There has to be a winner and a loser. Really?

I don't remember the analogy he was making, but the other day I heard someone say something to the effect of, "Think about sports, if two teams play there has to be a winner and a loser." I'm sure you have heard people say things like that many times.

Has it ever dawned on you that there only has to be a winner and a loser if you keep score? I know it  is hard to believe, but it is possible to play just for fun, and not keep up with who wins and who loses.

"O, you pansy!" you will say. "Life is tough and we have to learn to be competitive." Well, there are venues in life where competition is unavoidable. But we have created far too many of them than there really need to be. What if we were more frequently cooperative than competitive? What if we made life more about helping others than defeating others?

I'm not presenting new ideas. They just don't get kicked around much in our sports crazed culture. Check out the new games foundations for some more thoughts.

Last week's Bounce trip

David and Rhonda have been faithful Christians and served their church for decades. Now David has stage 4 cancer and their spare money is going towards medical expenses. Bouncers repaired their fence so they could save some money. North Central Baptist Church is a multi-ethnic congregation that has been in its current location for almost 70 years. Harvey did some damage to their building, but they are getting it back in order a little at a time. They depend on volunteer labor and Bouncers painted five rooms for them saving them a good bit of time and making their building more enjoyable. Iglesia Bautista Tierra Prometida is a hispanic congregation whose food pantry was flooded by Harvey. They are working little by little to get it cleaned out. Bouncers helped carry out trash, tear out old flooring, and repaint the entire interior. Mr. Skipper, a Navy veteran also sustained home damage from Harvey. He too has to make repairs a little at a time and money allow. Bouncers painted his home and  put a new roof on.

That is not all the good things that happened at Bounce. Some students walked neighborhoods praying for residents that they met. Others made more repairs. People from different churches and Christian agencies of all colors worked together to help one another. Black, white, and brown worked side by side to accomplish more than any individual could do alone. And here's the beauty of it all. This whole thing was a response to what Jesus has done for us!

If you prayed for us, gave money, sent your child, or supported Bounce in any other way you had a part in what God was doing in Houston last week. Thank you!

Here's a bit more.

Chick-Fil-A

The San Antonio city council voted to prevent Chick-Fil-A from operating a store in the San Antonio airport. There is an excellent post about it on the Denison Forum. You should read what Dr. Denison has to say about it.

If you love eating at Chick-Fil-A you should watch this.

But going back to the decision by the city council in San Antonio; y'all, this kind of thing is not supposed to happen in Texas. How have we fallen this far? Well, since the progressives control a great deal of the media and much of our judiciary, they have managed to contort the first amendment enough to cancel it's protections. And since they also have tremendous influence in our educational system, many do not even realize the violations.

Here is a message by Voddie Baucham that contains some more information about how progressives have been able to gain momentum for their agenda.

I realize that God is in control and he will take care of his kids. But just from a human perspective I have to ask, if Texas turns blue where is there to go? Where will there be for a peace loving conservative to live without fear of oppression from the left?

I'm not the only one worried about the culture around sports

If you are a Christian who participates in, follows, or likes sports then you should give this book a read. If you are a Christian who has children who participate in, follow, or like sports then I am begging you; please, please read this book.

Shirl Hoffman is a professor emeritus of exercise science. He is also a former coach and former college athlete. However, he thinks sports in our culture have crossed a line and Christians ought to be concerned about it. Now, as much as we might want Hoffman to be wrong, the anecdotal, statistical, and biblical evidence he provides is pretty hard to argue with.

Whether Hoffman is right or wrong overall, there is one thing he is surely right about. Christians in our post-modern western culture have not done a very good job of filtering their involvement with sports (and other aspects of culture) through a Christian world view. Here is a great place for us to begin doing that. Sports are extremely popular among Christians. Yet, how many of us have really thought about whether or not the attitudes and practices surrounding sports can be properly synthesized with a life of following Jesus?

Finally, if you are a Christian with kids who like sports you owe it to them to read this book. Why? Not simply because you need to learn to analyze your life in light of scripture, but you also need to teach your children to do so. Read the book, think about what Hoffman says, pray about it, draw some conclusions. Then, discuss some of Hoffman's ideas with your kids. Help them think through those ideas based on what the Bible says rather than what we like or what culture says.

If you have read my previous posts about sports (here, here, here) and you still think sports build character then you really should read Good Game.


Hoffman, Shirl. Good Game: Christianity and the Culture of Sports. Waco: Baylor University Press. 2010. 292 pages.

Yesterday's Eclipse

Yes, the eclipse was very cool. Although, I was mystified by the "watch parties". There were thousands of people gathered on beaches and in stadiums to watch it. That part I kind of get. The reaction I did not. They were all cheering and clapping. I'm going to have to think about that for a while.

A different thought struck me this morning. Scientists can measure the orbits of the earth, moon, and sun in time and space and predict when these things are going to happen. They were already talking, yesterday about the next full eclipse in 2024 (I think that is what they said). We can predict all kinds of things about the solar system, such as when Haley's comet will come by, when we will see meteor showers, when eclipses will be, and so forth. We can do that because there is great order and regularity in the universe.

Order and regularity. Yet, scientists also tell us that the universe began with an uncaused explosion. An explosion of matter that existed in forever past. There are two problems right there. One, explosions are not spontaneous, they need a cause. Two, matter needs a cause too. But that is not what I was thinking about today. I was thinking about the order and regularity.

Have you ever seen an explosion that produced order and regularity? Every explosion I've ever seen produced chaos and destruction. But we're supposed to believe that a really big explosion, the biggest ever, produced the order and regularity of our solar system, and galaxy, and universe? I'm with Frank Turek--I don't have enough faith to be an atheist.