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Adam Smith | June 12, 2011 | 8 Comments

The NBA Finals Reminded Me

Let me say that I watched every second of the NBA Finals. It was an awesome series and of course the Dallas Mavericks won. Even though I want the Celtics to win it all next year and even if I don’t really like the Heat and Lebron is no Jordan (yet), I am predicting that the Heat will come back stronger next year and come out as Champions.

After saying all of that, watching the Finals reminded me of five things:

1. Never give up.
Every game in the series ended up being pretty close, which nobody thought was possible. Since the Heat had Lebron, Wade and Bosh everyone gave up on Dallas because they thought that one All-Star compared to a “stacked” team didn’t stand a chance. People gave up way too early on the Mavericks. I hate when that happens. Dallas coming back from down 15 in Game 2 just showed how much determination they really had. They reminded me that when everything in the world is against you, work harder. Don’t give up. Make things happen.

2. Don’t get a “big head”.


You remember when that happened, right? You were probably thinking at the time, “Who does this guy think he is?”
That video alone makes Lebron look like he has it all wrong. He set himself up for disaster by coming in acting like it was an individual sport. I think as the season went on, Dwyane Wade taught him that basketball is a team sport. This is the reason that I think Wade is the best shooting guard in the game right now, maybe even in the history of the game. Anyways, humility goes a long way. Thinking you are going to teach everyone a thing or two instead of coming in wanting to learn something from other people sets a tone for failure.

3. Coach others to become better.
As you know, instead of Lebron coaching others around him to become better, he left Cleveland and went to Miami. Going to a “stacked” team was the easy way out. Not only that, but that move to Miami broke trust, relationships throughout Cleveland and in my opinion hurt his legacy in the long run. That city pretty much despises him. His move to Miami and The NBA Finals reminded me once again that it’s better to make others around you better. This is good for the entire team and organization and they will most likely do the same to others. It just makes things better.

4. Get really good at the basics.
Yes, Miami was more flashy. They did crazy big dunks, their celebrations were bigger and the expressions on Bosh’s and Lebron’s faces made them look…passionate??? But, Dallas has Dirk and Kidd who made others better. Not really better at the flashy stuff, but great at the basics. A lot of people overlook the basics, but I think they are key to any great victory. A good example of this was coach, John Wooden. He taught his players to get really good at the basics. After that, everything else just falls into place.

5. Don’t listen to haters.
As much as I don’t like the Heat, those individual players are all still human. I don’t believe Lebron when he said in the postgame interviews that the criticism didn’t bother him at all. Maybe he has learned to handle criticism a little better than the rest of us since he gets a ton of it, but he still has feelings. Also, he just got to Miami, so people need to give them time to get things tighter. That’s the main reason why I think that next year will be their year. They just all need to get on the same page and work more as a team. Usually some patience is required to achieve your goals. The Finals definitely reminded me that we will always have obstacles to overcome. We do control our reactions to those obstacles, though. Tune haters out and put more positive things into your life.

We all probably took something away from that series. I mean, I didn’t like either team and I still watched every second. I’ve never done that before if I don’t have a favorite team in it. Maybe I just wanted to see the outcome…

Anyways, how did you like the series? Also, what’s something you’ve learned lately that could help us all out?

Adam Smith | February 22, 2011 | 13 Comments

where are the men?

I write on church quite a bit, but usually it’s on the positive side of church.

There are realities you have to face at sometime, though. If you don’t face these, you will never be able to fix things that can actually be avoided.

A problem that needs to be looked at is the declining percentage of men that regularly attend church.

So, why don’t men attend church?

Maybe it’s that a lot of things that happen in a Sunday church service have been the same since I started to attend church.

I’m sure if all ushers were women that wore hooters girls uniforms and headsets were handed out that had play-by-play for the big game church attendance might increase, but maybe not.

If we get to the heart of it, I think that church just includes a lot of stuff that men (or maybe women as well) just don’t enjoy or things that are just plain weird if you don’t get what’s going on.

Here are some of those things:

1. Wake Up & Drive
Every man wants to sleep in, especially on the weekends. This gives maximum awareness for avoiding honey-do lists and football viewing.

2. Meet & Greet
This is probably the scariest part to someone who is new. First, it’s the door greeter. There’s that awkward, “do you want a bulletin even though I just gave your wife a bulletin?” thing. Then, there’s that part at the beginning of the service where the pastor asks you to find 49 people who you’ve never met before and ask them over for dinner. I’m probably not the only man who likes to just share personal stuff with his circle of friends, but when a person you just met ten minutes ago is already asking you about your relationship with God and how much time you spent last month weeping with Jehovah Jireh and reading hebrew last month, you might be a little reluctant with being comfortable and honest. I get it. That seems a little “girly” to most men, even though it shouldn’t. Men that aren’t used to church don’t usually like going straight to the heart. They like pork rinds, beer and football. Probably don’t want to open up with, ” Do you like speaking in tongues?”

3. Praise & Worship
Men like cheering and dancing for their favorite team, except for Team Jesus. The idea of doing this for something they can’t touch is scary. We also need entertainment. When you don’t come to church with the expectation of giving something to God and instead ask “What can I get from God?”, if people aren’t keeping you entertained, it’s time to go. That’s where the folded arms come in. Maybe even a sit down and a nap. This says I’m tired, but I’m still a Christian since I came.

4. The Sermon
Give me some sports examples. Don’t give me cake recipes and show me the recipe that finds God, please. Also, men ask for sermons to be no more than 30 minutes long. After that men think that the speaker likes to hear themselves talk, they start to get restless, very hungry and need a tv. Bring a snickers bar and a fat tire to church and you might be able to extend it to 45 minutes.

5. Tithe & Offering
What man wants to give away his hard-earned money without first understanding where everything comes from. I don’t know too many. So, the idea of people looking at them ’til they empty their wallets and the pastor talking about money until you feel forced to give something may not sound like a good way to spend their Sunday.

6. The Altar Call
Going down front or even raising a hand to say “I am guilty” is a bit embarrassing. I can think of 849 other things I would rather do on a Sunday morning. That will be another post. 😉

7. Baptismals
The thought of telling everyone in the room about your past and then having someone else dunking you under water is a little scary, whether you know what’s going on or not. Then you have to the trouble of changing clothes after having soaked jeans is a big hassle.

8. Communion
This is probably the best thing to someone not used to attending church. It’s sort of an intermission where you get to eat a cracker and drink some wine. The whole idea of eating Jesus’ body and drinking His blood doesn’t sound too appealing, but it depends on how hungry you are.

9. The Event Signup
This requires commitment on another level. This actually makes you travel back to the church on a different date. A retreat, movie night, midweek small group, or whatever else it might be cuts into your regular plans. Doesn’t sound fun to me either.

10. The Bathroom
You just don’t speak at the urinal anywhere. That is everywhere else, but church. Somehow at church the guy next to you wants to make eye contact and talk about something. Anything. How big your Bible is. How nice it smells. The weather. Where to eat after service. Yeah, it’s a little weird. But, we’re supposed to be social, right?

So, is there any part of church that makes you uncomfortable?

Adam Smith | April 6, 2010 | 20 Comments

Passion for Baseball Season

 

If you don’t know, baseball is my favorite sport. It always has been and always will be. I was a pitcher up until high school and decided to quit because I didn’t see a future in it. In addition to not seeing a future, I lost my passion for the game. Instead of going through another baseball season I went and got a job so I could make some money to buy my first car.

The Atlanta Braves were my favorite team growing up. But now that I live in Colorado, I feel my new favorite team should be the Colorado Rockies. Here is a conversation I had with a friend from Georgia today.

 

photo

 

(Above the talk about the Rockies’ baseball season in that text message, we talked about balloon boy. You forgot about him, didn’t you? Oh, and Nate’s last name isn’t really, Hump. It’s Humphreville. I thought I should let you know that.)

What is something you thought you would end up doing later on in life when you were growing up, but ended up losing a passion for?

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