Joe Paterno, Riots, and the Gospel
I’ve been thinking a lot today about the riot in State College, PA last night after the firing of Coach Paterno. Honestly, I’m sad to see him go. I love college football and during my lifetime he has always been the coach at Penn State. It’s surreal to think of the Nittany Lions without Joe Pa on the sideline (or at least up in the booth). That being said the students at Penn State have their priorities all out of whack.
Was Paterno disgraced, sure but by his own actions, not those of the board or trustees. Is it sad that he’s gone, yes. But not near a devastating as what happened to those young boys (up to possibly twenty at this point) who were molested by a man who was under Paterno’s authority. As soon as Paterno heard he should have called the police, no questions asked. It is for this inaction that he was fired, it’s not the media’s fault or the trustees. If, when confronted with this issue nine years ago, he had done the right thing he might still be the head coach at Penn State today.
Now back to the students. When did we become a society that puts football above the lives of children? Even without the underlying circumstances, who in their right mind destroys a downtown because a football coach was fired? Hopefully, one day these kids will look back on this a realize just how outrageous their reaction was. Hopefully they’ll see that is was Joe Pa himself and not the board of trustees that dishonored him.
I hope that these young men and women will get their priorities in order and turn their passion towards something useful. How about making sure that this never happens again? What would happen if the love they showed for Joe Paterno was turned toward Sandusky’s victims, or the rights of the unborn, or poverty? If this kind of passion was let loose on issues like this, the world would be changed.
As I read the articles this morning I couldn’t help but think, where is this type of passion in the church? Do these kids love their football coach more than we love Jesus, more than we love “the least of these?” I look at them and those in the “Occupy Wall Street” movement and I wonder what would happen if this generation were to know Jesus. If that passion and tenacity were turned towards the things of God, how would our society change? It gives me hope. It challenges me. It drives me even more to reach this generation with the Gospel.
I pray that God will use me and others to bring the message of the Kingdom to this generation. And, I hope that the church doesn’t tame them.
Check These Out 6/24/11
Despite Horses And Buggies, Amish Aren’t Necessarily ‘Low-Tech’
It’s quite clear that Amish groups that monitor technology in a discerning way — with an eye to its effects on the community in the long run — do last longer and have more cohesion in their community. The group I was with had almost zero attrition in their members. They were very watchful of technology. There are Amish groups that adopted the automobile early on and those groups either disappeared all together or became small and attenuated, because the automobile is very destructive to community relations that are based on face-to-face contact.
He Loves Me Not… (Review: Love Wins)
I realize this is a pretty negative take on the book, so I want to take a moment to offer a few more thoughts. Unlike many, the thing that troubles me about Love Wins is not its conclusions. Oh, I disagree with them, but they were what I expected and I’m not one to enjoy getting apoplectic at how wrong others are. What made the book so hard for me to read was its total lack of respect and honesty.
Love accommodates. Love finds what the other needs and aims for it. Love goes out of the way to make sure the other “gets it” and feels loved.
It’s funny but it’s sad…I’m a pastor and, granted on Sundays I’m dressed a little nicer and always wear my contacts, there are times I’m out in town in shorts, a hat, and wearing glasses and I will pass one of my fellow church members on the street. I’ll say “hi” and they’ll stop, look surprised, and say, “Oh, sorry, I didn’t recognize you!” Okay—but how many other 6’5 guys do you know walking around this town? But it’s sad—I can stand up, preach, shake hands, etc. and not be recognized and part of it is we don’t look long enough at a person we’re passing on the street to even know if we know them!
For us, community will be more difficult to build and by necessity take more intentionality. So what steps can we take to recapture biblical community in our churches?
We Share Responsibility For Coach Tressel’s Fall
Those of us who have been a chaplain, coach, or player at the collegiate level know that, in certain programs, players get paid. And I’m not talking about that rinky-dink stipend check for off-campus living expenses. Because many college athletes and high school prospects are unfairly denied free market value for their services (a peripheral debate better left for another time), the “corporate” arm of many major athletic departments finds a way to reimburse them. Those of us believers engaged in sports ministry know this for a fact. For some reason we have ignored it as a non-issue. For some reason we deactivate our moral compass when confronted with it. I have an idea why.
