Me?  I dropped the only college Statistics class for which I ever foolishly pre-registered.

Hawking has grabbed the attention of philosophers, scientists, and theologians with the release of a new book, The Grand Design.  In it, he squeezes God totally out of any equation that could produce the universe and intelligent life.  Hawking insists that the laws of gravity and quantum theory allow universes to appear spontaneously from nothing.  A Wall Street Journal article summarizing the book is titled “Why God Did Not Create the Universe.” Atheists and skeptics are hailing the book as their unholy grail proving once and for all that God is just an unnecessary superstition.

I humbly disagree.

I’ll even provide some quick responses.  First, spontaneous creation is what we theists have been arguing for all along.  We believe that divine creation was ex nihilo (from nothing).  Secondly, theoretical models of what “maybe, might have, possibly, if-you-think-about-it-this-certain-way could have done so-and- so” don’t really answer real questions.  They just raise doubts.  And sell books.  Scientists, physicists, and mathematicians are limited to measuring and analyzing what makes sense in the proper realm of the sciences.  Once they cross over into those ultimate philosophical WHY questions, they are out of their depth.   Just as I don’t take Sean Penn seriously on matters of politics, I also don’t buy Stephen Hawking as theologian.  Just stop for a moment and ask yourself (if you can even grasp the concept of nothingness) if you really believe science can explain how or why nothing can produce something.

I’m no physicist, but how can gravity and quantum physics explain it?  If they are present, then it isn’t nothingness.

But there are things believers can learn from this whole mess.  For one, the God of Scripture is not merely a “God of the gaps” who is relegated to temporarily explaining what science hasn’t yet explained.  He is also not the God of deism, making and winding up the universe only to sit by and passively watch it all play out.  God is the Sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things.  He is the God who loves His creatures so relentlessly that He entered their dimension, robed in human flesh, suffered to pay for their failures, and continues to form relationships of eternal love with them.

He is also, incidentally, the God who inspired this comment in a book that far outsells all the skeptical books that will ever be published:

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” – Psalm 14:1

• Fully braced for pitiful attendance on Labor Day weekend.  Didn’t happen.  Over 500.
• Because ROCKers are awesome.
• Sooooo tempted today to fake severe chest pains, call out for help, and then … gotcha!
• Then if I really had an episode in a year, I’d die on stage with people laughing and rolling their eyes.
• Band threw down.  Better at 10:30 for some reason.
• How ’bout some cowboy hat music?
• Great to see some old Gaffney friends there today.  Some of the sweetest people I know.
• Met a young guy after early worship who said he hadn’t been to church in … (he couldn’t remember) … who said he isn’t a believer … has serious doubts … Then he said he’d be back because we are the kind of church he can relate to.  BOO-YAH!
• That happens often, and I have these thoughts:  (1) Thank you Jesus for letting me be part of this, (2) Lord – don’t let us dilute our vision, (3) Thank you, God, for those who give and volunteer and pray so this thing can keep going.
• Does your outward image match your inward reality?
• Do you look like a can of ruptured biscuits in your 2-piece?
• Should you have joined me down front today to pray?
• I thank God for the dozen or so people who came down to pray with me.
• I envisioned 100.
• At least.
• I’m liking this Facecrack series.
• What picture are you showing the world?  What’s your religion?  What’s your relationship status?  Who are your friends?
• Which friends will you bring with you on Friend Day?
• Will you take a minute, right now after you read these words, to pray for them by name?  And then to make detailed plans to invite them?

Is that a clever title to explain why there are two new stents in the lower artery of my heart, or what?  So, here’s the deal.  For the last several weeks I’ve known something wasn’t right.  I had to stop a morning walk and a workout because things didn’t feel right. There was pain that almost never subsided.  Not terrible pain, but noticeable.  So I notified my cardiologist, he got me a stress test, it led to scheduling a heart catheterization.  A heart cath means doing a scan of the heart through the femoral artery to see if there’s a blockage.

And there were a couple.  In Dr. Wyche’s opinion going to the Medical Univ. in Charleston gave me the best shot of inserting stents instead of cracking open the whole clam and doing a bypass procedure.  So off we went.  The schedule there pushed it to the next day, and after a second heart cath they inserted two new stents and – voile – blockages were unblocked.

Honestly, it wasn’t that big a deal.  The most painful part of the whole experience was tearing those little sticky EKG things off my hairy torso.  That, and saltless hospital food.  I’d rather be waterboarded than eat that crap again.

The adventure provided some opportunities.  One was outreach.  The two ambulance guys had to hear about church and Jesus and faith alllllllll the way to Charleston.  What were they going to do?  Dump me?  At every opportunity I checked people’s spiritual temperature at the hospitals too.  The ambulance dudes don’t go to church.  One doc at MUSC is very involved at a great church (East Cooper Baptist). A couple of nurses also knew the Lord.

One other opportunity was tweeting most of the experience.  I wasn’t trying to be flippant about it.  By “demystifying” it I wanted to influence anybody who follows me on Twitter or Facebook that THEY TOO should tell a doctor if they are having any symptoms of cardiac problems.  I now wish I would have gotten somebody in the OR to tweet what was going on.

I knew for awhile that I was going to have a heart cath, and that it would likely lead to a stent or two.  I didn’t announce it because I don’t like to whine or unnecessarily alarm people.  But I urge ANYBODY who senses that something isn’t right – particularly cardiac issues – to quickly make the appointment and get a health professional to check things out.

Don’t let fear of the unknown keep you from getting that new lump, or spot, or shortness of breath, or chest pain examined.  Super-spiritual folks may reply, “It’s in God’s hands, and I know where I’m going.”   I have a response: God also put skill in the hands of doctors (Luke was one).  And I also look forward to Heaven.

But we have work to do before that party starts.

• I started to to go spy on another church (out of town) today to steal some ideas.  Couldn’t do it.  Love worshiping at The ROCK.  Couldn’t quite talk myself into missing it..
• Hospitality Team was outstanding. (Remember, I “attended” today like a normal person).  They were at the entrances and smiling and welcoming people.
• I still want to find some crazy people to work the parking lot.  Is that you?
• Music was great. I felt the bass thump all the way in the back where I sat.
• Had somebody on an online forum today say our church is just a rock concert and we merely entertain. Anybody want to guess if the guy has ever attended?  Anybody want to guess whether I give a gerbil’s colon polyp what that guy thinks?
• Yes, that was me yelling out “Don’t suck” to Jerimiah.
• He didn’t.
• Message was very good.  Easy to follow.  Some “time-outs” for humor or to personalize things.  And he said nice things about me.  That = GREAT message.
• The image of JP in a long blonde wig has left an indelibly scarred image on my brain.  I will lose sleep.
• Almost as disturbing as the image of Matt with his shirt off.
• Thank goodness the video didn’t pan down to catch his pastel butterfly lower back tattoo.
• 
• Our level of “”congregational participation” is good.  I want great. I want incredible.  We should be cheering our lungs out for our band.  Excellent performance + they mean what they’re singing and playing + the content = DON’T JUST SIT THERE!  Jesus deserves our best.
• Beach baptism is Sunday afternoon, Sept. 12 at Myrtle Beach State Park.  5:30.  If you want to go public by being baptized, email me.  It is ALWAYS awesome.

Dear Pastor,

Just wanted to touch base with you on what the Lord has done in the last few weeks.  I debated on whether I should tell anyone or not, but if it brings glory to the Lord them I’m all for it.  My husband and I didn’t fill out the 60 day money back guarantee, but we decided to up our giving $20/week to help The Rock.  If the Lord blessed us in anyway that was a bonus.  Well, I was just given a $160/week raise and am still a little stunned that the Lord has chosen to bless us in this way.  We had decided a few years back to live off less money and give more to ministry.  When we made the decision we didn’t increase our giving, and I guess figured God would bless us with more so we could up our giving.  I continued to give what we always had and noticed that each month we were struggling to get by.  It wasn’t until I went back and tallied up our income that I realized we were making less money.  I remember asking God “What in the world?”.  He reminded me that we wanted to live off less, so here you go…..he really has a sense of humor, doesn’t he.?  Needless to say I was humbled.  So each year since then, we have increased our giving without any increase in income.  God has been faithful and we have never gone wanting, so when this blessing came along I believe it is to help encourage the church.

(WOW.  THANKS for those words of encouragement.  God’s math isn’t limited by ours, huh?  I’d love to hear dozens … hundreds … of stories like this.  God is good ALL THE TIME!)

• It was great to see the CCU football team. Some of the coaches are already invested in The ROCK, and so are a handful of the players.  I’d love to see several more with us every Sunday.  Don’t miss an opportunity to go see the Chanticleers play this season.
• Today you saw the coolest key ring tags ever known to humankind.  They. just. are.  I started to ask our ROCK Shop to charge $1000 each for them, but I was afraid Jesus would show up and turn over the table.
• Loved what our band did. Somebody ramped the bass up a notch, and I like it.  Better than the sound and performance was the worship experience.  The worship band’s #1 priority is not to prepare my heart to preach, BUT THEY DO.
• Speaking of heart issues, pray for me this week please.  Couple of tests.  No big deal.  I don’t worry because Jesus said not to.  But I have a lot of confidence in the power of ROCK people praying. Thanks in advance.
• I like simple sermons, and today was pretty simple: A. Not all Belief is Real Belief.  B. Jesus is not a Good Luck Charm.
• Lots of hands up today indicating a need for salvation.  1000x that many live within a 10 mile radius of where we worship.  Are you consistently inviting your unbelieving friends to come to church with you?
• Life in the South has a certain rhythm.  Part of that rhythm is a higher likelihood that someone will come to church with you once the school year has begun.  GREAT WEEK to make that invite.
• Today we made fun of fake prayer rugs, anointed spring water, miracle manna, and huckster preachers.  And it was righteous to do so.
• I read a quote this week saying that churches whose mission revolves only around a certain worship style or preaching personality encourage “consumerism.”  It’s making me re-think some things.

Anyway, my breathing couldn’t quite find a right rhythm.  Way too rapid.  I looked a little like somebody making fun of those hee-hee-whooo lamaze class expectant mothers.  Or maybe like the zombie chick in I am Legend.  Turns out that my lungs didn’t have quite the surfactant (you can google it) they needed.  So they hustled me over to another place where they administered some more of it.  ”Administered” sounds so clinical and pleasant, huh?  Actually they stuck a freaking (don’t tell my mom I said that word) tube down my throat and sedated me for half the week!

But in the last couple of days, things have gone swimmingly.  My mom and dad have held me and talked to me and whispered prayers for me.  Speaking of prayers, my dad or granddad must be a preacher or something.  Soooo many people must have been praying constantly for me.  God has held me in his hands right from the get-go.  Angels have been swirling all over the Neonatal ICU the whole time.  And I’ve gotten healthier and healthier with every passing moment.

Well, I’m no prophet.  At least not to my knowledge.  Heck, I’m only a few days old, and I’ve never been to a church before except by tagging along with/in my mom.  But I want to make a prediction here that I just have to believe is true:  I am going to hear the gospel spoken and sung A LOT. I am going to go to church A LOT.  If it’s the one my mom’s been hanging out at every Sunday, the music is loud and awesome.  The preacher’s voice is strangely familiar.  And I am going to be held and squeezed and told how handsome I am by a WHOOOOOLE lot of church people.

This might just be a cool life ahead of me.

I wasn’t quite prepared to see some of the other babies – tiny ones – fighting for survival – some weighing under two pounds.  In the hallway were a few pictures of previous patients, and one was born weighing 1.3 pounds.   If I’d been bass fishing, I’d have thrown him back.  Some of those babies were no bigger than my hand, but with a tiny head attached.

The experience left me with some lasting impressions:

• McLeod NICU is an amazing facility.
• It takes a special kind of qualified care-giver to be a doctor or nurse in that environment.  I would have been afraid to touch some of those little spider-like babies.
• Life is amazing.  Not only do those itty-bitty things have all the genetic packaging necessary for life, they had it WAAAAY before they developed arms and legs.
• Abortion is a violent crime from the pit of hell. To see those tiny little human beings and think that ANYBODY could possibly justify killing and trashing one just because life would be more convenient grieves my spirit in a way I can’t fully describe.
• Women who have had abortions need our unconditional love and the restoration that God provides – through repentance and faith.  Doctors who perform abortions need our prayer – so that a heart THAT callous can be softened and converted.  Politicians who protect abortion need to be voted out ASAP, no matter what else they support.

One of the coolest things I saw was that bulletin board with pictures of former patients.  Many of them were accompanied by updated photos of the healthy children they became.  One was even updated with a class picture from West Point.  I know those pictures have to give assurance and hope to all the moms visiting their little preemies.   Might those side-by-side images also symbolize our own spiritual growth?  From fragile and dependent on others … to robust and able to serve others?  I’d like to think so.

• Missed KLock on the stage, but the band did a great job.  SO grateful to be led in worship by people who love and worship Jesus.
• THEY NEED MORE FROM US!  Too many of us worship like we’re half-interested, clap like we’re at a boring golf tournament, and act like we’re there to be entertained (OH, I feel a Gladiator quote coming on… )
• Loved praying with a young lady (recent CCU grad) as she gave her heart and life to Christ.  GO girl!
• We’re about to get a bunch of Coastal students back, and that excites me.
• Word on the street is that the Coastal football team may join us next Sunday.  They’ll be big young muscular handsome guys.  Please don’t mistake me for one of them.  Soooo embarrassing when that happens.
• Family stuff made me wonder if I was as prepared as I needed to be this morning, but it worked out.  I liked the message content.  Jesus is the ultimate example of love and kindness and mercy. He is also the violent Warrior God of the Old Testament.
• I made fun of Joel Osteen and a pastor in Florida who is burning Korans.  I felt a little bad about it.
• But only a little.
• I LOVE what we’re doing, but I still want to trim the time down some.
• Attendance back up some today.
• Prayed with a great guy this morning who just wanted to thank God for His goodness and providence.  Awesome breath of fresh spiritual air.
• We still need to prepare for the growth that is coming.  God is our architect and owner.  Truth is our foundation.  Vision is our floor plan.  Disciples are our product.  Ministry is our business.  AND VOLUNTEERS MAKE UP THE SUPPORT BEAMS.  Without them, our whole building will topple over.  Where can we add you to our structure?

Putting those three words together makes me choke when I try to say them:  Victory is secondary.  I’m ashamed to even type them.  In the immortal words of retired Jets coach Herman Edwards, “YOU PLAY TO WIN THE GAME.”

Unless it is pre-season. In the pre-season you play just to make a few bucks.  You play just to warm up for the real games.  You play just to evaluate personnel.  Very minor injuries keep key players from suiting up.  You play just to go through the motions and establish a game rhythm for the games that matter.  Victory is … is … (I just can’t make myself say it again).

Hey Church Person, read back over that description.  And PLEASE tell me that such non-victory nonsense doesn’t sound strangely like your church.  PLEASE.  PUH-LEASE!

Souls are at stake.  Our opponent is hellishly serious.  And our Coach literally loves us to death.

So, what’s your own worship level like?  Your own level of commitment?  Your own willingness to train, and to always play to win?

Super boring?  Or Super Bowl?