MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - GO TIGERS!

BY STEVE DUNN

Labor Day is in one week and for many Americans, baseball is the small talk of preference.  I am among the legion that believes that baseball is still America's game.

Photo courtesy of Chuck Cramer

Every morning my neighbor (the local parking control officer for the town) and I trade scores and commentary. He's a faithful fan of the Baltimore Orioles and I (as you can see above) am a fan of the Detroit Tigers.  Lifelong I must say.  A waiter in Denny's Saturday morning saw me in one of my Tiger tee shirts commented on that admission by saying, "In good times and bad--and right now the times are very god for you." (He's a Pirates fan for whom times are "gooder" this late in the season than in many years.)

As of this writing, the Tigers have a six and a half game lead on the Indians in the AL Central, 11 on the next closest team--the surprising Kansas City Royals.  Most of the past two weeks that have traded the top spot in the American League with the Boston Red Sox.

There is little doubt that the key to the Tigers success lies in two men, Miguel Cabrera and Max Scherzer.  Cabrera is the best hitter in baseball today, who took the Triple Crown in 2012 and is actually leading in 2 of the 3 categories that make up the Crown.  If he can close the gap with Chris Davis of the O's in homers, he will be the first person in history to capture back-to-back Triple Crowns.

The other is pitcher Max Scherzer, who as of Saturday's eleven strikeout victory over the Mets was now 19-1 on the season.  In a year when Tiger ace, Justin Verlander seems to have had a wheel or two fall off, Scherzer has taken command on the mound.  He is part of what many feel is the best starting pitcher corp in baseball.  If it were not for a dubious relief group that has struggled notably, the Tigers might have already lapped the rest of the AL.

Added to that are some great hitters like Torii Hunter, Prince Fielder, Johnny Peralta, Omar Infante, Austin Jackson and late arriving Julio Iglesia.  And then there's Victor Martinez who sat out the entire 2012 season and struggled to be barely over ,200 the first two months in the season but is now one of the hottest hitters in baseball.

I am increasingly confident that short of a September meltdown, the Tigers can go all the way!  Right now I am predicting a Tigers-Pirates World Series ... but it could be Tigers-Braves,  

In any case--go Tigers!!!!!!

FOLLOWING UP ON THE VIOLENCE IN EGYPT

From Christianity Today comes this update on the situation in Egypt:

Despite the deaths of more than 500 Muslim Brotherhood supporters and the resulting retaliation against Christian targets nationwide, Egypt's Christian community stands with yesterday's decision by the military-backed transitional government to break-up the pro-Morsi sit-ins.

"If a peaceful sit-in took place in Times Square and locked down the city, how long would it take American authorities to disperse it?" said Ramez Atallah, head of the Egyptian Bible Society. "The government spent six weeks trying to solve this crisis, and finally used force. What were the alternatives?"

Youssef Sidhom, editor-in-chief of Coptic newspaper Watani, explained why one alternative—to simply allow the protests to continue indefinitely—was not a better choice.

"If it had been a peaceful protest, we should leave it there. Have the army encircle it to prevent more weapons from entering, and wait for their morale to falter," he said. "But the sit-in surrounded 20 to 30 high-rise apartment buildings, and the people had to submit to daily checks by the Muslim Brotherhood simply to go in and out of their neighborhood.

"They were terrorists, holding hostage thousands of residents."

Egyptian analysts disagree why the six weeks of negotiation with Islamist supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi failed. But once the decision to disperse the sit-in was taken, the confrontation was anything but peaceful.

The understanding of Christian leaders, however, reverses the predominant media narrative.

"The army did not attack the people," said Emad Gad, a prominent Coptic politician in the Egyptian Social Democratic Party. "They used tear gas and bulldozers, and were attacked by armed Brotherhood supporters, and then responded in kind."

Government officials announced 43 police personnel were killed in the clashes.

Sidhom anticipated violence, but hoped the dispersal would not be bloody. He praised the police for their self-restraint given the response of armed protesters. But many critics find the security forces used excessive force.

But even so, Muslim political commentator Abdullah Schleifer faults the Islamist misuse of the traditions initiated by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

"Non-violence … meant this," he wrote for al-Arabia. "Sitting or standing and offering no resistance to the British imperial forces and the American southern police when they would move in to arrest and often beat up the peaceful non-violent demonstrators.

"Non-violence does not mean building barricades to hold off the Egyptian riot police and breaking up pavement stones to throw at them."

Egyptian officials were quick to highlight video and testify to the armed nature of many Islamist protesters within the sit-ins. Amnesty International condemned protesters for torturing opponents within their grounds, though the Brotherhood rejects this statement.

Yet beyond the actions surrounding the dispersal of the sit-ins, Egyptian Christians find proof of violent Muslim Brotherhood intentions in the numerous attacks on churches and other Christian targets that occurred in the aftermath. CT earlier highlighted the burning of two Bible Society bookstores in Upper Egypt. Atallah believes such violence was pre-planned.

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MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS--PRAYING FOR EGYPT AND FOR ITS CHRISTIAN CHURCHES

BY STEVE DUNN 

 I have some special friends. They are Egyptian Christians, who have come to the US not to make a better financial life or to compete for jobs with Americans, but because in their homeland they were constantly under threat from Islamic extremists or persecuted by their communities because they are Christians. Some were pastors, whose churches were closed or burned. Others were respected teachers and one even a newscaster who had to leave a land they deeply love because their lives and the futures of their children were being destroyed. In most cases, none of them has found a job commensurate with their positions in Egypt. Between language or certifications and biases, they work as waitresses, laborers, cooks, in small factories. Many were part of the popular movement of the people that led to the ouster as Hasni Mubarak. Many have been part of the day-to-day effort to help all religious parties work in peace and harmony for the liberty and prosperity of their land. And now, once again, the churches in Egypt, the families of these families are under attack. And except for a few Muslim neighbors who respect them, little is being done to protect them at all. Before proceeding, simply look at this fairly simple video provided by CNN on Friday.  

When I posted this video on Facebook, I simply asked "What is our government doing to respond to this horrendous violation of simple human rights. I am now receiving answers and later this week will share some of those. In the mean time, please be praying. Just this past Saturday and Sunday, 17 more churches were burned in a small region where one of my friends three years ago called home. And the brother and family of another, the brother who is a pastor is now in hiding because the hometown extremists have threatened to simply come and kill his family. Please be in prayer.

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS: A-ROD

BY STEVE DUNN

I am a baseball fan--some would say, "fanatic."  I just unashamedly believe that it is magnificent sport that requires endurance, critical analysis, athleticism, spirit, patience, strategy, intelligent risk, fairness, continuous improvement -- and character.

Boys and girls have played this game most of my lifetime.  It has produced hallelujahs and heart-break.  It has diehard, faithful fans.  It has players and managers of great integrity.  It has its share of bums (and I don't mean the Dodgers) and scoundrels (like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb).  It has heroic figures like Lou Gehrig and Roberto Clemente.  It has men who will never be forgotten, like Brooks Robinson and people quickly slipping into anonymity--remember Mark Fidrych?

Baseball, like all modern sports is now a business, a highly profitable one.  It is a business where a player is a success when he fails 67% of the time but winning the Series is the only prize that counts at the bottom line.

Like all modern sports, it has a drug problem.  And in a culture where celebrity, especially sports celebrities have tremendous influence; solving its drug problem is in the best interest of everyone. Cleaning out that drug problem is the legacy that Commissioner Bud Selig wants to leave the sport that he and I and many Americans love deeply.  Of all the modern American sports, it is the only one that has been as aggressive and as persistent in cleaning up its game.  Baseball is to be commended.

12 players, including Johnny Peralta of my beloved Detroit Tigers have received the mandatory 50 game suspensions that goes with breaking those drug rules--whether naively (as Peralta claims) or callously (you fill in the bank), those 12 (who will lose millions of dollars) have chosen not protest the suspensions and step away from the game for the remainder of the season.  They made decisions NOW that are in the best interests of the game.  Hopefully, they will find baseball's redemption at the end of all of this,  Their punishment is part of baseball's redemption.

Then there's A-Rod who once again has narcistically chosen to pursue his own goals, thinking that again baseball must look past his self-indulgence, personal ambition, and pride.  Major League Baseball did not ban him for life.  If he really cares about baseball, taking 212 games off might have made most of us willing to give him another chance.  As it is, baseball will agonize even further for trying to do the right thing for its game and our nation.

A-Rod, wake up and man up.

(C) 2013 by Stephen L Dunn

WHY MILLENIALS ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH

Rachel Held Evans is a blogger I frequently read for her thoughtful, biblically grounded, sometimes provocative, and lovingly honest conversations with the church--the Church she loves deeply.  I felt this post, which she wrote for the CNN belief blog was worth re-posting.  I an sure some of my subscribers will not agree with all of her comments, but in my interaction with Millenials, Rachel is speaking truth--unwelcome truth for many. - Steve
 

By Rachel Held Evans, Special to CNN

(CNN) – At 32, I barely qualify as a millennial.

I wrote my first essay with a pen and paper, but by the time I graduated from college, I owned a cell phone and used Google as a verb.

I still remember the home phone numbers of my old high school friends, but don’t ask me to recite my husband’s without checking my contacts first.

I own mix tapes that include selections from Nirvana and Pearl Jam, but I’ve never planned a trip without Travelocity.

Despite having one foot in Generation X, I tend to identify most strongly with the attitudes and the ethos of the millennial generation, and because of this, I’m often asked to speak to my fellow evangelical leaders about why millennials are leaving the church.

Armed with the latest surveys, along with personal testimonies from friends and readers, I explain how young adults perceive evangelical Christianity to be too political, too exclusive, old-fashioned, unconcerned with social justice and hostile to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

I point to research that shows young evangelicals often feel they have to choose between their intellectual integrity and their faith, between science and Christianity, between compassion and holiness.

I talk about how the evangelical obsession with sex can make Christian living seem like little more than sticking to a list of rules, and how millennials long for faith communities in which they are safe asking tough questions and wrestling with doubt.

Invariably, after I’ve finished my presentation and opened the floor to questions, a pastor raises his hand and says, “So what you’re saying is we need hipper worship bands. …”

And I proceed to bang my head against the podium.

Time and again, the assumption among Christian leaders, and evangelical leaders in particular, is that the key to drawing twenty-somethings back to church is simply to make a few style updates – edgier music, more casual services, a coffee shop in the fellowship hall, a pastor who wears skinny jeans, an updated Web site that includes online giving.

But here’s the thing: Having been advertised to our whole lives, we millennials have highly sensitive BS meters, and we’re not easily impressed with consumerism or performances.

In fact, I would argue that church-as-performance is just one more thing driving us away from the church, and evangelicalism in particular.

Many of us, myself included, are finding ourselves increasingly drawn to high church traditions – Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church, etc. – precisely because the ancient forms of liturgy seem so unpretentious, so unconcerned with being “cool,” and we find that refreshingly authentic.

What millennials really want from the church is not a change in style but a change in substance.
We want an end to the culture wars. We want a truce between science and faith. We want to be known for what we stand for, not what we are against.

We want to ask questions that don’t have predetermined answers.

We want churches that emphasize an allegiance to the kingdom of God over an allegiance to a single political party or a single nation.

We want our LGBT friends to feel truly welcome in our faith communities.

We want to be challenged to live lives of holiness, not only when it comes to sex, but also when it comes to living simply, caring for the poor and oppressed, pursuing reconciliation, engaging in creation care and becoming peacemakers.

You can’t hand us a latte and then go about business as usual and expect us to stick around. We’re not leaving the church because we don’t find the cool factor there; we’re leaving the church because we don’t find Jesus there.

Like every generation before ours and every generation after, deep down, we long for Jesus.
Now these trends are obviously true not only for millennials but also for many folks from other generations. Whenever I write about this topic, I hear from forty-somethings and grandmothers, Generation Xers and retirees, who send me messages in all caps that read “ME TOO!” So I don’t want to portray the divide as wider than it is.

But I would encourage church leaders eager to win millennials back to sit down and really talk with them about what they’re looking for and what they would like to contribute to a faith community.
Their answers might surprise you.

Rachel Held Evans is the author of "Evolving in Monkey Town" and "A Year of Biblical Womanhood." She blogs at rachelheldevans.com. The views expressed in this column belong to Rachel Held Evans.

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS: FIREHOUSE COMMUNITY OUTREACH

The church with an immediate mission

BY STEVE DUNN

I am back from my blogcation.  It was a good time of rest and reflection and I was able to get much of the writing completed that I was on the hook for.  I had intended to wait one more week before relaunching into the blogosphere.  Then I went to Findlay OH to attend my denomination's triennial General Conference and I met the folks of the Firehouse Community Outreach.  Well, actually I met young lady currently living in Chicago, who was in the process of moving to Moore OK via a wedding in a couple of months in Yipsilanti MI.  Her name was Heather Dabrowski.

Heather was an energetic young lady who was part of a service team I was heading that took one afternoon off from denominational business to provide various acts of service to our host community.  I was responsible for three teams that would be working in nursing homes.  She worked with myself and three men to bring a little encouragement to residents, many of whom were suffering from dementia and psychological issues.  Heather painted nails and led an amazing Bible study for a small group of residents of St, Catherine's Nursing Home.

Heather at St. Catherine's Home in Findlay OH

Back to Moore OK.  The Churches of God have had two churches in this southwest Oklahoma City suburb, both of which are now closed.  Heather's Dad, Daren Dabrowski, had been agreed to leave a lucrative job in maufacturing to help my denomination plant a new church in Moore. The new church is called The Gate Church.  Heather and her fiancee were in the process of marrying, then moving to Moore to join the church planting effort.

Are you letting the name Moore OK sink in?  On Monday, May 20, 2013 a massive, howling tornado pulverized a vast swath of this Oklahoma City suburb, chewing up homes and businesses and severely damaging a hospital and two elementary schools. The storm, rated an EF5* on the Enhanced Fujita scale, carved a trail as much as 1.3 miles wide and 17 miles long.  The new church building that will house this new congregation was directly in the path of the monster but emerged unscathed.  That's when Daren decided it was time to close up shop up north and head to Oklahoma and Firehouse Community Outreach was born.  The church became the focal point of the nongovernmental relief efforts for Moore's tornado victims and now the rebuilding efforts of the residents.

That's where Heather comes in.  From her home in Chicago she manages the phone calls, emails, correspondence, negotiations and arrangements with officialdom in Moore and the hundreds and hundreds of volunteers from around the nation who have sent money, supplies, and themselves to Moore to help the new Church of God currently known as Firehouse Community Outreach become a force for healing and hope in the place where they plan on building redemptive relationships with Jesus Christ.  

Daren Dabrowski (right) and one of the many "friends" of Moore OK

There's a whole lot more to be told about this story unfolding in Moore.  And I hope to tell it.If you'd like to be a part of it, go to the web at: www.facebook.com.firehousecommunityoutreach  Or you can call its office at 405-759-0778. Heather will answer the phone.

(C) 2013 by Stephen L Dunn

photos courtesy of  FIREHOUSE COMMUNITY OUTREACH and THE GATE CHURCH

TAKING A BLOGCATION

One of the great joys in my life is creative writing. These days the bulk of that goes to my weekly sermons and the many blogs I own or contribute to. (Those of you who have Facebook friendships with me know there are a lot of them because I used Networked Blogs tied to my home page to syndicate them). Sermons I write for a living, blogs I write for pleasure, encouragement, edification and catharsis. But I am falling behind on the creative writing I do for a living. Right now I have a book and three manuals that need to be completed yesterday and need to stop and attend to paying the rent.  So borrowing from a concept I learned from another blogger.  I am about to take a blogcation.

Beginning July 1st I am taking a 30-day blogcation from all blogs including this one so I can get that other writing done.  The exception will be the two blogs tied to my church consulting ministry Being the Best Church for the Community and Bridges to the Bridge.  Anything you get during that time has been pre-written and pre-scheduled.  (Unless, of course, I get so inspired or fired up that I take a vacation from the blogcation.)  Don't cancel your subscription, just be patient.  I look forward to rejoining you on the internet.  - STEVE