Get Ready for the Season

No. 1 Ranked Georgia wins their season opener!!!

Georgia 45 to Georgia Southern 21.

Go Dawgs!!!

LSU Makes SEC Proud

38-24

Way to Go Bayou Bengals!!!!!!!!

Logo is from the site: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827

Theopolis Interlude Part Two–Hawaii’s Story Needs to Be Told

Hawaii’s recent College Football story needs to be told, and I took a stab at it in my previous blog. Heather Dinich of ESPN tells it far better. Please give her a read.

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/bowls07/columns/story?id=3171525

On top of being one of the best coaches in the nation (I absolutely love Mark Richt of UGA), June Jone is also a believer … this is part of Ms. Dinich’s article. Yes, I am a Georgia fan, and love most things about my home state. However, I’m proud to say that I’m humble enough to find, celebrate, and emulate great things in other people, cultures, and … yes … football programs. Read Heather Dinich’s article!!!

Theopolis Interlude

We interupt this regularly scheduled series of posts to bring you this pronouncement:

GO DAWGS!!!!!!!

UGA played remarkably last night, scoring a 41 – 10 Sugar Bowl victory over the highest scoring team in the nation: Hawaii. Again, let me repeat: Hawaii is the highest scoring team in the nation for this present season.

Something changed in both teams relatively a short while ago. I think we remember (at least I do) the utterly horrible games UGA played against South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Though UGA actually beat Vandy, it was horrible play. UGA must have boarded their DAWGS for those games and sent in the pound puppies. However, something changed. UGA game play beginning with Florida after their off-week was entirely different. They returned the pound puppies to Wal-mart and broke their DAWGS out of kennel prison. The nation counted them out. UGA counted themselves at national champ material. They played the rest of the season with raw courage and DAWG bite, becoming the hottest team in the nation.

Hawaii’s story is similar and must be told. One of the commentators during last night’s game made some fabulous observations. Until June Jones arrived a short while back, Hawaii was utterly pathetic, going 0-12 (and 0-12 in the WAC, mind you). Look at Hawaii since June Jones. A BCS bowl game. June Jone’s recruiting budget is pesos on the dollar (not even pennies) compared to schools like UGA, Ohio State, and USC. He also pointed out that the last time he actively recruited on the mainland was about 3 years ago. Hawaii has nothing to hang their heads in shame over all things considered. Many teams would have given up at the half, but Hawaii played like the Warriors they are … with raw courage. Last night’s game could potentially be radically tranformative for them; for they had never seen the likes of SEC play before. Courage would say that last night’s defeat for Hawaii is national-championship-character-building for them. The have in my opinion one of the best coaches in the nation, but the powers-that-be need to shift their luau dollars to match their players’ and coaching staff’s warrior spirit.

The UGA and University of Hawaii helmet pictures came from the site: http://www.nflnut.com/store/page199.html.

All the Way to the SEC Championship!

Moving into the Auburn game on Saturday, Georgia was up against a formidable opponent. Auburn had beaten Florida and knocked them down from a national title bid. They pulled it out against Arkansas (in a baseball-like score of 9-7). They were 7 points shy of toppling Les Miles’s Purple Cat machine (LSU). I honestly had my doubts. Yet, Georgia performed beautifully and has some confidence chips to spend in Lexington next Saturday. (They must spend their confidence chips wisely, though). Kentucky beat Vandy (which is not a walk in the park) and provided LSU with their only loss. Kentucky has had a fair reason (relatively speaking). They are building their program. With their loss to Gardner-Webb (yeah your reaction speaks volumes … Gardner who?) in basketball earlier, their surprise football program is set to take off. However, I’m predicting Georgia will pull it out and face LSU in the SEC title game. I’m looking to see LSU play Oregon for the national title in January. Let’s face it folks, there’s nothing quite like SEC football.

Logo is from the site: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827

You Don’t Have to Look Pretty, You Just Have to Make It

Last night I watched the second half of the LSU – Alabama game. It was an adrenaline rush. LSU pulled it out at the wire, with Chad Jones’s sack of John Parker Wilson, the Bama QB. The ball was knocked free and LSU recovered the fumble on the 4 yard line, which resulted in a Jacob Hester TD for LSU. LSU is still in the hunt for the national championship.

Shortly before this one of the commentators remarked that all that mattered for winning the national championship for the BCS was winning games and getting there, not winning and looking pretty. “You don’t have to look pretty; you just have to make it.”

This morning a lot went wrong … all before church. By the way I’m the pastor. Pastors are perfect and nothing is supposed to go wrong. If anything does, then they perfectly handle the situation. Yeah Right!!!!!!!!

I know some people think of their pastors in that horrible light, and some pastors draconily want their underlings to think of them that way. That’s something I want no part of!!!!!!

God is transforming me. Jesus became sin, that I might become the righteousness of God. You know the transformation process might not be pretty, but it’s beautiful. It doesn’t have to look pretty, I just have to make it to the end.

Team logo is from the site: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827

Go Dawgs!!!

Georgia beats Troy 44 to 34.

Team logo is from the site: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827

The “Becoming” Type of Christianity

Well, Richt’s motivational celebration order worked last Saturday, as his dawgs entered The Swamp and had a gator feast. 42-30 is certainly more exciting to watch (if you’re a Georgia fan) than the 31-14 Mississippi State upset of Kentucky (if you’re a Kentucky fan) last Saturday. I’m both … at least I’m becoming both.

1200 pages of reading per class in grad school (I took at least 3 classes, sometimes four per semester) was not exactly condusive to the college football junkie lifestyle. College was not much better … that is if I wanted to make good grades. However, now I’m out of school with some time on my hands. I’ve decided to jump into the college football scene.

A man asked me today if I was Georgia fan or was I simply wearing the hat. You know, I had to think about that one. Two weeks ago, someone noticed my Georgia hat and asked me who they were playing that day. I didn’t know. Some fan, huh? I think it’s more accurate to say that I’m “becoming” a fan. I certainly do enjoy the games.

Though seeing every team I pull for while watching them on TV lose is getting pretty annoying. It’s crazy! I watched Kentucky lose to Florida two Saturdays ago. Yet while traveling on the road and unable to watch any games, both Kentucky and Georgia had victories. Kentucky beat LSU of all people!!! I was out in the yard most of this past Saturday and also involved in a church social that evening–which meant I wasn’t watching TV. Georgia rolls over Florida. However, that night I was watching the South Carolina–Tennessee game with a friend later that evening. South Carolina loses! I watched Georgia get steam-rolled by Tennessee and Kentucky get crunched by Florida on the same day. Watching Kentucky beat themselves in the South Carolina game was depressing. Hey a “becoming” fan could get a complex!

(I guess I should mention that I did see LSU beat Florida, Auburn beat Florida, and Georgia beat Alabama. But this tidbit of information would rain out my pity party!)

I’m having a great time “becoming” a college football fan. I’m also loving the process of “becoming” something else. Paul writes “For our sake he (God) made him (Jesus) to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (II Corinthians 5:21, ESV). Wow, that is App-State-beating-Michigan-at-Michigan huge! Such an approach to Christianity is holistic, involving every aspect of my life becoming the righteousness of God. Every aspect of my life including my work life, sex life, diaper-changing life, apologizing to my wife life, etc. is to be becoming the righteousness of God. This is also huge, considering that I should have wound up institutionalized, either in the penal system or the state hospital system. This also means I need other believers and other believers need me!

The Christianity I grew up with was simply signing on the divine dotted line, God sending in his angels for a celebration on the field (like Richt’s dawgs), and simply waiting for the hear-after. Yet, such traditional Southern Christianity (southern U.S.) is boring!!!!!!!!! God intends so much more. The “becoming” type of Christianity involves becoming personally involved in the lives others (who may not look, think, smell, or act like me) and helping them to become the righteousness of God. Such a “becoming” type of Christianity is certainly messy, but it’s so much more exciting!

Team logos are from the website: http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827.

A Tribute to the Gamecocks

I have a friend at one of my churches whose birthday was last Friday. Steve Spurrier did not deliver a good birthday present for him, yesterday. Vandy is reportedly eating fried chicken in Columbia today before returning to Nashville.

I must hand it to Spurrier, though. Carolina is a totally different ball program under him. What I have been told through the grape vine is that upon arriving at Carolina, he sent several ball players on scholarships to the slaughter house. Though mama and daddy had purse strings, these players weren’t earning their keep. Reportedly Spurrier has said that he is here to serve South Carolina, not simply to keep a few prominent parents happy. He plays the players who want to play, and want to play bad enough to be good enough. Out of this bunch players are selected for scholarships. I can easily see Carolina winning the SEC in the next year or two, if not a national championship.

Oh that we in the church would strive for excellence in the Christian life and in our church lives. How serious do we take Jesus? Serious enough to reach out to people that are completely different than us? Serious enough to reach out to people ravaged by sin? Serious enough to passionately serve at church (in other forms than simply supervising other people that actually work)? Serious enough to believe that the pastor is not simply paid to do everyone else’s ministry for them? Serious enough to actually show up at church? May we, who claim to wear the most excellent name in heaven and under heaven–Jesus–actually strive for excellence in Christianity!

Photo is from http://www.secsports.com/index.php?s=&change_well_id=2&url_article_id=7827