The Next Dude Perfect

Dude Perfect, have you seen this kid? (HT: Kevin DeYoung)

If you aren’t aware of Dude Perfect…

My Top 10 Posts of 2011

Top ten lists. That is what the last week of December is for, right? I should probably get in on the action before it’s too late. Without further adieu, here are the top ten posts from this small corner of the blogosphere. Thank you all for reading. I am truly humbled.

10. Your Words Have the Power of Life and Death
9. The Result of a Depraved Mind: Practicing and Approving of Evil Deeds
8. Gospel-Centered Devotions
7. I Want to Love Jesus, Not Just Know Stuff About Him
6. Long Snapping Amazement
5. Happy Anniversary to My Wife
4. Biggest Out of Context Pet Peeve: Matthew 18:20
3. The Rob Bell Saga
2. Thoughts on Erwin McManus’s Talk at the Global Leadership Summit
1. Should We Rejoice Over Osama Bin Laden’s Death?

If you read this blog often, what was your favorite post of 2011?

Long Snapping Amazement

Terry Harrington spent 25 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit

A gripping story from Sports Illustrated about an Omaha man who unjustly spent 25 years in the Iowa State Pen for murder.  Here was an eye-opening paragraph:

Harrington recalls the prison experience with a string of “de” words: demoralizing, degrading, dehumanizing. He has stories of gang fights and riots and inmates throwing feces on guards. He says that by the end of his first week, two inmates had been killed, one of them “cut up and put in a laundry bag.” Still in possession of his faith, Harrington went to church services. He soon quit when he saw the chaplain, also a prison guard, clutching a rifle, threatening to blow an inmate’s head off. “This guy’s going to teach us about morals and forgiveness?” says Harrington. “No, thanks.”

The story is quite long, but it is well worth it. You will not be disappointed. It is a tale of an man seeking justice and needing an outside advocate to provide it for him. The parallels to the gospel fall drastically short; however, the story makes me thankful for Jesus, who was innocent and took our death sentence for us. It also makes me long for his return when he will make all things right and bring justice to all those who have been unjustly tried and treated.

Read the whole thing.

Jay Cutler, Colin Cowherd, and the Anonymous Commentator

Every now and then I tune into Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio. Most of the time, Cowherd annoys me. Some days, like today, he hits it right on the nose.

Today Cowherd was talking about Jay Culter. If you didn’t know, Jay Cutler, the Bear’s quarterback, did not finish this Sunday’s NFC Championship against the Packers because of a knee injury. People attacked Cutler immediately and questioned his determination and toughness — including many current and former players who Tweeted their opinion.

Current and former football players are one thing (though it is quite hypocritical because they hate when the media assumes things before they can be confirmed). People posting anonymously on message boards are another thing. Cowherd spoke about this and I couldn’t agree with him more.

I’m paraphrasing here, but he basically said, “It’s so easy to hide anonymously on a message board. It’s easy to be tough when you call into a radio show. How many of you would be posting on message boards or calling into my show if you had to tell us your phone number and address? The answer is zero.”

Technology is wonderful for so many reasons. But it also creates cyber soldiers who battle in the shadows, and would never dare step into the light of day for a fair fight.

Do you avoid what is serious, controversial, and eternal?

This is an article from last year written by Greg Doyel of CBS Sports. Doyel writes about the so-called “anti-abortion” ad that Focus on the Family ran with Tim Tebow and his mother during the Super Bowl.

Basically, he wrote that it was wrong to run a 30-second “political” ad during the Super Bowl.  He writes, “Still, I don’t want to see. Not during the damn Super Bowl. And I’m not complaining about the ad because it’s anti-abortion and I’m not. I’m complaining about the ad because it’s pro-politics. And I’m not. Not on Super Sunday. If you’re a sports fan, and I am, that’s the holiest day of the year. That’s a day for five hours of football pregame shows and four hours of football game and three hours of postgame football analysis. That’s a day for football addicts to gorge themselves to the gills on football.”

Turns out, the ad really wasn’t about abortion at all. You can watch it here.

For a full disclosure, Greg Doyel rubs me the wrong way. He makes an the occasional appearance on a local sports talk radio show in Omaha, and more often than not, he’s rude and crude. The article brings out his true colors: the fact that he is more concerned about being entertained by football than talking about serious things.

My point isn’t to bash on Greg Doyel. My point is to expose an epidemic in America, and in the world at-large. The epidemic is that we want to avoid anything serious, controversial, and eternal. We want to make life a big Disneyland. I enjoy football, but football is not serious. It is not controversial. And it only lasts for four months of the year. Abortion is infinitely serious. It divides families and communities. And the decisions made regarding it will echo long into eternity.

Abortion is all that’s serious, controversial, and eternal. There are other issues. And until Christ returns, the epidemic that life is all fun and games will continue to spread and take millions of souls with it.

How the Texas Longhorns Taught Me About Life

Sports can be awful for spiritual development.  But they can be beneficial (and fun!) if you enjoy them in perspective. They have the potential of being especially sanctifying for a young man who lives and dies with his team, for God uses sports to humble and teach. Anyone who has played golf knows this.

The video highlights below are of two different football games between Nebraska and Texas.  The first is from 1996. Sorry that there are actually no Nebraska highlights! Nebraska lost that game, and I about lost my religion. James Brown (no, not that James Brown) broke my heart on 4th and inches, with his infamous “roll left” for a 61-yard gain.

You see, I was spoiled.  Nebraska had lost a total of two games from the beginning of the ’93 season to that fateful December day in ’96.  Two.  I didn’t know what losing was when it came to being a Husker football fan.  This game against Texas rocked my 12 year-old world.  But thankfully, God used this game to teach me a valuable lesson. I distinctly remember my dad telling me something I will never forget. He looked me in my tear-stained eyes and said, “James, you can never put your hope in people. If you do, they will always let you down.”

The second video is from 1998. We (Nebraska) lost that one, too. Ricky Williams and Major Applewhite chewed up my Husker heart. Then they spit it out and stomped on it. I don’t remember how I reacted initially, but what I do remember was that it was Halloween. After the game, I dressed up, grabbed my plastic bag and headed out to divide and conquer the neighborhood. I came back with record-breaking candy poundage. I’d like to think my dad’s wise words were somewhere in the back of my head that night, helping me put life in perspective (because Halloween candy is so much more important than football).

This week Nebraska plays Texas again. I will enjoy watching the game, and I hope the Huskers come out on top. But if they don’t, my weekend won’t be ruined.  Sports are fun, but they aren’t life. Jesus is life, and when you finally realize that, things like 4th and inches won’t break your heart. Dad, thanks for teaching me that.

1996, Texas vs. Nebraska, Big 12 Championship Game, St. Louis, Missouri (click here to watch highlights)

1998, Texas vs. Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska