It is the smoke a person blows up their own tail-pipe that will most likely cause them to choke.
Archive for the ‘Opinions’ Category
Thought for the Day – Blowing Smoke
Posted in Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes on May 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »
10 Things a Coach Needs to Know
Posted in Lists, Opinions on January 21, 2013| 2 Comments »
As a person who’s played for several coaches, who’s been a coach on numerous occasions and who’s interacted with many of those who have coached my kids, I believe that every coach could benefit from considering the following points.
1. Opponents don’t need to be enemies. A popular tactic amongst coaches is to demonize their opponents and then stir the fires of hostility in their own players. While this approach can sometimes pay dividends in the short run, it tends to backfire over the long haul. Anger is generally a poor motivator for consistent performance and frequently results in detrimental side effects.
2. There is no shame in admitting that another team is more talented than yours. It has become almost sacrilegious in coaching circles to say this out loud, but sometimes the other team just has more weapons at their disposal. Trying to pretend that isn’t the case doesn’t fool anyone and can make a coach seem less than credible.
3. Good coaching can only take a team so far. In an era where some coaches have achieved mythical status, it is often assumed that the right coach can turn any team into a winner; but in truth, the best that a coach can do is to help their players reach their full potential. The collective potential generally forms the ceiling for a team and is something that most coaches (especially at the amateur level) have little or no control over.
4. The best coaches adapt their game plan to accommodate their team’s strengths and weaknesses. When a coach has sustained success with a particular game plan (e.g. the option offense in football), it becomes tempting to force their teams into that mold; regardless of whether they fit or not. The best coaches remain students of the game, so that they can tailor their approach based on the pieces that they have to work with.
5. Defeat does not become failure until you refuse to learn from it. Adversity is an inevitable part of life and learning how to deal with it is a huge component of finding success. The best shooters in basketball miss about half of their shots and the best hitters in baseball don’t get a hit at least six out of every ten times they get to the plate. Ultimately, this makes teaching players how to handle setbacks a critical element of successful coaching.
6. Trash talk shouldn’t be part of the game. Though many young coaches might disagree, I would submit that “trash talking” detracts from both the game and its players. If a player has the skills, they’re better off letting their play do the talking. If they don’t, all of that brash chatter just makes them look foolish. For all of the talk about “getting into an opponent’s head”, there is little real evidence that trash talking has any positive impact on winning percentage.
7. Having a “winning attitude” doesn’t win the game. Though a “bad” attitude can easily cost a team the game, simply having a “good” attitude cannot win it for them. Ultimately, talent, preparation and execution must be combined with the right attitude in order to achieve regular success.
8. No single player should be allowed to be bigger than the team. It is commonplace for “star” players to expect special treatment and their own set of rules; but coaches who give into that kind of pressure generally lose the respect of the rest of their team.
9. Yes, there are “moral victories”. In this era of win at all costs, it has become popular to claim that there is no such thing as a “moral victory”; but for many human beings, that is the only kind of victory that they will ever experience. Like teaching a baby to walk, moral victories are the first small steps toward consistent success. Coaches who don’t believe in such things often burn themselves (& others) out, while trying to make their teams run before they’ve learned how to walk.
10. A team takes on the character of their leadership. If a coach doesn’t like the character of their team, it might be time for some soul searching. A team’s character can’t help but reflect (& often magnify) the coach’s strengths and weaknesses.
Picking the All Time Greats
Posted in Entertainment/Music/Sports, Opinions on January 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »
As we start a new year, it has become commonplace to see lists compiled of the Top Ten movies or songs or news stories… from the previous year; and every once in a while, someone sets out to create a new list of the Top Hundred… of all time. Being a lover of rock and roll, I’m always interested in these lists as they pertain to the area of music; and as I recently reviewed yet another list of the top rock artists of all time, it occurred to me how difficult it is to agree on a particular artist’s rightful place in music lore. I believe that is because there are so many different ways in which you could measure an artist’s greatness. Perhaps the easiest measure is that of an artist’s popularity, which could be gauged by record and ticket sales. But a musical purest would rightly argue that popularity does not necessarily equate to quality and therefore favor some other scale. For some it might be the artist’s impact on music; for others it could be their impact on popular culture; for others it might be based on their skill as a musician, or as a performer, or as an artist or as an innovator. Depending on which measure you choose, certain artists can rapidly ascend or descend on the scale.
A great example of this would be Michael Jackson. He was undoubtedly one of the great performers of all time. His dance moves were almost surreal, his popularity was phenomenal and his use of the music video format was revolutionary. Based on those measures, he’d be high on the list. But for the musical purest, his singing and songwriting skills were less than spectacular and arguably his songs did little to impact the face of popular music or culture.
On the other end of the spectrum is someone like Bob Dylan, who many consider to be a voice that spoke for an entire generation. Based strictly on his songwriting ability he might make many a critic’s all-time list; but as a musician and a performer his stature becomes debatable. While die-hard fans might consider his music to be “nuanced” and his vocals to be “distinctive”, others might view these aspects through a less charitable lens. Where Dylan might fall on one’s list would likely depend on their overall perception of him as a performer.
The results will vary greatly depending on which aspect we choose to center our attention. If we focus strictly on performers, names like Elvis, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, Jim Morrison, The Grateful Dead, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and even a band like Kiss might rise to the top. If we talk about performers who changed the face of music, we would have to include artists like the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Led Zeppelin, Marvin Gaye, U2, Prince and maybe even groups like the Sex Pistols, Public Enemy and Nirvana. If we focused on artistry, we might add names like Bob Dylan, Carole King, Simon & Garfunkel, Elton John and Sting. If we think of innovation, we would probably incorporate artists like Jimi Hendrix, Credence Clearwater Revival, Frank Zappa, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd and Steely Dan. If we talk about virtuoso musicians, we would need to include people like Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Carlos Santana, (the band) Yes, Stevie Ray Vaughn, (the band) Rush and Eddie Van Halen, in the conversation. If we consider incredibly talented assemblies, we might add groups like The Byrds, Cream, Crosby-Stills & Nash, The Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. If we take mass appeal into account, groups like the Bee Gees and ABBA would also have to be considered. Some of these artists, like the Beatles, Jim Morrison (and the Doors), Marvin Gaye, Led Zeppelin and Bruce Springsteen, would rank high in multiple categories. While others, like The Grateful Dead, Freddie Mercury (Queen), Steely Dan, Yes, Prince… might not even appear on many people’s top 100 list. Ultimately, it all depends on the measure that you decide to use.
As a lover of music, I’m less inclined to consider an artist’s impact on music or culture and more apt to judge them on their sound. While I can appreciate that a group like the Sex Pistols helped to usher in a new era or that Frank Zappa took music to a place it’s never been, I don’t have any real inclination to listen to their recordings. For me, the song is the thing. Based on that, I’d take the Beatles over Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin over the Stones, the Doors over Hendrix, Simon & Garfunkel over Clapton, Springsteen over Neil Young and the Eagles over the Grateful Dead. For rock historians that may not be very satisfying, but on my CD player, it’s right where it needs to be. Beyond these members of rock’s royal family, there are a whole slew of other bands, who aren’t necessarily revered by critics (e.g. Three Dog Night, Bad Company, The Doobie Brothers, Heart, ZZ Top, Boston, Journey, Tom Petty…), but who created a sizable catalog of highly listenable music. For me, some of those recordings would be more welcome in my collection than many of the ones which have been hailed as “classics”. Though these lists are interesting to ponder, in the end, it’s doubtful that any two people would pick them the same.
Thought for the Day – I Can’t Help It
Posted in Opinions, Thought for the Day / Quotes on December 20, 2012| Leave a Comment »
All it takes to remain firmly planted on the path to destruction is someone else to blame for your condition.
In the Silence
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, tagged amenin', God's still small voice, quiet, running the aisles, shoutin', silence, stillness on February 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »
We live in a culture of almost constant motion and noise; where many businesses operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week; where television and radio stations operate around the clock; and where people are rarely seen without an electronic device in their ear. We even have televisions which allow the screen to be split, so that we can watch more than one program at a time. Interestingly, the cumulative effect of all of this stimulation has not been to sharpen our senses, but to dull them.
The average person today seems to require far more stimulation to maintain their attention for a given span of time. Sadly, as with all cultural trends, we see this played out within the church as well. High tech sound systems, video equipment and power points have become common elements in church services; with contemporary, stylistic, multi-media presentations finding great favor amongst the people. While all of these things have the potential to enhance the presentation of the Gospel and/or the worship experience, they also have the potential to reduce church goers to spectators. The difference between a congregation and an audience is roughly equivalent to the difference between a sacred gathering and compelling musical theatre.
In contrast to the things of the culture, the Bible speaks of God’s “still small voice” and tells us of His desire to lead us “by the still waters”; while Solomon extols, “Better is a handful with quietness, than both hands filled with travail and vexation of spirit” and Peter speaks of the value that God places on a “gentle and quiet” spirit. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, we see Him walking away from the crowds and even His disciples, to be in a quiet place with His Father. While the scripture certainly portrays God moving and working in numerous different ways, there seems to be a special reverence for the place of quiet stillness before the Lord.
In my own journey of faith, I have found that my most profound encounters with the Lord have often been characterized by both of these attributes. Despite the fact that there are many who would likely echo this aspect of my testimony, there seems to be a high degree of discomfort with quietness or stillness within corporate settings; as though we lack confidence in the inner working of the Holy Spirit, unless we can see some outward (i.e. physical) manifestation of it.
After spending many years within the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, it has been my observation that we seem to be highly enamored of the “shout”, which appears to be the preferred response of many who engage in corporate ministry. It is unlikely that anyone who has traveled within these realms for very long has been able to avoid being chided from the platform for the insufficiency of their response (e.g. Aw you didn’t get that, if you’d have gotten that you’d be shoutin’; somebody ought to be running these aisles; is anybody alive this morning; I’m preachin’ better than you’re amenin’…). While there is no doubt that congregations may not always be engaged in the ministry to the degree that they ought to be, it is also true that the lack of jumping and shouting may not be an accurate indicator of what they are deriving.
Ministry that is bore of the Spirit will likely spark conviction and/or even deeper revelation, which may or may not be accompanied by an external response. Unfortunately, many a well-meaning minister has interrupted the inner working of the Spirit, with their demands for an external display of response. Undeniably there is a shout that rises out of the Spirit and there are times that one might be moved to cast off restraint and to run the aisles, but unless these things are initiated by the Holy Spirit, they are nothing more than motion and noise.
I have been in services where I’ve sensed that the Spirit was hovering (i.e. tangibly present, but not necessarily moving or speaking), waiting to see if we will wait on His move or initiate one of our own; sadly it is a test that is often failed. I would submit that the enemy of our souls is not opposed to a church that jumps and shouts, as long as no one is being genuinely transformed into the image of Christ. As a matter of fact, I would guess that as long as the latter remains true, the former is actually beneficial to his work.
Understandably, ministers who are passionate about their work are hoping to incite a passionate response in those whom they minister to. That passion can come in multiple forms, many of which are deeply personal, and difficult to express. Just as there are times of boisterous motion and sound, there are times that we need to be still, and know that He is God. Just as Jesus said that He didn’t do anything until He saw the Father do it first, we need to wait on the Lord to initiate His move. He is the Bridegroom, who initiates; we are the Bride who responds. If He is dancing, let us leap. If He is weeping, let us travail. If He warring, let us fight, and if He is quiet, let us be still.
I wanted to share the lyrics to this song, which God has used mightily in my life.
In the Silence – By Jason Upton
Tired of telling you, you have me
When I know you really don’t
Tired of telling you I’ll follow
When I know I really won’t
Cause I’d rather stand here speechless
With no great words to say
If my silence is more truthful
And my ears can hear how to walk in your way
In the silence
You are speaking
In the quiet I can feel the fire
And it’s burning, burning deeply
Burning all it is that you desire to be silent in me
Oh Jesus can you hear me?
My soul is screaming out
And my broken will cries teach me
What Your Kingdom’s all about
Unite my heart to fear You
To fear Your holy name
And create a life of worship
In the Spirit and Truth of Your loving ways
10 Items for the Endangered Species List
Posted in Lists, Opinions on August 30, 2011| 2 Comments »
1. Common Sense: With Western Society’s philosophical shift toward relativism and the incredible advances in technology over the last 25 years, we live in a time where perception has largely become reality. It is an era in which we seem to be driven less by facts and more by popular opinion. We’re spending more on education and yet producing less educated students than in previous generations. Our science is populated with unproven theories, our politics are dominated by empty rhetoric, our economic system is based on consumerism instead of production and our relationships are becoming increasingly dysfunctional and superficial. Common sense would say that this is a problem.
2. Respect for authority: American’s have a legacy of rebellion against what they perceive to be oppressive authority; but as post-modern thinking has taken root in our culture, what might be categorized as oppressive has greatly expanded. Increasingly parents seem to be backing their kid’s against teachers, coaches and school administrators; while even “law-abiding” citizens routinely view their supervisors, policeman and legitimate government officials with contempt. Unfortunately, where there is a lack of genuine authority, chaos quickly ensues.
3. The Institution of Marriage: While the battle rages on to redefine what the term “marriage” actually means; the greater danger may come from the steadily diminishing esteem with which our society holds the institution itself. An ever increasing number of young adults are questioning the relevance of a marital union, with fewer of them deciding that it is a necessary or worthwhile step. Even those who choose to partake often enter and exit such arrangements with little more regard than they might give to changing cell-phone service providers.
4. Work Ethic: Parents of my generation have often taken pride in the fact that their kid’s didn’t have to, “work like I did”. Unfortunately, many of those kids became adults, who refuse to work like their parents did. Now that generation is raising their kids to view work as a malady to be avoided at all costs.
5. Things that are considered sacred: Something that is sacred is special and set apart; it generally has an exclusive set of criteria and limited access; but in our media driven society, it is quickly becoming a vacant category. As reality TV has stoked our voyeuristic impulses, there is nothing that’s off limits; as cameras are not only mounted in the bedroom, but even in the bathroom. Whereas in previous generations a witness to a violent crime might try to intervene on the victim’s behalf, our current generation is more likely to video the episode and to post it on the internet.
6. Self-Control: We are a culture that spurns limitations and celebrates excess; as we routinely spend money that we don’t have; consume far too much and far more than we produce; over medicate; spend billions each year on pornography and other elicit activities; and generally indulge in patterns of behavior that are destructive to ourselves and to those we claim to care about. Over the years we have transformed, “Just do it” from a catchy corporate slogan to a way of life.
7. Perseverance: America’s ongoing obsession with convenience appears to be having a profound impact on generations of kids, who are being raised with the idea that everything should be quick, easy and accessible from a sitting position. With the rise of technology, this generation has grown to prefer the frictionless, zero-gravity of virtual reality, to the very real resistance of day to day life. This doesn’t bode well for the challenges that are sure to come.
8. True Romance: In the new millennium the concept of courting someone and cultivating a relationship has largely given way to things like “friends with benefits”, “sexting” and “hooking up”. In this new mindset, couples often bypass what they view as the preliminary rounds and get right down to business. Unfortunately, the relationships that emerge from these practices are often like any other structure that is built without a foundation; one strong wind is all that it takes to blow it apart.
9. The fear of God: Statistics indicate that more than three quarters of adults in the U.S. now believe that the truth is relative (i.e. that every man defines truth for himself), which undoubtedly has radicalized our cultural view of God. If the truth is not absolute, then God really has no basis with which to judge anyone; and without that, we really have no reason to fear Him. Just as moral relativism allows the individual to decide what they are willing to accept as truth, it also allows them to pick and choose what characteristics of God they are willing to embrace. Culturally, we are willing to believe in a loving God, a God of provision, a God who heals and One who will ultimately take us to “a better place” when we die. We like the idea of heaven and angels and sometimes we can even handle the image of a baby in a manger; but we absolutely reject the notion of a God who might one day hold us accountable.
10. The value of a man’s word: Yet another casualty of our “enlightened” view of truth is the value of a man’s promise or vow. Because we think of the truth as relative, it is easily re-defined as it relates to our circumstances and/or emotions at any given moment. This means that the vow I made several years ago to my high school sweetheart could easily be nullified by the new circumstance I find myself in with a girl in the office. We don’t like to think of it as a broken promise, as much as “a new direction, based on updated information”. Within this pattern of thought, everything becomes negotiable and can be bought for the right price.
Bjcorbin's Blog 
America’s New National Religion
Posted in Commentaries, Opinions, Social / Political on November 21, 2012| 2 Comments »
As I come dangerously close to reaching the half century mark, it is amazing to ponder the dramatic cultural changes that I have witnessed. As a child of 1960’s, I was born just as the counter-culture movement was reaching full swing and to be sure, those were tumultuous days. By the end of that decade it seemed as though the revolution had truly begun; but in just a few short years (i.e. by the mid 1970’s) the movement seemed to fizzle into a haze of disillusionment, cocaine and disco music. Initially, it didn’t seem as though this war on the “establishment” had been very successful in significantly transforming “mainstream” thinking; but with the benefit of hindsight, it has become clear that the impact was far greater than anyone could have imagined.
Considering the forty years that proceeded that period, it’s easy to see that the stage was set for something dramatic. The people had grown weary from decades of constant struggle (e.g. World War I, the Great Depression, World War II, the Korean War…) and they were restless to break out of that cycle. As the country found itself on the threshold of yet another significant conflict (i.e. the Cold War / the Vietnam War), the collective fortitude began to waiver. Many weren’t sold on the idea that America needed to engage in this latest battle, as the voices of dissent began to grow louder. After years of largely standing united against the external forces of adversity, many started to doubt the wisdom of that approach for the future.
In many ways it was a perfect storm and it ushered in a decade of great cultural upheaval. Most Sociologists would likely characterize this as a time of “enlightenment”, whereby traditional doctrines and values were questioned; and where concerns over the rights of the individual began to gain traction against the concept of what might be needed for the good of the whole nation. Amongst those cultural elements that were challenged was the largely Judeo-Christian based value system that had been so prevalent during the war years. From the earliest days of the movement, the seeds of secular humanism began to find fertile ground in the minds of its purveyors. One aspect of this assault on traditional values was the overt sexuality that would eventually become a hallmark of the movement. While the general public did not necessarily embrace the hedonism of the counter-culture, there is no doubt that there was a definitive shift in mainstream ideas about what was both normal and acceptable.
Although there is no doubt that the culture was changed by those years, I would submit that the greatest impact was still yet to be seen. By the late 1970’s America was fully emerged in the Cold War era and seemed to have returned to some new state of normal. At least on the surface, our national trajectory did not appear to be greatly altered; but within the collective consciousness, the seeds of this revolution continued to germinate. Culturally, as we opened our minds to “new truths”, our belief in absolutes progressively eroded; and with the explosion of new technologies, our sense of self-reliance continued to grow. With each successive generation, our thinking moved steadily toward moral relativism and secular humanism. Truths that were once perceived as etched in stone became like balls of clay, which could be molded and shaped into whatever form might suit us. Our concept of freedom shifted from maintaining a national landscape of opportunity to establishing an atmosphere of personal autonomy and entitlement. Little by little, who we are and what we stand for, steadily migrated away from where we’d been as a nation.
Despite this migration, I do not believe that it would be accurate to say that we’ve arrived at a purely secular humanist point of view. As an inherently religious nation, we’ve retained many of the trappings of our Judeo-Christian past; and instead of becoming a culture of atheists and/or agnostics, we’ve simply revised our brand of religion. Despite our pension for rationalization, the vast majority of Americans still consider themselves to be “spiritual” and to believe in some form of “higher power”. In keeping with the theme of moral relativism, we’ve chosen to retain those aspects of God and religion that we feel comfortable with and to disregard the rest. This has created a strange amalgam of beliefs that are based on wildly diverse concepts, such as the Bible, Hedonism, Capitalism, Marxist Socialism, the “American Dream” and Darwinian Theory. Despite the confusion caused by attempting to merge these disparate views, our culture seems to pursue this ideology with such fervor that this hybrid of religious-humanism should likely be characterized as a religion unto itself. Though many still identify themselves as being a part of one of the more established religious traditions, this new paradigm has largely replaced anything that might pass for an orthodox theology.
In this new religion, we still extol the virtues of faith; but now that faith is rooted in the basic goodness of mankind, in the advances in our technology, in the power of our self realization and in the superiority of our ideologies. It also acknowledges the value of hope; but that hope is based on the idea that every generation should do better than the one that came before it and that America is somehow destined to live at a level that is far beyond what the rest of the world does. It also believes in the concept of love, but does not bind itself to the constraints of things like loyalty, self sacrifice or turning the other cheek. Ultimately, this new theology will accept a god who “is love”, but not one who would attempt to hold a man accountable for his deeds. It will embrace things like angels and prayers and heaven; but it will not accept any orthodox view of sin, hell or judgment to come.
Despite the fact that many of these ideas (e.g. enlightenment, humanism, socialism…) are old and have a track record of utter failure, our new found faith frees us from feeling bound to their history; as we are confident that we have somehow evolved beyond the level of those cultures that came before us. Because of the numerous contradictions inherent in this patchwork of philosophies, it seems almost immune to rational criticism. After all, if one can reconcile this belief system, it seems doubtful that facts or logic would hold much sway. If anything, our culture seems to be aiming for ambiguity, as a means to head off the potential for accountability. Within our new value system, the only thing that is truly sacred is our right to choose our own way.
Even those who perceive themselves as the guardians of orthodox religion have largely compromised the purity of their message in an attempt to remain “culturally relevant”. In Christendom, the gospel has been blended with the “American Dream”, to create a message of endless, God ordained, prosperity; or with secular marketing strategies, in the name of evangelism or with futurist doctrines, under the guise of advancing the kingdom of God. A recipe that’s proven successful at many of the country’s most popular ministries is to mix a little motivational talk, with a pinch of self-help seminar and a cup of musical theater; all served up in the comfort of a posh coffee bar. It’s all about making the people feel comfortable and to keep them coming back for more; which just happens to play well with the populist view.
For the remnant, who still stubbornly cling to the ancient texts of the Bible, this all should come as no real surprise. The Apostle Paul told Timothy, “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths (2 Tim 4:3-4).” In his letter to the Colossians he warned, “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ (Col 2:8)”; and in speaking of the end times he said, “There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God – having a form of godliness, but denying it’s power (2 Tim 3:1-5)”. As I turn on the television or listen to the radio or look at my computer or even just attend one of my kid’s ballgames, I can’t help but think that this is becoming a pretty fair description of our culture. Ultimately it is the fruit of our new national religion.
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