Sports, dogs, and a rant on this weeks news.

I love sports. They are fun to watch, the excitement of a close game can be exhilarating, and who doesn't love a little competition. So why does it seem that my teams will always find a way to, in the end, crush my spirit. It was a great game tonight; the Nuggets and the Mavs. We tied it on a last second prayer of a three point shot to take the game to overtime, only to finally lose the game in the second overtime period. Oh well, you win some, you lose some. I'm still holding out hope for my Broncos in the playoffs.

I got some bad news while I was at the game tonight. My friend Angie has to put down her dog Buster tomorrow due to kidney failure. In all fairness, I really haven’t ever been all that fond of her dog, even though I'm a big dog person. Pets really are an important part of our families though, and to lose one is really painful. I hate to think how hard it would be on me if I had to do the same to my dog Sassy. If anybody really does read this, keep Angie in your prayers for the next few days.

You may have been able to tell from past posts of mine, that I have a passion for my generation’s apparent apathy toward organized religion. It kills me to see people profess a faith in Christ, but to plant no roots in that faith. Two news stories this week have shown some prominence in my mind as I think they show both, why church is important, and why so many are abandoning the church (“organized religion”).
The first story I have been following, along with the rest of the country, is that of the trapped miners in West Virginia. I’m sure all of you know of the story already, so I won’t get into details of what happened. What has caught my attention as I have thought more about the story focuses on how the families of the victims met at a church as they waited to hear word regarding their loved ones. I have seen photos of people who are weeping at their loss as they are comforted by loved ones outside this church. I have seen time and time again, when suffering strike, people going to church. I won’t argue with people who say they don’t think church is necessary for their salvation, but I will argue that church is more important then many people think. A church isn’t simply a building where people come to worship god. A church is a group of believers who band together in a community, because the group is so much stronger then the individual. A church helps to not only plant individual’s roots in faith, but to nurture them and grow them. Without the support of a Christian body to help in times of extreme pain and turmoil, these roots of faith can be uprooted very easily; I have seen it happen in my life. I have no doubt that the church will continue to be present with those families in West Virginia, and will be a support mechanism for them.
This firm belief of mine makes me even more upset then at the next story I have pondered this week. Most of you are probably aware of the massive stroke suffered by Israel’s Prime Minister this week. The day following the stroke on his national TV show, Pat Robertson came out and said the stroke was punishment from God for Sharon’s stance in Israel’s pullout from sections of Gaza and the West Bank. Regardless of whether you agree with what Robertson said, I don’t, it kills me to see somebody with as much influence as Roberson make such insensitive comments, at such an inappropriate time, to make a political point. This isn’t a new phenomenon for Robertson, or Jessie Jackson, or Jerry Falwell, or the loads of other religious leaders in this country who seem to care more about politics and rules these days, then in helping somebody learn what a relationship with Christ really looks like. Many people I know avoid church because they feel they will be judged by the people who attend, and seeing statements such as those made by Pat Robertson only feed their fear and give them ammunition in their boycotting of religion as a whole.