A Man and His Mission in Mars (Hill)

There's a great article in the New York Times about bad-boy pastor Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle, which is apparently raising eyebrows both inside and outside the evangelical communities. I have to admit that I found the article fascinating and my reactions to Driscoll oscillated from "Yeah! That's what talking about!" to "Dude, is that really necessary?" to "Man, someone seriously needs to take you behind the woodshed" and back. Unsurprisingly, the article talks about paradox on a number of levels, whether referring to Calvinism or Driscoll's own practice of faith and approach of "doing church".

Driscoll is a pastor who when asked about masturbation answers, "I had one guy quote Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says, ‘Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might." Now to be fair, he doesn't say that he condones the practice, and immediately warns the congregation of the dangers of lust. He's a pastor who swears like a sailor but fiercely embraces what many would call "conservative" doctrine. To call him unorthodox in terms of his preaching style and delivery would be an understatement.

What I like about Mark Driscoll is that he preaches and seems to live out fervently a doctrine which I also embrace, one which stresses the sovereignity of God. As mentioned in the article, "...Driscoll's theology means that his congregants' salvation is not in his hands. It's not in their own hands, either - this is the heart of Calvinism." It doesn't take a theologan to deduce in Whose hands salvation lies. Ah, the joy of the assurance of salvation. And you can't but laud how God has used Driscoll to "right" his congregants' view of God: Traditional evangelical theology falls apart in the face of real tragedy, says the 20-year-old Brett Harris... Reducing God to a projection of our own wishes trivializes divine sovereignty and fails to explain how both good and evil have a place in the divine plan. “There are plenty of comfortable people who can say, ‘God’s on my side,’ ” Harris says. “But they couldn’t turn around and say, ‘God gave me cancer.’ ”


I also can relate to Driscoll's antipathy towards to "me-centered" or "slick, program-driven" churches. He has led a church which eschews "positive thinking" quick thinking, instead focusing on the work of Christ and man's chief end to glorify God. He clearly wants to move away from the Joel Osteen and all-style, no-substance model, and I couldn't applaud that more.

But if you take the article at face value, you have to wonder a little about what seems like a disconcerting lack of humility and grace. The shunning of an elder who protested the consolidation of Driscoll's power? The suspension of a member who complained on an online message board? Preaching "they are sinning by questioning"?

And don't even get me started on Mark hating on Richard Simmons. What's up with that?

Molly Worthen, the writer of the article closes with an astute observation: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents. Let's just pray that for our brother Mark Driscoll, the Lord emboldens him to preach Christ and the gospel of grace; but that the Lord would also bring Mark humility so that Christ, not Mark nor Mars Hill, is magnified.

Infidelity is Apparently a Lagging Indicator

If you want to get a regain your faith in the human spirit and the good of humanity... well, maybe reading this blog entry isn't for you. An infidelity website AshleyMadison.com, has seen an explosion in membership during the last couple of months, some attributing the surge due to a struggling economy. The reasoning is that the bad economy brings out women who are looking for sugar daddies and men who are otherwise depressed about their shattered dreams at work. Yup, there's no better way than to regain your sense of dignity than to throw yourself into an illicit sexual relationship. That's right up there with vodka-fueled cocaine binge.

What can you say? It's terribly sad and if you read some of quotes by men who are using the service in the article, you can almost sense the hollowness of their rationale. It's fair to say that there's an element of that despair and vain attempt to find pleasure in every one of us, but I find even more mind-boggling and despicable is the rationale of providing such a service from the CEO. "We believe we save more marriages than we end," according to CEO Noel Biderman.

What I'd actually think would be a great concept is to have a crossover television show - "Cheaters Takes On Ashley Madison". For those of you unfamiliar with the show, Cheaters was a syndicated television program where unfaithful spouses were baited, "outed" by a camera crew, and confronted by a sanctimonious host. As you watched the guy run from the cameras and the host towards his pickup truck screaming, "That was my evil twin brother! This is all a misunderstanding!" you'd almost feel sorry for the guy... until you realized that he was just caught red-handed having an affair. But to have the Cheaters crew inflitrate Ashley Madison with the sole purpose of outing unfaithful husbands would be intriguing. True, the concept misses some of the key lessons in the account in John 7:53-8:11 of the woman caught in adultery, but I still say it's intriguing.

A Slippery Slope Gets More Slippery

An article in CNN.com today lauds the birth of a 'cancer-free' baby in London. The baby hasn't been given an in-vitro cocktail of super-vaccines nor is there a guarantee that the child won't be inflicted by certain forms of cancer later in life. In this case, the baby, a female, was screened as an embryo in a lab days after conception to check for the BRCA-1 gene, linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

Obviously, it's great that this baby is BRCA-1-free, as there's no apparent advantage to having this gene. What is disconcerting is what the course of action would have been taken if the BRCA-1 was indeed found to be present. Many parents may very well bringing the baby to term, recognizing that 20 to 50% of those with the gene never actually develop breast or ovarian cancer. Some parents might rashly decide to abort the child. What a tragedy it would be if people such as Shirley Temple, Sheryl Crow, Dorthy Hamill, Sandra Day O'Connor and Julia Child (all who lived with breast cancer) never were given a chance to live their lives and make their mark upon society because of a test which led to their eradication.

To be clear, I don't think the tests themselves are unethical, per se. What concerns me is what parents, humans who are prone to sin and poor judgment, will do with the results. When Sarah was pregnant with our first child Daniel, the obstetrician told us about a standard serum test which we could take which would test for Down Syndrome. We asked, "Why should we take this test?" and the obstetrician told us (in a way which I felt was gracious and thoughtful at the time) that parents may decide whether they want to take the baby to term or to end the pregnancy. Sarah and I decided to have the test, with the rationale that even though abortion not an option for us, we could make emotional and logistical preparations for a special-needs child sooner than later if need be. As it happened, Daniel didn't have Down Syndrome but he does have an odd habit of pulling his shirt up when he pees.

The other concern that I have is how this will become a slippery slope for parents who want a baby to specification and will terminate the pregnancy if their baby isn't "made to order" as if he or she was an omelette in a Denny's. If and when a test becomes available to see if a child will have asthma, will parents who dream of an NBA superstar abort the child? Before soon, we'll have testing of later-term unborn children who will be aborted simply because they don't happen to be the gender of choice for the expecting parents. Well, sadly, that's already old news.

Congrats to the Gators and a Fine Young Man

Congratulations to the University of Florida Gators for securing their 2nd college football championship in three years with a 24-14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners in the BCS Championship Game. Not being a huge fan of either team, what did grab my interest was Tim Tebow, the quarterback of the Florida Gators.

Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy as a sophomore (and was the first underclassman to do so), is not only a monster of a college football player, but is also a devout Christian and son of missionary parents. He spends time during his vacations working in the evangelistic center and orphanage his parents run in the Phillipines, and takes time to visit Florida prisons to share the gospel. Pat Forde, a columnist from ESPN.com, reminds fans to appreciate the Tim Tebow experience, because there aren't many who carry themselves the way that he does.

The article also mentions Tebow's admiration for Danny Wuerffel, another devout Christian who starred with Florida, won himself a Heisman Trophy, and as many analysts predicted (and as some predict of Tebow, as well), didn't have a huge impact at the NFL-level. Wuerffel, after a cup of coffee in the NFL, quit the game and went to work for Desire Street Ministries, which focuses on the spiritual and community development of impoverished neigborhoods in New Orleans. Tebow has been wonderful in carrying his faith in the spotlight. Should the Lord take him out of that spotlight someday, he still has a good role model in Danny Wuerffel - who kept the faith even as the glory and fame of NFL became a memory.

A little trivia about Tim Tebow and his family. Lauren, a friend of mine from church, actually knew the Tebow family in her childhood, and wrote in her blog of a memory of a little Tim Tebow playing with racecars and blocks in his room. That's very cool. Should I have any childhood memories of people who someday become famous, I will try to avoid the mischievous temptation of making up stories, telling people "I remember the time they defacated in the sandbox", or something similarly unflattering.

A Letdown of Monumental Proportions and Props to an Asian Christian Brother

In what has to be one of the most dramatic turnarounds in college basketball history, the Boston College Golden Eagles followed their victory on the road versus the nationally top-ranked North Carolina team with a loss at home three days later... to Harvard University.

If you believe in the transitive property in college sports, it gets even better. Harvard beat Boston College. Boston College beat North Carolina. Therefore, Harvard would beat North Carolina. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. The great thing about college sports is that on any given day, any team can upset another. But nobody could have seen this coming.

Harvard was buoyed by an unstoppable Jeremy Lin, who torched the Eagles' defense for 27 points on 11 for 16 shooting. Wait... the same defense that held all-American and possible NBA lottery pick Tyler Hansborough to 21 points on 6 for 15 shooting got lit up by Jeremy Lin? Wow, how about some props for great yellow hope Lin, who according to his bio, lists his interests as "spending time with family and friends, listening to music and going to church." So we're talking about a Taiwanese family-oriented Harvard-educated Christian young man who has some serious hoops skills. Jeremy, would you like to marry my daughter?

And congratulations to Harvard coach Tommy Amaker. You broke the hearts of Seton Hall fans by leaving for greener (money) pastures; you broke the hearts of Michigan fans with your terrible job of leading a team that never made the NCAA Tournament; but now you have your moment of triumph, hopefully not due to your shifty recruiting (goodness Tommy, it's Ivy League athletics!). At least you're climbing up the U.S. News and World Report college rankings.

Way to represent the Ivy League, Harvard. Usually when our schools play against top BCS conference-level competition, we're usually getting blown out by 20 points and relegated to heckling the opposition in unison, "That's all right, that's okay, you'll be working for us someday!"

Of course that's not really true. As UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma once said regarding rival Duke: ''There are just as many Duke graduates waiting on tables as there is from any other school in the country. They may just be working at a better restaurant.''

Time To Dust Off that Resignation Letter

Great news, everyone. I've been contacted by a gentleman in London and have been handed a "can't miss" opportunity to make EIGHT MILLION POUNDS. Naturally, I rushed to my currency converter and found out that this TWELVE MILLION DOLLARS! Naturally, I probably won't get the full $12 million. It looks like I'll have to hand over my bank account information to my new friend John and he'll pass along the proceeds to me from our partnership. I can't wait! I've always been a big believer in entrepeneurship.

Whew! And to think I was actually going to work in order to pay the mortgage and my kids' college tuition like a sucker.

What do you think? Should I write back and express my interest? I'd be stupid not to.

-----
From: Mr. John Commet
Sent: Wednesday, January 7, 2009 6:05:20 AM
Subject: From John

Good Day,

It’s my pleasure to contact you over this transaction and I hope for your assistance on this matter.

I discovered a dormant account in my office as a group director with a bank here in London ; presently the account is in an escrow account It will be of my interest to transfer this money worth Eight Million Pounds in an account offshore. If you can assist me in getting this money transferred out of London then invest with it and also establish partnership.

Contact me if you think you can handle such amount and kindly remember that this is very confidential.

I wait to hear from you.

Regards

John Commet

At Least Hideki Matsui Can Wrestle Him for the ROY Trophy

A report has the Yankees signing Ángel Berroa to a minor league contract to compete for a utility infielder role which was vacated when former can't miss prospect Wilson Betemit was traded to the White Sox in the Nick Swisher trade. If you don't remember Berroa (and nobody would blame you because the dude's playing ability probably could be classified as "borderline major leaguer" and he plays in that competitive baseball Siberia known as Kansas City), he has some Yankee notoriety as the guy who won the 2003 American League Rookie of the Year award over Hideki Matsui due to a couple of rogue writers unfairly left Matsui off the ballot in a dispute over eligibility. If Matsui's still bitter about this, I say lock the two of 'em in the manager's office and let them duke it out. One of them comes out with the trophy. Somehow I doubt that'll play out.

While we're on the topic of Yankees news, I have admit that I'm disappointed to hear that Andy Pettitte has apparently rejected the one year / $10 million offer. For someone who talks a great deal about how much it means for him to be a Yankee, I'm not sure why he would turn his nose at what I think is an extremely generous offer given his poor performance in the second half of last season (in which he clearly didn't earn his $16 million contract) and the way the Yankees stood by him publicly despite being left in the dark around his admitted abuse of human growth hormone (HGH). Add to that Pettitte's carrying of his Christian faith juxtaposed with his posturing making him look like just another greedy athlete with a sense of entitlement. Aside from reconsidering and taking the offer, I'm not sure how this will end up good for Pettitte, especially since I can't see any team in it's right mind giving him a better offer (I think $10 million is still $2 million too much given his elbow problems). If he goes to another team for less money, he's going to swallow his pride and people will question all his "I love being a Yankee" rhetoric. Does he have a abrupt and unceremonious retirement, due to his pride outgrowing his abilities like Bernie Williams did? With a rotation that starts with C.C., A.J., Wang and Joba, the Yankees can afford to see what Phil Hughes or Ian Kennedy can bring to the table. It looks like Pettitte really overplayed his hand. It's a shame.

I didn't get a chance to speak about the Mark Teixeira signing. Well, I love it. He's a switch-hitter who hits for average and power on both sides of the plate and brings Gold-Glove caliber defense to first base. He's not a wild and crazy nut-job like Manny Ramirez or even a party animal like Jason "party like a rock star, hammer like a porn star, hit like an All-Star" Giambi - instead there's this vanilla professionalism. Okay, so you can argue that he has a predator of an agent (Scott Boras) with whom he's happy to milk every last penny. Besides that, what's not to like? In addition, this is a guy that the Red Sox really wanted and could use.