Merry Christmas?

Merry Christmas!
These two words should bring a welcoming feeling when spoken. However, here in the United States this greeting has become divisive and even worse, a political tool.  For those of you who oppose Christmas and its celebration there is nothing in particular that I have to say regarding your stance other than that for some of you your dominant position is one of tolerance for all things and yet I find it amusing that to promote tolerance you become intolerant of Christmas, but that is your issue and I choose to laugh rather than fight against it. I am not in your camp so I have little understanding of the incoherencies of your stance as compared to your foundational beliefs.

I am however, in the camp of those who do celebrate and embrace Christmas and so this post is an open letter and apology to those who have been offended by "our side." While many would argue, and with some accuracy that I am not in a position to write such an apology I am endeavoring to do so anyone. It is true I am not a pastor or in a position of spiritual authority. I am merely a brother in Christ and I have to admit that yesterday while driving around Spokane I felt assaulted by signs and messages by my fellow Christians. I can't tell you how many signs I drove past telling me to "Keep Christ in Christmas" and that "Jesus is the Reason for the Season." While I agree in part with the sentiments and see the danger in the rampant commercialization of Christmas, I could not help but feel that I was being bombarded by a marketing campaign with more behind it than a catchy slogan. Maybe its because I have seen t-shirts lately stating that "Happy Holidays is what Liberals say" and have heard a growing chorus of political leaders bemoaning the "assault on Christmas" this year as political capital.

Really?

Driving around on Christmas Eve and finishing up my errands I was enjoying the festive spirit but the signs felt out of place and attacking rather than encouraging and kind.
So it made me wonder what would it look like to have Christ in Christmas?  I venture to say that my interpretation of what that would look like compared with those behind the campaign would differ greatly. I could be wrong but what I have been hearing from those wanting to keep "Christ in Christmas" is that they have a political agenda that includes prayer in schools, allowing for nativity scenes on public property and open expressions of religious speech during the Christmas season so that acknowledgment of what the holiday is about is overtly understood. While I don't disagree with many of those ideas, they are not what I  think of when I consider keeping Christ in Christmas.

First of all Jesus did not come with a political agenda, in fact he told us to "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what belongs to God." (Mark 12:17)  I am not saying that we should not be involved in the political process as Christians, quite the contrary, I believe that we are to work within our governmental structures to fight for justice and peace. But I find we often become small minded in our issues and that in turn brings the focus back onto ourselves and our issues rather than bringing glory to God. I find it sad that people may associate the Church and Christmas by the slogans they see on signs such as those above, rather than "Peace on earth", Joy to the World", and "goodwill toward men." I apologize that what we present as followers of Christ is not much different from what you experience in your Christmas season other than our going to a Christmas eve service and reading the story of the birth of Christ at home along with our other Christmas stories.

I am sorry if you feel yelled at by us as we try to shout our way out of the Christmas hoopla to make sure you hear us say hey look at us we are important and should be given equal time. But mostly I apologize for not being the light of the world that pierces the darkness and brings hope and love through our actions in the name of the precious baby that we ask you to not forget.

As Christians we are as complicent as anyone for the excess in commercialism surrounding "our" holiday. We love to buy and get gifts and spend time and feast with our family and friends as much as everyone and as a result we get caught in our own traps. But what if instead of trying to be louder in our voices we took the St. Francis of Assisi approach to Christmas and put away our signs as we attempted to"preach constantly and when necessary, use words?"

What if we as Christians made such an impact in our communities that others couldn't help but see the benefits and our light of love. What if instead of just enjoying the beautiful view of candles lit in our service on Christmas eve we could enjoy the trans formative joy of a community who has had that light reaching the dark places in our lives. What if we took our energy that we spend trying to get the right to have nativity scenes in the Capitol or other issues and spent it on something that represents Jesus such as eradicating poverty, transforming environmental law so that we can call ourselves good stewards of what God has called us to take care of, or fighting for justice for the oppressed including those enslaved in jobs that pay wages which are below the poverty line. What if one Christmas we as a church transformed our communities with acts of service and kindness so overwhelming that it was literally earth shaking? Would we need to remind others to keep Christ in Christmas or would people we never expected to, say "I just saw Jesus at work in my life and my town, now I know what this holiday is all about"?

 What if we really strove to bring peace on earth and goodwill to mankind? All mankind? Christian, Muslim, Jew, Atheist, men, women, young, old, black, white, yellow, red, rich, poor, etc.. What if we demonstrated that this baby we worship in the manger came not to bring a sword but peace? That he is not for gun rights, capitalism, socialism, right to anything, or American values but is about loving people where they are and transforming their lives. Maybe then people could look one another with confidence and say Merry Christmas not with a voice of hope but knowing that God had and does change lives. So here is to next year when maybe that can be a reality and we can all live a Merry Christmas. Until then lets all "preach constantly."

Simplicity

View From Schweitzer Mountain Resort

"Simplicity is the keynote of My Kingdom. Choose Simple things always, love and reverence the humble and the simple.
Have only simple things here. Your standard must never be the worlds standard."  God Calling

In the world of sport and football being simple is not the norm. It flies in the face of sport culture as complexity is admired, and adulated. The simplicity of following Christ lies in seeing the joy and love that he has and not in seeking to build our own kingdom. The difficulty of it is that it places ego, pride, self fulfillment and our competitive nature at his feet~right at the base of the cross. We see this battle in the arms race of professional, collegiate and even high school sports. So many coaches try to build up their own kingdoms and monuments to attest to their hard work.

One of the struggles I have at times is the development of a "program mentality." We talk about what is best for the program, what the program needs. We hear it on sports radio and in clinics and are encouraged and challenged to build a strong program. While the idea of a stable program is something that we can and should strive for at times I have seen it develop into a life of its own and become bigger than the sport and our players. the complexity overshadows what we are called to do as coaches and teachers. Programs are not human just as corporations are not people, sorry Citizens United but I firmly reject that notion. While we build strong programs we have to realize as coaches that our programs are nothing more than a community of people; coaches, players, and support staff who  work together to create the values that we want to have reflected in each other. Far too often we see those community members sacrificed for the good of the program and with it the values that we share as individuals. The program needs to win so we sacrifice integrity and change grades for failing students rather than make them understand that they have a  responsibility to take care of all areas of their lives for the good of one another. Rather than teaching players that they need to take care of things on and off the field and that the rest of the team is counting on them to do those things, we bend rules, and our standards, and teach them instead that they and the program are above others and that winning at all costs is the only standard. As a result the integrity of the very game we love is impugned. We treat our players as if they are merely a means to an end and are expendable.

Porvoo Butchers

I honestly believe, and tell my players often, that football is better for them than they are for the game of football, a lesson I learned from my good friend and mentor Craig Walker, the very successful former head coach at Bend High School in Oregon. They  need to understand that the game will continue with or without their contributions, but it is not that they are not important to me or the team.  I communicate this to them so that they understand that to be part of the team is a privilege that  carries with it responsibility to the rest of us involved. Which brings me back to the simplicity of  loving God and loving people. I often go walking through beautiful neighborhoods and see palatial houses. Houses that I long for, with wonderful views and incredible amenities. However, those houses are just that, houses, without the love of family. They are doomed to crumble. I realize that my focus needs to be on the eternal-the simple gifts God has blessed me with.  In the same way a program will eventually crumble, but not the relationships that are forged and the character that is developed. All programs have ups and downs in terms of success but if it is merely built to win then there is no substance to it.

Multnomah Falls, Oregon

As a coach I have a unique opportunity to build His Kingdom, if I will forego my own kingdom building and learn to enjoy the simple things that he provides as I love and serve him  and those he has led to me. I realized this during the winter as  I have been so blessed to be able to smile and love every little kid that I got to teach to ski at Schweitzer Mountain resort in Idaho. I also recognize that over the years I have had the joyous opportunity to laugh and work with players in many countries-what a blessing!

Joys of coahhing!

And as a result I have come to understand that God's Kingdom does not look like earthly kingdoms-it is far more simple. It exists in the incredible strength of flowers blooming and pushing out of the ground after a brutal winter, and in the sun setting on the Selkirk mountains creating an alpenglow in its wake. It is clearly evidenced in a young athletes smile as he scores his first touchdown or in the look of satisfaction on players faces when they understand that they have accomplished something difficult. It does not exist in statues and trophies that fade in their glory, but in the glow of hearts that appreciate the simple joy, hope and love of life. Focus on the simple, it is much richer.

Mahalo!

The Coach

An interesting demographic has developed here in the United States and has been noticed by pollsters. According to numerous polls regarding American spiritual values there is a rising group of people who are now called the "nones." This group is people who, when asked about religious affiliation, have put a check in the box labeled none. Some polls have this group at 23% of Americans and it is even higher for those aged 17-35. As I was driving home yesterday I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) and on the program "All Things Considered" there was an interesting piece where they were interviewing six people who identified themselves as a none.
What struck me was that most of these people had faith backgrounds, Jewish, Protestant, Catholic etc. and yet all were struggling with believing in the existence of a God. Some continued to practice the religious tenets of their faith and others had stopped going to church or synagogue altogether. While they all had come to the conclusion that there was not a God they all seemed to understand that that conclusion held deeply disturbing results such as the" loss of meaning for life" and immersion into a world of chaotic values with no foundation. In fact one of the interviewees said "I don't believe in God but I deeply wish that I did."

One of the consistent themes that was expressed by these people was their disappointment in God that had created a loss of faith. In story after story they explained how in times of trouble God did not answer their prayers, allowing friends or family members to die or suffer through cancer or economic collapse or other maladies. The question was raised as to if God did not care to intervene and allows for evil and bad things to happen to us, then does he really exist.
This issue of evil in the world  and why does God allow bad things to happen to good people is not a new one and has been addressed by people more learned than myself throughout the centuries. But I have to admit that as I was driving and listening I thought about my predicaments over the years and thought "yeah God how come you haven't intervened and made me a millionaire or at least helped me to find a great job?" I was reminded of the scene in the movie Amadeus (1984) when Mozart's mentor, Antonio Salieri played by F. Murray Abraham in his Oscar winning role for best actor, cries out to God wondering why he chose to give all of this talent to Mozart who cared little about pleasing or serving God and lived for the vices of the world. Salieri struggled to understand why  God would not bless him when all he wanted to do was to serve God through his musical abilities and yet seemingly wasted his gifts on someone who did not even appreciate them. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086879/

F.Murray Abraham as Salieri Courtesy of Orien Pictures

I have to admit that I often wonder the same things at times when I see the ultra rich having disdain for the poor and disregarding justice and think why are they so blessed? And then obviously the next question is why not me... because it always comes back to me...right? This morning though I had my eyes opened a little bit as I was spending time reading and praying and God asked me what would I do as a coach? When my players were hurting in practice and looked as if they could go no more, would I just cancel the rest of practice and give them some cookies and milk?
It was then that I saw some connections. Of course I wouldn't, we may take a quick breather, get some water, but then it would be back to practice because we need to push on to accomplish what is set before us so that we are prepared for our test-which in sport is our match or game. But in life those tests are more demanding.

As a coach I will give whatever comfort and encouragement I am able to, but I also understand that to stop is to fail because we will not be ready for what the opposition throws at us. To allow my players to not properly execute in drills and use correct technique is not helping them, it is doing them a disservice. Am I then an uncaring and indifferent coach? No! I care, that is why I teach them properly and push them to work through tough times when their body is screaming in pain and their mind is fuzzy with concepts. I know what types of tests they will face ahead of them because I have scouted the other teams through countless hours of film and personnel study. I know what they will be facing on the field and off.

So often we accuse God of being that uncaring, distant observer who didn't do what we thought he should-cancel practice when things got tough or even do the drills for us. As far as my and Salieri's concerns about what about this other guy? I remember in high school seeing guys I knew driving home after school from the parking lot in nice cars with their beautiful girlfriends as I was walking out toward the football field for practice. There were times when I wished I could trade places and not have to go pound my body. But what I was called and driven to do was not what they were. It was not fair to compare our lives because I had made a commitment to be a member of our football team at Winston Churchill High School and as such I had  a responsibility to my teammates and our coaches to give all I had to them. It was a different path that I chose from my other friends and it was unfair to compare them. My job was to focus on my responsibilities and the ultimate outcome was to grow close to 50 or so guys who fought for a State Championship and succeeded in that endeavor. Was it difficult? Yes! Was it worth it? Yes! And not just for the State Championship but for the opportunity to spend time with men like Coach Floyd Halvorsen,  Eric Krueger, Brad Fennel, Mike Lighty, Jamie Peterson, Jason Metz, Steve Littlejohn, Tom McGlasson, David Hill, Dan Cook, Kirk Brackenbush, Marty Louthan, Rick Geyer, Mark Lamb, Ricky Jennings and so many more who all contributed to our success.

What I learned that season and have continued to learn is that God's desire is not for us to prosper in the ways and eyes of the world, but to make us more like him. To create the ability in us to handle the desert as if it is the mountaintop. To have grace under pressure and to take life in stride and deal with each setback and struggle with knowledge that we are not alone. Our coach is on the field with us preparing and encouraging us. Will we always win the tests and enjoy the critiques that the coach has for us? No, but that is not the ultimate goal. We are the goal, our maturation and development into compassionate, loving people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God. (Micah 6:8).
"In the world you will have trouble, but take heart I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) God knows the schedule, understands our opponents and knows what we need to do to overcome and be successful  not in the measures of the world , but in the eyes of the one who loves us beyond measure. Peace.