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Challenging words from 19 year old me

I was browsing a forum I used to frequent and came across a post that I made in 2000 when I was 19 years old.  Honestly, reading this kicked my butt.  I am proud that I was so passionate and heartfelt at 19, and ashamed that some of that fire had gone out in me.  Today I am praying that the passion I had back then can be renewed in me and I can follow the example of my younger self.

“In response to this challenge about how to energize adults when it comes to Sunday school, I automatically thought of a movement among many teens and young adults that has led to significant spiritual growth for me personally.  It is called the Warrior Movement.  It is based on several simple realizations that get over-looked.  Then again, many great revivals were started because people realized simple things they overlooked.  If the adults in your corps could follow these simple steps, combine them with a zealous passion for holy living and the saving of lost souls, and you would be amazed how energized and revitalized they would become.

The first step is simple, you remove all of the religion out of your walk with Christ.  To often we get caught up in religion and following a particular set of rules without a uncompromising commitment to Christ.  We need to remember Christianity is a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We need to follow the commandments laid down in the bible because of our devotion to God and because we want nothing else but to do whatever is pleasing to Him.  After that is taken care of, the real work begins.  

The second step is that we pray furiously.  We need to remember how incredibly powerful God is.  He can move mountains, but we ask for full pews.  He can create galaxies, but we ask for a nice pot luck.  Early Christians could heal people of anything, they could cast out demons, they could do almost anything because they knew that God had the power and it was at their disposal, as long as they believed.  We could do the same but we lack the faith.  We need to believe that God can do anything, not just say it.  After we believe that, we can do anything through prayer because we know God can do it and will do it.

The third step is that we need to train with our “weapons.”  Prayer, fasting, meditating on the word, journaling, etc.  all of these things strengthen us and we become better equipped to engage in spiritual warfare.  Now I do realize that this is where the real challenge comes in because we do not feel we have the time or discipline to do something like that.  And that is the basis of this challenge.  I am reminded of what Chris Curry said about “Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire.”  There are books that grip us and even people that don’t like to read will go through them cover to cover.  Why can’t the bible be the same way?  I use the New Living translation of the bible, and I find that there are many parts of the word that I get caught up in and I end up reading ten times more than I planned on.  If the bible is viewed as something to be enjoyed and not as a ritualistic chore, it becomes a joy to read.  And when it comes to prayer and fasting, that is also a relatively simple thing.  I work on a computer all day, and what I do doesn’t require a lot of thought.  So I tend to pray while I’m working.  My work gets done and I can communicate with the father at the same time.  And as far as fasting goes, how many times do we skip breakfast, or work through lunch?  If we think about it, many people miss meals all the time.  Why not purposely do it as a fast?  These are really simple ways to grow stronger in your walk when you feel you don’t have time or discipline. 

The fourth and final step is that  we need to return to the primitive aspects of Christianity, to go into Tribal Warrior mode if you will.  In our society of privilege and extravagance, we lose sight of the fact that spiritual warfare is a very primal thing.  There are no smart bombs, tanks, global positioning satellites, and spy planes.  We face an enemy that is fueled by the most primal emotion, hatred.  Satan hates the Father and he hates Christians because we have conquered him through Christ.  We need to remember that this is hand to hand combat.  There are no long range weapons, we use the sword of the spirit directly to fight the sword of deception and evil that Satan uses.  When we buy into the lie that there are those people that are called to fight and those that can get buy without fighting, Satan has won.

As a young adult, I am amazed that other people, many of which accepted Christ before I was born, aren’t following these same steps.  I guarantee that these simple steps along with the passion for Christ that all believers should have will not only energize adults attitudes towards Christian Education, but it will energize them in every aspect of their lives.”

A Season of Healing

Last night, the Michigan men’s basketball team lost in the National Championship game to Louisville.  It was a tremendous game to watch, but a tough one for me as a Michigan fan.  Louisville played incredibly well and won a hard fought victory.  All credit to them for winning a title and doing it in memorable fashion.

But last night was also the culmination of my turbulent relationship with Michigan basketball over the past 24 years of my life.  This may sound odd for someone to say when they have had no official involvement with a basketball program, but it is true.

One of my earliest baskeball memories is Rumeal Robinson hitting two clutch free throws to deliver Michigan its only basketball National Championship.  That team, along with the Bad Boys Pistons of the late 80s and early 90s, helped to make me into an intense basketball fan at the ripe old age of 10.  What kid pretends to be Rumeal Robinson on the playground?  I did all the time.

But it was five freshman that became my idols that made me a basketball fanatic.  When the Fab Five burst on to the scene, they blew up my conception of what it meant to be a basketball player.  And what made it even better for me was that these great players played for the University of Michigan which was my favorite school.  

While I loved all five guys, two stood out to me above the others.  The hometown boys, the Detroit kids Jalen Rose and Chris Webber.  Jalen was (and still is) brash and talkative, always jawing and getting under the other team’s skin.  CWebb was soft spoken off the floor, but played like a man among boys on the court.  He was bigger, faster, stronger, and more dominant than any college player I’ve ever seen.  (LeBron would have been the same, but he never went to college.)  Webber became my most favorite player on a team full of favorite players and in my pre-teen mind became the closest thing to a god on earth.

Not only were they great players, but they had a lot of success making two consecutive National Championship games and coming heart-breakingly close to winning it all in 1993.  After Chris Webber called the infamous time out that wasn’t a time out, I sat on the floor and sobbed for at least a half hour.  My mom tried to get me to snap out of it, but I shouted at her, “Don’t you understand that Michigan is my life?!”

The Fab Five eventually went on to the pros and new players like Robert “Tractor” Trailer and Maurice Taylor gave me reasons to cheer for the Maize and Blue.  They had modest success, but I still pumped my fist and sang The Victors when they played.  This was my team.  This was my school.

Then the stories started to break about a booster named Ed Martin and inappropriate gifts and favors he gave to Michigan players while in school.  At first I couldn’t believe it.  Not at Michigan.  Michigan is not the kind of school that allows that type of thing to happen.

But it was true.  And worst of all my hero, Chris Webber himself, was at the heart of it.

Down came the Final Four banners from Crisler Arena.  The wins from that era were erased.  All those games I had watched and cheered for, screamed and cried over just disappeared as if they had never happened.

Something in me snapped.

I could not bear to watch many games during the atrocious Brian Ellerbe era.  I began to hope that Tommy Amaker would turn the program around, only to watch him disappoint year after year.  I was fed up.  I was hurt that the school that I loved had to suffer so badly because of the actions of a few players who decided that they could operate outside of the rules.  I was mad that a proud program that had become a national power had been reduced to an also-ran in the Big Ten conference.

Michigan fired Amaker and hired a middle-aged nomadic coach from West Virgina that ran a weird system named John Beilein.  I was not impressed and thought Michigan had blundered with their basketball program again.  I have never been so colossally wrong and today I amso happy that I was wrong.

Much has been written in the past few weeks about Beilen and the work he has done in bringing Michigan back to national prominence.  I won’t rehash what’s already been said, but I would recommend reading Dan Wetzel’s article which is fantastic.  What I will say about Beilein is that he has done his job the hard way and for most of his tenure he has had inferior talent on paper compared to the teams he was coaching against.  (While I love the work that guys like Zach Novak put in during their time at Michigan.  A 6’4” guard has no business playing much of his career at power forward.)

This season was different.  This season was when my love of Michigan basketball was returned to it’s former heights.  I was excited to see this class of five freshman.  So often compared to the Fab Five, but so different in almost every way.

For the first time in many years, I watched games early in the season.  My interest in Michigan basketball since the late 90s only began once the college and NFL football seasons were over.  Not this year.  I watched preseason tournament games and games against non-conference teams that didn’t belong on the same floor as the Wolverines.  I watched them win and win and win.  I began to believe that this team was something special.

As they got into the heart of the Big Ten schedule they began to struggle.  They had some unlucky breaks (at Wisconsin), some really poor performances (at Michigan State), and one incredibly bad loss (at Penn State).  I knew that things would be harder when they were playing top 25 teams seemingly every week, but I thought they would be better than that.  The loss to Indiana to finish the season was heartbreaking because they were so very close at the end.

I still believed that Michigan had the talent and the coach to take them deep into the NCAA tournament.  When I filled out my bracket I had Michigan making the Elite Eight, which I thought would make for a great season.  Little did I know that the guys on this team would give us so much more than that.

They beat South Dakota State and the much hyped Nate Wolters had a terrible game.  They crushed the “Havoc” defense of VCU and blew them out.  They struggled against Kansas, but Mitch McGary went face to face with an All American center and beat him.  Trey Burke hit “The Trey” to crush the spirits of the Jayhawks and send Michigan to the Elite Eight.  Two days later, Michigan destroyed Florida winning by 25.  Shockingly, the final score doesn’t even really show how one sided that game was.

Michigan had made it back to the Final Four for the first time in 20 years.  The first time since the Fab Five.  The first time since Chris Webber called time out.  Things had come full circle.

Michigan faced a tough Syracuse team in the Final Four.  I acted confident, but inside I was a giant ball of nerves.  Whatever happened, I told myself, I would be happy.  After all, I only picked them to go to the Elite Eight.  Michigan won the game and I exploded with joy.  My team, my school was going to play for the National Championship again.

Michigan played well in the NC game, and most nights they would have been good enough to win.  Sadly, it wasn’t the case and Michigan ended up leaving the court so Louisville could celebrate.

This time I didn’t cry.  I wasn’t upset or angry (except at the refs that called a terrible game).  I was grateful.  This team had given me so much to be happy about, why would I end the season being sad?  It was a great ride and they came so close to being champions.  Playing in that game felt like gambling with house money, what do you have to lose?  I would have loved to see them cut down the nets, but even after losing I still felt like I had cheered for champions this season. 

Now some may criticize me and call me a fair weather fan.  But my love for Michigan has always been constant, even when it was buried under layers of hurt and frustration.  I am as happy as anyone that they had the season they have had and that they are in a position to win for years to come.

Thank you, Michigan Squad 96.   Thank you for healing my relationship with this program and giving me something to cheer for, agonize over, and brag about for the past several months.  I know that a few guys will be leaving to go play in the NBA, but I hope that you know how much you have meant to the thousands of fans that have waited years and years to have a program we could be proud of.