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I have to admit that I had a difficult time turning off yesterday’s hearing.  It’s somewhat ridiculous that Congress has spent so much time on this issue…but nevertheless “it is what it is.”

So what’s my opinion?  I think Clemens is lying.  McNamee is not a person of integrity by any means, but I do believe that he is now telling the truth.   I don’t believe that Andy Pettite “misremembered” or “misheard.”  It’s sad that it has come to this.

So what’s your opinion?

I had a great day at the Cal Ripken Clinic for baseball coaches today.  He and his brother Bill were awesome.  Very entertaining as well as educational.  Now I can say I played catch with Cal.  Here’s a quick clip of him tossing the ball to me in a drill they were teaching us.  Cal was playing Shortstop and I was playing 2nd base

I’m psyched about this coming Saturday.  I’m attending the Ripken coaching clinic in Burke with Cal & Bill.   A good friend hooked me up with a free ticket.   Cal was my baseball hero…so this is very coooool for me!

Here is the link: http://ripkencamps.com/

HGH (human growth hormone) and illegal steroids have rocked the baseball world. It’s big news. And I do feel sorry for or sympathize with some of the guys listed in the Mitchell Report. Guys like Brian Roberts who says that he only used steroids one time in 2004 and he decided immediately to never do it again. Guys like Andy Pettit who used HGH only a few times when recovering from a major injury. These guys and others admitted that these shortcuts were wrong and they regretted them.

I guess the reason I sympathize is that I think I’ve been guilty of taking CGH (church growth hormone). If there is such a thing…I’ve done it. This church steroid is something that comes in various forms and many church planters and pastors desperate for church growth take the pill or order the injection. Here are some of the forms of CGH that I’ve tried:

• 20,000 piece direct mailers to the community
• hanging door hangers every Friday
• copying an Ed Young message series
• doing the latest, greatest 40 day campaign
• spending a big chunk of change on a community carnival
• a complete redo of the website
• implement everything I learned at the latest conference
• skating parties and cookouts and movie nights

Here’s the deal…none of those things are absolutely wrong or sinful. They are not even on the “banned substance” list. But so often we are looking for something to give us the jolt of growth…only to come up later regretting the time and money spent. At Life, we are truly experiencing our best season/year of growth, now in the 6th year of our church. Here’s what is actually working…

• Focused prayer on God-honoring objectives (our 2007 prayer card)
• More preaching series based on passages/books of the Bible (less based on random topics)
• Improved worship experience (better music, setting, flow)
• Emphasis on small groups
• Keeping it simple…saying no to CGH

Sometimes we have the learn the hard way. If there were a Mitchell Report listing pastors guilty of trying CGH, I know my name would be there…most names would. Here’s my conclusions:

• avoid the church steroids
• promote the Gospel and talk about Jesus
• be consistent and excellent in what we do
• keep it simple
• and let God bring the growth

Tonight is the Championship Game for my son’s team that I manage.  It’s at 6:30 PM at the Wall (Montclair).  We’re undefeated in this double elimination tournament…so if we lose we get another shot tomorrow night…but we don’t want to go there.  A first place trophy would top off a great Fall season…

Here’s my pics for the Major League Playoffs that start today.  Post your pics below as a comment.

AL

• Round 1: Red Sox over Angels, Yankees over Indians
• Round 2: Yankees over Red Sox

NL

• Round 1: Phillies over Rockies, Cubs over Diamondbacks
• Round 2: Phillies over Cubs

WORLD SERIES

• Phillies CRUSH the Yankees

Businessweek.com ranks the most powerful people in the world of sports.  It’s interesting that in the top 15 only 3 are actual athletes…and 1 of those 3 is retired. 

The 15 Most Influential People in Sports:

1. Roger Goodell
Commissioner, NFL

2. Tiger Woods
Golfer

3. David Stern
Commissioner, NBA

4. George Bodenheimer
President, ESPN, ABC Sports; co-chairman, Disney Media Networks

5. Bud Selig
Commissioner, MLB

6. Brian France
Chairman, CEO NASCAR

7. Dick Ebersol
Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics

8. Phil Knight
Chairman, Nike

9. Sean McManus
President, CBS News and Sports

10. Rupert Murdoch
Chairman, CEO, News Corp.

11. Michael Jordan
Managing Member of Basketball Operations, Charlotte Bobcats

12. Scott Boras
President, Boras Corp.

13. Peyton Manning
Quarterback, Indianapolis Colts

14. David Hill
Chairman, CEO, Fox Sports

15. Donald Fehr
Union boss, MLB

It’s been a busy Monday…

• Funny how much more energized I feel on Mondays after really good Sundays. 
• Started running again…early this morning…started with a mile and a half.  I hope to work up to more…actually I just hope to be consistent.
• I had a coffee meeting this morning with a church planting missionary who is working with Asian Americans in the Annandale area.  They had their first baptism service yesterday.  Great to see God blessing them.
• I’ve been working on my notes for a talk I am giving on Thursday on the subject of team-building.  It’s amazing how quickly God gave me 10 thoughts on this topic.  I will be talking to a group of about 30-40 church planters.
• Speaking of teams…my son’s baseball team, which I manage…is 7-1 and we are playing a team tonight who is 0-7 and who has lost every game by the 10 run rule.  Yikes…it could get ugly quickly.  I’m going to have fun and use some guys in positions they normally don’t get to play.
• I was in Springfield today for my coffee meeting…and couldn’t resist a stop at Lifeway Christian Store.  I used to frequent it when I worked in that area.  It’s funny how times have changed.  I buy my music, books and church resources online now…and within in a few minutes I was bored in the store and it really seemed like a pointless, waste of time…so I left.
• Can’t wait til next Sunday and our move back to the auditorium…it’s constantly on my mind today…