Great D3 Football

An amazing ending!

A new Joe on the block?

Joe Girardi, the apparent heir to Joe Torre's position as manager of the Yankees. A solid choice, a disappointment to Don Mattingly, and further evidence that catchers make the best managers.

(Photo: Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press, from New York Times)

Feel the roar...

The Grizzlies of Franklin College continued their dominance over conference foes today with a 52-33 win over Manchester. The game was over by halftime, when Franklin had roared to a 45-7 lead. Next week...the big showdown against Defiance College.

Grizzly Cubs down and out...

Franklin lost their sectional semifinal matchup at Whiteland tonight, 55-20. The Warriors scored early and often, running over the Grizzly Cubs defense with a strong ground attack. It was a disappointing end to a tough season. Whiteland will play Indianapolis Cathedral for the sectional championship next week.

One personal bright spot is that our son Isaac had a 45 yard catch and run touchdown on a pass from senior QB Brad Hook in the fourth quarter. We're proud of all the boys on the team, who hung in there and played hard for Coach McClure through a lot of adversity this year.

Picture of the Day, 10/25/07

Austin, Jesse and I carved some pumpkins this evening. Here are two of them, the traditional Jack-O-Lantern and the Pumpkin-Head Horseman. They are out on the back deck now, shining their ghostly light and waiting to welcome Gail when she comes home tonight.

Comeback nation...

No way this guy takes steroids. It's players like Dustin Pedroia that keep me lovin' baseball.

Congrats to the Boston Red Sox for their ALCS championship. Last night, they defeated the Cleveland Indians 11-2 for the pennant. Sox pitcher Josh Beckett was MVP. The World Series starts Wednesday, Red Sox v. Colorado Rockies.

One of my top three teams made it! My fan loyalties are:

1. Chicago Cubs (yes, I am a lovable loser)
2. NY Yankees (they were on TV all the time when I was a kid, and were America's team. Besides, I'll take Derek Jeter over anyone in baseball.)
3. Boston Red Sox
   

My wife grew up in New England and is a loyal citizen of Red Sox nation. She can't understand how I can like both the Yankees and the Sox. I guess it's just my midwestern, middle-of-the-road style.

The roll continues...

The Franklin College Grizzlies continued their winning ways with a dominating 56-26 win over HCAC conference rival Rose-Hulman on Saturday. They remain tied for the league lead, as Defiance defeated Hanover. Things are shaping up for a showdown on November 3, when FC and Defiance meet on Senior Day at Franklin.

Joshua 5: WORSHIP

Today's sermon from Joshua, chapter 5, is now available in PDF format. The three stories in Joshua 5 are about WORSHIP. You can access the transcript here.

Final soccer game

My grandson had his final soccer game today. He played with his usual enthusiasm, spending as much time on the ground as he did running and playing soccer.

Great first season, Austin!

What I'm Reading...

Here is one of the clearest and most accurate definitions of the church that I have read. It comes from Eugene Peterson's, THE JESUS WAY, pages 5-6:

"A Christian congregation is a company of praying men and women who gather, usually on Sundays, for worship, who then go into the world as salt and light. God’s Holy Spirit calls and forms this people. God means to do something with us, and he means to do it in community. We are in on what God is doing, and we are in on it together.

"And here is how we are in on it: we become present to what God intends to do with and for us through worship, become present to God who is present to us. The operating biblical metaphor regarding worship is sacrifice—we bring ourselves to the altar and let God do with us what he will. We bring ourselves to the eucharistic table and enter into that grand fourfold shape of the liturgy that shapes us: taking, blessing, breaking, and giving—the life of Jesus taken and blessed, broken and distributed. That eucharistic life now shapes our lives as we give ourselves, Christ in us, to be taken, blessed, broken and distributed in lives of witness and service, justice and healing."

Second season...great win!

The Franklin Grizzly Cubs have had a rough season. Taking at 1-8 record into last night's 4-A sectional opener, the team responded with an enthusiastic 35-7 win over Greenfield Central.

The defense led the way, but the offense was also potent. Senior QB Brad Hook passed for 155 yards and a touchdown and ran for 123 yards and three touchdowns.

This sets up a rematch with perennial Mid-State Conference rival Whiteland next Friday. Whiteland trounced Manual in their opener, 37-0. The Grizzly Cubs lost to the Warriors in the 2006 sectional final in a thrilling overtime game, and in the 2007 regular season, Whiteland got past Franklin 28-14.

Congrats to Coach Mike McClure and the team. Go Grizzly Cubs!

Where are the pictures?

I haven't been posting many pictures lately. My hope had been to take a lot of fall foliage shots during the autumn and upload them to the blog. However, here in Indiana, the weather has been so hot and dry that the leaves are still only in the early stages of changing. It may turn out that many will go straight from green to brown and drop off the trees.

I will be monitoring this during the next week and it is hoped that I will have some good pix for you soon.

Joshua 3-4: POWER

The latest sermon--from Joshua 3-4, entitled "Power"--may now be accessed in PDF format. Here is the link.

Huge Win!

The Franklin College Grizzlies defeated Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati this afternoon, 28-19.

MSJ handed FC their only defeat last year, and were favored to win the Heartland Conference again this season. Before today's game, MSJ was ranked 14th in the nation in NCAA Div III.

Franklin remains undefeated in the Heartland Conference, with a great chance to win the league by continuing their winning ways!

Daily Prayer Technology

In our technological world, the noise and distraction of constant sound and information overload can keep us from solitude, silence and meditation. However, is it possible that tech tools can also be used to help us FIND a place of peace at God's feet?

I have discovered one such tool for my iPod. You can find it at the website of Pray As You Go.

This site, from Jesuit Media Initiatives, offers a wonderful podcast for personal meditation and prayer. Each daily episode is about 12 minutes long, follows the seasons of the Christian year, and includes time for prayer, and listening to and meditating on Scripture. The music is wonderful and calming; it ranges from classical sacred to choral to Taize and other quiet international worship styles. Each reader speaks with devout feeling and clarity. Occasionally, there will be special seasonal or devotional emphases.

I like to use this podcast to shape my final thoughts as I fall asleep at night.

You can also subscribe to Pray as You Go from the iTunes Music Store. However, I recommend that you take time to look at the website to examine their other resources as well.

What I'm Reading...

Various circumstances have led me to revisit Gregory A. Boyd's insightful, controversial book, THE MYTH OF A CHRISTIAN NATION.

One key idea of the book is that there are two basic kinds of kingdoms in the world:

• The kingdom of the world--the "power over" kingdom that controls and coerces behavior by the "sword," that is, by wielding authority with the threat of sanctions. All human governments are kingdoms of the world, used for good on the one hand by God to prevent chaos in the fallen creation and on the other hand by Satan to advance his evil purposes.
• The kingdom of God--the "power under" kingdom that brings about inner transformation through the practice of sacrificial love, ultimately exemplified in the Cross.
  

Boyd's concern, with which I heartily agree, is that the evangelical church in America has become politicized to such an extent that it has unwittingly subscribed to the ethos, methods and goals of the kingdom of this world. By seeking "power over" others in the culture wars, we have compromised our unique identity as the Body of Christ and have seriously damaged our witness to the authentic Good News Jesus called us to live and proclaim.

You can find more information about the sermon series that inspired the book, and even download mp3 files of each message here.

Important stuff.

Picture of the Day, 10/8/07

Franklin JV loses to Greenwood, 22-0. Here's Isaac, lining up at wide receiver.

A Break from Joshua

At church this Sunday, we'll be taking a break from Joshua. Our worship will instead center on the Lord's Table, with a message from Luke 24, called, "The Burning Heart."

The sermon has now been uploaded in PDF format, and may be found here.

No Joy in Mudville

All the wheels fell off and the Cubs were defeated in every phase of the game by the Arizona Diamondbacks as they swept the NLDS. It all ended with a 5-1 win over the Cubbies at Wrigley Field Saturday evening. Soriano, Lee and Ramirez, our "mighty Caseys," were held completely in check. Cubs fans hope the season was a good first step. Next season marks the 100th anniversary of the last World Series win. Wait 'til next year?

(AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)