Eric Liddell, originally uploaded by EUAC.

One hundred and ten years ago today, January 16, 1902, a Scottish missionary couple serving in Northern China gave birth to a baby boy. Their second son, they named him Eric Henry Liddell. Eric would grow up and become a world famous athlete, representing Great Britain in the 1924 summer Olympics in Paris.

Eric Liddell competed and won a bronze medal in the 200-meter race and the gold medal in the 400-meter race in the ’24 Olympics. His life and Olympic achievements were forever captured in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. This movie was my first introduction into Eric’s heroic life and strong Christian faith. The film won 4 Oscars in 1982 including the Academy Award for Best Picture.

To this day, 32 years later, Chariots of Fire remains one of my all-time favorite movies. I never get tired of watching it. It’s an incredibly inspiring movie because Eric lived such an inspiring life. Because of his strong Christian convictions, Eric refused to run his signature race, the 100 meter dash, because the Finals of the event were scheduled to take place on Sunday, the Christian Sabbath. Eric endured public scorn & widespread criticism because of his principled stand. When Eric ran the 400-meter race, he was not expected to win. He was a sprinter and excelled in the shorter distances. Despite the fact that it was not his specialty, Eric won the gold medal in the 400 meters and set a record that stood for many years.

One of my favorite quotes in the movie occurred when Eric’s sister was concerned that his Olympic competition would interfere with his missionary work in China. Trying to explain to his sister why he had to compete, he said, “I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

Eric’s life and legacy didn’t end with his Olympic success. Eric fulfilled his commitment to return to the land of his birth and served as a missionary for many years before his untimely death in 1945 shortly before the end of World War II.

In the brief 43 years of his physical life on this earth, Eric Henry Liddell was a true spiritual champion. Even these 110 years later, his legacy lives on…on the silver screen of the movies, and in our hearts. God bless you, Eric. Happy Birthday!

Live the Red,

Mark

Old Glory, originally uploaded by Praying for Lions.

This Sunday is an important day in American History. This Lord’s Day is the 10th anniversary of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, I’m sure that you are well acquainted with the horrific events of that fateful day. Our language fails us. There are no adequate words to fully and accurately describe what happened on that day, ten years ago.

As our nation’s leaders prepare for the day of remembrance after 10 years, they have made an odd (& I believe dangerous) decision. There will be no prayers at the “official” memorial service. No prayers? Really? Is this a good idea? I think not.

If our nation’s leaders won’t lead, then they are really not leaders, are they? Call them something else, but “leaders” they are not.

Appropriately, it falls to us, the nameless rabble, the great unwashed to lead our nation back from the brink. How do we begin? How do we lead our nation back to the greatness we once enjoyed and cherished? By leading our nation back to God. Without God, the so-called “Great American Experiment” will be just another crumpled, musty page in the great record book of humanity’s varied and sundry epic failures.

So what can every “America-loving” citizen do first to lead our country back from the edge of the abyss? Go to church this Sunday. Even if you haven’t attended for a long time…make the effort to be present & accounted for this particular Sunday.

Just showing up at a place of worship is a powerful statement. It is an early indicator that we remember that we are a part of the creation, but we are certainly not the Creator. This is a polite way of reminding ourselves that WE are not ultimately in charge. God is in charge. This one radical act alone will be a helpful “shot across the bow” of the American psyche. We need to be reminded of this truth on the anniversary of such a painful day.

Going to church this Sunday is a first step in the right direction. If the events of 9/11 have taught us anything, we have learned or should have learned that we live in very perilous times. Extraordinary courage is needed for the living of these days. Without God and without prayer, we as a nation are in the most vulnerable place imaginable.

Let’s recap. What should we all do this Sunday? Go to church. Why? Because we cannot possibly hope to flourish as a nation without God.

Any questions?

I thought not.

See you in church on Sunday!

Come early if you want a place to sit down.

Live the Red.

Will you be attending church this Sunday? Why or why not?

How will you observe the 10th anniversary of 9/11 this weekend?

 

Rain & Sun, originally uploaded by Praying for Lions.

For those of us living in Central Virginia, the last several weeks have been interesting to say the least. First, we were hit by a 5.8 magnitude Earthquake, the biggest quake on record in this neck of the woods since 1898. Then, just when we got our land legs back, Hurricane Irene came calling. Irene turned out most of our lights for the better part of an entire week. Now we’re getting soaked by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.

I hate to mention it now, but it’s only a matter of time until the next storm hits. We’ve been in metro Richmond for almost 25 years and during that span of a quarter-century, we’ve seen just about every kind of weather event imaginable: Hurricanes, tornadoes, ice-storms, snow storms & tropical storms, flooding, and thunderstorms. We’ve lost electricity more times than I can count. Several events have caused us to lose power for days at a time.

As a veteran of numerous storms & power outages, here are a few things we’ve learned along the way. What we’ve learned can provide you with a few key things that you can do now to prepare for the next major storm and power outage.

1. Buy a generator. It wasn’t until our third or fourth major power outage that we pulled the trigger on securing a generator for our home. Even though it was a significant expense, it has been one of the best purchases we’ve ever made. Take my word for it, go straight to the nearest Home Improvement Store and check out a make and model that is right for you. I would consult with a professional electrician before making the purchase. This is not optional. Make this purchase. You’ll be glad you did. And have an extra gas can available in case you need to run the generator for longer periods of time.

2. Have a modest stash of cash on hand ($200-$500). If the storm knocks out power over a wide area, there’s a good chance that the local ATMs will be out of commission as well. Without power, local stores may not be able to run their computer registers. Only cash will do in those early hours after a power outage.

3. A smartphone is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. During Hurricane Irene, we didn’t lose electricity but we did lose internet and cable for an entire week. Our smartphones kept us connected to the internet until connections were reestablished. If you lose cell coverage, its smart to have an old-fashioned, landline telephone that you can plug directly into the wall phone plug. Remember, if you’ve got a wireless landline, it won’t work with the power gone because “the base” requires electricity. You can pick up an old “slimline” phone at a thrift store for almost nothing. In an emergency, it’s nice to have.

4. Assess the viability of the trees nearest your house. There was a tall maple that was badly diseased in our front yard and posing a moderate risk to our house. Several months before Hurricane season, we had the tree taken down. This saved us a lot of headaches and cleanup during and after the storm.

5. Have a supply of electric candles on hand (at least one per room). These battery-powered candles produce no heat & aren’t a fire hazard. While the purpose of these decorative candles is primarily aesthetic, they can produce enough light to allow you to move through the house without a flashlight.

6. Have some “unplugged” entertainment choices available. This could include a stash of books you’ve be planning to read, some board games, or even a deck of playing cards. When the power’s out for days at a time, it’s a great chance to connect with others and enjoy some family time.

7. Invest in a propane camp stove or grill. This may become your best cooking option when the power is gone. Food stuffs in the refrigerator and freezer may need to be cooked soon or discarded. Once during a Christmas Eve ice storm, we enjoyed steaks grilled to perfection.

8. Use the day or two before the storm arrives to make some critical preparations. Fully fuel your vehicles, charge your cellphones, run that last load of laundry, & make any online bill payments before you lose power.

Sooner or later, the next major storm will hit. Make plans now to be ready when it happens. Be prepared. Get ready. Stay safe.

In the meantime, Live the Red.

What have I missed? What other things would you recommend that we do to get ready for the next storm?

What did you experience during the last storm? How do you cope with extended periods with no electricity?

No Strings Attached, originally uploaded by Praying for Lions.

Happy ending. The mother robin returned to the scene of the crime today and took the piece of string that she so obviously wanted.

I came and helped out a bit. I cut the string loose so she could have it.

I love it when a plan comes together…no strings attached.

Live the Red,

Mark

I know it sounds strange, but I’m rather thrilled with the fact that “The Boys” are now 1 win and 4 losses going into week seven of the 2010 NFL season.

Think of it this way. A team’s that is 1-4 has no place to go but up. Conversely, a team that’s 4-1 is indeed riding the crest of a winning wave, but they have no where to go but down. Just ask the New England Patriots. An unblemished record is not all it’s cracked up to be.

To prove my point, this time last year the Tennessee Titans were 0-6! Incredibly bad, right? Wrong. Since that terrible start last year, the Titans regular season record has been 11-4. If they win tonight, they’ll match the Colts as the team with the best regular season record in the NFL since this time last year. An amazing turnaround.

Is there a spiritual lesson here? I think so. To quote an author that I’m really enjoying right now, Paul Miller, he writes, “We forget that helplessness is how the Christian life works.” He goes on to remind us that, “God reminded Paul of how the gospel works, ‘But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness.’” “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Are you losing in life right now? Not racking up the victories in the win column with your spouse or with your kids or with your boss? Don’t despair. The gospel of Christ is a beautiful reminder that losing, and losing often and losing much is the way of the cross. Pain is God’s path to real, lasting gain.

Didn’t God say something about the folks losing their life, finding it, and those who die, really living? I’m almost sure He did.

As far as “The Boys” are concerning, they’re just playing a game. It means nothing in light of eternity.

Your losses, however, matter to God. In fact, they might just be a gift from God reminding you of how helpless you really are without Him.

Now that’s a winning game plan.

Live the Red,

Mark

“My Easy Christ Has Left The Church”

By Calvin Miller

My easy Christ has left the church.

Who can say why?

Maybe it’s because His video-logged apostles all

read diet-books, travel agency brochures

and Christian fiction thrillers

on how the world should end

But none read books on what the starving ignorant

should do until it does.

He left the church so disappointed that Americans

could all spell “user friendly”

but none of them could spell “Gethsemane”

Can we say for sure he’s quit?

Oh yes, it’s definite, I’m afraid:

He’s canceled his pledge card.

I passed him on the way out of the recreation building

near the incinerator where we burn

the leftover religious quarterlies

and the stained paper doilies

from our Valentine banquets.

“Quo Vadis, Domine?” I asked him.

“Somewhere else,” he said.

My easy Christ has left the church,

walking out of town past seminaries where

student scholars could all parse the ancient verbs

but few of them were sure why they had learned the art.

He shook his head confounded that many

had studied all his ancient words

without much caring why he said them.

He seemed confused that so many

studied to be smart, but so few prayed to be holy.

Some say he left the church

because the part-time missionaries were mostly tourists

on short-term camera safaris,

photographing destitution to show the

pictures to their missionary clubs back home.

I cannot say what all his motives were.

I only know I saw him rummaging through dumpsters

in Djakarta looking for a scrap of bread

that he could multiply.

“Quo vadis, Domine?” I asked him.

“Somewhere else,” he said.

He’s gone – the melancholy Messiah’s gone.

I saw him passing by the beltway mega-temple

circled by its multi-acred asphalt lawn,

blanketed with imports and huge fat vehicles

nourished on the hydrocarbons of distant oil fields

where the poor dry rice on public roads

and die without a requiem, in unmarked graves.

Is it certain he is gone?

It is.

We saw him in the slums of Recife,

telling stories of old fools

who kept on building bigger barns,

oddly idealistic tales of widows with small coins

who outgave the richer deacons of the church.

I saw him sitting alone in a fast-food franchise

drinking only bottled water and sorting through

a stack of world-hunger posters.

He couldn’t stay long.

He was on his way to sell his

old books on Calvin and

Arminius to buy a bag of rice for Bangladesh.

My easy Christ has left the church.

I remember now where I last saw him.

He was sitting in one of those new

square, crossless mega-churches

singing 2x choruses and playing bongos

amid the music stands and amplifiers

with anonymous Larrie and Sherrie.

He turned to them in church and said

“I am He! Follow me!”

But they told him not to be so confrontational

and reminded him that they

had only come for the music and the drama,

and frankly were offended that he would dare

to talk to them out loud in church.

After all, they were only seekers, with a right to privacy.

I followed him out through the seven-acre vestibule,

where he passed the tape-duplicating machine

where people could buy the “how to” sermons

of the world’s most famous lecturers.

He left the church and threaded his way

across the crowded parking lot,

laying down those whips and cords

he’d once used to cleanse the temple,

and looked as though he wanted to make

key-scrapes on Lexi and huge white Audis

and family buses filled with infant seats.

He stooped and shed a tear after

and wrote “Ichabod” in the sand.

In a sudden moment I was face to face with him.

“Quo vadis, Domine?” I asked him.

“Somewhere else,” he said.

My easy Christ has left the church,

abandoning his all-star role in Easter pageants

to live incognito in a patchwork culture,

weeping for all those people who

cannot afford the pageant tickets.

He picked up an old junk cross,

lugging it into the bookstore

after the great religious rally,

and stood dumfounded

among the towering stacks of books

on how to grow a church.

“Are you conservative or liberal,” I asked him.

But he only mumbled, “Oh Jerusalem…”

and said the oddest thing about a hen

gathering her vicious, selfish chicks under her wings.

He left the room as I yelled out after him,

“Lord, is it true you’ve quit the church?

Quo vadis, Domine?”

“Somewhere else,” he said.

Calvin Miller, The Unfinished Soul

Fog at the Golden Gate #1 – San Francisco, originally uploaded by PatrickSmithPhotography.

Today brothers and sisters in Christ will gather at The Bridge to celebrate Jesus Christ.

Today we will celebrate 25 years of life and ministry and global advance together.

Today we will acknowledge that without Christ and His finished work on the Cross, there would be no reason to celebrate anything.

Today we will lift high the Scriptures as the gloriously trustworthy Word of God.

Today we will celebrate our Vision. Our Vision is not a philosophy or a process or even a program. Our Vision is a person. Jesus Christ.

Today we will celebrate our Mission. Our mission is to make Christ known to the more than 1.5 Billion people on the planet who have never heard the name of Jesus.

Today, as with every new day, we will invite Jesus Christ to resurrect us, to infuse us with His life so that we can live again and move with His power into this new day of opportunities in which we will make His name known among the nations of the earth.

Today we will celebrate the fact that this day is the first day of the destiny that God has provided & prepared for us.

Today, we will be powerfully reminded that we are…With God…On Mission.

Today, we will cross The Bridge…from death into life.

Live the Red,

Mark

Where Are We Heading For?, originally uploaded by Moxkyr.

I rather like the weather forecast for tomorrow….

it may be sunny, or maybe partly cloudy, and there’s even a chance of rain just about the time our Faith Family Festival is scheduled to begin.

Where are we heading for? Blue skies or downpour?

Nobody knows. Except the boss. He always knows.

I’m a big fan of the weather forecast because it’s so wonderfully unknowable. We really don’t know what tomorrow will bring.

Why am I enjoying such a burst of optimism amidst such uncertainty?

It’s simple really. It’s not about us. It’s not about our Faith Family Festival. It is about HIM. It always is about HIM. We are a forgetful people. Sometimes we forget that it’s all about HIM and all for HIM.

We (speaking collectively for our faith family) are exactly where we need to be. Where is that? Totally and completely dependent upon HIM. And we can trust HIM–rain or shine.

So with the weather forecaster as our friend and not our enemy, I am certain of this–we will praise HIM in the rain or we’ll praise HIM in the sunshine. That’s what I call a WIN–WIN situation.

Where are YOU heading for?

Live the Red,

Mark