Die hard sports loyalty at its best…

okay…texas sports fanaticism reach a new high tonight at our young adult bible study.

there was a group of us sitting around watching the browns-steelers game after the study, and the conversation turned to sports headlines and the requisite trash-talking that always ensues.  it wasn’t bad.  pretty normal.

cammy was at bible study tonight.  for those of you that don’t know cammy, she is one of the most gifted and talented young people i have ever had come through my youth ministry.  she is a focused and passionate disciple of jesus…a senior student leader at abilene christian uiversity…and deeply committed to the kingdom.

she is also one of the most biased, narrow-minded, trash-talking, all-teams-texas, homer i know of.  cammy has never entered a sports talk competition that she didn’t think could win.  she’s that impressive.

but cammy outdid herself tonight!  here’s how it unfolded…

we were talking texas longhorn and dallas cowboy football.  the topic turned to the nfl draft and specifically about the longhorns star quarterback, colt mccoy and his star wide receiver and best friend, jordan shipley.

cammy has turned on the cowboys great hope, tony romolicious, and she wants the cowboys to draft colt mccoy as their next quarterback.   that’s another post for another time.  but the next part of the dialogue was pure sports greatness.

she proceeded to say that cowboys should then draft shipley, because mccoy and shipley are best friends and they have some kind of cosmic football connection that would ensure epic success and bring the cowboys back to their rightful spot as america’s team (my words, but her sentiment).

i pointed out to her that shipley has already declared that he is not going to play professional football, but that he is going to be a missionary…his lifelong goal as a disciple of jesus.  admirable, to say the least.

without even a hesitation (or a prayer of forgiveness), cammy put texas-sports-homer loyalty into perspective:

“missionary?  he doesn’t need to be a missionary.  i go to a school that’s full of people studying to be missionaries.  let them go and do it.  he needs to come and play for the cowboys!”

have i told you recently that i love living in texas?

Do you Favre?

just got the news this morning that the great brett favre is making it official…he’s coming back for another year in the nfl with the minnesota vikings.  at least it appears that way.

the dude will be 40 years old this fall, as he enters his 16 season as a pro quarterback.  the average career for an nfl player is three and a half years.  unbelievable.

now, i’m not the president of the favre fan club or anything, but the longer this drama of his return goes on, the more i’ve been forced to think about some things.

when did your dream die?  or did you ever have one at all?

i’m inspired when i listen to favre talk about the game…the passion he has for playing…the calling he has as a leader of men and the drive he has to take a team to the ultimate goal.  i get fired up when i see a 40 year old guy commit himself to the discipline of excellence in his own body and mind to perform at the highest level in his field.

what about you?  are you pushing for the very best?  are you more fired up about the goals in your life now than you were 10 years ago?

i started over in youth ministry in texas when i turned 40 back in 1995.  it was the beginning of some of the most amazing experiences of my life…the best stretch of youth ministry in my years.  i was more excited, more focused and more committed than i had ever been.  (granted, it wasn’t nearly as physically demanding as playing quarterback in the nfl!!)

i turn 55 next week.  i’m more excited about what god is doing at north point than ever before.  can’t wait to see how the next decade turns out!

do you have any “god-sized” dreams that you need to start chasing?  or are you just existing from day to day?

maybe it’s time for you to get out of early retirement, get back on the playing field, and let god put some passion back into your game…

where’s the love?

okay…it’s been almost two days and nobody has any love to pass on to me?  sheesh…

chargers 30

new england 10

yesssssss…

Are you ready for some football?

ok.  i think i’m ready for college football to begin.  i can smell the grass.  i can hear the band.  i can feel the crush of helmets on shoulder pads.  i’m ready to argue over who’s the best.  

it’s time to find out who’s still reading this blog.  summer’s over.  get in the game.  who is going to win the bcs championship game this year?  cast your vote.

• LSU
• Oklahoma
• Ohio State
• Georgia
• Florida
• USC
• Thee San Diego State University Fighting Aztecs
• other…

Don’t be shy.