10:49 AM Posted by Justin Manny

unChristian

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Lately, I've been reading my way through a book called unChristian.  I don't think it's for everyone.  A lot of statistics about what people really think about Christians today.  Needless to say, it has really opened my eyes.  


For three years, David Kinnaman surveyed the new emerging generation about what they thought on a range of subjects, but specifically their thoughts about Christianity.  The top opinions held were: hypocritical, over evangelical (meaning, they only talk to people to get them saved), antihomosexual, sheltered, too political, and judgmental.  I'm not going to get into it, if you want to find out about that, buy the book. What I got out of this book was that what our Christianity looks like to the outsider is the exact opposite of what Jesus intended it to be.  And aren't what outsiders think about it what really matters?  Aren't we supposed to make other people want what we have, not drive them away in droves?  Let's think about this.

Jesus came to the earth to shake things up.  The Pharisee show up a lot in the NT, usually debating with Jesus.  We seem to think of the Pharisees in a negative light, and rightly so.  But truthfully, modern American Christians seem to show a lot of the same characteristics.  We have set up what we think "church" is, and we make others conform to it.  We know what sin is, yet we try to make up rules to get as close as possible without sinning.  We do things that once had the right meaning, but now we just do them because we always have.  Judgmental sticks out a lot to me because it turns people off the most.  I think about the story in the Gospels of the woman caught in adultery.  Sure the Law said to stone the woman, and the Pharisees were ready, and right, in doing it. But what did Jesus do?  He turns the Law back to the original meaning, which is Love God, and Love People.  Plain and simple.  He says, if you haven't sin, stone away.  These Pharisees were quick to judge because it somehow validated them.  As Christians today, don't we look at others a judge them so we don't feel like we're as bad, when actually we all sin just the same?  

The other thing that this book made me realize is that it's time to stop trying to make the church cater to the people in the church.  Isn't our job to get others to come in.  Sure we want those inside to grow and become stronger, but I feel like a lot of times that's our main goal, not bringing in the people who need the salvation.  I don't think we need to do things that make us sit in our churches and feel good about ourselves.  The church of the apostles didn't do that.  They had a sense of urgency to get others inside and into the Kingdom of God.  I have a friend that's going on a missions trip overseas.  The place she is going is not what most Americans would consider safe, some unrest and things are happening.  And people don't understand why she wants to go.  They keep asking if she's canceling her trip.  The part I don't understand is why people feel like being a Christian is just hanging out in safety, making each other feel good about themselves.  Where's the danger and adventure?  Jesus didn't shy away from those who needed help, no matter where they were.  The temple of the ground of Sadducees and Pharisees, his chief opponents.  Yet that is where Jesus went to reach people who needed to understand that God loved them and wasn't just trying to rule over them.  Firefighter, such as Tim Pride, run toward the burning building to save those trapped inside.  Shouldn't we do the same thing when eternity hangs in the balance?

Honestly, saying these things and doing them are two very different things.  How do I step out of my comfort zone?  How do I put my life in danger for the Gospel, when every inclination of my being is self-preservation?  These are things we need to all actively struggle against.  We are a part of something so much bigger than ourselves.  And according to research, that larger thing has bad reputation, because of how we live that out.  It absolutely breaks my heart that I may have had a part in furthering the wrong view of Christianity.  I know what you may be saying, "It's just their opinions, so what. We know that they are not totally correct."  I agree with that, but I also understand that perception is reality.  For my generation, many will miss out on salvation because of the reputation our faith in society.  I don't want to be a part of it.  I want my life to direct people to a God who so passionately loves us that He would sacrifice something so much greater than anything I will ever have.

Let's break the cycle, together.  Stop perpetuating a stereotype.  Help others see the true, measurable impact Christ has on us and others.

For more on redefining Christianity in the eyes of the current generation visit, www.fermiproject.org. 

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7:48 PM Posted by Justin Manny

The New Christmas Time

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It's been a long time since I posted anything.  I had some people ask me when I was going to put something else up.  I don't feel like posting just for the sake of posting.  I want to have something good to talk about.  


In the time since I posted last, a lot of my life has changed.  I had a daughter, which was the absolute greatest thing that has ever happened to me.  She is amazing, but I've told myself that she will be completely average.  When she is in second grade, she'll read at a second grade level.  I just think it's funny that everyone's kid is so "advanced."  Kennedy has made me look at life in a completely different way.  I know I should have more about that, but she really makes me speechless.  

So the other day, I went to the mall to get my present for our Giving Tree kid.  This was last Saturday.  It was like 33 degrees and raining.  When we got to Kenwood, there was not a single place to park.  The whole lot was full.  I ended up parking about 1 mile from the mall and walking, in the rain.  So obviously, once inside, it was wall to wall people, and there was Christmas stuff everywhere!  Santa was already set up in the food court.  It was November 18th!  I couldn't believe it.  I was walking next to a family and I heard a guy say, "So we're in a recession?  Economy is bad?  Doesn't look like it here."  That got me thinking.  What does it mean to have a bad economy.  At Kenwood, maybe the clientele is recession proof.  Or maybe they feel like they have to be, and then use credit.  Either way, Christmas seems to start earlier and earlier every year.  It's a huge money boom for all retailers.  I read somewhere that America spends $450 billion dollars a year on Christmas.  That's $450,000,000,000.  That's a lot of zeros.  And let's think about what that money is spent on.  My granddad used to go into Sharper Image and buy me some random electronic device, like an alarm clock/toaster that projects the time on the ceiling.  Most years I get 4-5 more Jaguar shirts, and Jaguar flags, and calendars.  I honestly cannot remember more than about 3 things I got for Christmas.

Can you imagine what kind of good  could be done with all that money?  We built a well in Kenya, that provided clean drinking water for an entire village for $3300.  That's 136,363,636 wells, per Christmas.  Basically you do that once, and the entire world has drinking water.  Malaria kills thousands of people in Africa every year.  To help prevent this a simple $10 mosquito net almost the problem.  The math is really easy on this one, 45,000,000,000 mosquito nets.  We live in the richest country in the world.  Because of that, we can make the biggest impact on others that really need it.  If we start to think about life in an eternal sort of way, we'll look for ways to make a difference in people's lives, not fill our houses with useless crap that doesn't matter. 

After all, Christmas is the celebration of the greatest, eternal gift, ever.  We humans screwed up.  We ruined our perfect existence with God.  We could have lived in total communion with God.  Sin entered the picture.  Our relationship with God was ripped clean in half.  It hurt God, it hurt mankind.  God wanted to give man a way back to him.  That's where Leviticus and Numbers comes in.  Boring sure, but it should give us as Christians an amazing understanding of what it should actually take to get close to God.  Try reading Leviticus with the eyes that it is what you had to do at church on Sunday, or all the time, 24/7.   The people tried to follow these rules, but man, it was really hard.  They couldn't do it all the time.  Sometimes they flat ignored God.  God, not happy, let his people get wooped and carried away.  Things were really bad.  Dark.  It seemed like God had took His face from his people.  And this is where Christmas come in.  God finally decided that enough was enough.  Into this dark moment, God sent His Light.  Christmas is the celebration of a healed relationship.  It's the start of the greatest gift ever.  That baby, which was completely helpless, [Something that had never truly registered until now what that really meant.  Unlimited power, created the world, can do everything possible, not only takes the flawed earthly form of a human, but came as a baby, completely helpless, dependent on a human for His survival.  Unfathomable.], eventually grew and became the ultimate sacrifice that ended the need for Leviticus.  Now it's the symbol that should remind us of that sacrifice, and that we can't do it without Jesus.  

So this year, why don't we stop being a part of the Christmas money making machine, giving money to companies, and let's make a true difference.  Let's give to people who need basics, instead of buying mom some smelly thing from Bath and Body Works, cause we can't think of anything else to get her.

Thanks for reading.

For more info on how we can use this holiday to make a huge difference in the world, visit www.adventconspiracy.com.  Also check out www.rethinkingchristmas.com.

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1:04 PM Posted by Justin Manny

Spending

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So on the last blog I made, I talked about our friends in Uganda, and them wanting to help a family there who lived in a building that was not finished.  They sent out an email to people they knew.  Their goal was to finish the construction of a one room house they lived in.  I just got an email from them that the response was so great they not only could finish they one room, but they could add another room, and buy them furniture and mattresses.  They are talking of providing them with seeds and tools to plant a garden.  This is what the church is supposed to do.


It's funny though, that it was so easy to get people to send money to this.  Lately we've been talking about money in our services.  A common attitude is that people will keep their money to give to that, when God prompts them to give to a worthy cause [which this is definitely the most worthy cause you could find].  Why is it easy and awesome to do this kind of spending, but so hard to give regularly to your church.  I'm just as guilty of this as most.  I'll figure out a way to do this, but have a hard time on Sunday morning.  When money is tight, why is church the first unpaid "bill."  What God has given us, every single thing, is a gift from Him to us to bless others.  The church has the exact same goal.  All money we get is used to bless people, in every way imaginable.  

I guess the thing I think about is that giving, money, all that stuff in our lives is a telling sign of our relationship with God.  You give to what you love.  I love the Jaguars, and they have gotten a lot of my money, in clothing, tickets, food, everything.  I love technology, and that stuff is expensive.  I say I love God, and that is the true definition of what love is, yet He seems to get my second best.  I challenge to put my money where my mouth is.  Plain and simple.  

But anyways, if you would like to see pictures of Melisha's house in Uganda, financed in one week by people half a world away, check out Ruco's photoblog. 

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1:18 PM Posted by Justin Manny

No Power

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Most of us had the same experience this week, we were without power.  And it was a terrible inconvenience.  I mean how could I watch the Jets play the Patriots without my TV?  How can I waste time on the internet?  Honestly, I was thankful for the power outage.  First off, I got to meet some of my neighbors I had never talked to before.  Putting aside that I have lived there almost 3 years and don't know all my neighbors yet, that's an opportunity that I would never have had without the power outage.   Something else, we got to spend time with other people in our small group because they had power and they opened their homes to us.  Jill and I stayed at Jimmy and Julie Winkelman's and then at Jin and Lisa Park's, because they wanted to help those in need, which is funny that we might feel like we're in need.


I got an email on my phone today, while I'm down about still not having power.  It is from a friend of our Kristi, who lives in Uganda, where she and her husband Ruco are the hands and feet of Jesus, spending time with those who really have need.   Let me put it in here:


Sometimes being here in Uganda feels overwhelming. There is just so much poverty, disease, and death that sometimes I tell myself that I can’t help everyone, so I should just turn a blind eye. Some days I feel as if there just isn’t a whole lot I can really do… 

Today started out much the same.  We went to the home of an elderly widow, Melisha, who cares for her three grandchildren.  Her daughter died from HIV/AIDS and her youngest grand-son, Charles (age six,) also has HIV. Our trip’s purpose was to deliver Operation Christmas Child boxes to Melisha’s grandchildren to encourage them, but I couldn’t believe what I saw when we pulled up to Melisha’s home.  Her dwelling was a small 6ft by 6ft building which was only half constructed. Melisha told us her daughter was paying to have it built for her but she passed away in the middle of its construction. It stood with only ¾ of a tin roof and half of a brick wall on one side. The rain can freely pour into the home (as it is the middle of the rainy season here in Uganda!)  As I looked at six year old Charles, I thought of his weakened immune system from the HIV ravaging his body.  I can only imagine how the rain and cold aggravates his disease. When I glanced into the home from the outside, I noticed there were no beds and no furniture. I couldn’t believe that Charles had to lie down every night on a cold and wet ground.

We gave Charles his box and he was so excited. He received three matchbox cars! I listened to him talk animatedly in a language I don’t yet grasp, assumingly telling me all about his cars! I only wished that we were able to provide more for Charles as I looked around his dilapidated home.

As we were pulling away, I watched Melisha get on her knees inside her home and start to pray. In that instant, God encouraged me. He showed me that although I can’t help everyone, I can seek to help the people He brings across my path! He reminded me of the verse, “Whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.” To turn a blind eye because I sometimes feel overwhelmed in Uganda, I am turning a blind eye to Him. I began talking with my co-worker Damali about what we can do. She researched and informed Ruco that it would cost about 1 million Ugandan shillings-approximately 500 dollars to repair Melisha’s home. She also said the home could be repaired in less than two weeks! We want to ask for your help in repairing Melisha’s home. We are going to hire the builder and trust that God provide for Melisha, following Melisha’s example of faith. We are hoping to raise the 500 dollars, and with any extra money we receive, buy Melisha and her grandchildren beds, blankets, and other necessities. If you are able to help in any way, you may send a check to my parent’s home address, where it will then be placed into an account Ruco and I can access here in Uganda.  Ruco has taken many photos of Melisha, Charles, and the home which you can see atwww.eyeingafrica.blogspot.com. Also, if you do send funds, perhaps you could email us and let us know how much you are planning to send, so that we can establish how much we still need for the project. We are very excited about the prospect of Melisha finally having a safe-haven for her grand-children.  We are also excited when we think about our family and friends helping in this endeavor!!!  

500 dollars is not a lot of money to give someone a home.  I'm complaining that I can't play Madden, and these people don't have a bed to sleep in.  I guess what I'm thinking about is that we are blessed here in America.  I think we are so blessed that it's hard for us to rely on God.  We can pretty much take care of ourselves, without Him.  We need to take advantage of all that we are blessed with, to take it and bless others.  I may never meet Melisha or Charles, but I will impact their lives in so positive way.  That's what we should do, every way possible.

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12:57 PM Posted by Justin Manny

The Glory Of It All

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I recently found this internet site called Pandora.  Basically how it works is I think to myself, "Self, I'd love to hear some Lynyrd Skynyrd right now."  Then I type in Lynyrd Skynayrd in the search bar.  Suddenly, I begin to hear "Free Bird."  It's amazing.  But that's not all.  It will then customize a "radio station" that are all songs like Lynyrd Skynyrd.  You might hear Steve Miller Band, maybe some Boston, maybe 38 Special.  It's amazing.  Then, say it plays "Authority Song" by John Mellencamp, (formerly John Cougar Mellencamp).  So you say, "Self, I wish I could hear more songs like this."  You can!!  All you have to do it select the song and create a new station.  Incredible!  My stations run the gambit.  I have a Weezer station, I have a Blues Brothers Station, I have a Jethro Tull station, I have a Kings of Leon station, I have a Switchfoot station.  It's awesome!

Well, one station that I find myself going back to again and again is my David Crowder Band station.  We sing a lot of his songs here at the church.  We recently introduced The Glory of It All.  I think this song is my favorite song right now.  It's got a cool feel.  But I think the more I listen to the actual words, the more it means to me.  Here they are:

At the start
He was there, He was there
In the end,
He’ll be there, He’ll be there 

And After all our hands have wrought
He forgives 

Oh the Glory of it all is:
He came here
For the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all 

All is lost
find him there, find him there
After night
Dawn is there, Dawn is there 

After all falls apart
he repairs he repairs 

Oh the Glory of it all is:
he came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all 

oh he is here
for redemption from the fall
that we may live
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all
the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all 

After night
comes the light
dawn is here
dawn is here
it’s a new day
it’s a new day
everything will change
things will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same
we will never be the same 

Oh, The glory of it all is
you came here
for the rescue of us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all 

Oh you are here
with redemption for us all
that we may live
for the glory of it all
for the glory of it all
oh the glory of it all 

I mean, wow.  How often do I sit down and think about Jesus in that way.  He came to save us.  He didn't have to.  He's waiting for us.  When things are bad, He pulls us through.  He fixes everything, our relationship with God, which we screwed up through our sin.  The most important line in this song, to me, is that "we will never be the same."  When we decide that what Jesus did is important, we cannot remain the same.  We have to grow, we have to change.  We have to seek out things that are different than how we were.  When this reality strikes us, we have to want more, we should want to be a part of what He started.

As we've been talking about building our faith and belonging to the church the last two weeks, I figured I could let you know why I love my small group.  I'm in the group that meets at Jin and Lisa Park's house in Anderson, led by Josh Tysinger.  I love the opportunity to meet together.  We eat, hang out, play with Rudy (Jin's dog).  In the summer we grill out, in the winter we don't.

I guess the best thing is getting to share life with other Christians in my church.  We make sure that if one person has a need, we fill it.  I needed some drywall hung, Josh came over and we did it.  Josh reached out to his neighbor to do her flower beds and mow her yard, Jin went over to help.  We are figuring out how it works to be Christians, together.  I think I spent a month of my life at Josh's house basically building it from the ground up.  That's what it's all about.

Recently we started doing journals.  We are trying to combat busyness in our lives.  Each day we sit down, rehash the day, whether the day before or that day we're just wrapping up.  We talk about what we were reading, what we did, what we wish we had done, people we met.  We share our day again with God.  Then we write out a prayer.  Man it's awesome.  I think I'm a better writer than speaker/thinker so it really helps me to put it on paper.  I just pray all out.  About everything, anything, whatever.  The final step is to listen.  Listen to God.  That's the thing that we as modern American Christians lack, time to just listen.  If you pray only speaking, how is God going to answer you.  Listening is the most important part of this journaling process for me.  It's the thing I have to work the hardest at.  Christianity is not supposed to be easy.  A friend of mine once said, "Being a Christian is not the easiest way to live, it's not the path of least resistance.  But it is the most rewarding way to live, both here and in the life to come."

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8:49 AM Posted by Justin Manny

Digging

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Man, last week was crazy.  I have such good stuff to write about, but no time to do it.


To set this up, two Sundays ago, Didi talked about engaging the world.  If you missed it or need a refresher, go to the new test website at mtcarmel.parkapps.com and go to past sermons and check it out.


So the story begins last Friday,  July 25th.  I took on the ambitious project of digging out my foundation wall because I was getting moisture in my basement.  With a new baby taking up so much space in the house, the basement has to be a place where things can happen for me personally.  Moisture is no good.  So I dug, and dug, and dug, till a huge blister developed on my hand, so I stopped.  Saturday I dug a little more.  Not much.  Jill started to get worried that I wouldn’t follow through and we would have a big pile of dirt on our driveway for ever, like last year when I dug our patio.  Sunday was awesome.  Steve Hartley came over and he is a digging machine.  I say, who needs a backhoe when you have Steve Hartley.  With Steve’s help we found the bottom of the foundation, at a little more than 4 and a half feet.  But that was half of length of the house.  I still had the rest to go.  Monday, with rain imminent, I left work early to get to digging.  But I had to bust out the side walk.  So I used my sledge hammer and quickly dispatched the 3’ by 3’ sidewalk to my side door.  Progress was quick now.  I dug and dug and finally knocked through the space where the sidewalk had been.  After about 5 hours of digging I had my hole done.  I had never accomplished such a feat so quickly.


The reason I’m telling you this is because as I dug, I made some observations.  First, I could only make so much of an impact from the driveway. I could dig to almost 2 feet down from the safety of ground level.  But when Steve showed up, he jumped down in the hole, and was able to make a much greater, and much faster impact.  And as I saw this it made me realize, to engage the world we have to get down in the hole.  Our influence on our neighbors and friends is only a little when we keep them at arms length.  But when we get in and get dirt, in the world, then we really can see God work in awesome ways.


I have some friends, pretty much my favorite people I know.  Their names are Ruco and Kristi van der Merwe.  They help me to see what it’s like to really be in the world and make an impact.  In my last blog, I said I had two things I learned while I was in Florida.  This is the second.  Ruco and Kristi just got back for time serving in the Peace Corp in The Gambia, (that’s in Africa, I had never heard of it either before they went).  As we hung out while they were home, they told me all about The Gambia, how it was 130 degrees in the shade during the day, how they had to carry their water and live in a mud hut.  How the country was majority Muslim.  But what struck me the most, they said they left the Peace Corp early, not because of any of those things, but because they were forbidden to talk about their faith.  Ruco told me that when you look around Africa, their are tons of people doing good, bringing food, aid, supplies, the whole nine yards.  He wanted to be able to tell people why he was doing it.  He was not doing it just for doing good’s sake.  He knows a Savior that other people in Africa need to know.  


That was an incredible realization.  When we here in the US say that if we are good people, then out non-Christian coworkers and neighbors and friends will see how we live and want that for their lives, we are kidding ourselves.  We don’t lack basic necessities of life here, we have everything we will generally need to live.  But what Ruco said about Africa made me realize, even these people that have huge needs, just providing for the needs is not enough.  We have a huge responsibility to be “God” to those around us.  In Exodus, Moses tells God that he can’t lead because he has a stutter, and God gets mad.  He tells Moses He’s tired of his excuses, and that his brother Aaron will speak for him, to Pharaoh and to the people of Israel.  And then God, surprisingly, says something profound.  Exodus 4.16 says, “Moreover, he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.”  God tells Moses that he is going to be a real example of  who God is to those who need to see Him.  That’s us now.  Today, people need to see God’s love from US.  Where else will they get it?  


Doing good things when engaged with the world is not enough.  We need to be vocal about why we do what we do, because God wants everyone to come back to him.


Thank you God for showing me through hole digging and friends from college who You are, what You need from me, and how You can love through me!

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11:55 AM Posted by Justin Manny

The Blue Angels!

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So I meant to update this blog last week when I got back from Florida, but the craziness of CT08:S made it practically impossible.  So I had given it some thought back then, so I’m gonna try to remember what I was talking about.


We went to Pensacola for a baby shower with Jill’s family and friends.  While that was all well and good, (we got so much stuff we had to bring a different car home to fit it all!), there were two things about the trip I wanted to talk about.  (I’ll talk about one now, and the other next week.)


First, that Friday we went out to the beach and watched the air show.  Pensacola is the home of the Navy flight team, the Blue Angels.  And they were absolutely amazing.  As we’re sitting there waiting for them to show, the anticipation was building.  Then faintly in the distant you could make out some extremely small dark objects flying parrallel to the shoreline.  Suddenly you see them make a sharp turn toward the beach.  They begin to grow and grow, and in the blink of an eye, they’ve buzzed straight past the beach in perfect formation!  It was absolutely incredible.  These million dollar airplanes and playing chicken with each other, and then swerving at the absolute last second, missing collision by mere inches.  But the part I liked the best were the 4 planes that flew in tight formation.  They’d come by where we were sitting and everyone would bank at the exact same time.  It looked like they were connected and they were one single unit.  There is something about watching man and machine working in harmony that really got me thinking.  We as the church should strive to be in perfect harmony.  Watching the single plane loop and twist was amazing, sure, but seeing four planes, inches apart doing the same thing in perfect harmony leaves you with something you will never forget.  A friend of family always says, “Two combined influences will have a much greater impact than two single influences would have.”  When you begin to think about the way this applies to our faith, we need to be taking the initiative in influencing others, every one of us.  The impact of a sermon, or a worship song will be even greater on a lost person who has been impacted by a person on a relational level.  We as the church need to understand that our influence on the lost is just as important as the worship service.  We need to all be in small groups, growing together, bringing others in to get that relationship as well.  We all need to be serving.  CT08:S was a great way, but if we stop there, and wait till next year, then we have missed the point.  We can serve year round everyday.  And this creates the harmony that we should be in.  Two combined influences.  When we start being the church, the gathering of those who love Jesus, nothing can stop us!

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9:07 AM Posted by Justin Manny

All You Need Is Love

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So, me and Jill were talking about the Dave Matthews Video we watched in church.  I asked her if she thought that people understood the purpose.  It was not just to show a video, fill time in the service.  To me, that video shows something were should all be doing as Christians on a regular basis, sharing love.  If you remember correctly, our hero sets out to spread love.  At first he is rejected, but slowly, one by one, people start to accept the love he is giving.  Suddenly it is a big deal.  People could even be seeking out his love.  And then to me is the most profound thing, these people start sharing love with others too.

It's not super deep to get the concept.  We are here to be real, tangible expressions of God's love on earth.  Jesus came down here, and started loving on people.  We have been loved by Him.  Now our job is to continue that love.  Everything we do is a way to give someone a glimpse into the love of God.  

We as a church culture can easily understand the jargon of "love of God."  But how can people in a dying world start to understand without real visible examples of that love.  I'm looking forward to CT08:S.  This is a real way to reach our community.  But if we as a church stop there, and simply say to ourselves, "I can't wait until CT09!" then we've missed our purpose.  We need to make spreading God's love in our world our top priority.  Nothing should be more important.

Dave says in the song, "All you need is, what you want is, all you need is love."  That is a cry from this world.  People are longing for love and acceptance.  They try to find in ways that are not God's way.  We as the church need to show them God's love, EVERYDAY! 

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2:49 PM Posted by Justin Manny

The Greatest Church Softball Game Ever

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So, last night was the annual meeting of the two Mt Carmel church softball teams.  It is always an epic struggle of perennial power house programs.  The the one side we have the black team, head by Tim Dunn.  The other is the red team, headed by Kevin Haynes.  I happen to play on the red, and awesomer team, I might add.  This was a hard fought game and after 6 of 7 innings played the black team held a slim one run lead.  So with our game on the line, we come to bat in the top of the 7th.  Two batters are quickly retired.  We are one out away from shear humiliation at the hands of our bitter rivals.  


But suddenly, we have life.  A runner gets on with a single.  Then another single.  We have a legitimate 2 out rally.  With runners on 1st and 3rd, our cleanup hitter, Josh Tysinger, who has been mired in a hitting slump this season come to the plate.  In an extremely controversial decision, Tim Dunn intentionally walks Josh, to get to me. 

Now I played baseball as a kid, but never was I in such a position of high pressure.  Fear began to grip my body.  My palms, blistered and cut by a hard day of scooping Italian Ice, began to get a little sweaty.  Bases loaded, two outs, tying run on third, I could be the hero.

Now I don't knows if everyone knows this, but Tim throws a wicked 12 foot arch.  He had been striking people out, jamming hitters, we had had a hard time getting anything of him.  As I stand there, the first pitch comes, BALL 2! (For those who may not know we start with 1 ball and 1 strike) Now I'm ready, Ball 3!  I'm not gonna swing at this no mater what, STRIKE 2!  Now the pressure is mounting.  I thought back to a game I had been to early last week, where Adam Dunn, (no relation to Tim Dunn), came to bat with the bases loaded and two outs with the Reds losing to the Cardinals, and he never swung the bat the whole at bat, striking out and ruining the Reds chance to win the game.  I was not going to let that happen.

Tim gets the sign for catcher Alex Kocher, and he goes into his wind up and delivers.  It felt like the ball took forever to get to home plate.  Ready to swing, I waited.  But the ball seemed to be trailing off toward the other batters box.  As I lean in, at the last possible moment I decide not to swing, and begin to head towards first, hoping and praying that the umpire would not ring me up.  To my joy, and the joy of all my teammates, it was a ball and I had just got the game tying RBI!!

Doug Early then got a 2 run go ahead single on the very next pitch, and the Red Team continues it's domination of Mt Carmel Black!  Heart broken, Tim came into the office today, saying that it took guts for me not to swing because the ball was close to a strike, but nay, that ball was short of the plate and outside by at least 3 inches.

GO ROCKETS!!!  

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8:04 AM Posted by Justin Manny

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So last week I made a trip, spontaneous to Jacksonville, for my little sisters graduation.  I totally surprised her, it was awesome.  Then when I got home I had graduation parties, which are also awesome.  I guess this time of year is about transitions.  Moving on to the next part of life.


So I was thinking about service.  It shouldn't be something we do once a year and forget about it until next year.  Service should be a full year lifestyle.  When so many people around us need things, that we can very easily help with, and get rid of their needs, but we don't have a culture that pushes people to do that.  Let stop being distracted about going to church and start focusing on being the church, because what is really more important?  Sitting in a seat or solving a problem?  I truly want people to understand that church is not Sunday, not Wednesday, not what you can be taught.  Church is when you stop worrying about yourself and start extending grace to others, just as Christ extended it to you.

Let's extend grace to a world and community who desperately need it.

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2:48 PM Posted by Justin Manny

This Week

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Hey, what's up?  So this was a great week.  Found out that we were going to be having a girl, which to me shows how funny God is because like the last 10 people I know who had babies all had girls.  Go figure.  But I am super excited.  It's gonna be awesome.  This is going to be a pretty crazy week too.  But it should be fun.


I was thinking about church.  I generally think about church.  I want to make people excited.  I want people to hold it the same place of priority as I do.  What church is and what it means should be first for every Christian.  Why do people think they can skip church if the weather is nice?  Man, God gave you that weather.  Go and worship Him.  The more I think about the baby we're going to have the more I want her to understand that church is not a random activity we do just because it's fun.  I want her to understand that it is the reason I do everything I do.  I want her to feel weird if she misses a week.  I want her to beg to go and learn about the man who died so we could live.  I know it's my responsibility to teach her, but I want her to hunger and thirst for Him, like I do and like Jill does.  I worry that I won't be the right influence.  I don't want a girl that punches her time card for God and then does other things.  I want Jesus to be first, not third, behind soccer and school.  I guess I say this because everyone should understand that Christ is the reason I love football, the reason I love U2, the reason I try to make everyone around me feel welcome.  He is not just there when I feel like going.  He is my number one responsibility.  Period.

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12:34 PM Posted by Justin Manny

Blog Away

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So, apparently a blog is a good thing to have.  I think I may already have one, but since it is on my home computer only, I wanted to be able to blog from anywhere on any computer.  I'm going to try to update at least once a week, hopefully things insightful and thought provoking, but we'll see.


So last night, Jill and I went and saw Prince Caspian.  Of course CS Lewis is awesome, but it's so good to see the meaning behind the allegory.  Aslan can seem to be a long way off, but it's really you that has moved.  Aslan just wants to be found, he wants to be longed for, and he wants you not to worry about what others think about you for seeking him.  This is the genius of Lewis.  He shows that lots of times, we humans think we can do things on our own.  When God doesn't come to us in the way we think he should, we say it's our turn to make things happen.  God cannot be put in a box.  God never doesn't have to do things the same way every time.

Thanks Clive Staples Lewis for show a new generation what it means to live a Christian life!

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