Why I Do What I DO

  This will be a little bit different than the normal post you usually see on this page, but hopefully it will be worth it.

I get asked all the time, “How do you do it” or “Why do you do it?” What they are really asking is, “Are you crazy?” The answer is yes and no. Let me explain.

I work a normal job like everyone else. I put in 50 hours a week on average at this day job and I like what I do. It pays the bills and its a great job to have.

However, the questions I get asked aren’t concerning my day job, but rather, my other ventures that I do. When I’m not at my normal day job, I am covering sports. Currently I’m all about High School sports. However, I have covered national sports for a top-ten sports website. I’ve held credentials to cover the Dallas Mavericks as a member of the media. I’ve been on Yahoo Sports Radio to discuss NBA playoffs. I’m blessed.

So when people ask these questions, they are asking me about time and why I do it. The answer can be found easily. I do this because of my dad. Not for my dad. Don’t get me wrong. He is proud of my brother and me no matter what the cirumstance. I do it because of him.

My love for sports and this lifestyle is a direct reflection of the relationship my dad and I have and always have had together. I can remember sitting in the bleachers behind the first base dugout at many Albuquerque Dukes games.

They were the Triple A affiliate for the LA Dodgers in the 80’s. Dad and I would go to a dozen or so games every year and watch these players give it their all in hopes to make it to the big leagues.  

Before they were household names, I can remember watching Orel Hershiser pitch for the Dukes. I watched Sandy Alomar Jr. play catcher. It was some of the most enjoyable moments from my childhood.

Sunday afternoons were spent watching football games in between church services. New Mexico doesn’t have a professional sports team of any kind so, naturally, I followed the teams my dad was a fan of. This is how I became a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan.

Dad, being from Western New York, grew up watching OJ Simpson run all over defenses and his passion for the team never left, even after he moved to the south. This passion grew on me and they became my team. Even to this day I’m a die-hard Bills fan.

Dad and I would debate over who was better, Michael Jordan or Dr. J. Dad would make his case for Dr. J and I would make mine for Jordan. Neither of us would sway the other but that’s what we did. We both knew that in a couple weeks or months we would have the same debate again, with the same outcome. 

Even though I was Michael Jordan fan, I was a MFFL (Mavs Fan For Life) at heart. By this time, we had moved to North East Texas and I would listen to every Mavericks game on the radio. They were terrible and the laughing stock of the league but I didn’t care. They went 13-69 and I still claimed them as my team.

I’ll never forget my first Mavericks game It was in March of 1995 and the played the Philadelphia 76ers. The Mavericks won as Jamal Mashburn went crazy that night. This is the kind of dad I had, though. He wasn’t satisfied with just the 76ers, because they were just as bad as the Mavericks. He took me to see Karl Malone and the Utah Jazz (a game in which the Mavs won in double overtime, I might add.) Malone got ejected with two technical fouls. The place went crazy. 

Every year dad tried getting me tickets to see Jordan and the Bulls play but was unsuccessful. This was before the internet age so he had to try and call to get tickets. By the time he could get through there was already a waiting list a mile long. That didn’t matter to me, actually. I was more excited that my dad tried to get me the tickets. To me, this just further validated what I already knew: he is my hero.

My first NFL game was with dad in Buffalo. We watched the Rams defeat Buffalo on a touchdown with 12 seconds to go in the game. It was a devastating loss but, once again, that was a side note because I experienced it with dad. Less than a month later, dad took me to my first NHL game. The Stars hosted the San Jose Sharks. Belfour was brilliant in net that night. The Stars won 2-1, with all the goals coming in the first period.

Hockey is the only sport in which my dad and I have a rivalry going. Dad is a huge Buffalo Sabres fan. I, on the other hand, am a Dallas Stars fan. I never got into hockey until we moved here and so did the Stars. I was a casual fan until dad took me to the game. Now, I’m hooked.

Almost every year, him and I try to go to the game when the Sabres are in town to play the Stars. He wears his Sabres jersey and I wear my Stars jersey. For those two and a half hours we are rivals. Well, as much of a rival that you can be when you’re sitting next to your dad.

Every year, I spend Super Bowl Sunday with my dad. I watch the College National Championship game with him as well as the Final Four Championship. Anytime the Bills are on national television, him and I get together to watch the game. We still attend games together, and he helps me with my sports coverage by taking pictures for me.

So, you see, this is why I do what I do. Every time I visit a ball park, or watch the Mavericks play, or debate that Jordan is better than LeBron it takes me back to my childhood. It takes me back to a place where I was with my dad in a crowd of thousands of people cheering and rooting for our team. It takes me back to a place in which I’m reminded that the hero in my life is Bill Higgins.

Thank you dad for making me who I am.

My Winterfest Story

Every year, thousands of teenagers and sponsors fill auditoriums all over the country to have an encounter with God. These events are held in eight different locations and house some of the greatest preachers and singers in world. Contemporary Christian artists such as 4-Him, Newsong, Clay Crosse, Phillips, Craig & Dean, David Crowder, and many more have headlined concerts at these events. Preachers like Perry Stone, Jentzen Franklin and Josh Carter are staples at these events.

Winterfest means different things to different people. When asked what Winterfest means to these people, here was their responses:

“Arlington” – Sean Byars (imagine that)

“Anointing” – Kristal Byars

“A collection of teenagers seeking a move of God” – Casey Cook

Teenagers arrive on Friday afternoon and usually leave Sunday afternoon, with services on Friday Night, Saturday Morning, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. Although this is a three-day event, the preparation takes a lot longer. The youth board will start planning for Winterfest about a year out as they must lock down facility and hotel arrangements. Praying will also start as to who should be the guest speakers and singers for the event. Realizing thousands of people are depending on an encounter with God, this is the most critical part of the process. Lining these people up and making preparations for them to be picked up at the airport, hotel etc is all part of the planning process that goes into this event. Finally, when the time comes it’s all hands on deck for the youth board and others as they are shuttling people back and forth to the event center from the airport and other places.

“We want a move of God, primarily,” Texas State Youth Director Caleb Crooms told me about the expectations heading into Winterfest. “We want His tangible presence.”

For the teenagers, the preparation also begins months out from the event. Youth pastors and sponsors start fundraising for the event so that every child who wants to go, can go. With two nights in a hotel, approximately seven meals to account for and a trip to the mall on Saturday, the fundraising is usually a necessity in order for them to attend. Never once, though, have I heard a youth pastor complain about the efforts to get people to Winterfest. Rather, it’s the opposite. Most of them would even do more if they needed to in case others wanted to go.

Now that you have a back story, here is my Winterfest Story:

I live in Texas, therefore I attend the Frontier Winterfest in Arlington. It’s the last weekend in January every year and it’s held at the Arlington Convention Center. It hasn’t always been held there, though. The first couple years they had Winterfest, it was located at a hotel in Ft. Worth. There wasn’t a lot of people that attended the earlier years, so we all basically stayed at the hotel and used the conference room for church services.

It was then moved to Arlington and it’s been there ever since. I’ve attended 75% of the Winterfests since the move and I’ve seen some amazing things happen. The greatest sermon I have ever heard came from a Winterfest in the mid-90’s. Rich Wilkerson preached a Sunday morning service called “I Want the Cross.” It was the most powerful sermon I can remember. During the alter service, 100’s of teenagers stood to their feet yelling “I want the cross” as they pledged a life of discipleship to Christ. I can never forget Reggie Dabbs preaching a message entitled “One More Night With the Frogs.” It was a sermon about Pharoah’s reply to Moses after Egypt had been infested with frogs and relaying it to sin.

I’ve also experienced some services in which I walked away a little disappointed and let down. Now, this could have been because of my situation or it could have been because of the service itself. I do not know the exact reason. I do know, however, that I have experienced great and not-so-great services at Winterfest.

This year was different, though. This year’s Winterfest was the first time I’ve gone in which every service was better than the previous. It started with Josh Carter Friday night. Saturday morning, we heard Deven Wallace and her husband, Kevin, preached that night. Sunday morning, Karen Wheaton preached up a storm for us.

“The alter services,” Caleb said about what stood out from the weekend. “Saturday morning and Saturday night were amazing. The whole weekend kept crescendoing.”

That’s putting it mildly. Friday night, a teenager who was in a wheel chair because of a broken leg was healed. Healed to the point that he got up out of the wheelchair and walked. Tuesday, he went back to the doctor and the x-rays confirmed his leg had been healed. Saturday morning, people who had been broken were healed emotionally, spiritually and physically. Perhaps, the most amazing moment for me was Saturday night. Kevin Wallace was finished preaching and our group was seated towards the back. As the alter call was finishing up, Jihan Cox was singing “We are not orphans. We are sons and daughters.” She kept singing that line over and over again and you could see a wave hit the crowd. People all over the building (myself included) were realizing the truth in that statement.

Sunday morning, everyone was a little tired from the weekend but we sat through an amazing sermon by Karen Wheaton. Karen talked about what we would be willing to trade for Jesus. She talked about Samson trading his destiny as a Judge for a night of pleasure. She talked about Judas trading his place among the disciples for 30 pieces of Silver. Essau trading his birthright for a bowl of soup. It was a message that was both powerful and on point. Once again, God showed up in the alters and moved.

It was a weekend that changed my life forever. I know others who feel the same way about Winterfest this year. Now, let’s not let the fire die! Let’s keep it going!

For more information about Winterfest and locations, click here.

Paradigm Shift

Over the course of the last couple of days, I have encountered the phrase, “There’s a paradigm shift happening.” One of the instances was a business man referring to the climate of entrepreneurship. The other, however, was something totally different.

One definition of a paradigm shift is this:

a significant change in the paradigm of any discipline or group

Another definition is this:

a radical change in underlying beliefs or theory

I have noticed an awakening that is happening spiritually. Christians are having a desire to pray more and more. Myself, along with three others, have been joining forces early in the morning to pray over our college in the town I live. There is something going on in the heavens that has Christians stirring. There is a calling that is happening. This calling is not for everyone. This calling is for a select few. This calling is for a remnant that will stand up and shake Heaven and earth with their prayers until God moves and lives are changed.

The Bible is very clear that in the last days, He will pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Joel 2, Acts 2). The question isn’t when or if. The question, rather, is are you ready? What you have to understand is the fire is coming. John the Baptist said Jesus would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11). This fire does something important.

First of all, it shines brightly. If you’ve ever been around a fire, you know that you don’t need to be extremely close to see it. Depending on the height of the fire, you can see it for a great distance. This is the same with us. Depending on how big the fire is, depends on how much the world can see it. Some people don’t know we are Christians because our fire is too small.

Second, it consumes. A fire destroys what is in it’s path. Whether it’s a house, a forest or something else, there is always proof of a fire. The same can be said with us. If we have the fire of the Holy Spirit inside of us, there will always be proof. He will wreck us with His love and purpose. We will have no problem showing the world who we belong to.

Third, it cleanses. A fire serves another purpose as well. Gold is placed into a fire to purify it. The fire burns out all the impurities. This way, when the gold comes out of the fire, it is pure. The fire of the Holy Spirit should act the same towards us as the natural fired does towards gold. Whether you want to believe it or not, we are all going to face eternity some day. The Bible says in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

Isn’t it time you allow the fire of God to shine in you, to consume you and to purify you?

~Go Change Your World~

2015: Your Year to be Great

Indeed, if you are silent at this time, relief and deliverance will come to the Jewish people from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. Who knows but that you were brought to the kingdom for a time like this?” Esther 4:14 (NIV)

So 2014 is over and we have entered into another year. It’s hard to believe we have finished another one but we have. 2014 had it’s ups and downs for sure. It was a year in which we learned about Cyber Hacks and lost airplanes. It was a year in which we watched politicians rise and fall.

We can probably expect the same type of world events in 2015. However, the response of the Christian doesn’t have to be the same. We are called to reach the world and we are called to be a difference. Our light must shine bright. Jesus said we are “the light on the hill.” It is our responsibility to be a beacon in the darkness of sin that points to the love of Jesus.

As I think of 2015, I can’t help but think of Esther and the verse above where he says you may have been brought into the kingdom “for such a time as this.” This is an important time for the Church to stand up and declare the love of Jesus. The world is looking for truth and the world is looking for something to hold onto. You and I have this special gift that can save people from destruction. It’s up to you and I to “let our light shine before men, so they may see our good works and glorify the Father.”

This is our mandate. This is our directive. This is our year.

~Go Change Your Wolrd~

Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying

“I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10

There is a quote in the movie Shawshank Redemption that I think about from time to time. Andy and Red are talking about what they would do if they ever got out of prison. Red tries telling Andy that his dreams and ambitions are crazy because he’s stuck inside the prison and he’s never getting out. Andy looks at him and said:

“I guess it comes down to a simple choice really. Get busy living or get busy dying.”

I think this phrase can also be used to sum up the Christian life. For some people, they have yet to realize they can walk away from the Prison that they have been bound up inside. Rather, they are so used to being a slave that even when Jesus saves them, they keep living as if they are in that same dungeon and held captive by the same chains from years ago. Jesus said He has come to give you life, though. Not just life but abundant life. This is the path He has chosen for us. This is the path He wants for us.

Instead of dying, He wants us living. The choice is ours. See, the Bible says the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. So, I guess it really does come down to a simple choice: Get busy living or get busy dying. Which choice will you make?

~Go Change Your World~

Back to the Basics

It's been a while, and for that I apologize. I'm sitting here repentive because I haven't written in a long time. Why repent you may ask. After all, this is my blog, right? Can't I type as often or as little as I want? Actually the answer is no. See this blog isn't mine. I told the Lord I would use it for Him and His glory. So, in essence, it belongs to Him.

I have labeled myself too busy to write and to keep this up. Well, that changed recently as I was reading some other blogs. I came across a blog of a lady who has cancer. Here I am feeling sorry for myself because I don't have time to write. All-the-while, there is a lady dying with cancer and able to write about God's faithfulness.

I do not have cancer, but I do have a story to tell. Therefore I am going to stand with Kara and proclaim my part of the awesome grace of God. I'm also asking you to pray with me for Kara as she battles this terrible disease. I've never met her nor have I had any contact with her. Yet, for some reason I feel linked to her.

So, long story longer: I am back. For good this time. Thank you Lord for reminding me of what I am supposed to be doing.

~ Go Change Your World ~

 

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Conceal, Don’t Feel

The other night, I was watching a very popular children’s movie and there was a song lyric that leaped out at me. In this particular movie, a princess with magical powers is forced to hide her true self in order to protect those she loves.

During the movie, this princess utters these two sentences:

   “Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
    Be the good girl you always have to be.
    Coneal, don’t feel. Don’t let them know.”

As you watch this movie and you hear this line, it makes all the sense in the world. Here is this princess who is trying to hide her magical powers from the world.

I wonder how many people, though, come into church and utter those same words to themselves. See, there are people all over this world who are hurting and, for whatever reason, feel like they must hide their pain from the rest of the world.

How many church members are sitting on our pews and feel like they must hide their pain from the church. Have we created a church world in which we must hide the fact that we need help? Have we placed so much emphasis on perfection that we no longer allow people to hurt?

Jesus constantly moved from town to town as He ministered to the broken hearted, the hurting and the sick. Jesus allowed people to be themselves and bring their needs to Him without the fear of condemnation. Instead of putting them down, He embraced them at their weakest.

I wonder how much better the church would be if we did what Jesus did. How much better would it be if we embraced the hurting and showed them love and compassion rather than judgement and condemnation. How much better would the church be if people could walk in without the thought of having to conceal their true feelings and pain?

If we are ever going to see the Kingdom of God manifested like Jesus said we would, we must embrace every person no matter of the sin or baggage they carry with them. Only then, will we see Him truly move in a mighty and powerful way.

~ Go Change Your World ~

God-Sufficient

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. A little over a month to be exact. It wasn’t a purposeful delay but it became a necessary one it would seem. For the past several months, I’ve been on a journey. It was a journey that I didn’t know I was on until I looked back.

This journey started when God started opening doors for me that I didn’t even know were there to open. It started with sports writing for a local online news source. That job escalated to writing for the sixth largest sports blog site in the world. Shortly after that I landed another writing gig in which I was able to sit in the press box at Dallas Mavericks games and interview players and coaches.

Pretty soon I was writing for four different websites plus holding down a regular day job. Life was busy but it was great. I was loving every minute of it. However, something started happening. I could sense God moving in my life and doing some unique things. I could tell there was a shift about to happen. Not quite sure what the shift was, I started to try and prepare myself. Little did I know, there wasn’t enough time that could prepare me for what was about to happen.

One by one, these doors that God had opened, He began to shut them for me. This wasn’t in a bad way, either. I wasn’t mad or upset. I knew the time had come to walk away and I did. I walked away from several writing jobs and kept believe that God had my back and my best interst in mind.

Then, other things started happening. People that had been friends of mine for a while were no longer there. It wasn’t that we got mad at each other or anything like that. They just weren’t there anymore. Either they had fulfilled their purpose in my life or I had fulfilled mine in theirs. Regardless, the things and people that I held onto for comfort and solace were slowly being taken away from me.

I wasn’t sure why. I’m very much a people person and I thrive on interaction and friendship. I love being around people and I seem to survive best when there’s a constant flow in my life of human interaction. This was slowly being taken away, though. Once again I realized I had to trust God. I didn’t understand it and I didn’t know why but I had to trust Him completely.

In the meantime, I’ve been studying the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 and as I asked God about this journey I’ve been on He answered, “I’m teaching to be God-Sufficient and not Self-Sufficient.”

This hit me like a ton of bricks. Up until this time, every writing gig I had and every friend I talked to was someone that I was dependent upon. Perhaps it was financially like the writing or maybe it was emotionally in a friend. Either way, it was someone or something that I felt like I needed in my life.

What I had done was slowly start replacing Jesus with these things and He had finally had enough. What He was doing was showing me that I don’t need to hang onto all these crutches and be dependent upon them. I have Him to lean on and He will take care of all my needs if I’ll let Him.

Matthew 6:33 reminds us that if we will seek after Him first, He will take care of everything else in our life. So, this journey I’ve been on hasn’t been a quest to find His purpose for my life or His will. No, the quest I’ve been on has been God stripping away things that I’ve held onto for a long time. People, things, ideas, religion are all some of the areas that God has stripped away in my life over the past several months. It’s all in a ploy to make me more like Him. In reality, that’s what this is all about, right?

“Let me decrease so that He can increase.” That should be our prayer every day. We should desire to be God-Sufficient and not Self-Sufficient.

~Go Change Your World~

I do!!!

On Saturday night I had the opportunity of attending the wedding of one of my former youth group students. Her and her sister had always been some of my favorite teens because of their compassion and love for God. Everything they did was done with a smile. Now, several years later, the oldest is getting married.

As I sat there and watched this couple pledging their lives to each other in holy matrimony, I couldn't help but think about the church. I heard the pastor leading both the bride and groom in their vows to one another. As they pledged themselves to each other, I couldn't help think about the church.

In many parables, Jesus likened the church to a bride and Paul echoed this analogy in more than one place during his writings. It's been said many times that Jesus is the groom and we, the church, are his bride. Paul talked about Jesus was coming back for a pure bride. Jesus said that he was coming for a bride that was waiting for Him and ready for His appearing.

The analogy is somewhat poetic. I sat there during this wedding and I couldn't help to think about how we have treated our groom. One of the vows that was recited by each other (and is usually recited at all weddings) is the vow to have no other. Obviously this is frowned upon in the church and in society. My question, though, is this: How many times has this happened in our relationship to Christ?

This is something we've all been guilty of as Christians. We become saved and we realized what Christ did for us and yet we still abandon Him and find someone or something else a little more important. We decide He isn't meeting our needs the way we expect or want and so we go looking for money and other things in different places. While He has given Himself to us and for us, we have abandoned this while we pursue our own lusts and our own desires.

Like our physical relationship with our spouses, Christ is looking for a faithful bride that will be true and forsake all others to be with Him. This is why He died and this is why he saved us. He desires you more than you can ever imagine. My prayer today is that you will renew your vow to Christ. My prayer is that you realize the love that He has for you and that you will fall madly in love with Him once again. Afterall, He loved you so much that He decided He would rather die for you than to live without you.

~Go Change Your World~

 

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House of Prayer

What is the Church? What is the purpose of the church? These questions are being asked all over the country by all different walks of life.

My house shall be called a house of prayer
Matthew 21:13

Jesus was quoting Isaiah 56:7 when he said this. It should also be known that He said this after cleansing the temple of the money changers. Remember the story? Jesus went into the temple to find people gambling and conducting business there in the temple. Obviously this didn’t make Him too happy.
The thought, though, makes me wonder what Jesus thinks about when He looks at our churches today. We may not have the same type of behavior that was going on during this time but what does He see when He visits our churches?

The underlying question that needs to be asked is this: “Is the church a house of prayer?”
This is what Isaiah and Jesus both said in the scriptures. His house is to be a house of prayer. How much prayer do we actually do though? We have great singing and preaching but then we spend about five minutes in prayer. This isn’t what He had in mind when He made that statement, is it?
Jesus said something else a little more revitting later on in His life. Remember when he was about to die and he was in the garden praying? He came out and found Peter and the other disciples sleeping. Jesus asked them, “Could you not tarry with me for one hour?”
Here He was about to die and he still made sure he had plenty of time to pray. He made sure that he spent as much time in conversation with God as possible. Why do we think our five or ten minutes is sufficent? Why do we think we can go through our daily routine without praying and talking to God. I don’t mean the way we talk to Him when we are in trouble and need something. I mean talking to Him because He is our everything.
Paul may have said it best in Ephesians:

Pray without ceasing.
1 Thesselonians 5:17

If the early church found this to be that important, why do we think we are any different? Are we? I think it’s time we get back to praying and doing that which Jesus commanded us to do.
~Go Change Your World~