The 2011 Major League Baseball World Series was one to remember. As a lifelong St. Louis Cardinals fan watching them win the 11th championship in franchise history was a sweet, exhilarating experience. The Cardinals finished on top at the end of a season when no one, myself included, expected them to. Oh we of little faith!

While there is a lesson about never giving up in the Cardinals’ improbable run to the World Series, there is another one for our spiritual lives from the losing team.

Texas Rangers’ outfielder Josh Hamilton is known to be a committed Christian and credits God for turning around his life and career. He blasted a huge home run in the 10th inning of Game 6 to put his team ahead by two runs. But his home run heroics are only half the story.

After the game, Hamilton explained to the press that God told him he was going to hit a home run in the at bat. “He told me, ‘You haven’t hit one in awhile, and this is the time you’re going to,’” he said. And he did on the first pitch. For the briefest of moments it looked like the home run from God would win the game – and the Series – for his team in what would have been an inspiring cap to his comeback.

But it was not to be. David Freese, the Cardinals’ third baseman belted a home run of his own in the 11th inning to win Game 6 and force a Game 7 which the Cardinals would win the next night easily. It was a wonderful end for the Cards, not so wonderful for Hamilton and his Rangers. Imagine his heartbreak as the zenith of Major League Baseball sailed into the night on a long ball to straightaway center field.

What about his message from God? “There was a period at the end of [the sentence],” Hamilton said. “He didn’t say, ‘You’re going to hit it and you’re going to win.’” This is why the phrase “God moves in mysterious ways,” is a cliche. Did God set Hamilton up for disappointment?

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We started by driving out to Indianola to see Rick Perry. The event was held in a private dining room at The Sports Page. The crowd was about 100 people (my guesstimate). The first thing I noticed is just how many media types are there. Cameras of all kinds are everywhere so we needed to be prepared to be filmed and photographed.

Sheriff Joe

The Warren County Republican GOP chairman Rick Halvorsen started the meeting by introducing someone we had not expected to see: Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona who has made headlines for his unique handling of inmates. The Sheriff mostly spoke about Perry’s stance on illegal immigration and his policies to handle illegals.

After a couple of minutes Sheriff Joe introduced “the next President of the United States,” Gov. Rick Perry. His speech emphasized his record on taxes, immigration, his faith, as well as a few barbs at other candidates. He declared himself the true conservative in the race.

Governor Perry Speaks to the crowd

During the question and answer portion, a woman forgot her questions to which Perry quipped “I have that problem sometimes, too.” His good humor revealed underlying humility, a rare quality in politicians at this level.

The crowd was mostly subdued and those I spoke to were interested but not yet decided if Perry was their man. My informal and unscientific survey agreed with recent polls that Evangelicals like Perry but are also considering Santorum which explains why Perry called out the former Senator’s earmarking past.

After the official part of the program was the meet and greet. I managed to get Perry to sign the one of the stickers his campaign passed out. Two days later I happened on a video of this on MSNBC. We were just watching TV to catch up on what the liberals were saying and there I was! Everyone is entitled to 15 minutes, I guess.

Ron Paul speaks to his supporters

The same evening we decided to catch the Ron Paul event at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. Now that we had a little experience we thought we knew what to expect but Paul’s event had a different flavor altogether. The first indication we had that this event would be different was the people outside selling buttons. Freelance vendors don’t show up unless there are going to be a good crowd. The second was the fact that you had to have pre-reserved passes to get in before 6:30 PM when the event was scheduled at 7:00 PM.

I passed the time until the event started by chatting with two gentlemen sitting nearby. One was a solid Paul supporter. The other was still undecided but from Chicago so his vote does not have to be decided so quickly.

When the event was close to starting we saw Ron Paul slip in the door behind the stage. The crowd, which by now had grown to nearly 500 people, erupted in cheers. The pre-event music was very patriotic and a graphic on a large screen to the right of the stage declared that Paul received more military donations than the other candidates.

Once the rally started two odd things happened. First, the crowd was led in singing songs like “America, the Beautiful” which made it feel like a worship service complete with a designated song leader. The crowd sang along but it was awkward.

Iowa State Senator Kent Sorenson looks on during a campaign stop for republican presidential hopeful U.S. Rep Ron Paul (R-TX) at the Sioux Center Public Library on December 30, 2011 in Sioux Center, Iowa.

Second, a man was introduced as a “special guest” who turned out to be Kent Sorenson, an Iowa state senator who until about an hour before was working on Michele Bachmann’s campaign as her Iowa campaign chairman. This was big news and no one outside the hall had heard it yet. Sorenson defected from Bachmann’s campaign to Paul’s apparently because Paul had endorsed him and helped his own campaign in the past. Why he waited until a week before the caucus remains a mystery.

Finally, Ron Paul got up to speak. What interested me is that Paul never seemed to look at his notes. In fact, I’m not even sure he had notes. He simply spoke and every line was designed for applause. The crowd was raucous and mostly made up of young people which is also consistent with the book on Paul’s support.

My favorite moment came when someone from the Occupy movement began shouting something indistinguishable interrupting Paul’s speech. He handled it perfectly by looking stoically at the crowd while the loudmouth was escorted out. “Isn’t freedom of speech wonderful?” Paul asked? The crowd roared in agreement.

I often hear from conservative pundits that Ron Paul is a little far out there on some of his positions. During his speech I discovered what they mean for myself. Paul insists that “America cannot be the world’s policeman.” Perhaps the United States cannot deploy troops everywhere but some of those deployments are valuable and not simply carryovers from past wars. Paul railed about the number of bases the U.S. keeps around the world but it takes only a moment of intelligent thought to realize our military commanders must see some strategic purpose in keeping a base in Germans or South Korea and other places as well. I found his foreign policy statements short-sighted, naive, and unequal to the reality of a dangerous world.

We left without plunging into the multitude of admirers waiting for photographs with the candidate.

Mitt Romney, Ann Romney, and Chris Christie enter the crowd

The last event we attended was a Mitt Romney event two days later at a local grocery store. It was freezing and rainy. We arrived early to find the cafe full but ordered breakfast anyway and were surprised when it arrived quickly.

We learned of this event from a robocall from the campaign and were excited because Chris Christie was the special guest campaigning with the Romney’s. It had to be held outside because of the crowd coming. This was easily the most exciting of the three events we attended and garnered the most national media because of Romney’s front-runner status.

It was clear, too, that this was the most organized and professional campaign we had seen. Perry’s event was organized but its intimacy siphoned the grandeur of meeting a man who would like to be president. The Paul event felt unwieldy in spite of the crowd’s enthusiasm. Romney’s, by contrast, was polished down to every detail. I realized this when some staffers pulled out paper towels to wipe the small stage set up for the appearance. They were taking no chances. Intangibles are an imprecise way to evaluate candidates but the whole thing felt presidential.

Govenor Christie Addresses the Crowd

About 20 minutes late Romney, his wife, and Christie appeared from their tour bus. Romney was standing at the door of the bus as it pulled up. He was ready to engage the audience.

Romney greeted the crowd and then introduced Christie. He spoke for only a couple of minutes with the highlight coming as he said he’d be back “Jersey-style” if Iowa did not show up for Romney. The crowd cheered the possibility of the New Jersey governor coming back next fall to stump for Romney when he mentioned it. Some have speculated that Christie would be a good VP choice for Romney. If he wins the nomination, Romney could do a lot worse. It would also make this appearance one of the first of the ticket together. (Politics, like life, is full of what-if’s and possibilities. Who knows if this ticket will happen?)

Ann Romney said a few nice things about her husband’s character and career and introduced him as “the next president of the United States” (where have I heard that before?).

Romney gave his short stump speech mostly knocking Barack Obama and emphasizing the need to return to the founding values of the country. He encouraged people to come out to the caucus on Tuesday.

Mitt Romney Shakes Hands

Once his speech was over the three worked the crowd. Mrs. Romney shook hands until she could get to the bus and climbed aboard. Christie was a bit more sociable and worked one side of the crowd while Romney took the other.

It was at this point that I realized the caliber of the event. I turned around and saw none other than Chris Matthews plodding through the crowd trying to get to Romney. Let me tell you he is a tall man, much taller than I expected. And he looks way older in person than he appears on television. I asked him how he liked the Java Joe’s coffee because he had broadcast his show from there the previous evening. He mumbled something about drinking Starbucks International that morning and having too much sugar.

Chris Matthews looking bleary-eyed

Matthews eventually came back around and started barking questions at people. “Who is supporting Mitt Romney?” “Don’t you want to be on national television?” “Why do you like Romney?” As if he couldn’t believe anyone would. A woman who I had been chatting with there urged me to jump into his spotlight which I declined. I’m no match for a liberal gun like that and too irresolute in my support so far. I did not want to say something that could be misinterpreted, as media sharks like Matthews are known to do. Or maybe I was just chicken.

Romney chats with Andrea Mitchell

Later we stood in the background as Mitt Romney sat for an interview with Andrea Mitchell of NBC. What I like about Romney is his unflappability. I know some who think this is a liability but he really does look, sound, and come across as a potential president. Should the externals be as important as they are? Maybe not but the subconscious messages a candidate sends make or break their campaign. As Romney was questioned by Mitchell he did nothing but smile that grandfatherly smile of his. It would be condescending if it did not seem so sincere. We could not hear the questions nor the answers but we caught it later on MSNBC and Mitchell was grilling Romney trying to get him to commit to releasing his tax returns. Romney was having none of it and deftly deflected her barbs while staying on message.

Romney and Christie on Fox & Friends

The Iowa caucuses are a time when candidates can be seen up close and personal. They can be inspected and often asked questions directly. The people you normally only read about or see video of are right in front of you wanting to shake your hand, asking for your vote.

We did not see all the candidates. I would have liked to see Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum but they were both stumping in the farther reaches of the state and we couldn’t make it. By the time I caucus in Colorado one or the other of the two may not even be in the race. Much depends on what happens today.

Get out and caucus, Iowa! Vote for the person who best represents your view and recommend a few to the country. It’s your moment in the spotlight and it won’t come around for four more years.

I was going to link this over at the Facebook fan page but was so excited I quickly realized I had more to say than Facebook could accommodate. So you get a blog post instead.

The Charlotte Observer had an amazing story today that I think all Christian, especially American Christians, should read about the religious revolution underway all over the globe. The article is about a speech given by Philip Jenkins to a small group of people in Charlotte, NC. He claims that the religious revolution is happening right now and is likely to keep on trucking.

The reason: The staggering growth in the number of Christians in Asia, Latin America and especially Africa – a phenomenon he called “a global religious revolution” and one that “reverses a trend that people had been used to for several hundred years.”

Long have I heard about G. K. Chesterton and his amazing writing. Finally, I picked up his book Orthodoxy at the suggestion of my cousin and found this passage:

The democratic contention is that government (helping to rule the tribe) is a thing like falling in love, and not a thing like dropping into poetry. It is not something analogous to playing the church organ, painting on vellum, discovering the North Pole (that insidious habit), looping the loop, being Astronomer Royal, and so on. For these things we do not wish a man to do at all unless he does them well. It is, on the contrary, a thing analogous to writing one’s own love-letters or blowing one’s own nose. These things we want a man to do for himself, even if he does them badly.

I am not here arguing the truth of any of the conceptions; I know that some moderns are asking to have their wives chosen by scientists, and they may soon be asking, for all I know, to have their noses blown by nurses. I merely say that mankind does recognize these universal human functions, and that democracy classes government among them. In short, the democratic faith is this: that the most terribly important things must be left to ordinary men themselves – the mating of the sexes, the rearing of the young, the laws of the state. This is democracy and in this I have always believed.

It is plainly obvious people ought to be left to govern themselves in the “most terribly important things.” Love that. Nice, Mr. Chesterton. We still believe it in America, too…for now.

photo credit: Abeeeer

Tonight is my favorite moment in American politics: the President’s annual State of the Union address to Congress. There is something regal about the moment when the Sergeant-at-Arms loudly announces, “Mister Speaker, the President of the United States!” I am always proud no matter the party affiliation of the man who enters the chamber. The President is warmly greeted by applause and handshakes as he makes his way into the chamber. It is one of his most majestic moments. The President always looks triumphant no matter what kind of rhetorical abuse he suffered the previous year.

State of the Union night is his night. It is his best chance of the year to communicate to the people – to us, the governed whose consent he must secure in order to lead. That makes this speech very important.

I have watched most SOTU speeches since I was a kid. I remember Ronald Reagan’s stately presence and grandfatherly voice. He defined the office for many. I remember seeing George H. W. Bush standing at the podium but can’t remember anything he said. Bill Clinton’s speeches were always too long but usually interesting even if I fundamentally disagreed with them. George W. Bush gave some great speeches mostly bookending his term. Of course, he had the great (which is to say large in significance) events of 9/11 and war to lend weight. I remember the exultant atmosphere of his last SOTU looking like he was starting the final mile of a marathon, joyous to see the finish line.

Tonight’s event is news because it is a special annual event, not because Barack Obama is giving another speech. His bully pulpit is worn out after two years of heavy use and abuse. I will be watching, though. Can Obama capture the magic again as he has on past occasions and win people over? Or will his speech be full of platitudes, half-truths, and bad policies? I guess we’ll all learn the answer together.

Lately, I tweet articles that I find interesting but since I have so many, I’ll link them here.

• Dennis Prager notes what you won’t see tonight. You won’t be surprised to learn it is religious in nature.
• Five dos and dont’s of SOTU.
• Peggy Noonan, who I respect and admire, thinks Obama stands a good chance of hitting a home run.
• Ever wonder how to decipher what the President really means? Fred Barnes has the key.

I’m curious. Do you watch the SOTU? Do you have any enduring memories of the political ritual? Share your thoughts below.

Palin finally responded. Here’s her video:

Sarah Palin: “America’s Enduring Strength” from Sarah Palin on Vimeo.

Most of the MSM attention is going to either the fact that Palin responded (see this piece at ABC’s The Note that claims Palin “once again, has found a way to become part of the story”) or focused on her use of the term “blood libel” (see Andrea Mitchell trying to be charitable). Nevermind that within hours of the event the media started to try to pin her for causing it. Others have defended Palin on this count better than I could so I’ll leave it to you to find them.

What I want to say is that I like this format for Palin. One writer noted that she comes across presidential. You might even say it is her most presidential moment yet. Whatever the accusations, Palin resisted the urge to attack back and instead focused on the tragedy and why America’s greatness will overcome it. That’s exactly the tone a public figure should ring when the unimaginable happens. I have to wonder if this might be a moment that proves pivotal convincing some – or maybe planting the seed – that Palin might, just might, have the inner qualities to occupy the Oval Office even if her resume doesn’t convince them.

I didn’t see Obama’s speech. I stopped listening to him somewhere around the 49th “major speech” on health care. I hope he was as presidential as Palin.

UPDATE: Rich Lowry liked Obama’s speech.

As I read the speech, I had the same reaction as usual that BO is lecturing us to be better. Lowry heard this as a subtle rebuke to the Left. Maybe it was and maybe merely reading it does not do it justice.

photo credit: ginsnob

Merry Christmas, everyone! I love the decorations, the tree, the gifts, and the lights. Even those annoying Christmas songs are wonderful a few weeks of the year. But there’s one thing I love even more and that’s the meaning of it all. God, while we were still sinners, reached out to reconcile us with him and he did it in the form of a baby. Maybe it’s just because we have an eleven week old baby boy in the house but it’s amazing to think of God is such a small, sweet package. When that boy grew up and became a man they nailed him to a cross and shook their head at the disgrace of it all. Thank God it didn’t end there but God raised Jesus from the dead conquering sin once and for all. Now we have peace with God because of his great love for us.

My dad goes to a big church here in town and this year he went to the Christmas Eve service. When I asked him how it was he said it was the best he ever saw. The Good News was preached to thousands of people in person and more online. What a wonderful time of year!

Here it is for you if you’d like to see it.

Christmas Eve 2010 – Illumination from Lutheran Church of Hope on Vimeo.

photo credit: C. G. P. Grey

I have a new project in mind and it led me to do a little poking around the internet to see if there is anything like it out there in the ether. That’s when I came across this thread about life lessons you wish you knew when you were younger apparently started by the amazing Emmylou Harris.

What strikes me is the number of people who say they wish they’d known not to worry about what other people think of them. A close second is following that “inner voice” instead of trying to be the person you are supposed to be. In other words, live up to your own expectations of yourself not those that others have for you.

Let me tell you, I can relate to that. Right now two events are converging that are teaching me these lessons. In my spiritual life I’m writing a “testament of my life” which involves thinking through my life. Hopefully the experience brings some clarity to certain events and tendencies. It turns out there are a lot of really great moments in my life. Sure, there are some things I wish I could change – or knew sooner – but overall, this is a pretty good life I am living.

Second, at work we are working on finding our strengths by using Strengths Finder 2.0. When I got the results of the survey  many things became clear to me. I have spent so much time trying to be a person I’m not. For instance, on this very blog I tried to be a political pundit when I’m clearly not. I’ve spent the last three months trying to write spiritual posts like I’m Max Lucado when that’s probably never going to happen. I’m not even going to elaborate on the many ways I felt compelled to try fit the mold in seminary. I will be better off as I begin to live and work out of my strengths and the gifts God gave me and leave behind all those crushing expectations.

The point is not to tear stain a digital page. Rather, I want to encourage you during the holidays – the holy days – to consider how you’re living. Are you thinking more about who people want you to be or who God wants you to be? Are your aspirations to please your parents or spouse or someone else greater than those to please your Heavenly Father? Do you need to finally let go of some things and be who you are?

There’s a certain danger here. Sin can enter the picture and I’m not advocating you revert to rudeness or allowing the pull of whatever sin entices you to sweep you away. There is a difference between finding your true character and letting sin run rampant. See passages like Romans 6-7 and Galatians 5 for the Bible’s take on the subject and by all means be careful. By the same token, don’t be afraid to make mistakes. That’s a bit of advice that could show up a time or two in the above thread.

I’m only just learning how to live these truths and maybe you are too. Perhaps we can learn a bit of it together. What are your thoughts on this topic? What do you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?

The other day I went to a job fair that was held in a building where I work. Almost all of the employers there were from one government agency or another. Out of 60 employers, only 4 were from the private sector.

Anyway, I went around heckling the representatives from the various agencies – one of my favorites was when I walked up to the INS folks and asked, “So… what do you guys do?” And they responded, “We help people stay in America.” To which I retorted, “You mean you help illegals stay in America.”

For the most part it was an enjoyable experience for me – going from one booth to the next asking for a job that pays a ton of money without me having to do any work, asking if they had any jobs for a person with absolutely no skills except the ability to call in sick, etc… it was fun.

But one booth actually made me angry. I can’t remember the name of the agency, but when I asked what they did, the man said that it was their responsibility to regulate and oversee the disbursement of TARP funds.

I got angry, “They’ve created a whole new agency just to oversee bailout money?”

I got angry because this comes on the heels of me learning that the Air Force chaplaincy is getting cut by 1/3. At a time when their workload is at a record high, they’re doing away with a third of their chaplains.

It really pisses me off that whenever a conservative says, “We’ve got to stop spending so much…” The liberal responds with, “You’re right… let’s look at the defense budget to see where we can make some cuts.”

It is true that the defense budget is the “single greatest” category in the Federal budget. And I think it should be. Why? Because every political scientist since Plato wrote The Republic around 380BC, everyone who has thought about it has understood that one of the primary purposes of government is the defense of it’s people and the protection of it’s land. Having a people who are secure in their land is essentially to literally every other aspect of societal and cultural development. Thus in the Constitution, when the Framers specifically discussed the military for the defense of the people, they weren’t being novel. They simply understood that a nation cannot develop and thrive if they have the specter of potential invasion hanging over their heads.

Incidentally, the Constitution doesn’t make provision for entitlement programs, federal law enforcement agencies, or agencies that want to see you naked before you can get on a private business’ plane. (By the way, I made that jab to the folks from the TSA – If I come work for you, when can I start making people get naked?) This is why conservatives typically are “pro military” – national defense is actually prescribed by the Constitution and is fundamentally prerequisite to the society being able to flourish. This is also while leftists, in the name of being “world citizens” and decrying the nation state as a relic of the past, typically wish we could just open our borders and disband our militaries.

So if cuts are to be made – and they need to be made – then start with bogus agencies started to oversee the distribution of a bogus bailout and move down the line… cutting funds from national defense, the one area actually spelled out in the Constitution, should come only as a matter of last resort.

That’s my take on it.

What do you think? Should Williams still be employed at NPR?