Filed under: Current Events, Scripture Meditations, The Gospel | Tags: Drew
So I’m not the most likely guy to write the sports-related commentary. Ideally, we wait for C.J. Mahaney to write about the current athletic news and relate it to the gospel. Well, CJ seems slow on the take today, so let me relate a conversation I’ve been watching on Facebook.
My brother dropped the news that Michael Vick has signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Vick, you may remember, was THE star quarterback in Atlanta before he was convicted of running a dog fighting ring and served 18 months in prison for his crime. After showing appropriate remorse, he was reinstated a few weeks ago. The question became “Who would want him?” Many teams declared no interest. PETA was ready to pounce on any takers. He seemed poisonous – who wants to risk the bad press, the fan reaction, the protests? But three weeks later, Vick is an Eagle.
The response on Facebook started with one friend’s “boo.” All over the blogs, folks are shaming the Eagles for embracing Vick. He’s shown his true colors, and he never deserves to play again. He could never become a role model. Why would you reward a criminal? The opinions are sharp and unrelenting.
Now remember, Vick has served his sentence. He has paid the debt society asked him to pay. He’s not starting for the Eagles – he’s in line behind one of the better QBs in the game, Donovan McNabb. He has a massive hill to climb to regain a good reputation and respect. But many would ask that he never play again. You could fall on either side of the debate, but it has made me consider the way we view mercy and reconciliation. (more…)
Ideally, evangelism is not something to be undertaken in isolation. Of course, if opportunity presents itself, the gospel word should be spoken clearly and sensitively in conscious dependence upon the Holy Spirit – whenever, wherever, and to whomever. But evangelism is best done out of the context of a gospel community whose corporate life demonstrates the reality of the word that God her life.
Christian community is a vital part of Christian mission. Mission takes place as people see our love for one another. We all know that the gospel is communicated both through the words we say and the lives we live. What Jesus says is that it is the life we live together that counts. Jesus prays that those who believe in the gospel “may be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (John 17:20-23). The world will know that Jesus is the Son of God sent by God to be the Savior of the world through the community of believers. “No one has ever seen God,” says John in his Gospel, “but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, had made him known” (John 1:18). The invisible God is made visible through the Son of God. “No one has ever seen God,” says John again in his first letter, “but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us” (1John 4:12). The invisible God is made visible through the love of the people of God. The life of the Christian community is part of the way by which the gospel is communicated.”
(Total Church, Tim Chester & Steve Timmis, p. 58-59)
I recently made a comment about Upward sports that generated no little excitement. This post is my attempt to follow up with a little elaboration and, hopefully, constructive suggestions. I’m going to get right to the point. (more…)
I’ve recently been reading and posting quotes from Future Men, Doug Wilson’s provocative book (aren’t all his books provocative?) about raising boys with the end in mind — the end being godly manhood. Yesterday’s quote had to do with glorifying God in sports.
How does a follower of Jesus glorify God in sports? Not by holding back in competition or by refusing to keep score or by calling everybody a winner, especially when all the kids on the team know that’s not true. No, we glorify God in sports by…. (more…)
