Loving Life

Great Weekend including . . . -Loving the little girl who was full of smiles and staring at me. -Admiring the wife and her sexy haircut [TMI?] -Winning two play-off soccer games, scoring a couple goals and posting two scoreless halves while in goal. -Enjoying dinner at a Roy Rogers Restaurant near Eastgate on Saturday. I think it's the only one left in the city. If you've never eaten there, the food is worth the trip, but the ambiance leaves everything to be desired. -Delighting in a night-time walk at the Lunken Airport park. -Watching the Bengals take the Browns to the woodshed this afternoon [Sorry Evan, Mike, and Aaron]. -Bragging about my fantasy baseball team coming through, putting me in the finals. -Participating in a great worship service tonight, with four more first-time guests.

All this and gearing up for fall, best season ever. Fall rocks. Like I said, loving life.

Quote of the Weekend

From CBS Sportsline's Greg Doyel [who lives in Fairfield] about the Miami Hurricanes' loss to Louisville this weekend: "Miami lost again Saturday. More accurately, Miami was blown out again Saturday, 31-7. That was the punishment No. 12 Louisville meted out after Miami had arrogantly jumped up and down on the Cardinals' midfield logo 30 minutes before kickoff. Louisville players saw the commotion and came running, but the teams were kept apart by coaches and officials. Miami then strutted into the locker room as if it had marked its territory.

Turned out, Miami just peed on itself."

Classic.

Does God Want You To Be Rich?

That's what the Time Magazine cover story asks. My answer: maybe. It's no wonder that the prosperity gospel is back in style: it's all about me, baby. God wants ME to realize MY DREAMS because God loves ME and wants MY HAPPINESS. People like a religion that promises good health and massive wealth.

Another reason why this theology is popular: it's a pretty sweet deal for the preacher. Check out the personal fortunes of these preachers and you'll want to puke. It's an abuse of the call. When pastors preach sermons "about how gratitude can 'save a marriage, save your job [and] get you a promotion.'" they should consider doing so while wearing fire retardant suits. Honestly, no matter how positive the words that TD Jakes, Joel Osteen, and Creflo Dollar preach might seem, I believer their message is neutered because of their lifestyle.

Let's check out the fruit of this teaching by deconstructing a quote from an attender at Lakewood:

"I'm dreaming big--because all of heaven is dreaming big. Jesus died for our sins. That was the best gift God could give us."

OK, I'm not sure how heaven = dreaming big. Maybe that's the Message Bible or some new, hip translation of Revelation 21. Still, you could say this and I'd be fine.

Unfortunately, there's more:

"But we have something else. Because I want to follow Jesus and do what he ordained, God wants to support us. It's Joel Osteen's ministry that told me. Why would an awesome and mighty God want anything less for his children?"

So because we follow Jesus God's supposed to give us stuff? That would be nice except that it's not Biblical at all. As long as you overlook Matthew 8:19,20; Matthew 6:19-21; Like 12:15-21, and a slew of other texts that go against this, then you're pretty safe to make the case.

Here's the point: it's not evil to be rich, just like it's not a curse to be poor. We need to be good stewards of whatever God has blessed us with and not expect Him to "give us our due" just because we trust in Him. So does God want you to be financially rich because you're Christian? No.

But does He want you to be rich when it comes to the immeasurable blessings that surround our decision to accept His grace? Of course.

Why isn't that enough?

Geritol, Anyone?

University of Cincinnati move-in starts tomorrow. Why should I care? I had to drive through Clifton today for a meeting today. During the summer, it takes no time at all. Once school is back in session, the trip takes much longer. Today must have been some sort of pre-move-in because it took forever to get through Calhoun. Plus I had to park a quarter mile away from my destination [wasn't going to pay for it]. We've enjoyed hitting some restaurants in Clifton this summer while the students were gone. It's been peaceful, plenty of parking, pretty nice. I'm getting to the point where I like to steer clear of the crowds. Sure, I like it every once in awhile but now with the kid, I have an excuse to throw out there.

Getting old . . .

Steelers Suck

So now that the Reds season is over, let's talk Bengals. The talk of the week around town was the dominating victory over the Chiefs, but nationally it was all about one hit that took place during the game. Kansas City quarterback Trent Green scrambled out of the pocket in the second half trying to make a first down. Because he was trying to squeeze out an extra yard he slid late [for those non-football readers, a quarterback is supposed to untouchable if he slides on the turf]. Bengals Robert Geathers was ready to confront Green but tried to pull up when he saw Green start to slide. But Geathers was pushed by Chiefs receiver Eddie Kennison and rammed his shoulder into Green's chest forcing the quarterback's head to snap back on to the grass, leaving him incapacitated. The contact was inadvertent; there was no flag on the play.

All this week ignorant sports writers called for Geathers to be fined and/or suspended because of the vicious hit. But the reality of the situation was that Green brought it on himself. And today the NFL agreed. The league has gone out its way to protect quarterbacks from taking hard shots, but sometimes they bring it on themselves. If Green had slid earlier there would have been no contact at all. But he was trying to gain more yardage than he could have safely and paid a price. The NFL knows how valuable QBs are to their team. That's why they throw flags if linemen even look at them funny. But here was an instance where the officials were right. They're still football players. If they want to dance with the big boys, they best be ready to pay the piper.

I never thought it would happen but the Bengals, because of this play, Chad Johnson's mouth and numerous player run-ins with the law, are being labeled as a team of punks. This might bother some fans but I actually like it. It happened to Huggins' UC teams; everyone nationally hates them and I think it rocks. Better to be notorious than boring [see Cleveland Browns].

So here's to Cincinnati. Even though the Reds bit it this season, Uncle Bobby will make that team a contender. Give Mick Cronin a few years and the Bearcats will be back to the Final Four. Another Ohio State championship could only be trumped by a Bengals Super Bowl. Yes friends, these are the best of times.

Here's a song to get you in the mood.

No More Rockstar, No More Big Brother . . .

. . . summer is officially over.

Bringing Sanity Back

Couldn't locate a link on this, but I saw a news story on TV this morning showing Justin Timberlake spending some time this past week with a middle school music class. They were having a great time singing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" [spelled it right on the first attempt, by the way]. What a great moment for the former Mouseketeer. But what a horrible moment for the rest of us.

It was one of the dumbest thing I've ever seen. If Kaelyn is in that middle school class, I get ticked. I don't want her taking vocal tips from the guy who's current single states, "Baby, I'm your slave. I'll let you whip me if I misbehave." Not quite the lyrics that you'll find in a Disney movie, unless there's some Winnie the Pooh remark to Eeyore that I'm unaware of. And this isn't even bringing up his admitted pot-smoking and defrocking of Janet [Miss] Jackson [if you're nasty].

Here's the deal: there are times when celebrities disqualify themselves from being viable mentors for children. Sorry, Madonna, you can't come into a kindergarten class and read your children's books to them. You did Justify Your Love, so you're done for. Notice that Monica Lewinsky isn't hosting a Nickelodeon show, nor does Ron Jeremy run a preschool. There's a reason for it. Previous stupidity can be forgiven but not forgotten. So whoever decided it would be a good idea to let Mr Cameron Diaz [or the ex-Mr Cameron Diaz, if that's how it is] into their school should have their head examined.

I'm not saying JT doesn't have the right to sing about sexy backs, but he shouldn't surprised when he's not asked to be President of the PTA.

About Face

I know very little about Facebook. Heck, I didn't even have a Myspace account until a few months ago. But Facebook took it on the chin last week when they announced last week that they were changing the way viewers could access your changed pages; whenever you updated your profile, those changes would be sent to people in your network. Even though the doesn't seem like much of a change [it is the world wide web, you know] users revolted. Well if they didn't like that, they're sure not going to like the idea of Facebook going public to non-students. I'm sure college kids will love it when their mom asks to be on their friends list or whatever they call it.

I'd say, for Facebook, this is the end, my only friend, the end.

The Day After

I've been doing a lot of reflection throughout the day, all these thoughts following up our relaunch, in addition to this being 9/11. Kelly will tell you that I'm a little bit obsessed about all things September 11th. It was one of those generational forming moments and it happened in the midst of a media society. It was the first world shaping moment that was witnessed in real time. So I was up early this morning watching all the memorial tributes taking place. So dwelling on the tragedy while trying to comprehend what happened last night was difficult. Kelly and Kaelyn took a walk while a messed around with the podcast [still a little rough around the edges. This weeks isn't easy to listen to, but I think we've finally figured it out]. I picked them up in the park and went out to get some lunch.

As Kelly and I talked, we were both in a haze; planning months for a singular event means some sort of let-down will follow. I was ecstatic with how things went last night and thrilled with meeting some new people, but you always tend to think there would be a few more. But that's where your mind can start leading you astray. All that work wasn't for just one event. We've been planting seeds that could take years to take root. Patience is the key.

So reflecting on last night, it was everything it needed to be. It was a new beginning. It was a great experience. And just a couple hours ago I got a call from someone who received a mailer and was unable to attend yesterday; they said they'd be there this week. It's crazy.

Maybe this is the best way to explain it: I've never really had to approach a job or project that seemed to have no clear ending. And that's what starting Echo has been like. You can't get too high, you can't get too low because tomorrow's another day.

And next week we're playing the Browns so it can't be that bad.

A couple of pictures for ya. Many thanks to my father-in-law who came up to take pictures. And Bev watched Kaelyn so Kelly and I were free to get things done.

Her Daddy IS a rock star, no?

The fake palm tree makes for a Caribbean motif.

People always look cooler as cartoons.

We're Off [again]

I'm a bit worn out right now, too much to type. so I'll just say that we had a great relaunch tonight. I was really proud of our people who went out of their way to welcome first-time guests.

And tomorrow . . . we get to work. God is good.

It's Time

For months I've been staring out this countdown on my Dashboard: As you can see, it's finally under twenty-four hours. It's crazy to think that by this time tomorrow we'll finally know what we're working with. We're ready . . . well, as ready as we can be with all the unknown variables that exist.

I guess you could say this is what I've been working toward my entire life. Starting tomorrow it gets very real. As I reflect on where God has taken me in the past twelve plus years- books read, seminars attended, messages listened to- I'd say it's about time. I used to have a background on my desktop that had the following quote, "Learn while you can so you can lead when you must." I done learn'd all I could. Time to lead.

Honestly, I'm not too nervous. It's not cockiness; it's a peace that God has given me. The reality is, tomorrow is just another Sunday. We plan on spending decades in the city doing ministry so, no matter how tomorrow goes, it's just another blip on the radar. Whatever happens will be a blessing.

And plus, I'm grateful that God has blessed me with perspective. A few years ago I don't think I could be this laid back. But fatherhood has done it for me. Kelly, Kaelyn and I went out this afternoon to the Rockwood area in Norwood. And this was what the daughter and I wore:

It was awesome [even more so since it looks like the Bucks have Texas beat]. No matter what happens tomorrow, that little girl is still gonna smile at me. My life is complete regardless of what happens to me professionally. It don't get much better than this.

I get to preach the Word tomorrow. Praise God.

Echo In The News

This article was in the Eastern Hills Press this week. It's a local community press paper with an east-side circulation. Yeah, it was basically a reprint of a press release I sent out, but it sounds pretty good. Tomorrow we should be getting some publicity in the Enquirer's religion section. Maybe it will get a couple more people out on Sunday.

Child Fair?

Now that we're parents we see the world differently. Every trip we take out of the house is made in light of having an infant with us. For example, a few weeks ago some people went to go watch the Bengals' preseason game at BW's. Once we walked through the door we knew it would be an impossibility. Our days of sportsbars are now on hiatus. But we're starting to get a sense of where we can go and where we can't with Kaelyn. One of the most delightful times we had was her first Reds game. All the ushers were excited to see our little girl being indoctrinated into Reds culture and people were super friendly. It was a great day.

Parallel that experience to that of Owen and Lisa Foust, who took their three month-old daughter to her first football game at Kansas University and were told that they'd need to buy a full-price $35 ticket to get her in.

Jayhawk officials stated that people with children carry around a lot of equipment with them, sometime taking up more space than just their seats; that's why they charge to get even newborns into the stadium. I can understand this; since we've had the kid we haul around more stuff than I would for a week's vacation. Point taken. But here's where I start to have issues.

First, why a full-price ticket instead of a reduced "child rate?" This is just the university trying to rake on parents who want to have their kids with them. Usually families like this are diehard fans willing to invest a lifetime of loyalty into their children. Way to make friendly here, KU. Squeeze all you can out of them. It's not like your athletic department is that hard up.

But perhaps the most important issue: it's Kansas football we're talking about here. I mean, if it was basketball, where Allen Fieldhouse is packed to see a winner, I could understand this. But do people actually even attend Kansas football games? I think they'd be happy to fill as many seats as possible. Sorry to my friend Paul Carlile, but the truth can be painful. I think UC is paying people to go to tomorrow night's game against Pitt. And no mock terrorist attack either.

I've seen some parents flaunt around their kids, trying to score freebies wherever possible. This is wrong but, at the same times, entities shouldn't be discriminating against people wanting to have a family and still go out in public.

Free Reds Tickets

Seriously, it's all part of a Homeland Security Drill. All you have to do is show up to Great American Ballpark and pretend you've witnessed a terrorist attack. To get participants in the mood the Reds will play another West Coast team.

That's the only joke I'll drop with this story, but there are so many more out there, feel free to contribute your own.

Dynamic Duo

Special thanks to Tim Tucker for helping me with some errands today. Tim's been a great friend and is always there whenever I need him. We made a trip to Lowe's this afternoon to get some items for the relaunch. After scouring the aisles and finding what we needed we walked out the door with a full cart. As we made our way across the parking lot, I glanced towards the nearby Biggs and saw some security guards running at full speed straight towards us. Apparently the shoplifter they were chasing thought he got away until he did a double take a started running towards Tim and me. I casually asked Tim, "are we getting involved?" to which he responded, "Yeah." So it was go time.

Tim cut off the first aisle and I moved to the next one. When the guy saw Tim, he cut across the next aisle. Then he looked up and made eye contact with me and went on to the next aisle. This slowed him up enough that the security guys caught up to him and plowed him into the side of a parked U-Haul. As we drove out of the lot they were handcuffing the guy with his face driven into the ground.

Everywhere I go lately it seems that trouble is finding me. At least there's never a dull moment. Tim said that we were just like Batman and Robin. I'm not sure which one was which. Either way I guess I'm wearing tights.

Jordanian Woes

A year-and-a-half ago Kelly and I were enjoying out time in Amman, Jordan, touring the Citadel and Roman amphitheatre as part of a Holy Land tour. This area in Amman was most likely the area where King David had Uriah the Hittite killed so he could "legally" marry Bathsheba. The Jordanian people were wonderfully welcoming, longing to dispel the myths that theirs was an unsafe country. Unfortunately there was yet another incident in Jordan's capital as a gunman shot at a tour group in the amphitheatre, killing a British tourist. Authorities aren't yet sure the motivation of the gunman.

These Middle East events lead me to wonder if we'll ever get the opportunity to return. Both Kelly and I somehow felt at home in Jordan and Israel. And I'd love to someday lead tour groups to this land where the events of the Scriptures happened. I'm just not sure if it'll be worth the risk to return. I'm incredibly grateful we were able to go when we did.

Happy Trails, Croc Hunter

We'll miss Steve Irwin and his passion for animals. But throughout his career he held to a belief [that I believe to be false] that ended up costing him his life: animals can be controlled. No matter how familiar we are with animals, they are totally unpredictable- just ask Roy of Siegfried & Roy. I'm really saddened at the Crocodile Hunter's death; he was always very entertaining and had such a winsome personality. But, like many people, I'm not shocked that it was an animal that took his life.

Another Reason the NCAA sucks

Malcolm Gladwell details the story of a Clemson University football player who took custody of his 11 year-old brother when his crack addict mother and degenerate father were unable. When a local newspaper detailed the struggles the young man was having making ends meet, people began to donate gifts. The university had to step in and tell the player to return everything because it would violate NCAA rules. We have but a few long-standing beefs here at Beit Carr but I doubt this one will ever change: the NCAA sucks. The NCAA is supposed to provide student athletes with the chance to succeed but most often they're a detriment to kids that does nothing but make tons of money at the expense of kids. I hope someday Congress gets their act together and regulates this scam.

One Week

Have thoroughly enjoyed our weekend but it did hit us tonight that we are but one week away from our relaunch. I think we're ready . . .

Grecian Formula

I can't believe I'm writing about this, but in the midst of a Reds play-off chase, the beginning of the Bengals season, and Andre Agassi ready for a storybook ending at the US Open, I've been frustrated all day at Team USA Basketball. They lost in the world championships to Greece and now can do no better than third place. Twelve years after the Dream Team won gold in the Olympics the rest of the world caught up in 2004. So USA basketball enlisted Coach K to come in and lead a determined group of NBA'ers to make the result different. SOS. This is embarrassing on so many levels, it's ridiculous. Are you telling me that Shane Battier and Kurt Heinrick are the best we have to offer? And Carmelo is over-rated. If he hadn't led Syracuse to a NCAA title [and if you remember that tourney, the Orangemen were gifted with a trip to the Final Four] then no one would've heard of him. We shouldn't need Shaq, Kobe, Iverson, and Duncan to win this thing.

I honestly this is the result of early NBA draft entries. For the fundamentals of the game players are better served to spend a few years in college playing. Then maybe they'd be familiar with how to defend the pick 'n' roll.

This just proves that we're not as good as we think we are. Maybe it'll be a good learning experience.