This One’s Hard

I want to get personal for a minute.  Not personal for you, but personal for me.  I have this problem and I really just realized that it’s been happening most of my life.

When I was young, about 12 or 13, this really bad thing happened.  My mom got sick and it affected my life and my family’s life.  I didn’t really know how to deal with it, so I just kept it inside.  To a big degree, I just ignored it.  I didn’t really talk about it with anyone.  I just kind of shut down about it, compartmentalized it and went on.  I remember bits and pieces, but for the most part, I don’t remember much about it.

After a while I thought I was over it and that part of my life was over.  Everything was hunkdory.  Except it wasn’t.

Around 1997 or 1998, my grandpa got sick.  He slowly deteriorated until he finally died about a month after my son, Andrew, was born.  Here is the sad thing.  I didn’t even know what he died of.  A few years later my dad mentioned what it was and it was like I didn’t even know.  And here’s why.  I just kind of shut it down while it was happening.  I compartmentalized it.  I ignored it and moved on.  And I barely remember anything about it today.

Just a few years ago, my grandma got sick.  And as I look back, I realize that I did the same thing.  I compartmentalized it.  I ignored it.  And I barely remember it.

Now, my mom is sick.  And I find myself doing the same thing.  Trust me I don’t want to.  But I find myself having these, well, the best word for is panic attacks.  I don’t know how to describe it.  But I can’t pick up the phone.  I can’t talk to her.  I can’t talk to my parents about it.  I can’t talk to my sister about it.  Jan knows.  But it scares me.  I’m afraid that 10 years from now, I won’t remember any of this.

Please don’t beat me up about it.  I do enough of that myself.  Please don’t tell me it will be ok.  I know you mean well, but that doesn’t really help me.  Please don’t tell me to get over it.  That doesn’t work so well either.  I’m embarassed and ashamed enough about this.

I’m thinking that I might need to talk to somebody it to help me and give me some pointers on how to overcome about 30 years of behavior that I don’t particularly like.  I know that I don’t want this to continue.  I don’t want this to be the way I act now or if something happens to my dad or my sister or Jan or the kids.  I’ve got to find some way to overcome this.

Thanks for listening.

5 Reasons Churches Should Add More Services

Two of my last couple of posts were reasons why a church should cancel their Sunday morning or their Sunday night services.  Today I’m going in the opposite direction.  I want to give you 5 reasons why a church should add more services.  These 5 are in no particular order.

1.  Strong pastoral leadership.  Here a pastor is modeling the life all of  his congregation should live.  Is he perfect in it?  Obviously not.  But he is loving God with all he’s got.  He is loving his people with all he’s got.  He is not afraid to admit that he doesn’t have all the answers.  When someone in the church is hurting, he is hurting with them.  He is spending time with his people.  They know that he cares for and loves them.  He builds credibility with them, to the point where he can say the hard things to them and he is able to maintain the relationship.  He protects them as a shepherd protects his sheep.

2.  Strong preaching.  This does not mean speaking loud and stomping around.  I have heard preachers who did this and then heard someone proclaim that they really preached that day.  What I mean is that they preach the whole counsel of God.  You can tell that they have spent time with God and the text they are preaching.  They give you the context of the passage.  They give you the meaning of the text.  They give you an application.  Most importantly, they have led you in worship during their proclamation.  They have magnified, glorified and honored God.  They haven’t given you some homily or self-help platitudes.  They haven’t just given you some powerful points that will help your life.   They have helped you meet God within the scripture.

3.  Strong people.  I believe that if you have strong pastoral leadership and strong preaching that each come from biblical authority, you will end up with strong people.  People who are not coming to church to be entertained by the song service or that sit there expecting the preacher to wow them with his oratorical skills.  No, they are participants along with the choir and the preacher for the true audience, God Himself.  They will join themselves with those leading the service in worshipping the Creator of the universe.  They will be like the Bereans, who carefully listened to Paul and made sure that what he was saying matched scripture.  They are not simply passive participants.

4.  Strong priorties.  Let’s face it.  We all have many things competing for our attention.  Most of us work.  I usually get my 45 to 50 hours, depending on the week.  If we have children, there are many things they are involved in.  If most are like mine, there is plenty of homework going on.  There are plenty of chores to do.  I don’t get them all done during the evening hours.  They spill over into Saturday.  Many of my Saturdays are taken up with various projects.  Throw in any number of other things that are going on and little time is left.  One of the greatest illustrations of the need for priorities is found in various forms.  Take a jar.  Put good sized rocks in it.  These are the important things.  Put smaller gravel and pebble in next.  These are less important.Then put sand in.   Even less important. The jar is full.   Then take water and pour in.  If you had done this the opposite way, what you put in would not fit.  Another variation is a cup of coffee to share with friends.  That one doesn’t work for me since I don’t drink coffee, but you get the point.  For us who follow Christ, He will be our priority.  The biggest rock.  “On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.”

5.  Strong pursuits and passions.  Christ said that we should seek first the kingdom of God.  Psalm 37 says to delight ourselves in the Lord.  When we do that, when we make God our pursuit, when we make Christ our passion, everything else falls into to place.  Our goals.  Our dreams.  Our priorities.  Our desires.

If these 5 things were found in our churches, how incredible would be what happens?  The three normal services we have at our church would not be enough.  We might return to the days when Luther and Calvin were producing sermons each day.  Our people would be gathering corporately.  Our people would gather together in small groups during the week to worship, study, fellowship, pray and go on mission together.  Christ would be seen in our lives and in our churches.

Who Would Be My Pallbearers?

I read something recently about a man that is called to full-time ministry.  He asked his wife who his pallbearers would be if he died.  When they sat down to list them, they could not really do it except for a couple of people.  This list did not include his brothers, who would have to show up to his funeral anyway.

This gave me great pause as I thought about the question myself.  When it came down to it, I could think of maybe two right off the bat.  Don’t get me wrong.  I know plenty of people.  I’m talking about those guys who I have been through it with.  Guys who I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I can count on.  I’m talking about those guys that I am close to.

None of them go to my church.  None of them are from the town I live in.  Well, there is one guy at my church that I am closer to than the others.  He and I get along well, but I can’t say that we are especially close.  And no offense to him, but his age will probably be a factor when I die.  That is not to disparage any of the other guys at my church or in my town.  It’s just that I am not close to them.  I don’t know if that will change or not.  I’ve lived here for seven years now.  I’ve been in my church and taught Sunday school basically for longer than that.  But would I call on them?  Would I want my wife to call on them?  Not based on anything that has gone on before or is going on now.

I left my town for a year and moved to another state.  One man in my church told me to let him know if I ever needed any help.  The thing is, though, that I never spent enough time with this man, nor he with me, to make me comfortable asking for help during that difficult year.  It takes being pretty close to someone to actually ask them for help.

Much of this idea hit me pretty hard this year.  Last winter I went to the funeral home.  I realized a couple of guys in my Sunday school class  were much closer than I realized.  I realized that I am not close like that with anyone in my church.  I saw it again this past Sunday.  Several people in my Sunday school class were absent.  The other folks that were there knew where everyone else was.  I had no clue where any of them were.

How does this make me feel?  Lousy.  As I examine my life, I realize that growing up I didn’t have any close friends.  As a teenager I didn’t.  I had a couple during my late teens, but we drifted apart.  I have had one or two here or there since, but we have always drifted apart.

I have a couple of choices.  I just accept it and go the rest of my life without having close friendships in my church.  I can just maintain the one or two friends that I feel would be my pallbearers now.

Or can I start trying to build friendships and invest myself in friendships with other guys like Christ would and did.

After all, I’m going to need some pallbearers someday.

5 Reasons Churches Should Cancel Sunday Morning Services

Yesterday I wrote about 5 reasons churches should cancel Sunday night services.  I want to do something much more heretical today.  Today I want to write about 5 reasons churches should cancel Sunday morning services.  Don’t freak out too much.  Under this scenario, churches would simply do away with their morning services and keep their Sunday night services.  Without further adieu…….

5.  A Day of Rest.  All of my life I have heard in sermons and from people in churches that Sunday should replace the biblical Sabbath as the day of rest.  Yet, churches continue to have services on Sunday mornings.  If they really want people to have a day of rest, cancel the morning services and let them sleep in.  Let them have a day of leisure where they can enjoy the day and then top it off with the church service at night.

4.  Enjoy the Day.  Under the current system, it is simply difficult to enjoy the day.  You wake up and have to gear up toward going to church and then do it again at night.  Cancel the morning services and let people get up, enjoy the day, eat with their families, visit with their families, hike, etc.  Then they can come to church that evening.

3.  Family time.  Most families have two working parents that work 40+ hours every week.  They have numerous activities, homework and chores through the week.  Saturday is a day where they end up catching up on what they could not do.  Let Sunday be a day of just relaxation.  The current system does not allow that.

2.  Pastor rest.  The pastor can actually sleep in and visit with him family as well.  If a pastor is actually doing his job, he probably is not getting enough time with his family during the week either.

1.  The structure is unimportant.  How and why did we get to the point of having Sunday morning and Sunday evening services?  Has it really been done that way since Pentecost?  What is special and magical about the 9:30 to noon block on Sunday? 

Please understand that the time I worship actually means nothing to me.  I don’t care if it is in the morning or in the evening.  I just want people to think about it, rather than just go along because that’s the way it has always been done.   I actually heard an argument from a Baptist preacher one time that making the time earlier would cause the church to become like Catholics, with everyone coming earlier and then having the day to do what they want to do.  What kind of thinking is it that says that we have to do everything just like it has been done for the past 50 to 100 years as though it really always has been done that way.  We should all think it through.

5 Reasons Why Churches Should Cancel Sunday Night Services

My natural tendency in life is to everything.  It doesn’t matter if it’s work, sports or church, I always wonder why we do things the way we do them.  How do we get to the point of doing what we do?

How we “do” church baffles me.  I have heard all of my life preachers preach that Sunday is a day of rest.  Yet, in all of my nearly 41 years, I have never understood exactly how going to church on Sunday morning until  about noon, then turning around and doing it again in shortened version on Sunday night constitutes rest.  When you throw in meeting before church or after church, rest doesn’t happen.  So, I give you 5 reasons why churches should cancel their Sunday night service and give the people the remainder of the day.

5.  What did churches do before their people could get to the church easily in a car and before they had lights???  I think Sunday night services are a relatively recent invention in the history of church.  It really hasn’t always been done this way, no matter what the older people in the church think.

4.  Families.  I hear preachers preach about families quite often.  Between work and school and homework and any other activiities, we get just a small time with our families through the week.  Then after morning worship we only get a few short hours with our families on Sunday before we have to pack up and do it again on Sunday night.  I would like a chance to review the previous week and preview the coming week with my family on Sunday night.  I would like to have a central time of worship with my family on Sunday night.  Call me selfish if you want to.  I’m a big boy.  I can handle it.

3. Small groups.  Yes, this can sound contradictory to number 9.  In our church, Sunday school is supposed to be the gateway into the church.  If that’s so, this could actually be what closes the back door.  Sunday school, while I like it, is a harried time.  We don’t really get good fellowship and the study is not indepth.  A church that encourages small groups outside of the church walls has a good chance of flourishing.  Sunday nights would be an excellent time to do this.  Mulitiple sites of two or three families getting together on Sunday night to discuss the sermon, study the Bible, praying, worshipping and fellowshipping in a comfortable setting could transform a church.

2.  Pastors.  If a Sunday night service was not held, there are several possible benefits for the pastor.  First, he could focus on his Sunday morning sermon and beef up his Wednesday night one.  Quite honestly, though, if pastors would put the time into their ministry like Luther and Calvin did, this would not be a problem.  Second, this could free him up to be a more effective pastor.  He could also visit the small groups that are meeting on Sunday night and actually get to know his people, instead of only knowing them through the brief snapshots he gets at church on Sunday.  This will also benefit those pastors who are scared of small groups meeting in homes because they don’t have enough control over what is going on.

1.  Reruns.  Listen, I never liked reruns when I was growing up.  I don’t like them now.  I cannot figure out why I am basically repeating the same thing on Sunday night that I just did 6 hours or so before.  And let’s face it.  Pastors don’t spend nearly as much time on those Sunday night sermons as they do for the Sunday morning ones.  There have been too many times where I feel like the preacher has wasted my time by not being prepared, and then tried to guilt me by saying that I have to be there so that I don’t forsake the assembling of the saints.  C’mon dude!  I won’t forsake the assembling of the saints if you won’t forsake your call.  That sounds fair, doesn’t it???

Healing

I have been thinking a lot about healing this week. It is amazing to me how and what God uses to bring us to certain points of realization about Him and how He works and why He works. Let me share a few things that have brought me to think about this.

First, my mother is sick. She has cancer. It may not be as bad as it can be right now, but she has cancer. Breast cancer. Lung cancer. Nodules on her liver. She asked me to pray for her. So I am. My church is praying for her. Some of my friend’s churches are praying for her. Facebook friends are praying for her.

Second, my boss sent me a paper that his daughter wrote for school. It details how when he was a little boy he caused his mother to have a terrible car wreck. She was pronounced dead and was revived. Her legs were shattered. Her ankles were powder. Her church prayed for her. Her husband carried her to the altar at that church one night and they prayed around her. She walked out and the next day x-rays showed healed ankles. God miraculously healed her.

Third, this week I heard about a man who was on a respirator and unresponsive. They removed all devices that were keeping him alive and waited for him to die so they could harvest his organs for people needing transplants. They expected him to die within an hour. The next day he sat up and opened his eyes. He answered questions by squeezing their hands. Another miracle.

Most healing is not quite as dramatic as these examples. They catch our attention when they happen, but they are not the norm. We are used to more regular healing taking place. Normal healings, while not as exciting, are no less miraculous. They happen. God heals people everyday. He also does not heal people. Some people do not recover. Some people stay sick or suffer through illnesses for years. Some will pray for healing to come and never get the answer they want.

Unfortunately, we never know the reason other than it was not God’s will for them to be healed. There are other things beside illnesses that may or may not be healed. Broken relationships may or may not be healed. Financial hardships may or may not be overcome. Prejudices and discriminations may or may not be defeated. There are countless other ways that we can apply this.

The question of why God does or does not heal us has to come to our mind. Does God heal us to make us happy? Does He heal us to make us better? Does He help us mend relationships to fulfill us? Does He help us overcome our shortcomings to make us better people? The answer is yes and no. The answer is yes, that He does all of this for our benefit and to make our lives better and the world a better place. But that cannot be the only reason, or the best reason, or even the central reason.

I believe that we can get our answer from the Bible in John 5. Here Jesus heals a man on the Sabbath. This man had been crippled all of his life. There was a pool that sick, ill and disabled people would go to be healed. Jesus encounters this man and asks him why he doesn’t get in the poo. The man gives his answer and Jesus goes to work. He tells him to get up and walk. A man who had never walked before. So, he does. Jesus moves on and the man looks around for him, not knowing who He was. He finally finds him. The Jews become upset because Jesus did this on the Sabbath and that violates their Law. Jesus explains to them that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. In the middle of the event, though, Jesus explains exactly why He healed this man.

Jesus told the man not to sin anymore, so that nothing worse would happen to him. What is Jesus saying? What He is saying is this: Get in a right relationship with the Father. Your healing is nothing that lasts. For that matter, neither was your disability. Something worse could happen. You could face the judgement. So, get into a right relationship with my Father.

After that, the Jews confronted Jesus about doing this on the Sabbath. He explains the whole reason for the Sabbath. He tells them He only does what He sees His Father do. He also basically tells them that if they really want to be amazed, just watch. More amazing works are going to be done by the Father.

We could summarize it this way. Jesus healed this man to demonstrate the work and power and glory and majesty of God. This man should live his life in a relationship with the Father as to demonstrate these same things. Jesus says that even more amazing things will be seen that this. Imagine!!! More amazing than seeing a disabled man walk. Paul said it like this. For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain.

Paul had an amazing work done in his life. He was healed of his disease or disability, whatever you want to call it. His life became his relationship with Christ. To live is Christ. Death became nothing for him. Nothing worse could happen to him due to this relationship. Death just became another event on the calendar. It became gain. So for those of us who follow Christ, healing or not , overcoming or not, illnesses or suffering, life should be Christ. Death becomes nothing. We have passed through the judgement. Death becomes gain.

Talkin’ ‘Bout My Generation

People try to put us d-down (talkin’ ’bout my generation), Just because we get around (talkin’ ’bout my generation), Things they do look awful c-c-cold(talkin’ ’bout my generation), I hope I die before I get old(talkin’ ’bout my generation)

The Who sung these lyrics many years ago. It became an anthem for those who came of age in the late 60’s and early 70’s.  Roger Daltrey was the singer, Pete Townsend played the guitar, John Entwistle was on bass and Keith Moon pounded the drums.  All creating an attitude that was perfected in this one song.  My Generation.  Sneering at the establishment.  Telling those who had come before them to leave them alone.  Not wanting to become like the previous generation.  Hoping they die before they get that old.

It’s funny, isn’t it, that most of these guys are older now than those they were thumbing their noses at back then (Keith Moon died from a drug overdose in 1978.)  In a sense they have become the very thing this song rails against.

This theme seems to renew itself with every generation.  Each generation seeks its own identity and tries to separate itself from the previous one.  Funny, though, how they often do this by attaching themselves to things older than them.  Many of the Who’s peers sought out the old blues music as inspiration for what they did.  My children like a lot of 80’s music better than I did.  They certainly like Bon Jovi better than I ever did.

Generations come and generations go.  There is so much change in the world, yet so little changes.  The biggest difference is how fast each generation gets there now.

Jesus talked about a generation.  He talked about a generation that would one day see His return.  A generation that would see all of the events that He foretold about His second coming.  Some believe this generation consisted of those He was specifically talking to and we can read about in Matthew 24.  In another sense, He could be talking about all of those that follow Him after He established His Church.  It could mean all of those who follow Him at the time of His second coming.  Theologians debate exactly what  and who Jesus is referring to.

My main question, though, doesn’t follow those lines of thought.  My question about your generation is this.  Are you His?  Do you belong to Him?  Has He rescued you from what you were and transformed you into what you can be?  Has He dove headfirst to where you lay dead on the bottom of the lake, pulled you up and breathed new life into you?  Have you been born again?  Have you drunk of the Living Waters?  Have you eaten the Bread of Life?  Are you one of His sheep?

If that is the case, then which generation you are a part of will not matter.  You will belong to the right one no matter what.

I Am Latalvis Cobbins

If you live in East Tennessee, you have probably heard about Latalvis Cobbins.  You might know that he was the first to stand trial for the horrific crimes committed against Channon Christian and Chris Newsome.  I have watched several people become so engrossed in this trial that they are emotionally invested in the outcome.

If you do not know what happened, here are the basics.  I will not repeat the exact details of the crime.  Latalvis Cobbins and four others were arrested and charged with the kidnap, rape and murder of Ms. Christian and Mr. Newsome.  Two young lives were ended for seemingly no reason other than the amusement of four sick, criminal individuals.

Following Cobbins trial and conviction, he received life without parole.  The families were obviously disappointed.  Ms. Christian’s father stated that he would hate these people until they burned in hell.  He wanted the death penalty.  He wanted justice, but I suspect that he wanted revenge as well.  I say that as a statement, not as a criticism but with empathy, since I have never had a child brutally murdered.

However, since I do have the ability to sit outside of this event, and I claim Christ as my Savior, I have tried to sit back and look at this event as God would look at it.  I have sought out what the Bible might say about this and how believers in Christ should react.

I am Latalvis Cobbins.

When the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthian church, he lists a group of people who will not enter the kingdom of God.  These include the unrighteous, covetous, drunks, swindlers, effeminate, homosexuals or fornicators, all in no particular order.  For this thought, though, I want to focus on the general description of unrighteous.  Why?  Because I do not think many of us could classify Cobbins as righteous.  Paul does not mention murderers in this list, but surely they could not be included as righteous.

Someone might ask me how I can say that I am Latalvis Cobbins?  They might say that no matter what I might have done or thought or said, none of it compares to what Cobbins and his cohorts have done.  How, Larry, can you say that you are Latalvis Cobbins?

Paul writes in Romans 3:10 that “there are none righteous, not even one.”  That includes me.  I am not righteous.  Not close.  Nowhere near.  At least not on my own.  My own righteousness is as filty rags.  If you know what that means, you know that my righteousness is pretty disgusting.

Thankfully whether or not I enter the kingdom of God is not left up to me.  The Father sent His son to become my righteousness.  To do what I cannot and could not do.  To die on the cross and pay the debt for my sins.  To shed His blood and sacrifice Himself for me.

I am Latalvis Cobbins.  I am someone who was not righteous.  I am someone who could not do it on my own.  I am someone who needed (and still needs on a daily basis) Jesus.  I am Latalvis Cobbins.

My prayer is that the gospel will be preached to Mr. Cobbins in jail.  My prayer is that God’s grace will do a work in his heart.  My prayer is that he will be born again, drink of from the fountain of living waters, worship our Savior in spirit and truth, and follow the way, the truth and the life.

Why?

Because I am Latalvis Cobbins.

Preview of Tennessee’s 2009 Season

Tennessee’s season begins in thirteen days.  This season will prove to be a transitional year with the addition of a new head coach, Lane Kiffin, and the staff he assembled.  Mix in the offensive challenges the team faced last year with the third offense for the team in three year, 2009 will be a year to watch.  Below are are my pre-season thoughts on the season Tennessee will face.

Western Kentucky

What in the world is a Hilltopper and what is that crazy red blob they have for a mascot?  believe that Tennessee should have no problem being victorious in their season opener.  I believe this will be a good game for the Vols to begin the Kiffin era with.  Much better than last season when Tennessee began with UCLA.  I predict a WIN.

UCLA

Last year, with an offense that will go down in history as one of Tennessee’s worst, the Vols came within a whisker of winning in Pasadena.  This year the Big Orange will be looking for revenge as the Bruins from south CA come to East Tennessee.  I do not believe the boys who play in the Rose Bowl will be much better than last year and they will be traveling east.  The Volunteers will be improved and playing at home.  I predict a WIN.

Florida

Lane Kiffin’s comments about Florida in his first press conference have been taken out of context.  Everyone who saw it knows he was joking and meant for the Tennessee faithful..  Were his comments about Florida cheating after national signing day?  Good question.  Regardless, Florida is at the top of the class of the SEC, if not the nation.  The game is also in the Swamp.  I may love Tennessee, but I’m not stupid.  The Vols will LOSE.

Ohio

Some people are picking this as an upset special.  I am not.  The Vols lick their wounds from Florida and move on to Auburn.  Tennessee WINS.

Auburn

Gene Chizik?  Who the heck is Gene Chizik?  If you are going to fire Tommy Tuberville, couldn’t you do better than hire someone that no one has ever heard of?  At least our coach spent time at arguably the best program in the country.  Auburn will not be much better than last year.  Tennessee plays them at home.  The Vols are 4-1 with a WIN.

Georgia

I find this an intriguing matchup.  Georgia lost both Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno.  Georgia also led the SEC in secondary violations last year with 17, but Tennessee got all the press for theirs.  I believe this to be a probably LOSS for the boys in Orange.  However, I will not be surprised to see Tennessee WIN over Uga’s friends.  I  will know better after the Georgia-Okalahoma State game, but right now I call it a TOSS-UP.

Alabama

Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  Stout defense.  Unproven quarterback.  I think this one will be closer than many people think, but chalk up a LOSS for the Vols.

South Carolina

I think Steve Spurrier lost his mojo when he left for the NFL a few years back.  He desperately wants it back, but I do not think he will ever regain it in Columbia.  I really think this may end up being a year that the Fighting Roosters take a step back.  Which is bad news for those that read The State newspaper.  Count this one a WIN in Knoxville.

Memphis

One good thing resulted in last year’s season for the Vols.  They did not play Memphis and face a possible second ever loss to the Blue Felines from the other end of the state.  This year?  WIN for the Large Citrus.

Mississippi

Lane Kiffin makes his first trip to Oxford to take on the team that his assistant, Ed Orgeron, built.  Colonel Reb might have been crying a while back, but he is not crying with all of the players that Joe Joe’s buddy signed.  Some have the Rebs in the top five in the country.  I am not quite willing to go that far since Houston Nutt has a history of not meeting high expectations.  However, I do think the Rebs will have too much firepower in the Magnolia State.  A LOSS for the Vols.

Vanderbilt

Bobby Johnson has one of the most intelligent teams in the NCAA.  He has also improved his recruiting as witnessed by Nashville’s Navy beating Boston College in what amounted to a home bowl game last year.  Tennessee managed to win against the Black and Gold in Nashville.  I believe both teams will be improved this year.  However, I think the home team prevails.  Tennessee will find a way to WIN.

Kentucky

Rich Brooks and the powers that be at Kentucky have tabbed Joker Phillips to be the head coach in waiting.  I think the joke is really on the folks that want Kentucky football to become something.  I think this year Kentucky takes a step back and makes that promise a bit less secure.  The Lexicats will fall to the bowl-bound Vols.  Mark another WIN for Tennessee.

If things fall perfect for the Vols this year, a 9 – 3 season could happen.  Eight wins is more likely.  I really believe one of the wins I have counted on could be a loss.  Most likely the Vols will finish 7 – 5.  As long as I see improvement in their play compared to last year, I will be one happy Orange-clad Fan.

The Birth of a Vol Fan

I was born again on September 10, 1977.  No, not that born again.  That did not take place until well after I had become an adult.  No, this born again experience was when I became a University of Tennessee sports fan.

Up until that point in my life, I was vaguely aware that sports existed.  I knew that there was baseball and football.  I just was not a full throttle sports fan.  My parents were not sports fans.  We watched the 1976 Olympics and boxing on TV.  I was an Evel Knievel fan.  Major professional or collegiate sports were just not on my family’s radar, though.  For some reason, for one night, I watched a Tennessee football game with my dad.

I do not really remember much about it.  I remember that Johnny had come marching home following his national championship at Pittsburgh.  I remember that it was still warm.  In fact, it was the date I mentioned above.  It was a night game and my first time in Neyland Stadium.  We did what you cannot do today.  We pulled onto the Business Loop and parked along Neyland Drive on the side of the road. 

We went with my Uncle Doyle.  His name will come up as I continue to write about my love affair with Tennessee sports.  Tennessee played the California Golden Bears that night.  Neyland Stadium was not at it’s current size, but it seemed so enormous to me.  I had never seen anything like it.  Neyland still gives me chills.

I was hooked after that.  I read the sports page every Sunday. John Ward relayed the game to me.  I began playing football the next year.  I watched a couple of bowl games broadcast by Mizzou through the snowy picture of channel 26.  I went to several games with Doyle over the years.  I even knew exactly how many days until my wedding because it was the day before the first game of the 1992 season.

I became a Tennessee Volunteer fan on September 10,1977.  I remain one today.