PASTOR JOHN PIPER answers a question I've often grappled with: What does it mean when Jesus says, 'I Never Knew You?' It's a humbling and sobering answer.
I would answer it a little differently. I would say, Christ can only know us as sinners in need of Him. Then we repent of our sins and ask Him for forgiveness. Jesus came to save the lost. We are all lost and in need of salvation. But it's only those who know they are lost and own it who are saved. If you don't know you're lost and need a Savior, then there is no need for you to seek him, except maybe at the last minute. It's often too late. Scary.
Remember the Parable of the Prodigal Son who takes his inheritance to a foreign country, squanders it on wine, women and song, then ends up in poverty, feeding pigs and eating slop. It's only then he comes to his senses and decides to go back to his Father and ask for a job as a servant so he can eat. When the Father sees his lost son from a faraway distance, he joyfully embraces his wayward boy because the son repents. And the rest is glorious salvation history. The Father clearly knew his wayward son. We don't ever have to be perfect to be known by God, only to know we need The Father and humbly as him in, or back into our lives.
12 BLESSED IS THE NATION whose God is the Lord, the people he chose for his inheritance. 13 From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; 14 from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth— 15 he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.
16 No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. 17 A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. 18 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, 19 to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine.
20 We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. 21 In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. 22 May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
LOVE THE BUTTONS ON THAT PERFECT BLACK DRESS AND EVERYTHING ABOUT MELANIA. What a real woman looks and acts like if she's married to the most powerful man in the world.
AMERICA AT ITS BEST. What started terribly slowly, ended with a Patriots touchdown and field goal. Super Bowl stuck to football. Maroon 5 stuck to music though I did not like the lead singer's look. All as it should be.
And the Alexa ad with Harrison Ford's Boston terrier ordering dog food and gravy was a complete hilarious winner.
AHEAD OF PRESIDENT TRUMP DECLARING A STATE OF EMERGENCY TO BUILD A WALL ON OUR SOUTHERN BORDER, LET'S GO BACK IN HISTORY TO ANOTHER GREAT WALL BUILDING IN ANCIENT JERUSALEM
BY CHUCK SWINDOLL
THE BOOK OF NEHEMIAH opens in the Persian city of Susa in the year 444 BC. Later that year, Nehemiah traveled to Israel, leading the third of three returns by the Jewish people following their seventy years of exile in Babylon. (The previous chapter on Ezra describes the earlier two returns.)
Most of the book centers on events in Jerusalem. The narrative concludes around the year 430 BC, and scholars believe the book was written shortly thereafter.
Nehemiah is the last historical book of the Old Testament. Although the book of Esther appears after Nehemiah in the canon, the events in Esther occurred in the time period between Ezra 6 and 7, between the first and second returns of the people to Israel. The prophet Malachi was a contemporary of Nehemiah.
Why is Nehemiah so important?
Nehemiah was a layman, not a priest like Ezra nor a prophet like Malachi. He served the Persian king in a secular position before leading a group of Jews to Jerusalem in order to rebuild the city walls. “Nehemiah’s expertise in the king’s court equipped him adequately for the political and physical reconstruction necessary for the remnant to survive."1
Under Nehemiah’s leadership, the Jews withstood opposition and came together to accomplish their goal. Nehemiah led by example, giving up a respected position in a palace for hard labor in a politically insignificant district. He partnered with Ezra, who also appears in this book, to solidify the political and spiritual foundations of the people. Nehemiah’s humility before God (see his moving intercessory prayers in chapters 1 and 9) provided an example for the people.
He did not claim glory for himself but always gave God the credit for his successes.
What's the big idea?
Nehemiah recorded the reconstruction of the wall of Jerusalem, Judah’s capital city. Together, he and Ezra, who led the spiritual revival of the people, directed the political and religious restoration of the Jews in their homeland after the Babylonian captivity.
Nehemiah’s life provides a fine study on leadership. He overcame opposition from outsiders as well as internal turmoil. He exercised his administrative skills in his strategy to use half the people for building while the other half kept watch for the Samaritans who, under Sanballat, threatened attack (Nehemiah 4–7).
As governor, Nehemiah negotiated peace among the Jews who were unhappy with Persian taxes. He exhibited a steadfast determination to complete his goals. Accomplishing those goals resulted in a people encouraged, renewed, and excited about their future.
How do I apply this?
The book of Nehemiah shows us the kind of significant impact one individual can have on a nation. Nehemiah served in secular offices, using his position to bring back to the Jews order, stability, and proper focus on God.
God uses all manner of people in all manner of places doing all manner of work. Do you feel you must be “in ministry” in order to serve God? Be encouraged; He is not limited by your vocation. In fact, God has placed you where you are for a purpose. Have this attitude about your work: “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father” (Colossians 3:17).
MBI AND HIS BESAINTED WIFE ARE ON A SIX WEEK WORLD CRUISE FROM ENGLAND TO AUSTRAILIA. Meanwhile, us landlubbers soon in the Polar Vortex can vicariously enjoy their grand adventure.
Alight from your vehicle at your own risk, MBI!
Report is it's hot, hot, hot where they are. .Elephants love scorching heat. The hotter, the better.
THERE IS TOXICITY IN EACH AND EVERY MAN AND EVERY WOMAN, SINCE THE FALL OF MAN, THE BEGINNING OF TIME. To say--project--- that men are all bad and toxic and women good and innocent victims is the height of immaturity and silliness. This ad is a good push back to the Gillette ad..
By Greg Morse @ Desiring God THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION recently contributed its
thoughts on traditional masculinity, telling us that it’s mainly a
semi-harmful social construct. This week, Gillette has added its two
cents on “toxic” masculinity in a now-viral advertisement.
The main point: men must hold other men accountable “in ways big and
small,” especially as it pertains to sexual harassment and bullying.
This is important because, apart from the incentive of selling shaving
products, the boys watching today will be the men of tomorrow.
Backlash has ensued. The commercial has almost half a million likes
with twice as many dislikes. Many decry the characterization that men
today are sexual harassers who sit around at barbecues and let kids beat
each other up, mumbling between beers that “boys will be boys.” The
commercial, some say, promotes a view that all men are rapists and
bullies.
Others heard it as yet another call to be less rugged, more
domesticated, more conceding to the feminism of our time. Another
attempt to paint us as unstable in order to take away sharp objects. The
virtue that men and women have equal value has devolved into the vice
that pretends men and women are the same.
But many embrace the message because it calls out a strain of men
that do exist in our society — brutes who use their strength and power
toward corrupt ends. Whether that end entails touching a female
inappropriately or harassing someone smaller, God’s people — like God
himself — will confront such violence and abuse.
Narrowly speaking, the message that seeks to protect our women and
children deserves our hearty amen, regardless of whether Balaam speaks
it. We too stand firmly, unequivocally against that imposter called
brutality. But this is one perversion today that is profitable to stand
publicly against. Another distortion, less financially beneficial, has
slipped quietly under the radar.
When Men Wore Pants
This less-popular strain of toxic masculinity was documented a decade
ago by Dockers in its Man-ifesto campaign. Its commercial, worth
quoting in full, reads as follows:
Once upon a time, men wore the pants, and wore them well. Women
rarely had to open doors, and little old ladies never crossed the street
alone. Men took charge because that’s what they did. But somewhere
along the way, the world decided it no longer needed men. Disco by
disco, latte by foamy nonfat latte, men were stripped of their khakis
and left stranded on the road between boyhood and androgyny.
It continues,
But today, there are questions our genderless society has no answers
for. The world sits idly by, and cities crumble, children misbehave, and
those little old ladies remain on one side of the street. For the first
time since bad guys, we need heroes. We need grown-ups. We need men to
put down the plastic fork, step away from the salad bar, and untie the
world from the tracks of complacency. It’s time to get your hands dirty.
It’s time to answer the call of manhood. It’s time to wear the pants.
The pants company rightly observes that cities crumble without men living as men.
We need heroes that do not beat up those they swore to protect, and
heroes who are willing to take off their superman pajamas, put down
their frothy drinks, and act more like Clark Kent — the very thing our
sexless society is trying to make harder than ever.
Too often we swing from decrying chauvinism and abuse to producing a
society of plastic forks, nonfat lattes, and men who don’t mind going to
church because of the free babysitting. When our children look at men
today — the kind in television shows, homes, and the classroom — what do
they see? What is this masculinity of tomorrow we are all concerned
with?
Manicured Manhood
Just having returned from a visit to “the greatest place on earth,”
my wife and I were shocked at how many men boldly acted like women.
Lispy sentences, light gestures, soft mannerisms, and flamboyant jokes
were everywhere to be seen — on display for a park flooded with
children. No hiding it. No shame. No apologizing. This perversion of
masculinity warranted no commercials.
Instead, our society celebrates what Paul calls literally “soft men” (Greek malakoi), a group that will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9).
And discomfort at this will-not-inherit-the-kingdom version of
manliness is exactly a symptom of what the APA finds malignant in
traditional manhood. But as much as the APA and LGBTQs protest it as
hate speech, the effeminate shall not enter the kingdom of God, and it
is unloving not to say so.
While men who brutalize and manipulate represent one form of
perversion (the kind companies now put their dollars into supporting),
men who sit passive, complacent, spiritually and emotionally frail,
represent another. So also do men who rebel against their sex by acting
like women. And too many classrooms that celebrate this perversion act
as accomplices to confusing the boys (and girls) of today. Paul commands
all men, “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong” (1 Corinthians 16:13),
and offers them the hope of the gospel that they too might be washed,
sanctified, and justified “in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by
the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
.
David Mathis rightly tells us that the strongest men are gentle.
But do not hear him saying that godly men are soft, fragile, weak, or
effeminate. They do not faint in the day of adversity. They dress for
war every day against forces of evil. They are sacrificial initiators,
not limp deferrers. Men who charge against enemy gates, leading from the
front, and refusing to take cover behind their wives and children. They
lead. They protect. They initiate. They love. They sacrifice. They
work. They worship. They are men.
When Men Killed Dragons
Godly men are neither severe nor effeminate. They have a sword, but
use it against the dragon, not the princess in the castle. They are safe
to those God calls them to protect, dangerous to the flesh and the
kingdom of darkness. They have more to do than restrain themselves; they
live for the glory of God. They mount their horse, gird up their loins,
and “ride out victoriously for the cause of truth and meekness and
righteousness” (Psalm 45:4).
And their General, instead of handing them plastic forks, “trains their
hands for war, so that their arms can bend a bow of bronze” (2 Samuel 22:35)
. They are like Moses, not Pharaoh. They do not lord their
power in hopes of cowardly self-preservation. They stand against an
empire with the Lord over all empires, calling for tyrants to heed the
God of heaven and earth. They are assertive and yet comprise the meekest
men on the planet. They make unpopular decisions, meet regularly with
their God, and constantly insist, “Thus saith the Lord.”
They are like David, not Saul. They do not hide when duty
calls. They gladly go into battle, when others will not, in the venture
of their God’s fame. They kill tens of thousands of sins, and fight the
more fearful enemy than Goliath. They dress in armor too big for them:
God’s (Ephesians 6:13). They know much warfare and yet can testify that God’s gentleness makes them great (2 Samuel 22:36).
Battle-tested, yet they may give themselves to things such as poetry.
And should they ever shirk their duty and do wickedly, they repent
before God and trust in his mercy and steadfast love to restore them.
The Best a Man Can Get
Such men are like Jesus, not the world’s soft-serve substitute. The
smiley, flowy-haired, manicured Jesus is an idol. The Jesus of the Bible
is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who will return with a
sword in his mouth and heaven’s army in his wake. He is the thrice holy
man of war, the great redeemer, the sinner’s friend, who calls all to
repentance, faith, and obedience. Vengeance is his; he will repay.
And yet, he also calls children to himself. He washes disciples’
feet. He speaks gracious words to the oppressed, champions the widow’s
cause, and calls the contrite near. A bruised reed he does not break,
and a faintly burning wick he does not snuff. Tough, yet tender.
Satan hates such biblical masculinity. He pressures men like never
before to apologize for being what God has made him. He hands him
androgyny, effeminacy, passivity, and pornography. He calls it a social
construct and sends the Delilah of feminism to strip him of his passion,
ambition, and strength, laughing as men ache while watching Braveheart. But while he hates that God made them both male and female (Genesis 1:27), we can show the world the best a man can get: gentleness and strength, holy compassion and holy aggression. In a word, Christ.
Greg Gutfield @ Fox weighs in.
(Sorry, link isn't working.)
Yes, President Trump could take his SOTU to the people in Middle America who elected him. Or he could tweet it.
Whatever comes next, Trump needs to stay the course, stay the course, and stay the course indefinitely, until the border security issue gets handled. Backing down now would be a disaster on all levels for America and his presidency.
One more thing: It doesn't matter if he is a one or two-term president. He needs to focus on now, on taking care of the American people's border security concerns and the wall. Come. What. May.
Trump has got what it takes. He's got the guts. He's got the ego. He can take a stand and hit after hit letting the chips fall where they may. He's my definition of a true leader.
I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of
life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books,
according to what they had done. (Revelation 20:12)
....AND THE LONG-TERM SECURITY OF THE AMERICAN PEOPLE. IT WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
President Trump now needs to back up his very fine speech tonight in favor of legal immigration by controlling illegal entry to the United States.
He must not back down. Congress certainly has as it has dilly dallied on this issue for decades, making promises, passing bills to fund a border wall which has never been implemented.
Mr.Trump has drawn the line for the American people and forced a crisis that's long, long overdue. Good for him. Now the president must not let this crisis go to waste.
He must not back down. Real leadership is taking a stand and letting the chips fall where they may.
President Trump is doing the right thing for the American people. He's doing the right thing for his presidency..
Trump needs to hang tough for as long as it takes. He must not back down.
He can not back down now. Thank you President Trump for taking this tough, hard stand against the entrenched powers and principalities of the air.
SEEN AND HEARD: Ivanka and Jared walked out of the movie Vice. Good. I would too, except I wouldn't go to such blatant propaganda in the first place.
BALE IS CLEARLY NO SAINT AS A VIOLENT DOMESTIC ABUSER. JUDGE NOT AS HE BE NOT JUDGED.
WHAT A TOTALLY EXPECTED DIG THIS BALE GUY MADE AGAINST FORMER VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY AT THE GOLDEN GLOBES. Group think hysteria at its lowest aimed to please his godless audience and get him lots of back slap kudos at the Golden Calf after-parties.
Anyway, good for Rep. Liz Cheney, R-WY, for her unexpected and greatly needed push back against Bales's slameless silliness towards her father.. To wit:
Dick Cheney's daughter Liz brought up
domestic allegations against Christian Bale after the actor said 'Satan'
inspired him to play her father in the movie, Vice.
The
former Vice President's daughter tweeted shortly after Bale's Sunday
night Globes speech: 'Satan probably inspired him to do this, too,' and
quoted a 2008 headline from British news organization The Independent
which read, 'Christian Bale arrested for "assault on mother and
sister."'
The reference to the
decade-old allegation from Liz came after Bale made the controversial
remarks while accepting the Golden Globe award for Best Actor Sunday
night.
'Thank you to Satan for giving me inspiration for playing this role,' he said of his Dick Cheney character in an apparent snub.
Way to go Liz! You Go Girl. Your father is a class act and a true patriot from the great state of Wyoming! My second favorite state.
THIS ARTICLE ON FRANK REICH IS A TERRIFIC (LONG) READ, A TESTAMENT TO HOW GOD OPENS, CLOSES AND RE-OPENS OPPORTUNITIES WE COULD NOT FORESEE. By Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra @ THE GOSPEL COALITION
IMAGINE Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Al Mohler
taking over the Dallas Cowboys. Or Trinity International University
president David Dockery coaching the Chicago Bears. Or Covenant
Theological Seminary president Mark Dalbey heading up the Los Angeles
Rams.
This fall, former Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) Charlotte
campus president Frank Reich began his first season as head coach of the
Indianapolis Colts.
“I could never have predicted this path,” Reich toldThe Washington Post. “It’s crazy. It’s fun.”
It’s not the first time his path has seemed crazy.
When he enrolled in his first RTS class in 1997, he was a backup quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.
“When I was playing, I always thought I was going to be a coach,”
Reich told TGC. “When I went into full-time ministry, that was for all
the right motives—a real, sincere, heartfelt love for God. I was trying
to do the right thing.”
He was “selling everything” to follow Jesus. And he did—he graduated
from seminary, led RTS for three years, then pastored a local church.
But he didn’t feel called to it.
And RTS had taught him that pastoring isn’t everyone’s calling.
“I came to recognize more and more this false dichotomy between
sacred and secular work,” Reich said. He learned about “the priesthood
of all believers—that every Christian is called to live out their faith
in their sphere of influence.”
And Reich’s sphere of influence is football.
Comeback Kid
The first thing to know about Reich, the Indianapolis Startold readers when he was named head coach in February, is that “he knows about comebacks.”
Reich, who grew up in a religious home, has been playing organized
football since sixth grade. He went to the University of Maryland on an
athletic scholarship, where he was a year behind All-American
quarterback Boomer Esiason. He backed up Esiason for three years. When
Esiason graduated, Reich finally had his chance to start in 1984.
But one month in, he injured his shoulder. Three weeks later, the
coach told him the team would stick with his replacement, and Reich was
back on the bench as backup.
Reich couldn’t believe it.
God, I thought you and I were good, he remembers thinking. Why are you doing this to me?
He realized that “football had become my God. . . . When that was taken away from me, I realized I had to reprioritize my life.”
So he worked at it. And a few weeks later, in a game against the
Miami Hurricanes, he came off the bench at halftime. The Terrapins were
down 31-0.
Over the next two quarters, Reich threw three touchdowns, handed off
for two more, and ran one in himself. Maryland won 42–40, and the
comeback remained college’s greatest for 22 years.
Football had become my God. . . . When that was taken away from me, I realized I had to reprioritize my life.
Almost 10 years later, he did it again, this time coming off the
bench in his first NFL playoff game with the Buffalo Bills. Three
minutes into the third quarter, the Bills were down 35–3 to the Houston
Oilers. Reich handed off for the first touchdown, then threw four in a
row. The Bills won 41–38 in a 1993 game that would get its own name
(“The Comeback” or “The Choke,” depending on the fan), its own Wikipedia page, and its own NFL record (largest comeback in NFL history).
But Reich’s not a prosperity theologian. He knows getting himself
straight with God didn’t lead to touchdowns and paychecks. Four weeks
after The Comeback, the Bills lost the Super Bowl 52–17.
They would ultimately lose four Super Bowls in a row, from 1991 to
1994. And Reich never would land that starting quarterback position.
Frank Reich / Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts
“[A]fter our crushing 52–17 loss to the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII, I was devastated,” he wrote.
“The devastation was compounded by the fact that I had played more than
half of the game. I couldn’t understand how God could allow us to get
beat like that, especially after the Houston miracle.”
He was flying home from Pasadena when he realized the answer.
“For the first two hours of the trip, I was going crazy trying to
figure out why the Super Bowl went the way it did,” he wrote. “Finally, I
could take it no longer. I realized I could be asking the same
questions the rest of my life. I needed some peace of mind. The only
thing I could think to do was to put on my headset and listen to
[Michael English’s] ‘In Christ Alone.’”
It was a song his sister had introduced him to. He’d listened to it
hundreds of times, even reading it at the press conference after The
Comeback.
Now, he “sought comfort from the song which gave me peace during the
stressful week prior to the Houston game. The message I was now hearing
was that we can experience victory in all our circumstances through
Jesus Christ. He gives us the strength and hope to overcome all odds.”
Not Just a Testimony
Reich grew up Catholic, coming to know Jesus as a University of
Maryland senior through Campus Crusade for Christ (now Cru) and Athletes
in Action.
As a ball player, Reich “was very involved in Bible studies and
traveling around and sharing the gospel at different events,” he told
TGC.
“As I was growing, I felt like I needed some more formalized training
to be able to use the platform that sports had provided to be able to
share the gospel,” he said. Not only that—“my heart was not just to
share my testimony. I also wanted to be able to teach the Bible.”
My heart was not just to share my testimony. I also wanted to be able to teach the Bible.
Because Reich was playing for the Panthers, he was living in
Charlotte. After “a little bit of research,” the backup quarterback of
the Carolina Panthers ended up in a couple RTS classes in the offseason.
(“Of course, I heard about it pretty quickly,” said Ric Cannada, then
president of RTS’s new Charlotte campus. Reich even hauled some buddies
along with him—the campus still has former Panthers in the classroom.)
Reich kept taking classes during his time with the Panthers, then the
New York Jets, then the Detroit Lions. After he played his last pro
game in 1998, he took classes while he worked on a few business
interests (a sports memorabilia display company and a boot store)
.
“I was in my fifth or sixth year when [Cannada], who had left to
become chancellor over the whole system, called me up and said, ‘Can you
come into my office?’” Reich said. “So I went into his office and he
said, ‘Hey, I’ve been praying about this for a long time. I’d like to
ask you to be the next president.’”
Reich laughed.
“You’ve got the wrong guy,” he told Cannada. “I haven’t even graduated yet!”
Natural Leader
As a general practice, RTS doesn’t ask its students to take over operations.
But Reich “was an older student when he came,” Cannada explained. “He
was mature. He had been reading and studying for 10 years already, and
you could see that he was a knowledgeable and serious student in his
classes.”
Reich was also “easy and personable, a natural leader.” Early on,
Cannada started asking Reich to come along on speaking engagements to
share his student testimony.
“We spent a lot of time together in the car, going places and sharing vision,” Cannada said. “I got pretty close to him.”
That closeness ran both ways—on the road, Cannada and Reich “would
stop and eat and talk, and I got to learn the inner workings of the
seminary,” Reich said.
So when Cannada was elevated to chancellor, and tasked with finding his replacement in Charlotte, Reich was “a natural choice.”
“I’d been with him enough that I knew his character was right, and he
could set an example,” Cannada said. “He was comfortable with faculty
and students, and his character was strong. And there was vision
there—and that’s what you need in a leader.”
Teacher and Coach
Frank didn’t say yes right away. But he respected Cannada enough, and
loved RTS enough, to agree to pray about it. Then he went down to
Jackson to meet the board. Then he agreed to give it a try for a few
years.
“It went exceedingly well,” Reich said. “I really did enjoy it.”
The school enjoyed him too.
“During his tenure as president, Frank Reich was known as a man with a
vision not only for the growth and well-being of the RTS Charlotte
campus, but also for striving to elevate the strategic importance of
each faculty and staff member serving with him,” said Rod Culbertson,
director of admissions and professor of practical theology under Reich.
“He was highly respected for his straightforward communication,
integrity, trustworthiness, and humility. Like a coach, he relied upon
the insights and advice of others who could help him gain wisdom in
decision making.”
Reich and quarterback Andrew Luck at an off-season workout / Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts
“One of the things that impressed me most about Frank was his
humility,” said Michael Kruger, who was RTS Charlotte’s academic dean
while Reich was president. “While he had accomplished amazing things in
his football career, Frank was never interested in talking about
himself. His focus was always on Christ and how to bring glory to him.”
Reich’s best leadership was through example, said Kruger, who is now RTS Charlotte’s president.
“Leaders today often underestimate the power of their example,” he
said. “They tend to lead by telling people what to do, rather than showing them
what to do. Frank was not that way. He would not ask someone to walk a
path he was unwilling to walk himself. He sought to embody the values of
the seminary, not just talk about those values. That’s been a great
lesson for me.”
But at the end of three years, Reich “just didn’t feel like I was
called to be an administrator. I’m more of a teacher and coach.”
He knew he was only qualified to teach two things—the Bible and
football. He tried his hand at being an interim pastor, but it only took
“about a year to figure out that wasn’t the calling on my life. That’s
probably the hardest job in the world.”
And his theology told him that preaching isn’t the only work that
honors God. “I learned that calling—for most people—is to stay where you
are and do your work to the Lord.”
So Reich circled back around to football. “If pastoring isn’t what
I’m called to do, and it’s not an accident that God has given me a
career in football, then I guess I should make an impact in that arena
in whatever way I can,” he figured. “I decided to start coaching at that
time.”
45-Year-Old Intern
At 45, Reich took a coaching internship with the Indianapolis Colts.
He moved up to offensive coaching staff assistant, to quarterback coach
for Peyton Manning, to wide receivers coach. He coached for the Arizona
Cardinals for a year, for the San Diego Chargers for three, and for the
Philadelphia Eagles for two.
Reich and his wife, Linda, after the Eagles Super Bowl win in 2018 / Courtesy of Ric Cannada
Perhaps not surprisingly, Reich coaches like a teacher—”He does a
great job letting us understand the why, teaching us why we are running a
certain thing,” quarterback Andrew Luck told the Indianapolis Star. “I think when you understand an offense, as a player, you are going to buy in.”
Reich isn’t shy about his faith, but isn’t obnoxious about it either.
“I do think there’s a time to be assertive and proclaim what we believe and stand up on the rooftop and shout it out,” he told
Penn Live. “But there’s also a time where we need to keep our mouth
shut and just live it out and make someone else ask, ‘Hey, why do act
like that? What is it that shapes how you act?'”
“And then when people want to know the why,” Reich told TGC, “you have the opportunity to tell them.”
Because when Reich took over the reins in Indianapolis this year, the
team was coming off a dismal 4–12 season. Star quarterback Andrew Luck
was sidelined with a shoulder injury. The Colts owner was asking fans for patience.
And then the team lost five of its first six games this fall.
Theology of Sports
If you congratulate Reich on being the Comeback Kid, he’ll remind you that he also holds (shares, really) the record for most fumbles in a Super Bowl game.
Football is like that. After losing nearly the entire first third of
the season, the Colts won nine of the next 10 games to become the third
NFL team in history to make the playoffs after a 1-5 start. (“No NFL
playoff team came further this season than the Colts,” The Washington Postobserved.)
Faith “really keeps you grounded and centered” during the wild
emotional swings of professional sports, Reich told TGC. “It gives you
perspective. . . . We don’t always understand the ups and downs of life,
but we try to stay steady, loving and serving people and being
committed to the process of doing things the right way and making an
impact that way.”
Frank Reich / Courtesy of the Indianapolis Colts
Reich is sure that God doesn’t have a favorite football team. (A
quarter of Americans say God has a hand in determining the outcome of
sporting events; 28 percent have asked him to help their team.)
“I have two little kids, and when I see my children playing a game together I don’t care who wins that game,” Reich toldTeam NFL
magazine in 1993. “I’m their father. What’s important to me is that
there’s character being built and they’re learning the lessons that come
along with that activity. I think God looks at us the same way. I think
the football game is insignificant to him. But what is significant is
that we learn what he wants us to learn out of that game, win or lose.”
Reich roots his view of work in Genesis. “Our job description comes from Genesis 1:28—bring out the best in the environment and the people around you.”
As a quarterback, he tried to “be a good teammate, to bring out the
best in players around me, to make a good locker room environment, to do
my job right.” As a coach, he “works hard, trying to create a culture
where people can flourish.”
The ability—and charge—to work well is given to everyone, from seminary presidents to head coaches.
It’s also a lesson that RTS teaches.
“I wasn’t disappointed or bothered by it,” Cannada said of Reich’s
decision to leave ministry. “At RTS we very much hold a Reformed
worldview, where calling from the Lord can lead us in all kinds of
directions. Church ministry is a good one, but it’s not the only one.
We’re to serve the Lord wherever we are.”
Current RTS Charlotte president Kruger agrees.
“Frank’s story is a perfect example of what we value here at RTS,”
said Kruger (who wouldn’t turn down a job coaching the Liverpool
Football Club in the English Premiere League).
“The Reformers taught that all callings matter, not just callings to
vocational ministry,” he said. “God’s sovereignty extends to all
categories of our life, not just to the ‘religious’ category. And thus
God’s Word applies as much to the banker, the farmer, and the athlete as
it does to the pastor.”
Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra is senior writer for The Gospel Coalition. She earned her master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.
2019 SPOILER ALERT FOR ALL US DEPLORABLE CONSERVATIVES: Our politics and principles are not just offensive to Deep State liberals, they're causing us mental, physical disease and early death. Furthermore, President Donald Trump is Hitler for woke Americans and the radical political correctness crowd.
WOW! Just wow.
To wit: Georgia Democratic Rep. Hank Johnson let loose on New Year's Day to say all us conservatives are less prosperous, dying from alcoholism, drug addictions and broken hearts. This confused, anxious and well-meaning man seems to have lost touch with reality. But don't believe me, listen for yourself:
<
'A powerful domestic enemy of democracy has emerged from the dark shadows of America....' Johnson opines as he takes things out of historical and political context. It's all the Trump voters fault.....
So, I predict we're in for a very interesting, pathological year.
IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY AS A GOOD FRIEND AND I DROVE FROM NASHVILLE OVER MONTEAGLE MOUNTAIN TO CHATTANOOGA.
We were going to a fund-raising/gathering for George W. Bush's presidential re-election campaign at the palatial home of Bob and Elizabeth Corker whom we knew as friends from their days living in Nashville during Bob's work in the Governor Don Sunquist's administration.
W. was not going to be at the Corkers that day, but George and Barbara Bush were making a proxy campaign stop with great fanfare and much publicity.
Tish and I arrived as personal friends, not deep pocketed donors. Neither of us knew many Chattanooga Republicans who would be there in droves. We looked forward to visiting their Versailles-like home and gardens in spring bloom.
So it was we arrived, had our car valet parked, and went in to a massive mob scene.
We found Elizabeth and Bob and said hello then we wandered through the grounds and lots of exuberant people After a few minutes, I wondered how I could politely flee.
I turned to Tish and said, 'Let's blow this joint' Or find a quieter place that's out of the way of the increasing crowds.
The Bushes were to arrive momentarily at the covered east portico where press and ardent supporters pressed against each other.
'Why don't we go to the other end of the house on the quiet front patio until thimgs settle down? I said. She agreed.
We found our way outside and sat down on the short brick wall away from everyone else.
Then as almost on cue, the presidential motorcade appeared and began to head up the Corkers' long, winding driveway with the presidential limousine lead and attendant security vehicles following close behind.
'The Bushes were here!,. We were relieved we were in a quiet spot away from the mayhem.
Then suddenly something totally unexpected happened....
A man looking a lot like former president George HW Bush had his limo stop far down the Corkers' driveway, got out and pulled a white-haired lady out the his side of the car and started walking through the yard...up the hill towards....the two of.us!
'Tish, that looks like the Bushes walking towards us. But it can't be; they're supposed to be arriving at the other end of the house.... This is not supposed to be happening,' I said, as they pulled themselves up the long hill, closer and closer to where the two of us were sitting far away from the crowds.
We watched for a minute dumbfounded, then I sprung up and out of my stupor and into my southern belle mode, as Barbara and George got closer to the two of us....
Ready or not, were suddenly the Bushes official greeting committee.
'Hello President and Mrs.Bush!' I said. 'Welcome to Chattanooga and the Corkers.....Do you know you are supposed to be arriving at the other end of the house where all your other supporters are waiting?" We shook hands and greeted each other warmly.
President Bush said he knew he wasn't supposed to come this way, but 'I saw two pretty ladies up here and wanted to come meet them.' Barbara smiled and chimed in, 'It was good to be here!'
So we stood making small talk for a few minutes as if old friends enjoying a beautiful spring afternoon, in peace and quiet. Soon enough the real welcoming committee and press got wind of the Bushes whereabouts after their limousine arrived empty and quickly the mob came bursting out through the front doors where we were and swooped the Bushes inside.
Tish and I said goodbye. We laughed all the way back to Nashville later that afternoon. Who knew we would be their unofficial welcoming committee at the Corkers that day? Who knew we would have the unexpected pleasure of making their delightful company?
ALONG WITH MY DAILY BIBLE READINGS EACH MORNING FROM ONE YEAR BIBLE BLOG on my sidebar (which includes readings from the Old and New Testaments, a Psalm and Proverb passsage), there is a dazzling new, Gospel resource that I'm finding rich and edifying which I want to call your attention to. It is brief but extremely powerful and well worth checking out, listening to and mediatating on daily:
It's called Solid Joys Daily Devotional with Pastor John Piper at Desiring God.
When you click on the link, you will find the day's latest devotional and also you can scroll down and go back days, even weeks to review old devotionals you missed or wish to review.
I hope you will integrate this feed into your daily quiet time and find it as wonderful a resource as I do. It is now also posted as a link on my sidebar. God bless and thanks for coming by.
I LOVE THE FALL HUNTER GATHERER LOOK--pine cones, magnolias and pheasant feathers (from Martha Stewart). Perfect for dining al fresco or inside. It could use a little more red---berries or apples, for zip, but otherwise spectacular.
It's a glorious day of sunshine and soon-to-be warmth here in Middle Tennessee. If you can breathe the air and it's warm enough, hope you will join me for a nice walk in the woods; we're getting far too sedentary. So much to be thankful for. Happy, Blessed Thanksgiving Day! I include a prayer of thanksgiving from the Anglican prayer book:
Collect for the Day
Almighty and gracious Father,
we give you thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season
and for the labors of those who harvest them.
Make us, we pray, faithful stewards of your great bounty,
for the provision of our necessities and
the relief of all who are in need,
to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with
you and the Holy Spirit,
WHY DOES IT SEEM THAT SUFFERING INTENSIFIES AT THIS TIME OF YEAR when days are shortest and light from sun is weakest? Does God design life that way? When life is supposed to be so cheerful it often become depressing and desperately isolated.
In this week alone horrendous mega forest fires in California have left so many without anything--- homes, possessions, family members and often worse. It boggles the mind how quickly disaster can happen to any of us and change the course of our lives and destiny forever.
How can we help in a way that truly reaches past merely restoring money and physical possessions? Nancy Guthrie talks here about what Christians and can do and how we can pray more deeply for those in need of so much:
THERE ARE A LOT OF MOVING, DISPARATE PIECES IN OUR LIVES THAT DON'T ALL FIT NEATLY TOGETHER AND MAKE SENSE. But righteous people and their purpose are in the hand of God. We may not know the end of something, but if we do what God guides us to do, then one day we will. If we humble ourselves and let ourselves be guided, God will bring something marvelous out of even the most difficult times.
Please join me in praying for the thousands of victims of the catastrophic fires in California who have lost their homes and much worse. Also please pray for our favorite blogger and friend Gerard Vanderleun, his mother and little cat who are all surviving and prospering by the Grace of God.
THIS COMMENT IS TOO EXTREME TO DELETE. Without further ado, I give you Hillary Bill from Sewanee, TN on the elite radical left to all of us drug addled deplorables in Tennessee:
Only in a redneck state like yours, would a bimbo be elected whose
degree is in Home Economics and has worked in beauty pageants vs a guy
who has a Physics degree from Harvard and has successfully managed a
state with $33 billion budget. Of course we know Tennesseans are in a
lot of pain and they need their opiates which Marsha will be happy to
supply after receiving her payoffs from big pharm... every other parent
in Manchester, Winchester, and small town TN is on disability and has a
opiate problem. I guess if you keep them medicated, you'll get their
vote. Sorry, you can't blame the brown people for this, it's purely a
white redneck problem. What is wrong with these people? Poorly educated,
scared of the brown people, gun fetishists, and afflicted with fear and
gullibility... It's a redneck nation, at least 50%, the worst of
America which you vote to keep over fed and medicated.
But, justice is soon to come. It's Mueller time!
MY RESPONSE:
All the advanced degrees on earth cannot make up for your hateful, condescending, disrespectful attitude towards the people of this state. These are my people. Get a grip and grow up and out of your hysteria. You're a troubled man and starting to sound like an unhinged mass shooter in the making....this has been going on for years and today it's over. Get some help.
SURE, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IDEAL TO HAVE KEPT BOTH HOUSES last night. Still there's much to be thankful for: Marsha Blackburn and Bill Lee keep Tennessee clearly soaked in red. Beto, Andrew, Stacy and Taylor Swift were defeated. President Trump is still a winner. For now.
I'm a southern Christian conservative with a degree in civil & environmental engineering and a passion for the truth of God's Word, writing, hiking, investing, fly fishing, cooking and the great outdoors. My favorite tech invention = spellcheck. There are no such things as rights without responsibility, a free lunch, cheap grace, man-made climate change, successful government engineering, or figuring out when life begins. We're hurling towards the abyss with only One Life-Line: it's not botox, a "living" Constitution, celebrity president, or making nice with our dark enemies.. Meanwhile, God gave us His Word, His Son, Grace Upon Grace, family/friends and the greatest country in the world to live--if we can keep it .Comments are closed but you can email me at: webutante07 at gmail dot com. Thanks for coming by and be sure to view this in the 'web' version at the bottom.
Stewarding Timber Lands, Daylighting and Building Roads
Fall in Tennessee
Boys, Waterfall, Barrel of Monkeys. Fun
Jackson, Conservative Cat Patriot
Satan, Your Kingdom Must Come Down
National Anthem
AT in VA
My Favorite Hometown Buddies
Leaves Everywhere
Journeys To Significance---On the Life of Paul
Click Pic
The Philantropists: William Wilberforce
@ Tim Challies
Most Destructive Sin In Each Life
"The sin that is most destructive in our life right now is the one we are most defensive about."
---Tim Keller
Grace Sunday
G-Boy and Girly-G Baptized In Manhattan---God Bless Them and Their Parents!
Above Jackson Hole
On the Thames
Girly-G Looks For the Queeny-B!
At the AT Headquarters
At Harper's Ferry WV (click pic)
In A Central Park State of Mind
Last Stanzas of America the Beautiful
O beautiful for pilgrim feet, Whose stern, impassioned stress A thoroughfare for freedom beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!
O beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife, Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine, Till all success be nobleness, And every gain divine!
Visit to Scotland
G-Boy Tractors Around Scotland With His Late Great-Grandpapa, Fred
BALE IS CLEARLY NO SAINT AS A VIOLENT DOMESTIC ABUSER. JUDGE NOT AS HE BE NOT JUDGED. 
