batterson
I’m not real sure how I qualified for this, but Multnomah was looking for bloggers who would agree to read Mark’s latest book prior to it’s release and post a review on their blog. Let me also confirm that they sent me a free copy of his book if I agreed to do this and if my blog qualified. Somehow it qualified, so here goes the review.
Mark believes that it is time for another Reformation, and this book is a call to that Reformation. He believes that this new Reformation will be led by a generation instead of a Martin Luther. He believes that this Reformation will call us back to our roots as The Church, roots firmly planted in the Love of God. These roots will go deep into the catacombs of Rome where out of fear of death people gathered in order to worship together as the Body of Christ.
Mark believes that these roots will draw deeply from the command of Jesus to Love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength and he explores what it means to do that through exploring with simple yet intricate details how our bodies work, how our planet works, and how our universe works. If you are not drawn to worship through the facts that Mark exposes about us, then I wonder if you’ve forgotten how to be in wonder. Hopefully, this book might call you back to childlike wonder, compassion, and curiosity.
If you think that you might be called to such a thing, then pick up a copy of this book.
Some favorite quotes:
“And when people think analytically, it can hinder their ability to act compassionately.”
“Sometimes our minds interfere with our hearts.”
“The bottom line is this: your focus determines your reality.”
Am I smoking what I’m selling? John Ortberg says we should be.
Am I smoking what I’m selling
Posted Thursday, 12 November 2009 by johnortbergI talked not long ago to a man who spends his life working with churches on stewardship. i asked him what the number one characteristic of generous churches is, and the rapidity of his answer startled me: “They have generous senior pastors.” He didn’t cite programs or teaching or systems. Just a person.
It struck me how deeply this is true of the whole area of spiritual formation. Sometimes a person will want to become a ’spiritual formation champion’ in a church. They may know a fair amount about techniques like lectio devina, they may read good writers and be able to articulate substantial ideas. But the biggest question remains: When people look at this person, do they say ‘I want to be like him or her?’When it comes to transformation, the single most helpful gift we offer is the life we lead ourselves. If I’m leading the wrong life, if I’m becoming the wrong person, no amount of information or teaching skill can speak louder than the volume of my actual life. The foundational question around transformation is always the ancient Biblical question (found in an obscure variant text):
Am I smoking what I’m selling?