IDENTITY / LAW / SPORTS

“If I Could Just Beat Mike” 

-Kobe Bryant, the Jordan Rules Pharisee

The law/demand to measure up to Michael Jordan (the Jordan Rules), as we mentioned in our post about LeBron James, is as incredibly pervasive and as it is inflexible. Like all laws, there’s no wiggle room (i.e. the “jot or tittle” of Matthew 5:18). The law wouldn’t be the law if it were any less rigid.

Once a player is put under the demands of the Jordan Rules, they only have two options for response: meet the demands (perfectly) or be freed from the demands. LeBron has experienced the latter option. Which approach has Kobe taken?

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a Pharisee and a tax collector. The Pharisee looks at the wretched tax collector and thanks God that he “is not like other men.” Kobe seems to have chosen this role for himself, accepting all the pressure that comes with being a special case. Just yesterday, Kobe loudly claimed that the new look Lakers are “his team,” despite the presence of several multi-selection All-Stars, shoveling another helping of pressure onto his already overflowing bowl.

LeBron is more like the tax collector, who beats his breast and asks God to forgive him. LeBron has apologized for the arrogant press conference in which he announced that he was leaving Cleveland and has assumed a team leadership given (by Dwyane Wade), rather than demanded.

Kobe has been compared to Jordan since his rookie season— and the comparisons have only escalated as Bryant accumulated championships. In response to the Jordan Rules, Kobe has taken the first approach: to measure up—and this has been the worst thing he could have done! As a result, the Jordan Rules have perpetually had their way with him. Now, Kobe isn’t viewed as any other individual player—he’s viewed through the merciless lens of the Jordan Rules, which inevitably expose Kobe’s failures and inability to uphold the demands and measure up to the Greatest of All-Time.

The Jordan Rules strip Kobe of his individuality as a player—he’s just another shooting guard in the shadow of Michael Jordan.

In short, Kobe has never cried “Uncle” under the pressure of the Jordan Rules. But what if he did? Should he? We’re not saying whether he should or shouldn’t “back down” from the challenge to measure up to MJ, in part because Kobe’s competitiveness is certainly entertaining, and therefore good for the NBA, but we are saying that, for his own peace of mind and personal legacy, continuing to try to “be like Mike” is the worst thing he can do.

The law makes him a Jordan copycat who, at best, is just a pale comparison. When Kobe won his 5th championship in 2010, the initial reaction wasn’t fully celebratory. We could feel the demands to “Be Like Mike” in the background saying, “Jordan had 6 rings. Kobe’s got one more to go.”

Just cry “Uncle”, Kobe, and drink some Gatorade!

This post is a collaboration from Matt Patrick and Sports Editor Nick Lannon

(Via: Mockingbird)

Ackbar on "MTD"

Ackbar on "Moralism"

Minimal Art - Star Wars Version

Everything is a Remix

Everything is a Remix Part 2 from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.

I'm assuming the same thing could be said about music.

It's seems like it's a default human response to HAVE TO compare new music with something old or familiar.

Yes, I do it all the time. You know how it goes, right? Someone will say, "Dude, check out this new band!" And as soon as you start listening to it, the computer in your head starts throwing together every possible combination.

Then you get to say, "This sounds like a mix between (band #1) and (band #2)"

Your friend doesn't agree...which is fine...BUT, something deep inside you really wants them to!

Sooo, you throw in the analogy: "If (band #1) and (band #2) had babies, they'd sound like this."

And on and on it goes.

Make War!

Christless Christianity

"Scripture is of no use to us if we read it merely as a handbook for daily living without recognizing that its principle purpose is to reveal Jesus Christ and his gospel for the salvation of sinners.

All Scripture coalesces in Christ, anticipated in the OT and appearing in the flesh in the NT. In Scripture, God issues commands and threatens judgment for transgressors as well as direction for the lives of his people. Yet the greatest treasure buried in the Scriptures is the good news of the promised Messiah.

Everything in the Bible that tells us what to DO is “law”, and everything in the Bible that tells us what God has DONE in Christ to save us is “gospel.” Much like medieval piety, the emphasis in much Christian teaching today is on what we are to do without adequate grounding in the good news of what God has done for us in Christ.

“What would Jesus do?” becomes more important than “What has Jesus done?”

The gospel, however, is not just something we needed at conversion so we can spend the rest of our Christian life obsessed with performance; it is something we need every day–the only source of our sanctification as well as our justification.

The law guides, but only the gospel gives.

We are declared righteous–justified–not by anything that happens within us or done by us, but solely by God’s act of crediting us with Christ’s perfect righteousness through faith alone."

The Truth and the Lie

I really enjoyed Kevin's talk at the Exchange Conference last Summer. I'm stoked they finally got the video up!

Content WITHOUT Conviction

It's just plain refreshing listening to someone who speaks, not only with passion, but passion rooted in principles.

Dennis Prager is one of those 'refreshing someones'. He's a guy who speaks not only with passion and clarity, but with an actual CONVICTION. (Remember when politicians used to do that too?:) My Great-Great-Great Grandpa said "Those...were the days."

Take a couple minutes to check this out:

A few thoughts:

1) Talk Radio is great and all, but it may need to die so that Dennis Prager, after finding himself jobless, can become who he's called to be...the 45th President!  :)

2) When you hear someone speak from their conviction...you know it. You feel it. Dennis makes ME wanna be American! (Ohh wait, I mean...Double American:)

3) Conviction is combustible, and will set your words on FIRE! "Content" communicated without conviction is the definition of CLICHE. It's lifeless and ultimately imparts nothing more than recycled, room-temp platitudes that fail to captivate or compel anyone to change.

4) I love hearing Dennis speak because he delivers SUBSTANCE, not SLOGANS. 

5) His diagnoses of America reminded me of what Proverbs 29:18a says:

"Where there is no vision the people cast off restraint."

Is America's VISION up for grabs?

Purpose-Driven Piece of Paper

I don't know about you, but I'm constantly looking for different tools to help me just be a taaaad more efficient. Here's my "version 1.0 boilerplate" I created for general meetings.

One way to maximize its use is for PREP 

There's a place on the PDPOP to write thoughts down as they come. I'll usually staple it to a folder where I can put whatever else I need pertaining to the upcoming meeting. It's great showing up to a meeting prepped!

Click HERE to download!