Brotherhood

I was catching an early morning flight to D.C.  Coffee in hand, I settled in and decided to enjoy the new freedom of using my phone in airplane mode while we took off.  I have a podcast app and one of my subscriptions is for Ted Talks.  The one that caught my eye was "Why Soldiers Miss War" by Sebastian Junger.

The question when posed seems ridiculous.  Why would someone want to return back to chaos, fear, danger, and death?  Does that really happen?  As it turns out, it does.  Its a common phenomenon.  There are reports of men in army hospitals going AWAL, escaping out of windows or sneaking out of doors to return to their unit on the front.  Why?  Are they crazy?  As it turns out that after interviews and studies the answer became clear:

Brotherhood

Brotherhood is different than friendship.  It has nothing to do with feelings.  Its an agreement.  An agreement that says you will put the welfare of the group, ahead of your own needs.  I love these other people, more than I love myself.

When soldiers come home, they don't have that connection anymore.  They don't know where they are safe.  Who they can trust, who has their back.  In comparison to that, war seems easy.  So they long to go back.

I wonder if we can change.  If we can have a brotherhood that rather than assembled out of the necessities of war and survival,  is based on our beliefs and ideologies.  If Christ showed us through His great example what it was like to lay down his life for his brothers, are we not called to do the same?

Ask yourself who you really trust.  Do you have a group of men, that no matter what, would be there for you if things really got bad?  Are you that kind of brother to other men?  If our goal at PX90 falls short of creating that level of fellowship, then we have failed.   And some of us will go back to dark and sinful places looking for it.

Jesus, be our Rock

I recently finished a book called "Under the Overpass" by Mike Yankoski. It is the true story of 2 college age kids, Mike and his buddy Sam, who decided to live on the streets and experience life homeless. Mike's account of the situations he and Sam experienced and the people they encountered is compelling on many levels. What struck me the hardest was the courage to step outside of their comfort zones and follow what they saw as a call from Christ.

"The first night on the streets of D.C., when it felt like Sam and I had dropped into oblivion, I prayed a desperate prayer: "Jesus, be our Rock." And He was. Even though the months brought more challenges than we could have imagined, even though we came to the end of ourselves again and again, Jesus held us safe in His power. And He will do the same for you, too.

What if following Him is hard? What if along the way He asks you to accomplish difficult tasks or to overcome intimidating obstacles? What if it requires more of you than you have to give?

World Cup Passion

It was a Sunday morning in 1974 when I first experienced it. I was 12 years old. My Dad took me to the Kiel Center to watch it live via satellite. West Germany vs. Holland – the World Cup final. Two international soccer powerhouses going at it. Simmons, Brock and Unger were replaced by Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Muller. My passion for a sport I loved grew stronger. And passion is a strange thing. I’m more careful now about what my passion is, and what God’s passion is for me.

The 2014 World Cup is over. The Germans reign as kings. I’ve watched World Cup matches for 40 years. This year’s has been the most entertaining tournament. Great goals, great drama. The images of Brazilian fans crying as the Germans dissected their team will remain etched in my mind. What passion they have for their team. The expectations are the same every World Cup for Brazil. Anything less than winning is a failure – especially when you’re playing at home. What a painful experience to see their love and passion turn to tears. Excruciating.

Discerning a Path

A good friend of mine recently told me of some struggles he's having over an issue in his life.  He's been praying and praying to God, but has not been able to hear God's voice lead Him to the right path.  This friend says his prayers have been like "wrestling with God" - full voice appeals, wringing of hands, impatience and intensity building. He is seeking God's will, and is asking God to light the way to follow - but God seems to be silent on the matter.

What advice would you give?

Held Hostage

Recently, while running a charitable 5K, one of our team members, a Catholic, spoke harshly about the Church … and rightfully so. Though unrelated to his personal experience and situation, he tethered his justification and logic for abandoning his faith additionally to the sexual abuse by clergy punctuated with the Bishop’s poor comments related to incidents recently accented by the media. I, too, am angered by crimes committed against children as I am about anyone committing crimes against them. I can understand the mistrust people feel because the perpetrators in these instances are men they trusted freely and unconditionally. My friend has every right to be bitter toward representatives of the Church with respect to his situation. However, coupling his pain to unrelated negative events impedes clarity. What he has failed to realize is that these very painful events own him. He does not own the situation, but is held hostage to it.

As a long time sponsor of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the school where I teach, I am reminded of a session designed by the students pertaining to critical attributes associated with successful relationships. Though the boys were engaged, the girls devoted the most work into making the meeting thoughtful and provoking. They gathered questionnaires and lists from popular sources describing these special attributes. The collective “top five” attributes surprised me; not what made the list but what did not make any list.  A youngster immediately spoke, “Forgiveness should be a top five attribute,” unfortunately missing from the popular lists.