THREE LESSONS FROM A HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS GOLFER

drove my daughter Ella to Cleveland last weekend where her high school golf team was competing with 21 others in a tournament that involved 122 girls. Ella was the sixth player, the alternate on her team that could play only five.

Saturday when we got to the course, she pulled out her clubs and started hitting practice balls along with all the other players who were getting ready for the tee.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked her. There was no need to warm up since she wasn’t slated to play

“Because we’re a team, Dad,” she answered, a little indignant that I had to ask.

Just then her coach called me over. “Ella’s playing,” he said. Because one of the teams for the tournament didn’t show up, hers could field six golfers, even though Ella’s score wouldn’t count for her team’s total.

Leadership, Life, ChurchTrevor DeVageSeptember 4, 2019girls golf, golf, high school girls golf, leadership, daughtersComment

3 REASONS I'M DONE CRITICIZING THE CHURCH

In some circles today it’s cool to criticize the church. Search social media and soon you’ll find someone upset because they say the church has failed them. Some have even walked away. In fact, most readers of this blog know at least one person who has decided to leave church altogether.

Obviously, the critics are not totally wrong. Attend church long enough and you’re sure to bump up against adultery, jealousy, lying, or just general unpleasantness among folks who are supposed to be redeemed.

I get it. Sometimes someone will say to me, “It must be wonderful to work at the church, doing God’s work all day every day.” Well, it certainly is gratifying to partner with God in his activity on earth. But it’s not for the faint of heart. Spiritual healing is like physical healing: sometimes it means cleaning messy wounds, draining ugly infection, watching for many months (or years) while disabled people slowly hobble along until their brokenness has mended.

So I could tell you plenty of reasons to criticize the church. But I’m committed not to join the critics, for at least three reasons.

Church, Leadership, LifeTrevor DeVageAugust 28, 2019church, leadership, hurt, bride, jesus, criticizing Comment

ANTONIO BROWN AND WHAT HIS HELMET HAS IN COMMON WITH THE CHURCH

“It’s time for him to be all-in or all-out.”

That was the ultimatum Oakland Raiders general manager Mike Mayock announced Sunday in the wake of repeated protests and walkouts by Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown.

The issue? Brown wants to keep the helmet he’s been using for 10 years instead of moving to a new helmet, one required by safety standards that weren’t in place when Brown entered the league. There’s a chance he’ll retire from the game rather than make the change.

The whole affair is both sad and enlightening to me, and that’s why I’m writing this week.

Trevor DeVageAugust 21, 2019Comment

IMAGE CONTROLLED

Has anyone ever evaluated you by how you look without stopping to know who you are?

It has happened to me. Years ago, in the Nashville area, I stopped by a little Baptist church for mid-week worship, and they kicked me out. One look at my my tats, my earrings, and my haircut, and the minister said, “We don’t want your type here.”

Trevor DeVageAugust 14, 2019 Comments

EASY AS P.I.E.

The church I attended as a kid hosted the most wonderful treat you can imagine: pie socials! Every woman in the church brought her best creation for a sweet feast of fruit, sugar, meringue, and whipped cream, all inside homemade flaky crusts. I can still remember some of my favorite delicacies.

This year the leaders of the church where I preach have decided we should sponsor a pie feast, too. But our plan will offer something better than desserts. Our approach is no fat and calorie free, and the sweet tastes it promises will last for eternity.

We’ve chosen the acronym PIE to summarize our strategy for achieving our church’s mission, “Redeeming us back to God”:

Trevor DeVageAugust 7, 2019Comment

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