Tongiht was a good night for attendence as we had a total of 29 people in the LF room. It was good to have a full house. Perhaps things are on the upswing.

If we reference back to only 3 weeks ago tonight, our low point, things look a lot better.

The Bulldogs were pounded in the last official match of the year. In the 12th annual Cider Cup matches, Romeo was beaten by Eisenhower 9-5. Most of the competitors are unfamiliar with match play and were, frankly, uninterested in competing.

The last day for the Bulldogs is Thursday when they host the State Regionals. If all of our players play well on a course they know like the back of their hand they should be advancing to the State Finals for the 2nd straight year. Our target score is 320. With 3 time all conference senior N. Stevens certain to go low, we will depend on 3 of the other 4 golfer scoring under 80 to advance to next weeks State Finals in East Lansing.

More on this Thursday evening.

Here is tonights LF talk



Introduction:

From The Battle of the Little Bighorn, 1876 found at eyewitnesstohistory.com

http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/pfcuster.htm

In late 1875, Sioux and Cheyenne Indians defiantly left their reservations, outraged over the continued intrusions of whites into their sacred lands in the Black Hills. They gathered in Montana with the great warrior Sitting Bull to fight for their lands. The following spring, two victories over the US Cavalry emboldened them to fight on in the summer of 1876.

To force the large Indian army back to the reservations, the Army dispatched three columns to attack in coordinated fashion, one of which contained Lt. Colonel George Custer and the Seventh Cavalry. Spotting the Sioux village about fifteen miles away along the Rosebud River on June 25, Custer also found a nearby group of about forty warriors. Ignoring orders to wait, he decided to attack before they could alert the main party. He did not realize that the number of warriors in the village numbered three times his strength. Dividing his forces in three, Custer sent troops under Captain Frederick Benteen to prevent their escape through the upper valley of the Little Bighorn River. Major Marcus Reno was to pursue the group, cross the river, and charge the Indian village in a coordinated effort with the remaining troops under his command. He hoped to strike the Indian encampment at the northern and southern ends simultaneously, but made this decision without knowing what kind of terrain he would have to cross before making his assault. He belatedly discovered that he would have to negotiate a maze of bluffs and ravines to attack.

Reno’s squadron of 175 soldiers attacked the northern end. Quickly finding themselves in a desperate battle with little hope of any relief, Reno halted his charging men before they could be trapped, fought for ten minutes in dismounted formation, and then withdrew into the timber and brush along the river. When that position proved indefensible, they retreated uphill to the bluffs east of the river, pursued hotly by a mix of Cheyenne and Sioux.

Just as they finished driving the soldiers out, the Indians found roughly 210 of Custer’s men coming towards the other end of the village, taking the pressure off of Reno’s men. Cheyenne and Hunkpapa Sioux together crossed the river and slammed into the advancing soldiers, forcing them back to a long high ridge to the north. Meanwhile, another force, largely Oglala Sioux under Crazy Horse’s command, swiftly moved downstream and then doubled back in a sweeping arc, enveloping Custer and his men in a pincer move. They began pouring in gunfire and arrows.

As the Indians closed in, Custer ordered his men to shoot their horses and stack the carcasses to form a wall, but they provided little protection against bullets. In less than an hour, Custer and his men were killed in the worst American military disaster ever. After another day’s fighting, Reno and Benteen’s now united forces escaped when the Indians broke off the fight. They had learned that the other two columns of soldiers were coming towards them, so they fled.

After the battle, the Indians came through and stripped the bodies and mutilated all the uniformed soldiers, believing that the soul of a mutilated body would be forced to walk the earth for all eternity and could not ascend to heaven. Inexplicably, they stripped Custer’s body and cleaned it, but did not scalp or mutilate it. He had been wearing buckskins instead of a blue uniform, and some believe that the Indians thought he was not a soldier and so, thinking he was an innocent, left him alone. Because his hair was cut short for battle, others think that he did not have enough hair to allow for a very good scalping. Immediately after the battle, the myth emerged that they left him alone out of respect for his fighting ability, but few participating Indians knew who he was to have been so respectful. To this day, no one knows the real reason.

Little Bighorn was the pinnacle of the Indians’ power. They had achieved their greatest victory yet, but soon their tenuous union fell apart in the face of the white onslaught. Outraged over the death of a popular Civil War hero on the eve of the Centennial, the nation demanded and received harsh retribution. The Black Hills dispute was quickly settled by redrawing the boundary lines, placing the Black Hills outside the reservation and open to white settlement. Within a year, the Sioux nation was defeated and broken. “Custer’s Last Stand” was their last stand as well.

Over 200 men lost their lives that day because Custer disobeyed an order. His orders were to identify where the Indian army was and to wait for back-up. But Col. Custer thought it was an easy task… so he attacked.

This wasn’t the first time Custer’s pride and arrogance had gotten him into trouble. George Custer graduated dead last in his class from West Point. But he was also tremendously successful during the Civil War. Shortly after the Civil War ended and he was made the youngest General in Unites States history, Custer made another huge mistake. He had orders to move the cavalry 200 miles into Kansas. After he arrived there, he decided to take 75 men with him on a personal trip against the orders of his superiors. While on that trip, his small and tired band of soldiers were attacked by Indians and two men were killed. Instead of retreating back to his fort, he pursued these Indians and lost a couple more men. And then when a few others decided that they needed to go back to get help, he had those men tracked down and shot as deserters. For this mistake, he was court-martialed. He lost his rank and was docked a year’s salary.

In the end, Custer’s legacy is one of pride and arrogance that made him famous but eventually got him killed.

Tonight, we are going to take a look at a similar case of a leader who’s pride got the best of his judgment. Let’s take a look at Daniel 5.

Daniel 5

5 parts of the story



I. The sacrilegious act (1-4)

Temple articles used for evil.

This was a huge slap in the face to God, who had delivered the Jews into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar

II. Failure to Decipher the writing (5-9)

The hand of God (maybe the preincarnate hand of Christ) writes on the wall.

The king knew this was a judgment against him! His knees knocked in fear.

He made a challenge, anyone who could read and interpret these writings would get a purple robe, a gold chain, and become the 3rd highest ruler in the land.

No one could read or interpret what the writing was.

III. Request for Daniel’s Interpretation (10-16)

The queen mom comes into the banquet hall and tells the king that Daniel can do it.

It’s been 23 years since Nebuchadnezzar was king… Daniel is a forgotten figure by this time.

IV. Reason for Belshazzar’s Judgment (17-24)

First of all, Daniel refuses the kings rewards. This is a matter of purity.

This is a two-fold judgment

i. Human: He abused power and lorded it over everyone

ii. Pride: God stepped in to judge his pride for what he did with the goblets

Belshazzar moral failure

i. Didn’t learn from family history

ii. Pride was his chief failure

V. Judgment pronounced and fulfilled (25-31)

The meaning of the inscription

i. Related to money

1. Mene, mene: Gold weights

2. Tekel: gold coin

3. Peres: ½ gold coin

ii. Symbolic meanings

1. Mene, mene: number

2. Tekel: weigh

3. Peres: divide

Daniels reward (29)

The fulfillment

i. Persians slipped under the walls and killed the king that night!

God is bigger than your ambitions



Let’s take a look at this story of pride and arrogance and see what it could possible teach us for today.

Those of you who know me well know that I have a fierce belief in you.

It’s not just you. Actually I have a tremendous belief that together, we can change the world.

There is something deep inside of me that can look at you and see that if you would just trust in God with everything you’ve got… that you can change your world. To me, it’s more than a dream… it’s a reality just on the horizon. Praise God that many of you are trying to use the skills we are equipping you to do.

In my dream, you will grab a hold of the gospel of Jesus Christ so clearly and with such might that you’ll share your faith freely.

But this is my dream, it is my hope. It is what drives me to lead you.

But there are also some of us hear that don’t want to do this. I’m training you with skills that you can use in your daily life… little baby steps… but you are too prideful to use them.

– You look at truth and you are too prideful to see that you have a role. (See the vision, but don’t think it’s for you!)

– You hold on to this worldly ideal of popularity. You are so worried about what others think about you that you are willing to let your friends not hear the gospel so that you can go on with your little dream of being popular.

– You are filled with head knowledge but infants on application.

This is pride in action.



Evan right now, some of you are shutting me down emotionally because you don’t want to deal with your pride. You think I’m attacking you when actually I’m trying to help you see your potential.

If you are willing and able to see past all your fear and pride… you can see what I see. We have the ability to change our world.

Seeing how you can change the world

In the past few weeks I have been working on giving you some skills for leading your friends to Christ. Let’s close out today by giving you a glimpse of “the big picture.”

One person reaches one person who reaches one person.

What is your role in this link? You are the first person!

You are getting to know your squares for a reason, a part of the process.

Right now, I am focusing you on learning your friend’s story. As your relationship develops you will begin to see how you and your friend have a lot in common. Pretty soon, we’ll be teaching you how to weave your story and your friend’s story together. The last step will be you sharing God’s story. What is it in your relationship with the Lord that has changed you? What has He done for you? How are you different because of your relationship with the Lord? Then, as you get more comfortable with talking with your friend about your relationship with the Lord you can share God’s story. How He provided Jesus as your savior, etc. That’s the big picture!

In the time we have left, I want you to take some time to get with a leader and talk about what you’ve been doing with your squares.

One last question: As we close tonight, are you ready and willing to both recognize your pride and overcome it? Can you commit to that now?

The writing is on the wall for you… how will you respond?

Pray

I’m kind of at a lose in looking for an illustration for my talk tommorow. I need a story that will get my students thinking about prideful people. I’d like for it to be a real hum-dinger of a story that they can really get into. Maybe a good story behind a story? Maybe something from US History? All I know right now is that I am looking for a story that isn’t from the world of sports.

If anyone has one, please post it here. Thanks!

What a weird night. I’ve slept pretty strange lately. I haven’t actually “gone to bed” without being overcome by sleep first in a long, long time.

In that regard, last night was pretty typical. I went to bed sometime after midnight and fell asleep immediately. Sometime in the night I heard the children wake up and start crying. The next thing I knew there were 2 kids in our bed! I vaguely remember Paul’s head being about an inch from mine. But after a few more minutes we were all back to sleep, it was pitch black and all was good with the world.

Then my cell rang. Instantly I knew that I was supposed to be somewhere. A few seconds later my house phone rang. That’s when I realized it was Tuesday and it must be after 6 AM. I was late for Bible Study. Oops!

Even though I was 15 minutes late, the Bible Study went pretty well. We still covered the material and we are still ahead of where I need to be. I took extra time to focus my student leaders on what their task was. They need to have a clear goal.

To any reader of this thing, it’s been clear that I’ve been in the crapper for a few weeks. I’m just feeling overwhelmed lately by all that has to be done as well as the reality that the church I work at is failing to see that they are failing.

Along with this has been some temptation. I’ve had more than a few hints dropped by churches in our area and in other states. The reality is that I’m not interested.

It is again worth stating why I want to stay in Romeo. Romeo is a great community. Romeo is a land of opportunity. Romeo has welcomed us. Romeo uses our talents. Romeo pays us fairly and without question. Romeo doesn’t micromanage my ministry. On and on and on.

A mentality I face all the time in sharing my frustrations and even discouragement with friends is the assumption that being disappointed or frustrated somehow equals that I am leaving. It just ain’t so. I see that in every position their are mountains and valleys. Even the best jobs have bad times.

In the midst of all of this self-examination, outside sources have been encouraging. I’ve received phone calls, e-mails, and letters that have kept me on fire lately.

This is an article I received from Churchstaffing.com this morning.

“There are also a lot of smelly jobs in the pastoral ministry. For example, churches attract odd people. That’s our business. As [one] of my teachers once said, “If you want to be the light of the world, you have to expect to attract a few bugs.” Eventually the members and elders of the congregation get bugged by the problem parishioner, but it usually falls to the pastor to “do something about it.”

The pastor also has to fire unproductive staff, meet with chronic complainers, wade into conflicts between leaders, and represent the unpopular changes being proposed by the church board. These are all smelly jobs, but someone has to do them and often that someone is the person who is being paid to come to church.

Most seminaries don’t explain to their students how much time pastors spend [doing ministry tasks they don’t like], and even fewer offer guidance on how to do it. Many of the Doctor of Ministry students in the seminary I serve are fed up with this part of their jobs. “It just stinks!” they lament.

Craig goes on to say that the important thing is really how we react and respond to these ‘stinky’ ministry assignments.

Bryant Kirkland had spent over fifty years as pastor to congregations of a variety of sizes and locations. When one of his daughters was born, Bryant was impressed by the quality of the nurses who cared for his wife and new baby. When he complimented a supervisor, she explained that the hospital trained all of its own nurses. “We tell our nurses that there are a lot of smelly jobs in our profession, but every job can be conducted with dignity. Our motto: If you get stuck holding the bedpan, carry it like a queen. Then the focus isn’t on the bedpan but on the graciousness of the one who is holding it.”

Nothing in the ministry has the power to determine the pastor’s countenance. In the words of Viktor Frankl, “The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” So why would you hand over that freedom to a bedpan? You may have to carry the smelly mess, but you don’t have to let it into your soul, where attitudes are created.

Dignity in ministry is found not in the task but in the one who has called us to it. If you are clear that it is Christ who has called you to serve this church, then you are always part of a royal priesthood. But you have to choose to see that. It’s the only way you can look like royalty while doing a task that just stinks.

On the YS forums I described John Kerry as a prick. This was a response I was given from a colleague.

i like a heated political debate as well as anyone but referring to one of the candidates as a prick is about unnecessary as it gets.

Obviously this poster hasn’t paid much attention to the politics of the last year. GW bush has been called every name in the book. John Kerry had the nerve to say that the president of the United States mislead the American people to his face… Yet offered no viable proof.

I guess I am just sick of the politically correct left. They love to throw out exaggerated and lie-filled claims yet can’t handle it when someone throws it back at them. If a man is a prick, has been a prick his whole life… What’s wrong with calling him a prick? I mean, it’s what I think of him. Wait a minute… This reminds me that if elected John Kerry will systematically rewrite the constitution of the USA and when he can’t finish he’ll appoint judges to do it for him. To quote Tim Russert sarcastically, “what a country!”

Last night was the big homecoming game, tailgate party and bonfire. I can only summarize it like this: I have no clue what is going on with Light Force.

On the good side we had all the usual subjects there. They are great and I love being around them. Also good news was the several of the golf team players dropped by to say hi. That was an unexpected blessing. (Odd that things go so well with one area of ministry when they seem so poor with another!) With everyone else I am just left wondering “what the heck is going on?” I know that there is intense social reality that sets in for some of our sophomores-seniors. They are OK with being with you at church and on outings… but stay away from my “real world.” That is classic adolescent dualism which I find so charming! Then there is the reality that “big church” is going worse than ever. Bad attitudes by parents just trickles down. There is yet another dynamic going on that I’m only starting to put my finger on.

I am a sarcastic guy. I mess around with students all the time. I embarrass them and it generally is no big deal. However, we are living in a time where my students are suddenly effected by it. I have no clue what is causing the sudden sensitivity… But students are apparently feeling less and less comfortable with me. This is something I need to work on. “How can I be the me that I like to be and yet reach this group of student right now?” Basically, and briefly, I need to adjust myself to do it. There’s no other choice.

Another little dynamic that’s gone on recently is me having to decide if I really want to be in Romeo. It’s been yet another gut check as things at the church seem to be sliding towards “terrible.” In the last week I’ve had to re-examine my motives and really commit my heart to whether I want to be here or if I’m open to going elsewhere if nothing changes. For right now, I am sold out on the idea that God is working here through me despite the larger problems that are going on. I want to stay in Romeo at this church for as long as possible. What does that mean? I don’t know. It does mean that I have to prepare myself for some impending, sin bathed, poor leadership decisions. It may mean that as the church struggles to pay it’s bill that they cut back on me… Their current biggest bill. But the big thing for me is that I am willing to stand by and take it all if I can only continue to invest in these students. Bottom line. I want to be here in 10 years and am willing to ride the boat no matter where this takes me. That’s a scary proposition for a father of two… But this is my commitment. I wrote a few months ago that this isn’t my life to keep since I’ve already given it away as an act of worship… So be it.

I watched the debates closely last night.

Even though most media types, liberal and conservative, thought that John Kerry did a good job and “won the debate” last night, I thought it was clear that he won the battle, but conceded the war.

Ultimately what will drive people to the polls is GW Bush’s resulute character. They may not like him but they are clear about what they will get with Bush for 4 more years. The White House will not be overrun with scandal, nor will it be chaotic in it’s response to politics. They will clearly have goals and work towards meeting them. That’s it.

National security under Kerry would be scary. He has demonstrated over the past 20 years that his priorities are poll driven. I believe that the American people will not elect John Kerry because they fear that he will be more concerned in the next four years with getting reelected than he will be in running the country. He has managed to do nothing in 20 years on the hill, yet has gotten reelected every time. He is a politician and a good one but he is clearly not a leader.

This is not even mentioning a single issue that is at stake. But when you put his wishy’washy stance on every issue together with his cowardace in 1971, followed by his 20 years of do-nothing and his left-wing tendencies… the voting public who is older and more conservative will thump him come election day.