I'm moving to a new space at http://daedaljocosity.wordpress.com/.

They say that "soon" is in the eye of the beholder. So this is a repeat of my last message posted. Obviously, my inconsistency has remained untransformed. More will come...

So I've had a lull in my blogging for the past month. I suppose this is evidence of my short attention span and ever-present struggle with consistency. But I'm back. It's been a good, but busy month. I'll have some thoughts on everyday stuff soon.

Hey folks. I recently read this reaction to former NBA player John Amaechi's coming out by Chris Broussard of ESPN. Excellent read. Tell me what you think.

I think the NBA is ready for an openly gay player.

By "ready" I don't mean that everyone on the guy's team or in his organization will like the fact that he's a homosexual, or that the guy might not get called names by opponents on the court, or even that his own teammates might not chuckle behind his back.

But by "ready" I mean that players will tolerate a homosexual teammate or opponent. Like Charles Barkley said, some have been doing that already.

Just look at the comments made by players, coaches and Commissioner David Stern when asked about former player John Amaechi's recent disclosure that he is gay.

The overwhelming majority of comments have been politically correct, even the ones that were considered homophobic by Philadelphia's Shavlik Randolph and Steven Hunter.

Go talk to guys at an open gym in your neighborhood, and lots of the comments won't be so polite.

But America has become so politically correct -- not to mention that, in my opinion, much of the media and Hollywood are promoting the idea that homosexuality is a normal lifestyle -- that many players are afraid to voice their true feelings publicly.

Thus, whenever a current player comes out as gay, you will hear overwhelming support for the guy. And while I think Mark Cuban went overboard in saying the guy would be "an American hero," I do believe he would be embraced by a sizeable segment of the population.
He would definitely get marketing/endorsement opportunities, and some folks in the media would champion him and the gay cause.

Well, anyone who reads this blog regularly knows I'm not concerned with being politically correct. So here's where I stand:

I'm a born-again, Bible-believing Christian (no, I'm not a member of the Religious Right). And I'm against homosexuality (I believe it's a sin) and same-sex marriage.

But before you label me "homophobic," know that I'm against any type of sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman. That includes heterosexual fornication (premarital sex).

Some cats in the NBA run around, sleeping with different women in every city -- I don't agree with their lifestyles.

Some players run around, cheating on their wives -- I don't agree with their lifestyles.It's all wrong to me and against the biblical teachings I believe in.

I'm saying all that to say that if I can play basketball with a homosexual, just about anyone can.

I've played in several rec leagues with LZ Granderson, who is an openly gay writer at ESPN The Magazine.

I consider LZ a friend. I've gone out to lunch with him, talked music, sports, politics and lots of other things with him. I greet him with a handshake and a hug, just like I greet lots of other guys.

By the way, LZ can ball. In a league in New York City that features several former college players, we both made the All-Star team. He was kind of like our Shawn Marion minus the dunks (though he claims he can still slam!) and I was like our Gilbert Arenas (high game of 39, thank you).

Anyway, when we play in our rec league games, I give him high fives and hugs. Same with one of his friends who is on the team and also gay. When we're on the court trying to get a win -- or in the office talking about a story, for that matter -- his sexuality is not an issue.Granted, I don't shower with LZ after games like NBA teammates do, and I'll admit that if I had to, it might be a little uncomfortable at first.

But if a gay player just goes about his business in the shower, showing that he has no sexual interest in his teammates and that he's not "checking them out," I think the awkwardness would wear off fairly quickly.

LZ and I know where each other stand and we respect each other's right to believe as he does.

I know he's gay, and he knows I believe that's a sin. I know he thinks I get my moral standards from an outdated, mistranslated book, and he knows I believe he needs to change his lifestyle. Still, we can laugh together, and play ball together.

That's real diversity. Disagreeing but not being disagreeable.For the record, I covered Amaechi as a beat writer for the Akron Beacon Journal when he was a rookie playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

I like John. He's intelligent, nice and you can have a good conversation with him. I haven't seen him in several years but if I saw him today, I'd smile and give him a hug. I think dinner with him would be a blast, with lots of great discussion/debate about race, politics, religion, Africa and yes, sexuality.

Since Amaechi came out, I've read lots of columns about being "progressive." The implication -- or outright assertion -- is that anyone who believes homosexuality is wrong is not progressive or enlightened.

That's where this thing becomes problematic, because those who hold to that view are saying I must change my entire belief system/religion because of your belief system.Where's the diversity in that?

Those folks don't want diversity. They want everyone to agree with their "enlightened" opinion.Look, I'll accept your right to have your own belief system and to live as you please, but I'm not changing mine. Diversity is not just accepting alternatives to what has long been perceived as normal, but it's accepting the significant number of people who hold to long-standing "traditional" beliefs as well.

Millions of Christians who follow the Bible -- and Muslims who follow the Koran and Jews who follow the Torah, as well as many nonreligious Americans -- believe homosexuality is wrong.
That doesn't mean they're unenlightened. That just means their moral code doesn't fluctuate based on society's ever-changing standards. As long as we're not being violent toward one another, as long as we can be civil, everything should be fine. We don't have to agree.

And please don't compare being homosexual to being black. I consider that insulting to blacks for a number of reasons. The fact that some blacks make the comparison themselves only shows how crushed our racial esteem has become because of America's oppression (witness our insistence on calling ourselves the n-word).

You can't hide your skin color, choose your skin color, change your skin color or switch your skin color back and forth. Some argue that you can't do that with your sexuality either, but there are many scientists on both sides of the genetic debate, and I believe a truly objective person would admit the biological evidence for homosexuality is far from definitive.

Nor has the Bible, the Koran or the Torah ever associated a particular skin color with sin (it was only racist whites who twisted the Scriptures 400 years ago who did that, never the Bible itself).

I'm not trying to get into a religious or scientific discussion here, I'm just saying that some people will accept homosexuality as fine and others will not.

Some will write me off as a bigot for this article, but folks, this is real talk. Unfortunately, we can't have real talk in America nowadays.

Whites can't voice their real opinions -- no matter how legitimate -- about race for fear of being called racist, and everyone's afraid of offending anyone. It seems the only person who can be openly criticized, or disagreed with, is the President.

How crazy is that?

Until we can honestly hear each other out -- and be civil while doing so -- we won't get anywhere. One thing I hope this article does is encourage people to have frank discussions about sensitive issues such as this one.

Here's the bottom line: If I can accept working side-by-side with a homosexual, then he/she can accept working side-by-side with someone who believes homosexuality is wrong.

If an NBA player can accept playing with a homosexual, then the homosexual must accept playing with guys who don't agree with his lifestyle.

Believe me, when the ball goes up, his sexual preference isn't going to matter.

Earlier this week I spent an afternoon in San Luis, Mexico. It was great. I had the opportunity to meet the family of a pastor of a mission congregation that was persevering nearly 10 months after the pastor had died. They don't have much. About 10 people including 5 children live in the confines of a 1000 sq. ft. apartment with a small backyard area. They don't have much of anything other than their God.

We spent about an hour at their apartment. I got to meet all of the sons and daughters and all of the grandchildren. It was interesting to share about our lives and I had a chance to work on my Spanish...I'm trying to learn it.

Then the son, Job, took us to the church building that they had and he told us how God had allowed them to be a blessing to the people of the surrounding community for nearly 20 years. He shared some of his favorite memories from his childhood and cast a vision for the church for the future there.

I've heard church leaders talk about vision for the future before, but this was different. In the middle of his speaking I had to remind myself that this son was 17 years old. He was 17, about to graduate high school, and at the same time was leading a church of 50 people and preaching twice a month. He wasn't just surviving, he was thriving.

He was where most American men are at 25. The most impressive thing about this experience is that he didn't have a strategy or elaborate plan, but he was fully relying on God to carry the church. I think that sometimes we forget this. We get so caught up in our great programs and creative messages and what we can do that we forget what God has done and what he has promised and asked of us.

Do you ever forget what God has done? Do you ever try to compartmentalize Jesus? In my humanness, there is the temptation to exalt and expose what I have done rather than what Christ has done. And it's not because I think I do things apart from Christ. It's because sometimes I think that others have already heard it. They know what Jesus has done, but not necessarily what I have done. Do you ever assume so much about the faith of others that you shy away from talking about it?

Job didn't do this. He constantly reminds others of God's great love. He saw his weaknesses as evidence of God's strength, not a source of meaninglessness of himself. Job is simply following Christ and not being derailed by fear. After all that's what Jesus desires for us. Jesus simply told his disciples "Follow me."

So how do the words "Follow me" penetrate your heart, mind, and soul? Is an accepted command or just a nice answer for Sunday school questions? It's not just about your knowledge or actions...it's about the condition of your heart. The condition that drives you in whatever you do.

There is something great happening in Yuma! There is a playground being built at a local park. While this might not be groundbreaking news in many places, it is here where parks and rec is not the thriving endeavour as in some other places. Something really cool about this is that it is not just being built, but it is being built almost completely by volunteer labor.

So yesterday I went down there for the afternoon. It was awesome! It was a nice afternoon of drilling, measuring, and hammering...what's not to love about playing with power tools? It's amazing when you are there to see roughly 75 people working together to achieve a common goal. I even saw one of my youth leaving as I was arriving.

So great experience. Check it out.

There isn't much Bible reading that goes on at the site, but there is a spiritual realm of the experience. It's rare to get a group of 75 people together from all walks of life to team together to do something because of love. I think these are the types of community that God enjoys. Not those that want to be right, but those that are rooted in love.

I've been reading a book called a Generous Orthodoxy by Brian McLaren. I'm just over 100 pages into it, but I am finding it to be great so far. I'm sure some of you (especially in church work circles) have probably heard McLaren's name somewhere associated with a movement towards the postmodern church and a many of you may have read his writing before.

I really enjoy his writing. It's not because I agree with everything that he says. I don't. It's not because it gives me something interesting to talk about with others. It doesn't unless you like theology. I like his writing because it challenges my thinking and my beliefs. I know what I believe as a Lutheran and really don't think it would be beneficial to read more works that just reinforce my thinking and pat me on the back.

While I love to be told I'm doing a great job and thinking the "right" thoughts, I don't really think it is helpful for me personally. I really believe that we grow the most when we are challenged and everything isn't always easy. If we are going to mature and grow and strengthen and deepen our faith we will need to be challenged and tested. I didn't understand the stove was hot by listening to my mom and I'm surely not going to understand the message of Christ by just hearing it.

So if you like challenging books that make you think, pick up something by Brian McLaren. You will probably rejoice with one paragraph and want to scream at the following, but the most important thing about his writing is that it forces you to think about your faith on levels bigger than you and your church and your town and the year your living now. So proceed with caution...you may be offended and repulsed, but you will definitely be challenged.

Reason number 532 why not to become a televangelist.

There's an interesting book that I heard about this morning called Not For Sale. This is one man's investigation of modern slavery. The author, a San Franciscan, was spurred for this concept when he found out that a local restaurant he frequented was using slaves from India for their daily operations. I haven't read it yet, but I hope to soon.

This past October I had the opportunity to hear a woman speak on behalf of International Justice Mission at a conference I was attending. While she was not the most charismatic speaker, she was very effective at communicating. Quite frankly, I don't think she would have been as effective if she was charismatic. However, I learning some incredible things.

Did you know that nearly 1,000,000 people are trafficked (taken against their will) across international borders every year? Did you know that there are 27,000,000 people who are enslaved in the world today? While this accounts for less than one-half percent of humanity, it is still a staggering number.

The more I learn about the social and physical oppression that occurs in our world, the more I have trouble with the ways we spend money here in America. Beyond our needs, we throw money into all sorts of junk that fades. I'm not saying that America should be more like another country. I don't really want to go to another country to live. There is nowhere else in this world that is a better platform to help humanity. In a land where free speech and opinion abounds, we should use such an opportunity, which does have its price, to impact the world for the better. Instead of trying to save 25 cents on our $4.53 coffee, let's allocate that money back to the grower and the harvesters.

I have learned about some extraordinary organizations over the past few years that might know be as well-known as Compassion Int'l. International Justice Mission, Blood:Water Mission, and Hagar International are just a few. Another interesting one is Jedidiah clothing company that is driven to make the world a better place through avenues of love.

I love these types of organizations and companies because they have the main goal of show people Jesus through love. There isn't an indoctrination of beliefs. There is a confidence that the human heart and spirit will respond to actions and love and want to know more about it. Isn't this what Jesus was about? He wasn't about just giving answers. He was about the response to love and the discovery of how deep that loves goes.

Tonight I watched a few things on television. First, I watched the Super Bowl and it as refreshing to listen to the Colts management speak humbly about their thankfulness for what God has given them. Interesting how sometimes we hear athletes say that it's about God, but you don't always believe them. However, this was a different impression I got tonight.

The second program I watched was a documentary from Fox News about radical Islam. I always find this type of stuff intriguing. The program simply examined different television programs found on Arab television ranging from speeches to newscasts to children's cartoons. While it was an interesting topic, I can't describe the images and video as anything less than disturbing.

So how do you respond to people who declare that they want to kill you because you don't possess the same beliefs as they do? How should America confront this? What about the rest of the world? Let's get some answers to tough questions...