Tim Ellsworth

I think this man (PDF file — published in Prism magazine) should read this book.

Great article by Charles Krauthammer on Barack Obama’s arrogance and vanity. An excerpt:

Americans are beginning to notice Obama’s elevated opinion of himself. There’s nothing new about narcissism in politics. Every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. Nonetheless, has there ever been a presidential nominee with a wider gap between his estimation of himself and the sum total of his lifetime achievements?

Obama is a three-year senator without a single important legislative achievement to his name, a former Illinois state senator who voted “present” nearly 130 times. As president of the Harvard Law Review, as law professor and as legislator, has he ever produced a single notable piece of scholarship? Written a single memorable article? His most memorable work is a biography of his favorite subject: himself.

It is a subject upon which he can dilate effortlessly. In his victory speech upon winning the nomination, Obama declared it a great turning point in history — “generations from now we will be able to look back and tell our children that this was the moment” — when, among other wonders, “the rise of the oceans began to slow.” As Hudson Institute economist Irwin Stelzer noted in his London Daily Telegraph column, “Moses made the waters recede, but he had help.” Obama apparently works alone.

Gordon Cloud has posted his thoughts on “God in the Whirlwind.” Many thanks, Gordon.

Just a couple of weeks left until I depart for Beijing for the Summer Olympics. I’ll be covering the Games for Baptist Press, and may also be doing some blogging for the Jackson Sun. Over the past few days I’ve been doing some interviews with various Olympians, and I still have several more to do before I leave and while I’m in China.

I hope to be able to post updates and photos on this site. If you’ve been to China and have any advice to pass along, I’d love to hear it.  And I’d certainly appreciate your prayers for me and for my family while I’m away from home.

Have a good weekend.

Hamilton: From heroin to home run hero
After years of struggle, Kanada tasting success on PGA Tour
PGA’s Byrd seeks consistency in good times and bad
Chang reminisces about playing days

By the time Josh Hamilton brought down the House That Ruth Built, my son Daniel was already in bed.

Then it was bed time for him. After tucking him in, I returned to the living room intending to watch the rest of the show. That was before Hamilton, the Texas Rangers outfielder, stole it.

Read the rest of my column at BP Sports.

The Brett Favre saga continues. He’s retired, he’s not retired, he’s retired, he’s not retired, blah, blah, blah. So here’s the question:

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Some good news to start a Monday. From the Miami Herald:

College basketball commentator Billy Packer, who has announced 34 consecutive Final Fours on network television and created a few controversies along the way, will not be returning to CBS for a 28th season, The Miami Herald has learned.

CBS has decided to replace Packer, 68, with studio analyst Clark Kellogg on its lead announcing team.

Hat tip: Awful Announcing

Previously:
Why is Billy Packer still employed?

Thanks to Steve Weaver for his recommendation of “God in the Whirlwind.”

Choi rises to fame from humble beginnings
China to distribute free Bibles during Olympics
Vanaman fuels Rhodes’ resurgence
Wariner, Richards qualify for Beijing
Swindle gets call to Phillies

I never cease to be amazed at how much baseball fans can screw up when it comes to selecting the All-Star team. This year’s case-in-point is Kosuke Fukudome, who’s hitting .285 with seven HR and 35 RBI.

Here’s are some of the outfielders who are far more deserving of a starting spot than Fukudome:

Carlos Lee
Pat Burrell
Xavier Nady
Matt Holliday
Rick Ankiel
Jason Bay
Ryan Ludwick
Nate McLouth
Carlos Beltran

You might even argue that Fukudome’s teammate Mark DeRosa is more deserving of a starting All-Star position than Fukudome is. But Fukodome is a novelty, which to baseball fans is apparently more important than actual performance.

Michael McKinley over at the 9Marks blog gives a couple of reasons why his church doesn’t do anything to acknowledge the July 4 holiday during a Sunday morning worship service.

First, I don’t want to have an American church. I want to pastor a church in America. We have members from 20 different countries. More than one in three of our members were not born in America. I don’t presume that they consider the American military “our” military. I don’t even presume that they think of America as “our” country. I want them to come to church and experience great unity with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Scripture makes it clear that our unity is not to be based on nationality or culture.

Second, I think in our culture the evangelical church (especially the Southern Baptists with our God and Country celebrations) is often synonymous with right-wing patriotism. So I think it doesn’t serve the gospel well to make a big show of patriotism in our worship gatherings. My fear is that it will hurt the Christians (”I must be a good Christian, I am a patriot and have a yellow ribbon sticker on my car”) and the non-Christians (”Being a Christian means being a good American”).

He’s right on the money. Here’s some of what I said previously about the topic:

A worship service is supposed to be about honoring Almighty God for the redemption He has provided through our Lord Jesus Christ. We should be worshipping God, not the United States. At the church I was going to attend this morning (not the church we normally attend), I went to Sunday School but didn’t stay for worship when I saw the songs that were going to be sung — including “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” — and that the congregation was going to recite the “Pledge of Allegiance” during the service. I didn’t feel like vomiting in church, because civil religion like this churns my stomach. It diverts praise rightly due God to the United States, and that’s idolatry.