My first Division 1A game has come and gone with a happy ending: A 31-21 win for UNT, their first of the year and the first of the Todd Dodge era. I got a nice view of the whole tailgating scene… games of bean-bags, washers and parking lot football, grillin’ and beer bongs on the frat side of the parking lot. Country music, families, and canned beer on the alumni side. After about 45 minutes of walking around in the lot, we headed into the stadium to find a nice first-come-first-serve 10$ general admission seat on the fifty yard line… Not a bad deal really. A college football game for 10$ and you can sit basically anywhere you want other than the season ticket seats or the student section.

After a pretty boring first quarter, the second brought two interceptions returned for touchdowns and an amazing two yard pass that turned into a 100 Yard touchdown reception. Pretty sweet quarter. The rest of the game was pretty competitive, and UNT’s Defense actually turned in a very good performance. If “our” defense continues to play this well perhaps Dodge can have a respectable season after all… well, respectable in the sense that they win more than just one game…

All I had was my camera phone, and i couldn’t get any good shots… so, here’s the only three that were even halfway decent. But hey… It was dollar hot dog night.

Tomorrow I am going to my first Division 1A College Football game… oh wait… now its called the “Bowl Championship Division”or some such … goofy… so… here it is:

CLICK AND BE AMAZED!

Okay, so it’s not Texas A&M v Texas Tech, or LSU v UK, Or Stanford v TCU even… but, its still Div 1A dang it! Barely. I know … but don’t rain on my parade alright?

Go Mean Green.

Reflections on a recent Sunday Morning at FWBF
Reference: Mark 2:1-11 

I’ve had a few days to chew on the service brought forth Sunday at Firewheel Bible Fellowship, and its starting to take a different shape than I would’ve thought Sunday afternoon. As I’ve alluded to, the past few weeks have been tough for me and my family. Nothing insane or damaging long term, but a difficult few weeks. Selfishness, high stress, complaining, short tempers, ignoring spiritual needs, ungrateful thoughts… and as the head of the household, it all starts and ends with me.

So I’ve been fighting this, and at times it’d feel lonely. Yet I have friends who I confide in and men I meet with on a weekly basis so we can live out the principle laid out in Proverbs 27:17. As our pastor told the story that I have heard 1000 times, my heart sunk. Four guys, willing to go through so much trouble so that their broken friend may have the chance to find healing. Four guys willing to carry a mat up the side of a house, cut a whole in the roof, and slowly lower the paralytic to the feet of Jesus…

And Jesus says something quite amazing in verse five: “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”… did you catch it? When Jesus saw THEIR faith. While we must all make the individual decision to accept and believe in Christ, Jesus see’s all of their faith…

The faith of four men carried the faith of the fifth and redemption and healing were found. It struck a chord because there are times, despite having friends and a wife who are more than willing to carry my faith, i still struggle with loneliness. But God also gives me perspective and is quick to remind me of the blessings He has given me… true friends who are not only willing but DO carry me when I am faltering. Through encouraging words, prayers, phone calls, emails and gTalk chats…

To those who carry my mat… thank you with all my heart… it’s much needed.

But now the question remains. Who’s mat am I carrying? Am I doing enough for those who have crossed my path? Do I have what it takes to be the type of friend that Jesus can look up through the hole in the roof and say “Because of your faith…” …

Who’s mat are you carrying?

I’m not going to say much… but i’m a man of my word… so there is the stupid bird.  Check facebook to see the ugly face i’ve gotta look at for the next three weeks until UK wins again…

 Rick is under the impression that USC played well last night. but I will take the typical fans stance and say we gave the game away… Woodson disappointed quite a bit… After setting a record for most consecutive passes without an interception, he had 3 turnovers last night leading to 21 points (2 fumbles and and an absolutely brutal interception)… yet in the fourth quarter had the defense made ONE stop, they’d be in position to tie the game at the end…

In other words, if as rick says “it was just kentucky” than he oughta be shakin’ cause USC didn’t exacly look sharp either.

I still think UK’s offense is pretty darn good, Woodson just crumbled under pressure… But geeze, their pass defense is horrid.

Originally submitted September 2, 2007 for ENGL 1310 @ Dallas Christian College. Emphasis added for website, copyright follows guidelines at bottom of the right sidebar.

“I liked the fact that I wasn’t born in the States… that I was different. It was almost as if I was a bit of a celebrity when we came back home. Everyone wanted to talk to the white kid from Africa.” Growing up as an MK – Missionary Kid – in Nigeria has given Jonathan Seabourn a unique perspective on American culture, especially as it relates to the sub-culture of Christianity and the Church. Even as a married 26-year-old he is still learning to adapt to the American way of church life. …

Born near Jos, Nigeria, Jonathan, along with his two older siblings, spent his developmental years in a culture much unlike the majority of his peers today. His parents were missionaries with Campus Crusade, playing vital roles in exposing native Africans to the evangelistic film known around the world as The Jesus Film. Not every part of the typical American lifestyle was foreign to the Seabourns. They were regulars at the local Evangelical church – granted it was African in style, but comparable to American substance – as well as and attended a private school that had a significant white population. Many of their play dates parallel my own memories; riding bikes, G I Joe, pick-up soccer games, and so forth. But the differences would soon become rather evident to Jon.

In the summer of 1992 Jonathan’s family returned to Dallas, Texas, USA, and began the reassimilation process. As a twelve-year-old, Jon’s perception of the American experience was accumulated from four separate six-month long stateside trips his family had taken during his twelve years in Nigeria. “America for me was just a place we went to see family. We did a lot of traveling during our visits. We went to Six Flags and to the movies. It was six months of ease and entertainment, but Nigeria was sill home.” The lack of exposure presented some challenges during his teenage years. Jonathan’s understanding of the pop culture was non-existent, and at times our sports seemed Greek.  The cultural aberrations stretched beyond music and movies and into the realm of the American Christian sub-culture.

“church was just a place we went to be around other Christians; it was not the foundation of our faith”

“My Christian upbringing was based on family ministry. The church was just a place we went to be around other Christians; it was not the foundation of our faith.” One aspect Jon still struggles with today is our concept of grouping Christian community (church) with ministry. In high school he was able to find community in the faces of his peers who attended the youth group at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church; however, the dynamic of combining church, community, and ministry remained a mystery as he ventured to west Texas to attend Texas Tech University. Jon focused his time and resources on Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, a campus ministry, rather than church.  “In my history I saw ministry happening outside of the church, not stemming from the church. I was attracted to church, but didn’t see the need to be involved on any ministry level. I found my community and place within the Campus Ministry.”

Texas Tech brought another significant change to Jon’s life: marriage. After graduation he and his wife returned to the Dallas area and began attending a small Baptist church. As ministry opportunities within the church began tugging on his heart strings, he came to the realization that it was time to answer the tough questions that had been following him for the past decade. What does community and ministry really mean? What does it look like in the context of the church?

He had finally decided to embrace and attempt to understand the merging of church and ministry but admits he still does not like everything he sees. Jon was particularly disappointed and concerned at what he described as a “lack of true Christian spirituality.”  He adds “What blew me away was the politics. It wasn’t the happy-go-lucky ministry I saw; there was a lot of back stabbing and a real lack of love.” It was during his early exposure that Jon realized much of the divisiveness stemmed from the denominational lines that are drawn within the American church culture. Rather than turn and run, Jon and Meredith relentlessly pursued being part of the solution rather than the problem – a solution they believe can be birthed from lessons learned in Nigeria.

Campus Crusade was one of four major mission organizations in Jos. As a child he questioned the need for so many groups, but he also saw the ministries work together for a common goal.  While his parents’ organization focused on evangelism, other organizations focused on discipleship or church planting. “I never knew of doctrinal or denominational differences in Nigeria. I really feel that is the beauty of the mission field. I understand why the divisions exist in the States, but am very saddened that there is so little inter-denominational ministry.” The frustrations, however, do not end with the politics.

“our long-term missionaries are having their base churches painted for the twelfth time”

“Americans spend millions on short-term missions every year, but I question whether those resources might be better spent on long-term missionaries and projects.” This skepticism stems from the idea that short-term mission trips often have little long-term spiritual effects on the missionaries themselves. Likewise, the effects on the evangelized communities are difficult to quantify.  As one of Jon’s professors at Dallas Theological Seminary quips “our long-term missionaries are having their base churches painted for the twelfth time,” all by short-term student mission groups.

But not everything is wrong on the American mission front. “American missionaries and churches are recognizing the need for mobilizing the rest of the world” Jon states — Mobilization enables national disciples to take the gospel into their native environments where they will have a much stronger influence than most North American missionaries, long- or short-term, would have — “This is a fairly new focus within American mission work. We have focused on evangelism and discipleship for many years, but are now to the point of equipping others for their own ministry.”

For Jonathan this is a great first step, but he hopes to see continual improvement. “I like seeing that change does happen, but the resources are still disproportionate. There are too many Christians staying localized in the states.”
Jonathan’s atypical upbringing is now coming full circle. As he continues to grow and serve within his local church, he and his wife aspire to a lifestyle of mission work particularly in Latin America. While his acclimation into the sub-culture of Christian America has not always been comfortable, Jon recognizes the lessons he has learned will benefit his current and future ministry opportunities.

Now if he could only grasp the concept of good, home-grown American music… well, that may be asking a little much.

Little history lesson for you about my life… I’m just now in college (if you’re just figuring that out, you don’t read the site enough). So, my college teams of choice vary from sport to sport and from year to year. I’m the ultimate bandwagon fan when it comes to college athletics and I’m proud of it!

The University of Kentucky has long been one of my favorites in basketball. This was ingrained in me from my father who grew up in Kentucky. I’ve never had a reason to cheer for them in football until this year. They are ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 1984 ( I was 3 ) and in the top 10 (currently #8) for the first time since 1977.

Led by Andre Woodson, who Steve Spurrier recently compared to THE USC great Carson Palmer, UK has one of the most impressive pass attacks in the nation, but to this point they haven’t played any solid defenses. This week, they face the #1 Pass defense in the nation in Spurrier’s other USC… the Gamecocks of South Carolina. Which just happens to be blogging buddy Mr. Stillwell’s alma mater… well well well… time for a little wager…

If, by some chance SoCAR pulls off an upset, I will begrudgingly display the ’Cock’s logo (see below) on this site. However, after UK humbles good ol’ ball coach and crew… rick will replace “jeeves” (his mini cooper) with the UK version. Here’s the kicker… The loser must keep up the winner’s logo until the loser’s team finally wins… Rick is definitely taking much less a risk because his ‘Cocks play a pansy UNC team next week, while UK will face LSU followed by Florida. In other words if UK loses tomorrow I’ll have too keep this stupid bird on my site until 10/27 when they play Blake’s Bulldogs… Here’s to the Wildcats!

Hey, many of you guys know Mr Graves. Many of you guys do not know he was recently interviewed for a site that has over 4000 visitors a month.

 Awesome testimony, check it out:

http://ac180.com/2007/09/27/ac180-interviews-casey-graves

Or else…

I have to admit. Slaving over all this work is tough business. I must take a break from time to time…. One of the things we like to do here is take dancing breaks. I know it’s weird, but it’s very theraputic.

Like the time Josh and I went to his church’s 70s flashback dance:

Or the trip Mark and I took to Hawaii:

This is what I’m working on a work today. How’s it look??

And this is what my bro-in-law said he was working on in response:

Very productive days… very productive indeed.

*UPDATE* Stef has made his Journey public. Read about it here.

Technology has brought with it the opportunity to discover new friends very quickly. Some come and go, others stick around for years on end. The difficult thing about blogsphere friends is the face to face connection happens so rarely if at all, which makes it difficult to really feel and hurt and rejoicewith these individuals. Days and weeks may go by without any connection of any kind at all. So when the highs of life suddenly take a turn for the worse and God leads one of us through a deep, dark, and very scary valley it makes my response feel shallow and obligatory. I want to encourage and share and be someone to lean on, but it feels empty, making it difficult to find words to share…

All that said, there is a great deal going on among some of my new network / blog friends / etc over at AC180 that is very sobering and I have many thoughts that lead to questions that lead to more thoughts and more questions. And I can’t get it all on paper… yet… but, if you can take at the very least a short moment to say a prayer for Stefan. It’s much needed at this time.