What did I do?

Only one game after controversially benching Kobe Bryant during a key fourth-quarter stretch, Lakers head coach Mike Brown felt forced to do something similar with All-Star center Andrew Bynum on Tuesday. Bynum, a seven-footer who has taken eight three-pointers in his entire NBA career, took an ill-advised (and let’s be honest…all Bynum outside shots are ill-advised) three point shot during the Lakers 104-101 win over the Golden State Warriors. It barely touched the rim, missing by a mile. Incensed, Brown immediately called Bynum to the bench and put in a substitute. Bynum did go back into the game after a stretch, but the benching was clearly punishment for a shot the sanity of which the play-by-play announcers questioned during its flight. So far, this is uninteresting. Anyone who’s ever played basketball has probably been pulled out of a game by a frustrated coach, and moreover, everyone who’s ever played basketball has probably, at one point or another, deserved it. It’s what Bynum said to reporters after the game that has raised eyebrows.

“I don’t know what was bench-worthy about the shot, to be honest with you,” said the Lakers’ big man. “I made one [Sunday], and I wanted to make another one. That’s it. I guess he took offense to it, so he put me on the bench.”

“I’m good,” Bynum said. “I guess it’s ‘Don’t take threes’ is the message, but I’m going to take another one and I’m going to take some more, so I just hope it’s not the same result. Hopefully, I make it.”

So there you have it: message received, and message ignored. People think that punishment will correct behavior. Andrew Bynum’s postgame comments illustrate a competing (though more accurate) truth: punishment incites rebellion. The law (e.g. don’t shoot three-pointers if you don’t have a reasonable expectation of making them) asks for a certain behavior. Bynum got the request right: Don’t take threes. When it doesn’t get what it’s looking for, the law inflicts punishment, hoping that a program of reeducation will produce better results the next time. Unfortunately, as Christian theologians have always noted, the law is much better at asking for a result than it is at achievingit.

THIS man, shoot threes?

Martin Luther likened the relationship of the law to results to a lion held down by steel bands. The lion fights against the bands…and the tighter the bands become, the more viciously the lion fights. We fear freeing the lion because of the ferocity with which it strains, forgetting that all the while the lion is fighting the bands, not us. Released, the lion has nothing to struggle against, and will likely cease its struggling.

In the world of competitive basketball, of course, sitting a player on the bench for long enough may well break him of a bad habit. But so far, it’s having the reverse effect. Bynum is planning on launching more shots from long range, not fewer. As our view lengthens, though, and our scope expands, we might well note that even if Bynum is eventually benched enough to force him to stop shooting threes, won’t he consider his coach a ruthless tyrant and undermine him in other ways? Won’t he be much more likely to find another team in free agency (or at least threaten to do so unless Brown is fired)? Is the tightening of the bands on Andrew Bynum (though it might work on the surface) worth the damage it will surely cause to his fragile (i.e human) psyche?

Aren’t we all happier free, and isn’t it true that grace (e.g. the freedom to shoot) can provide the space to realize what it is we’re really good at, and allow us to settle into the behavior, by choice, that the law was asking for in the first place?

 

Truth from the Lake Show...Another reason why I love Mockingbird

The latest post, part 1 in a series on Suffering and Worship, is well worth the read and should serve as a great encouragement to your soul. I'm looking forward to the rest of this series, and hope you find this blog as helpful as I have thus far! Enjoy!

The ROUGH

Below is the current condition of a tough but strategic neighborhood in Flint, MI. We have counted at least 10 homes in this condition that are owned by the city that we could purchase for 2,000 or less.

The DIAMOND

Below is the blessing on the street. This house is being sold for 2,500. The owner put 20,000 into the home and because of life circumstances he needs to sell asap. We would use this home as an outpost for Red Revolution’s vision to raise up indigenous disciples/leaders to help restore the city.

The FUTURE

Believe it or not what you see below is what they call a “HOOP HOUSE”. This is the future of bringing economy into urban places with a down economy, using natural resources. This Hoop house is 30×80 feet and they are built to produce vegetation year round in cold climates. Yes this “HOOP HOUSE” is in the middle of a “HOOD”, done by one of the members of our church and it’s producing as planned.

Vision

Our hope is to buy the one “DIAMOND” house for 2,500 and turn it into the hub of urban discipleship in this tough but strategic neighborhood. This neighborhood sits right on the main street that connects the Colleges, business, north (majority african americans) and south side (majority caucasians). We would then pursue the other ten homes at $2,000 in the neighborhood that need to be bull dozed. We would use two lots to put one “HOOP HOUSE” at 10,000 to produce what you see above, giving this neighborhood a since of pride and beauty. We would use the “HOOP HOUSES” along with the “DIAMOND” house to teach keys values that pertain to discipleship/leadership growth such as diligence, patience, hard work and economic literacy.

Summary

Step 1

“DIAMOND HOUSE” 2,500 cash, 1,500 in back taxes and 1,000 to close=5,000

Step 2

“THE ROUGH” LONG TERM-purchase 10 homes at 2,000=20,000 from the city. SHORT TERM-Start with at least two homes at 2,000=4,000

Step 3

“THE FUTURE” LONG TERM-Bull doze and use the 10 lots to put up 5 “HOOP HOUSES” at 10,000=50,000. SHORT TERM-Start with at least two lots to produce one HOOP HOUSE at 10,000=10,000

Invest financially and eternally into a city, a neighborhood and a people that many have written off.

DONATE

Initiatives like this one by @redrev and company bring tears to my heart. Thinking about @amishobaraka's song "Rebuild the City," I always wondered how many times songs like that grow feet and move. This is a prime example of how solid Christology/Missiology can come together to produce ACTION that impacts ENTIRE communities. We need to make noise about efforts like these, and support through finances, prayer, and similar efforts in our own communities. I'd be the first to say it's much much easier said than done. I believe, Lord help my unbelief.

Recently I watched the Tribe Called Quest documentary and found out through it that Phife has Type 1 Diabetes. In a lot of ways, the disease has caused havoc in his life. My aunt has Type 1, my father-in-law has Type 1. It hasn't been unknown to me, yet I never understood EXACTLY what it is.
From the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation): Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. While its causes are not yet entirely understood, scientists believe that both genetic factors and environmental triggers are involved.

Here's the thing for me. I always thought of my aunt's injection of insulin as somewhat a cure. It's not. She'll have to do that every day for the rest of her life. Same goes for Phife, same goes for my Father-in-law, same for the millions of Americans suffering from this disease presently . Since I don't always see these injections happen, it's easy for me to take for granted the difficulty of a life lived needing to measure so many factors throughout a day just to survive.

The chairman of the JDRF says that those with the disease "need to be mathematicians, physicians, personal trainers, and dieticians all rolled into one." Since Type 1 can strike suddenly, it also means that none of us are exempt or immune. We need a cure. Right now there are as many as 3 million folks with Type 1, and about 80 people are diagnosed with it PER DAY! That's staggering. For more info visit www.jdrf.org. Meanwhile, support Diabetes research and get your fresh up at the same time by purchasing some gear from Type 3, featured in the commercial above.

Hilarious......What's amazing is the guy taking the order actually getting it right LOL

Think about it........