It may have been the best college basketball game I've seen in a decade. It's too bad, then, that so many people had to miss it.

In case you were one of the ones who chose sleep over the NCAA Tournament last night, here's a quick recap: Kansas State defeated Xavier in two overtimes to advance to the Elite Eight. It had, truly, everything you wanted in a basketball game: star power, intrigue, dramatic shots, lead changes, and most of all, a fantastic finish. I don't even like either team and even I was tired after all that! It was, as Chad Warren posted on his Facebook, as if the customers at Buffalo Wild Wings were controlling the game!

With all that said, though, because some genius decided the game needed to tip off at around 10 PM eastern, much of the country inevitably missed the game. This is a common sports mistake, but a tragic one nonetheless: late starts to games mean that kids miss out on the most exciting times of year.

And missing out isn't limited to just sports. I got a chance to talk to my best friend, the infamous burger cook Alex, and he told me that he hadn't been to church since the time change. Oh sure, there were lots of reasons why, but there's always reasons to miss church. And when I say 'miss,' I mean it - from what he's told me, he goes to the coolest church in the world. The preaching is great, the community is close knit and friendly, and most importantly, his faith has grown by leaps and bounds since he's been there. And yet, for the last month or so, he's missed out on everything that he gains from church.

That's why the writer of Hebrews wrote what he did about the church - church is for OUR benefit. We get together every week not just to worship God, but to encourage one another in our faith, to build real community and friendships with other believers, and, most importantly, to hold on to what we hope in. So while it's certainly not a prerequisite to being a Christian to actively attend and be involved with church, if you're not, you're certainly missing out!

At Ashland Christian Church, we don't want anyone to feel pressured to be a part of what we're doing. We do, however, want each and every person we encounter to understand that they are always welcome, and that each and every person can, and hopefully does, benefit from what we do. We're going to Connect, Call and Cultivate, even if there are a million reasons to miss out. We don't want to miss out, and we don't want you to either.

After all, you never know when what you miss will be the best ever!

I'm not sure if you heard, but apparently, President Obama did something fairly important today. I'm not sure exactly, but I think it may be a big deal.

As a Christian, I find that commenting on politics is always dangerous business, so I'll try to tread carefully here. Especially as a minister, I spend much of my time discussing the most divisive issue in the world; there's no need to bring up the second most divisive issue in the world! But on this, I must admit, I'm torn. On the one hand, I completely understand how millions of Americans would appreciate the ability to afford health care. After all, even though I hate going to the doctor, not being able to is much, much worse. On the other hand, though, I also understand the counter arguments for such legislation, and wonder what the future will hold for us as a nation.

No matter what you feel, though, there's one thing you can be sure of: no government, elected official, military, or political party will EVER be able to take care of you. That's a fact. Real freedom doesn't come from nations, and real peace doesn't come from a social ideology. And it's that truth that created the situation we'll be discussing at Ashland Christian Church over the next two weeks.

When Jesus of Nazareth burst on the ancient world, he did so to an expectant audience. The nation of Israel was waiting for their Messiah, who they understood to be a revolutionary leader. The Messiah, in their view, would rescue the Jews from all oppression and subversion from other peoples, and create a dominant Hebrew Kingdom on earth. THAT'S why he was celebrated. And THAT'S why the reaction to Jesus' refusal of anything of the sort was so hostile and violent.

Jesus taught that he was, indeed, a king, but that his kingdom was not of this world. Instead, through his dominion, every person on the planet can be spiritually free and have a peaceful relationship with the creator of the universe. It's that goal - the redemption and salvation of all of mankind - that Jesus came to earth for, and it's that goal that he died for. Best of all, it's that goal that was attained when he was raised from the dead. Therefore, through Jesus, and through Jesus alone, we can all - Democrat, Republican and Independent alike - have real hope and real change.

So if today's news is good news for you, congratulations - I'm happy for you. Enjoy the moment and all that it will bring to your life. And if today's news makes you so angry you want to stockpile ammunition and live off the grid in the wilds of Montana, then godspeed to you, and I pray that the bears and moose are friendly.

No matter what, though, I hope that you understand that while Barack Obama may be your president, he is not your king. The real king, the king who brings REAL freedom, is Jesus Christ.

Hail to the Chief.

It's that time of year again - the NCAA Tournament! Over the next few weeks, basketball fans will have as much as they can digest as 65 teams get whittled down to one champion. It's a yearly final countdown for the ages!

It's also that time of year when everyone makes predictions... and everyone is horribly, horribly wrong. Seriously. Most people do well if they pick two or three of the 'Final Four' correctly, but even that's asking a lot. And yet, over the last week, if you've been paying attention, you've heard people confidently make prediction after prediction after prediction. Even Barack Obama got in on the action, as 'Baracketology' was a main story on ESPN yesterday. And you know what? He'll be wrong.

Life is like that. As much as we try to predict the future - be it the weather, the end of the world, or whether or not a police officer is watching when we drive 90 in a 55 - we're almost always incorrect. Human beings are limited like that. And what's why, as a Christian, a passage in the New Testament always comforts me:

This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength. - 1 Corinthians 1:25

In other words, as intelligent as mankind gets, the very worst of God is still far superior. That's comforting in a world where people let you down constantly - the truth is that God never will.

So enjoy the tournament, and don't get mad when all your picks go up in flames. That's just the nature of things. Instead, thank God that even if we're always wrong, he never is.

(And by the way, the Final Four will be, absolutely, positively, Kansas, Kansas State, Wisconsin and Duke. Kansas will then beat Wisconsin for the National Title! You can bet on it - unless, of course, you're smart).

Imagine for a moment that it's your job to teach another person everything they need to know about Christianity. I know - it's a fairly daunting task. But it's the one you've been given. You're going to be a mentor to someone, and they way you represent your faith is the way someone else is going to cultivate theirs. Got it? Good. Now I have one question:

Are you going to be Angela or Kevin?

When I was sent 'Angela and Kevin's Rules For Mentoring,' I laughed. But it's not simply funny because these are two of the funniest characters on television. Instead, it seems to me that Angela and Kevin perfectly represent two schools of thought when it comes to Christianity.

For Angela, being a good accountant is all about following the perfect set of rules. Included in her list are the following gems:

-'Only hussies and strumpets chew gum.'
-'Courier font is preferred. Times New Roman is too flashy for my taste.'
-'If you're feeling sick, please quarantine yourself at home until a non-Catholic doctor determines it's acceptable for you to return to work.'

And those are just three out of twenty three specific rules! Angela, of course, represents the legalistic branch of Christianity that so many people (including myself) rail against constantly. After all, as the apostle Paul wrote, Christianity is not about following rules (even age old, God given ones like circumcision); it's about living freely in Christ.

Unfortunately, often, when someone denounces one point of view, it's easy to go too far and adopt another, equally incorrect one. Enter: Kevin Malone, whose short list of guidelines can be summarized by his final statement, that we should 'ignore the negative, embrace the posative.' Kevin's philosophy is one that many in the church have adopted, though it should be noted that Paul also wrote that a real life living in the Holy Spirit will do anything but contradict God's universal moral standards. So, while embracing the 'posative' certainly sounds good, if there's no real obedience in our lives, then perhaps we're using our freedom in a way God never intended.

The point is this: neither Angela or Kevin is 100% correct. And for us as Christians, we'd do well to adopt some of both philosophies. After all, while the Angela approach certainly runs counter to being free in Christ, at the very least, legalistic believers have passion for their faith and God. And while the Kevin way of life has quite a few inherent dangers, like living completely opposite of the way God wants us to, the fact is that if you're going to live freely, it takes a complete, whole hearted trust in Jesus.

As Christians, that who we should be: passionate people who trust Jesus to lead us into free lives. And when do that, Paul tells us that God will take us and mold us into who he wants us to be - fruitful believers. And when God is the one helping us grow, we can be unafraid to share our faith with other people.

And that's a good thing, because I can promise you this: you're already a mentor, whether or you like it or not.

Sin hurts. And I don't mean that in a spiritual or metaphorical way. I mean that quite literally - and I have a purple and yellow bruise on my arm to prove it.

A couple days ago, I was introduced to the world of archery by my good friend, Roy Williams. And I was roughly as good at it as anyone is anything after never trying something for a solid 25 years on earth - I was absolutely miserable. At first, everything I shot was wide right, but as I tried to correct my 'sin' (archery terminology for 'missing the mark') things only got worse. See, what Roy hadn't told me was that if your mechanics are off, even a little bit, the string of the bow will smack you in the arm. And while I may be a pansy, I'm not afraid to admit that when that happens, it hurts. A lot.

Well, as soon as it happened once, I determined it wouldn't happen again. Of course, the more I tried to avoid hurting myself, the more that I not only hurt myself further, but the more I missed the target. I tried to shoot in a plethora of ways, like a batter in baseball searching for the perfect batting stance. I tried the 'squat in the woods' approach:

I tried, 'as straight as a board':

I tried everything. And yet, I kept hurting myself. The Bible tells us that sin, which is loosely defined as missing God's mark for our lives, is just like that. The more we try to fix it on our own, the more we're going to hurt ourselves. That's why it's such good news that Jesus came and did what he did - through him, we are empowered to live freely, unashamed and unafraid of messing up. Through his grace, we're spiritually complete and pure, and we don't have to worry about the eternal ramifications of our mistakes.

And when we stop being slaves to guilt and shame and temptations around us, a funny thing happens: we stop hurting ourselves. The more I shot the bow, the more comfortable I got, and after over an hour of little no success, the greatest thing happened: I nailed the bullseye! I hardly believed myself, but there I was, eighteen yars from the target, with perfect mechanics and a perfect shot. And it felt great!

As Christians, we don't have to miss the mark - we can hit the bullseye. And it's not just because we're 'good' people or because we believe the right things or go to the right church. It's because we have a real, living relationship with the real, living God of this universe. And through that relationship, we have grace, forgiveness, mercy  - and the promise that we're free from the sins that hurt our lives.

And that freedom, friends, will never leave a bruise.

It was the best compliment I'd received in a long time; heck, it may have been the best compliment I've EVER received. And the best part about it was this: the people complimenting me had no idea they were even doing it.

What was the compliment, you ask? Recently, I was in the bathroom of a church member. And sitting next to the toilet, in their basket of reading material was something I had seen before. In between the 'Men's Health' magazines and some book from the Food Network was one of my lessons from church! It was over a year old, but it had been perfectly preserved!

And with that, I've made it. Of all the accomplishments in my life - my graduation, my marriage, my ordination, my two plus years of preaching and teaching - this was my finest moment. I mean, really. People have a plethora of options for their bathroom reading, and for me to be included, well, it feels good.

In all seriousness, though, I took it as a sign that maybe, just maybe, we've been doing our job at ACC. After all, if what we're teaching reaches out past just your Sunday, then at the very least, we're on the right track. In Paul's letter to the church at Colossae, he discussed what type of impact Christianity should have on our lives. He said,

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective. - Colossians 2:1-2 (The Message)

Simply put, your relationship with Jesus should permeate every area of you heart, soul and mind. Knowing God should change every day of your life, from how you define success and failure to how you treat your friends, family, and even those people you don't like at all. And being a Christian should be more than just a part of who you are; it should be the beginning of who you are, defining your values, desires, hopes and dreams. Simply put, you should take seriously the fact that Jesus saved you and always remember that God loves you.

And that's why it's so exciting to see evidence of Christ's work in the lives of those people at ACC. I cannot describe the blessing it's been these past 27 months to see people grow in their faith, discover who God wants them to be, and make positive spiritual changes in their lives. And so yes - I'm going to be excited when I see evidence that what we're teaching is making a difference, no matter how big or how small that evidence may be...

... and even if that evidence is as silly as what's sitting next to your toilet.