I’m taking a blogging break over the Thanksgiving holidays.

I’ll see you on the other side of turkey and the Dallas Cowboy game.

Gobble, Gobble

You’ve heard the joke right? Well, Saturday night will mark the last game played in Texas Stadium by the Dallas Cowboys. Over the past few years I have watched as many old faithful sports stadiums have been demolished for newer and better venues (Tiger Stadium, Three Rivers Stadium, RFK Stadium, etc…); but this time it’s personal. I’ve been following the stories at the Dallas Morning News for weeks now, documenting personal stories from the stadium and it has me feeling nostalgic. (There is a great top 10 greatest games list HERE, as well as a memorial site HERE.)

I’m as excited as anyone about something new coming down the road for my Cowboys, but I’m really showing my age when I say that I’m gonna miss the old place. Lots of memories.

I can remember the first time I went to a game there. I’m I was in 11th or 12th grade and the Cowboys were good again. As a teenager I was a Dallas Cowboy ball boy during their training camp in Austin, TX; but had never actually been to Texas Stadium. For Christmas that year my dad had bought my brother and I Dallas Cowboys sweatshirts, and we headed off early on a Sunday Morning from Tulsa to catch the 3pm game at Texas Stadium. I remember that we played the Giants (and we won!), but my funniest memory is of arriving at the stadium about 3 hours before game time and my brother, father and I sitting like a bunch of kindergartners for hours just soaking in all the history. (I know, I know…we’re Cowboy nerds.)

Over the years I would return to see the Cowboys a dozen or so times, happening to catch some big moments. I was there when Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton’s all-time NFL rushing record. The crowd was super crazy that day. It was unlike any sporting experience I’ve ever been a part of.

I was there when Terrell Owens disgraced the star at mid-field, and George Teague decked him. I remember that moment, because I was trying to explain to my wife the entire time why someone would take offense to that. Still not sure she got it.

When my son was born in late October 2004 we were unable to go back to Tulsa for Thanksgiving, so the family all came to Dallas and the men took in a Cowboy game on Thanksgiving Day. I remember Toby Keith performed at halftime, and the Cowboys got their butts kicked! I was also there for a few Quincy Carter moments, and even saw Vinny Testaverde throw 5 or 6 interceptions in a game. Whoopee!

It’s funny how inanimate objects that have been in and around our lives for decades can become so full of memories for us. So long Texas Stadium. May the wrecking ball come quick and swift for you, and here’s hoping I can afford a ticket to the new stadium at some point in my lifetime.

Today I did the main teaching portion in the Elementary services. With many volunteers either out of town, or just returning from Thanksgiving vacation it made some sense to put more on myself during this traditional “down time.”

This Sunday we kicked off week 1 of the Stars of Christmas series. It’s a Grammy-style presentation, with DVD media-driven skits; but 100% of the teaching is done by teachers in the large group and in small groups. I’ve torn the curriculum to shreds and put it back together again to get it to fit what we do at Trinity. Other than the DVD player being possessed by evil spirits, the first Sunday went off pretty well. I spoke to the kids about God’s ability to use ordinary people to do extraordinary things. When one really takes the time to look at Mary, the mother of Jesus, her ordinariness is quite alarming. She isn’t anyone important as far as scripture tells us. We don’t know her to be a women of much accomplishment, nor is she known far and wide for some great skill. Yet knowing all these things she was still honored by God to do something quite extraordinary, don’t you think?

I love her humble response to her life-changing news,

38 And Mary said, Yes, I see it all now:
I’m the Lord’s maid, ready to serve.
Let it be with me
just as you say.

May I learn to let God use my ordinary self in extraordinary ways (and trust me, I’m as ordinary as they come!)

BONUS: Remember this classic Bizarro from last year?

I’m out! Headed to Sand Springs, Oklahoma this week; via Amarillo, via Oklahoma City, via Tulsa. When it’s all said and done I’ll have traveled 8+ hours one-way, and spent $25 on Oklahoma toll roads…oh joy…

I’ll be back to regular posting, which is irregular at best after the holidays. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought I would share one of my favorite clips from THE Best Holiday Movie EVER!

Yesterday I held our weekly team meeting at a local coffee shop. I try and take a few off-site meetings every quarter, just to get away from the office atmosphere. While at these off-sites I will hit our weekly agenda with a high-speed pace, and try and make time for some teaching and encouragement. So this week I totally stole a lesson from HERE, and adjusted it to fit what I felt our team needed.

There are 4 assumptions I asked our team to make as we headed into our semi-busy fall season of children’s ministry. We’re planning Halloween alternatives (ugh…), Thanksgiving themes, Christmas story lessons, and finally launching into 2009 with some new programs, events, curriculum, etc… Again, the full list of assumptions can be found HERE; but I want to highlight the fourth assumption I asked everyone on our team to put into practice.

Assumption #4: Assume that you are the right person to do your job.

I challenged our team to assume that they are where they are, because God put them there. I asked them to go ahead and assume that they are where they are, because I (the boss) want them there. It’s high time that we all stopped assuming that someone must have made a mistake to put them in the position are in. It’s important that everyone on our team, including me, come to realize that God has us in the right place. I have lived in the past, where I assumed that someday somebody would finally figure out how terribly unqualified I am for what I’m doing. Then my secret would be uncovered!

To state a disclaimer: I also said that if they really feel they aren’t keeping up with the team, that it might be time for a change; but until that proves true we can all assume that they are the right person for the job.

For me this is challenging. I have a very easily comparable job. I can look at those in much smaller churches and think I’m in a better place. I can also look at those in much larger churches and think I’m in a worse place. I can compare myself with those that operate with no supporting staff, or those with dozens of support staff; those with more flexible church leadership and those with completely inflexible church leadership; those with supportive Senior Pastors and those with incognito Senior Pastors. I can get lost quickly in this comparison game, and really it should all come down to this fact: I am where I am, because God needs me to be where I am! When God decides to move me, I’ll know. (And trust me, I’ve heard that voice before; and I’ll know when I hear it again!)

Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.