Today Senator George Mitchell's report (read; pdf) regarding the (ab)use of steroids and human growth hormone (i.e., "performance enhancing drugs") came out. Many prolific players' names were mentioned as "evildoers" and it certainly puts many "Hall of Fame" careers in doubt.
[For point of reference, Mark McGwire never tested positive for anything, but due to a refusal to "talk about the past" his potential Hall of Fame status is doubtful at best. He was notably absent from this list. (See?! I told ya so!)
P.S. Read as Stephen Dubner asks, "Is Today Mark McGwire's Best Day in Years?"]
Here we have a credible report implicating the likes of MVPS and a 7-time Cy Young award winning pitcher (i.e., Roger Clemens).
Actually, I'm pleased to see some pitchers' names on there. I've long held that roids were a pitcher's malady as well, but only the hitters get the scrutiny.
I was most disappointed Chuck Knoblauch's name came up. He was a good Texas Aggie whom I watched play college ball back in the day.
Some of these guys were turned in some mediocre careers and so were probably never suspected. But if it makes a great athlete a super athlete, then it would make a mediocre athlete a good athlete and a poor athlete a mediocre athlete. The roids can only take you so far.
The report was pretty Yankee-intensive, wasn't it? Yet, no Jeter or A-Rod.
So ... how do the Hall of Fame writers go about determining who is dirty and who is not? What role does suspicion play versus more credible evidence, etc.?
How innocent are players until proven guilty? What does it take for a player to be "proven" guilty?
In case you've not read the report ...
Here's the list of players that appear in the report: (HT Reepicheep; Here is an annotated list, indicating page number where player is referenced and the context/accusation) 1. Roger Clemens 2. Jack Cust 3. Tim Laker 4. Josias Manzanillo 5. Todd Hundley 6. Brian Roberts 7. Miguel Tejada 8. Paul Lo Duca 9. Barry Bonds 10. Andy Pettitte 11. Gary Sheffield 12. Eric Gagne 13. Jason Giambi 14. Troy Glaus 16. Gary Matthews Jr. 17. Jose Guillen 18. Rick Ankiel 19. Kevin Brown 20. Benito Santiago 21. Chuck Knoblauch 22. David Justice 23. Mo Vaughn 24. Rondell White 25. Mark Carreon 26. Nook Logan 27. Jay Gibbons 28. Hal Morris 29. Matt Franco 30. Jason Grimsley 31. Gregg Zaun 32. Mike Bell 33. F.P. Santangelo 34. Glenallen Hill 35. Denny Neagle 36. Ron Villone 37. Ryan Franklin 38. Chris Donnels 39. Todd Williams 40. Phil Hiatt 41. Todd Pratt 42. Kevin Young 43. Mike Lansing 44. Cody McKay 45. Kent Mercker 46. Adam Piatt 47. Jason Christiansen 48. Mike Stanton 49. Stephen Randolph 50. Jerry Hairston Jr. 51. Adam Riggs 52. Bart Miadich 53. Fernando Vina 54. Matt Herges 55. Gary Bennett Jr. 56. Jim Parque 57. Brendan Donnelly 58. Chad Allen 59. Jeff Williams 60. Howie Clark 61. Daniel Naulty 62. Lenny Dykstra 63. David Segui 64. Larry Bigbie
Just some thoughts on the need for God's presence in our lives, our need to walk with God.
(N.B. That's our need to walk with God; He has no such "need.")
"Abide With Me"
Abide with me! fast falls the eventide; The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! When other helpers fail, and comforts flee, Help of the helpless, O abide with me.
Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away; Change and decay in all around I see: O Thou who changest not, abide with me!
- Henry Francis Lyte (1793-1847)
"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you" -Augustine, Confessions
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? -Micah 6:8 (ESV)
Sometimes it's just that simple and it's simply just what we need.
Living in this "melting pot" it can be hard at times to know much about our ancestry. Adoption can complicate matters even further.
For example, my mom was adopted and until she was 26 she didn't know the identity of her biological parents.
Recently she found out even more about our lineage, particularly our country of origin, Bohemia.
In addition to myself, another Bohemian of prominence is John Huss, a pre-Reformer we spotlighted recently. Completing the trifecta would be a little Bohemian Rhapsody.
Bohemia is now (the western) part of the Czech Republic, formerly Czechoslovakia. Bohemia has Germany as its western border, Poland to the northeast, and Austria to the south.
(G'Day, mate!)
My ancestry is of the Lucash family, which immigrated to the United States in 1854.
My great great great great grandparents were Johann Georg Lucash (b. 1753) & Anna Zottin (b. 1760), both from Prague, the capital of Bohemia.
My great great great grandparents were Joseph Ignatz Lucash (1793--1868) & Josepha Elizabeth "Lizzie" nee Kraus. Joseph Ignatz Lucash was 61 years old when his family left Prague for the United States, traveling by ship from Bremen, Germany, to New Orleans, after which they traveled up the Mississippi River to St. Louis.
My great great grandfather was Joseph B. Lucash, Sr. (August 2, 1852-December 3, 1926), who was born in Prague. My great great grandmother was Anastia "Anna" Vratney (April 6, 1863-March8, 1918), who was born in Austria.
Their daughter Laura Evelyn Lucash (11th of 14 kids) married Earl Edwin Keck (d. 1969), my great grandparents.
I had never met any of the above ancestors with the exception of Laura Evelyn Keck (nee Lucash), whom the family called Nana.
However, Joseph Ignatz & Lizzie Lucash and Joseph B. & Anastia are buried in Freeburg, Illinois, which I confirmed during a trip to St. Louis in October. I must say, it was good bull walking around a cemetery seeing monuments to my ancestors as there was a large population of Lucash family represented.
I found myself much more interested in my ancestry than I would have thought. I'd known the Germanic heritage from my father's side of the family and that may have fed my affection for the Fatherland the many times I've been there.
Now, however, I really would like to make a trek to Prague at some point and visit the land of my ancestors, physical and of the faith (i.e., Huss).
Do you know your origin and have you had an opportunity to visit?
(*Some of this information I obtained via a webpage run by my 93rd cousin (or thereabouts), highlighting the History of the Lucash Family. He was even kind enough to add our family; I'm listed at 1.5.11.1.1.1.)
This was painful to watch, but I could not look away from the trainwreck. I really feel for this gal and hope she was having us on or got stage fright, but this is some heinous lack of geography knowledge.
"If you’ve been a parent for any time at all, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that your child came into the world with an insatiable faculty for evil. Even before birth, your baby’s little heart was already programmed for sin and selfishness. The inclination toward depravity is such that, given free reign, every baby has the potential to become a monster."
Read about Lance's FAQs on the Pastor as Visionary.
"Q: In order for a church to thrive, must it have a stated vision and mission?"
ReadAre You Ready for a Mormon President? (What evangelicals heard in Romney’s ‘Faith in America' speech.) Interesting question. Yeah ... I gotta say, "No. Yeah, that would be a 'NO' for me."
Read Brent's thoughts on Romney's speech. "I have wondered why Romney would assert that 'freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.' To me, neither assertion holds true."
Read about Jeff Wright's thoughts on Romney's speech at Conservative Reformed Mafia: Part 1 - Romney hit a homerun...or did he? Part 2 - Pandering Pluralism Part 3 - Romney's Values and Lincoln's Virtues
Read about The Balancing Act of Evangelism (in the Sunday worship service).
"Present the gospel, or motivate them to return for more, or maybe you can do both?"
Read about the Top 50 Inventions of the Last 50 Years listed by Popular Mechanics in December 2005. What did they miss?
Read some historical background on St. Nicholas from Rev.
Read John MacArthur's thoughts on Forgiveness and Repeat Offenses.
"In fact, it is important to be wary of feigned repentance in cases like the hypothetical one just described. Such deliberately repeated offenses, especially when accompanied by phony repentance, are evidence of a profoundly evil character and a cynical hatred of the truth. John the Baptist was justified in refusing baptism to the Pharisees until they showed the reality of their profession of repentance (Matt. 3:8)."
Read Joe Thorn's thoughts on suburbia evangelism, with thoughts on what is wise and foolish.
"3. The evangescript is perceived as invasive and fake. The unchurched can spot the evangelistic script before you finish that diagnostic question. If not because they are religiously savvy, it is at least because living in a consumer culture allows them to detect a sales pitch with little effort."
Read the Reformed conferences list for 2008 Tim Challies has compiled.
Scope out the chronicles of the recently deceased Evel Kenievel's injuries over the course of his "career" as a daredevil.
Over 16 years of performing, stuntman Evel Knievel was injured numerous times and had the scars to prove it. Various accounts chronicle a range from 37 broken bones over his career to 431 breaks in one season!
5. Out of love for them, not to express your feeling or frustration. It's interesting how my "honesty" can sometimes be inspired by my own frustration. Good criticism should not be "my frustration"-driven, but "your need" driven.
Read What the Church Is Not (Part 1 - Part 2) from Michael J. Svigel.
Read about Mark Altrogge's 8 Ways to Get More Out of Your Bible.
Read what David Mathis had to say about Advent and the Incarnation at the Desiring God Blog.
"...became...
Became does not mean that he ceased to be God. In becoming man, he did not forsake his divine nature.It means that he became a man by taking on human nature in addition to his divine nature. It is essential to the incarnation—and very helpful throughout all theology—to recognize that divinity and humanity are not mutually exclusive. The Son of God didn’t have to pick between being God and being man. He could be both at the same time. The eternal Word became a man. "
Read about Paul Pressler's endorsement of Fred Thompson.
"As a young attorney and family man, Judge Pressler was deeply concerned over the theological drift he saw in the Southern Baptist Convention. He was one of the two chief architects of the "Conservative Resurgence" of the SBC in the late '70s and early '80s. Because of his tireless efforts, he is revered among Southern Baptists as a warrior and hero."
Read John Gibson's response to the recent mall shootings: "No Sympathy for Omaha Mall Shooter" (HT Tank)
"With all due respect to those who think these baby-faced killers need help, I'll volunteer. I'll help walk them to a jailhouse door. I'll help them to a high window to jump out of. I'll help them lift a pill to their lips and gulp it down. But I won't help them clean up their reputations with phony sympathy for their alleged plight."
Check out the Steven Wright material shared by Rev.
Do you think that when they asked George Washington for ID that he just whipped out a quarter?
I think it’s wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.
If it’s a penny for your thoughts and you put in your two cents worth, then someone, somewhere is making a penny.
Read about Nehemiah’s Wall Found in Jerusalem (At a conference in Tel Aviv, an archaeological discovery is unveiled that proves biblical history true.) (HT Mark L)
Read as Pat Buchanan asks the question, "Can Diversity Destroy Us?"
On the Great Seal of the United States, first suggested by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, there was to be emblazoned a new motto: "E Pluribus Unum" — "Out of many, one." It was in their unity, not their diversity, that the strength of the colonies resided. ... This generation is witnessing the Deconstruction of America. Out of one, many.
Different folks have different reasons for opposing divorce, now there's motivation for those who love the environment. Read about how divorce is bad for the environment.
Read Donald Whitney's thoughts on the evangelistic power of asking the question, "How can I pray for you?"
"It's a short, easily remembered question. You can use it with longtime friends or with people you've just met. It doesn't seem too personal or pushy for those who'd rather give you a shallow answer just now, and yet it often leads to a full hearing of the gospel."
Read a series of posts on the Emerging Church Movement from Brian McLaughlin. (HT Chris Brauns)
Read about 5 (or perhaps 6) Streams of the Reformed Baptist Renewal Movement.
Read about how the Atlanta School Board Might Ban Sagging (Pants). (HT Non Nobis Domine)
Read about Germany's declaration that Scientology is unconstitutional, which may lead to be its being banned. Kudos to the Fatherland!
"Germany does not recognize Scientology as a religion. seeing it as a cult masquerading as a church to make money."
Read about Brian McLaren's upcoming visit to Dallas. I caught him in 2000 in Dallas where there were about 20 of us, but this looks a bit more organized and to cost more than the FREE admission I got.
"McLaren's insights don't come cheap. Tickets are $99 if you buy them by Dec. 15, and after that. ($79 for students.)"
Click on the image to read predictions made in the Ladies Home Journal (in 1900) about What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years. (HT Paleo-Future) The following is one of the few predictions that did not come true, but I wish it would, the alphabet revision, that is.
"There will be No C, X or Q in our every-day alphabet. They will be abandoned because unnecessary. Spelling by sound will have been adopted, first by newspapers. English will be a language of condensed words expressing condensed ideas, and will be more extensively spoken than any other. Russian will rank second."
Pastors, you might want to get in on this sweet Advent sale this week at Desiring God. $5 for the "Brothers—Feel, Think, Preach God" DVD. That's a sweeter deal than I got!
Read about the Cowboys winning something for the first time since 1998, the NFC East Championship. 12-1 is pretty sweet and this Tony Romo is pretty good, even though I've never tried his ribs.
Read about these 14 Offbeat Clauses in Baseball Contracts.
2. Rollie Fingers, Oakland Athletics Former A’s owner Charlie Finley never thought of a gimmick he wouldn’t try, including a mechanical rabbit that delivered fresh balls to the umpire and hiring a 13-year-old MC Hammer as his “Executive V.P.” In 1972, Finley offered his players cash for growing a mustache by Father’s Day, thereby giving birth to reliever Fingers’ trademark handlebar ‘stache. The A’s went on to win the World Series that season, and Fingers’ contract for 1973 contained a $300 bonus for growing the mustache as well as $100 for the purchase of mustache wax.
Read about Michael Vick getting sentenced to 23 months in prison for his dogfighting slooge.
Read about tribute Gunny's sister (affectionately known as "Grimer Worm Tongue") gave their mom on her birthday.
"Some of my most memorable Christmas toys were of the Knievel genre, including the pump-up motorcycle and accompanying Knievel "doll" (a G. I. Joe in a white jumpsuit), the travel van, complete with tools and a ramp, and that rocket-thingy, in which he attempted to jump the Snake River Canyon.
Once, my sister attempted to break the legs off of Mr. Knievel, so I gave her the business."
"Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy." - Ernest Benn, publicist (1875 - 1954)
(*The following is adapted from an article that appears in this week's edition of the Murphy Messenger.*)
How Do You Respond to Christmas?
People respond to Christmas in various ways.
Some celebrate with decorations inside and outside the house. Some respond by demonstrating love to others, including gift giving. Some rejoice in the great gift of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, mystified by the miracle of the incarnation.
Yet others see Christmas as merely a time to be fleeced by the department stores, and so they resent the whole Christmas season.
Others vent their hostility toward Christmas (e.g.). Some respond by destroying the Christmas decorations of others. Last year, I remember the children of a family in dismay as they examined a lacerated inflatable Santa and a decapitated Rudolph.
Those hostile to Christmas brought sadness to a family that was hoping to share joy with others.
A variety of responses is nothing new. When Jesus was born, some responded by traveling to worship, but others responded with animosity, like Herod who saw Jesus as a threat and murdered every male child under age 2.
Sadly, some respond with hostility to Christmas and any semblance thereof because they are hostile to Christ.
How do you respond to Christmas? Is it a time of joy and kindness? Is it a time of remembering that great Gift that was given for us as God sent His Son who would die so that others might live? Is it merely a time of commercialism? Is it a time of loneliness?
In my front yard I have a sign which reads, “Wise men still seek Him.”
Yet, it's the fear of the Lord that is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10). We must realize that Christ is not an impotent baby, but God in the flesh and One who is not to be trifled with.
Wisdom dictates you greet Christ not with hostility, but in humility seeking forgiveness through His death on the cross.
I hope we all remember the true meaning of Christ’s birth and respond with faith in our hearts and kindness to others.
This afternoon a former student of mine, Pastor Benji Magness, posted some thoughts from Mark Dever's book What Is a Healthy Church?
These helpful suggestions deal with the issue of how to leave a church and are at the end of the post.
It's important to leave in the right manner, but it's also important to leave for the right reasons, right?
Or to put it another way, it's important to not leave for the wrong reasons, right?
What are valid reasons to leave a church?
One blogger has offered some suggestions (e.g., Preaching and Doctrine).
From my experience as a pastor and in speaking with other pastors, few things are as demotivating or discouraging as when someone leaves the church. For most, it's nearly impossible not to take it personally.
So, pastors, what are some reasons people have had for leaving your church? Which do you find valid? When would you counsel folks that it's right for them to leave?
It seems to me there are 3 questions we could ask and hope to answer:
What are valid reasons to leave a church?
What are invalid reasons to leave a church?
What are reasons that necessitate departure?
I'm going to try to attempt to answer these over the next few posts, but highly welcome your input.
I have become convinced over the years of something I would not have affirmed in the past. Is it ever a sin for a person to leave a church? I would say, "Yes," there are certainly times when a person should not leave.
If there are valid reasons, then there must be invalid reasons. If those reasons are invalid, then leaving is sinful. Right?
Your thoughts?
From Mark Dever's What Is a Healthy Church?
Quick Tips: If You’re Thinking about Leaving a Church ...Before You Decide to Leave
Pray.
Let your current pastor know about your thinking before you move to another church or make your decision to relocate to another city. Ask for his counsel.
Weigh your motives. Is your desire to leave because of sinful, personal conflict or disappointment? If it’s because of doctrinal reasons, are these doctrinal issues significant?
Do everything within your power to reconcile any broken relationships.
Be sure to consider all the “evidences of grace” you’ve seen in the church’s life—places where God’s work is evident. If you cannot see any evidences of God’s grace, you might want to examine your own heart once more (Matt. 7:3–5).
Be humble. Recognize you don’t have all the facts and assess people and circumstances charitably (give them the benefit of the doubt).
If You Go
Don’t divide the body.
Take the utmost care not to sow discontent even among your closest friends. Remember, you don’t want anything to hinder their growth in grace in this church. Deny any desire to gossip (sometimes referred to as “venting” or “saying how you feel”).
Pray for and bless the congregation and its leadership. Look for ways of doing this practically.
If there has been hurt, then forgive—even as you have been forgiven.
"The focus of the entire season is the celebration of the birth of Jesus the Savior and Christ in His First Advent and the anticipation of His return as Christ the King in His Second Advent."
Read about the distinction made between "homosexual" and "gay" on the Stand to Reason blog. I think a distinction does need to be made between those with an inclination vs. those who unrepentantly act on those inclinations, but I'm not sure if the nomenclature makes that distinction, but I'm not sure I have a better alternative.
Read Justin Taylor's The Church: The Who and the Why.
"Who Is the Church? If Christ is the foundational cornerstone, then the church is his temple. If Christ is the savior, then the church is the saved. If Christ is the sanctifier, then the church is the sanctified. If Christ is the head, then we are his body (Eph. 1:22-23; 3:6; 4:4, 16; 5:23, 30)"
Scope out the Top 20 Books Nobody Reads. I was anticipating that I would score 20/20, but I only scored 18/20, since I had read 2 of these.
Read some reflections on Romney & Thompson criticizing the Confederate Flag by Anthony Bradley, reflections from a black perspective.
"Many blacks would see it odd that there are people who are actually proud to be associated with America's pre-1965 apartheid South, even people who identify themselves as "Christians." For you blacks in the South in evangelical contexts there is some wisdom, as I was taught, to be a but suspicious of those who love Southern pre-1965 heritage."
Learn about the recent "Building Bridges: Southern Baptists and Calvinism" conference, including audio, press releases, and commentary. Also, readTom Ascol's final thoughts.
"When was the last time you went to a Southern Baptist conference and heard messages on particular redemption, election, effectual calling, hell, Romans 9, Romans 10, Ephesians 1, Calvinism and Molinism (!). And have you ever witnessed Southern Baptist Calvinists and non-Calvinists pointedly challenging each other's views and affirming their common convictions all the while maintaining genuine goodwill even to the point of actually enjoying each other's company? In Dr. Akin's talk he made this statement, "One of our problems has been semi-Arminians with an attitude and Calvinist with a chip on their shoulder." Almost without exception those attitudes were absent from the conference."
Read some thoughts on Explaining the Gospel to a a Child.
Read about the new movie The Golden Compass and why Christians should be concerned.
To Spank or Not to Spank?Read Ray Fowler's thoughts, including the difference between abuse and discipline. Read also about the proposed legislation in Massachusets that would ban spanking.
"If signed into law, parents would be prohibited from forcefully laying a hand on any child under age 18 unless it was to wrest them from danger, lest they be charged with abuse or neglect."
What would YOU do? Take Time Magazine's Morality Quiz to see how you would handle some tough moral dilemmas. Then read how scientists are using these dilemmas to study morality.
Read an interview with C.J. Mahaney about Biblical Masculinity.
Apparently, "giving him the business" is a personal foul worthy of 15 yards. (HT Horhay)
This video is historical precedent for the one above. (Again, HT Horhay)
Read Jenn's thoughts on the devastation abortion has done to the black community.
"What the Ku Klux Klan could only dream about the abortion industry is accomplishing …"
Scope out the Fellowship of the Living and the Dead, a blog consisting of great quotes of our Christian ancestors. (HT Benji)
"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." - C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Listen to the Mark Driscoll audio which outlines 11 aspects of the atonement.
ReadHow to Learn (but not master) Any Language in 1 Hour. Read also How to Resurrect Your High School Spanish ... or Any Language.
Read Brian McLaughlin's summary of N.T. Wright's What St. Paul Really Said. (HT Chris Brauns)
Semper Reformanda's comment of the week belongs to M.
"Mortimer J. Adler was an unbeliever, and that sufficiently explains his un-Christian attitude toward books.
One should recall that the note taking technology has come a long way since the Sumerians invinted the quality hard bound book, thus there really is no excuse for those who love Jesus to write in their good books. Remember, someday, someone else will read that beautiful book! Don't display your ignorance to them in the margins!
Paperbacks, on the other hand, are altogether open to defilement..."
Read about the passing of an icon, Evel Knievel . When I was a kid he was kind of a big deal. People knew him. My first bike was Evel Knievel and I had the pump up motorcycle toy that was patterned after him. (However, most obituaries and life summaries will neglect to mention his conversion to Christianity.) "He became a Christian in April, and was honest enough to confess that he had refused for 68 years to convert, because he didn't want to surrender 'the gold and the gambling and the booze and the women.' But the night before his death, sensing his imminent demise, he telephoned friends to ask them to pray for him, declaring he was 'ready to be with God.'" (from the British paper Telegraph)
Today Senator George Mitchell's report (read; pdf) regarding the (ab)use of steroids and human growth hormone (i.e., "performance enhancing drugs") came out. Many prolific players' names were mentioned as "evildoers" and it certainly puts many "Hall of Fame" careers in doubt.
