Cleverly disguised as a responsible adult.

We really need to come to grips with our fascination with midgets.

I was obviously premature with my prediction of a Rays/Phillies Series. I'm watching the Rays/Boston game now and the Saux are up 3-2 in the 6th. C'mon, Rays!

I had a good ride this morning; did the 25 miles at a brisk pace despite some of the old bum pain (I haven't been stretching faithfully). But this afternoon's planned trip to the gym and pool didn't happen. Now that I've had a nap and supper I feel like going but it's too late. Pam will be home in a few minutes. Maybe I'll get up early tomorrow morning and run. Or not.

Michigan didn't have such a great day on the gridiron, did they?! Wazzu also got spanked!
I don't follow college ball closely. Too many conferences and teams to keep track of. But at this point in the collegiate season the powers have emerged. I'm particularly interested in Penn State's success in light of Joe Pa's situation. His last season? Three years ago the alumni were grumbling because the program seemed doomed under the old man's coaching. But now the dinosaur with the funky glasses looks pretty smart.

I saw a Lead Sled yesterday. Late 40's with a flame job. Don't see many of those anymore but I do like the look. Classic.

I told the Exec. Comm. at our meeting a couple of weeks ago that I haven't been happy with my preaching of late. As a former homiletics prof I'm perhaps more critical than most, but when I know what should be I am dissatisfied with anything less, especially from moi. Yes, the H.S. is in charge of what happens but I am a steward of the opportunity and accountable to do it right. To put it poorly, I shouldn't make his job any harder.
So last week I did what I've told my students to do; when you get in a funk, go back to basics. Pretend that you're in H-301 and go through all the steps of prep & delivery. Like a professional baseball player at spring training, deliberately go through each step no matter how elementary it seems, no matter how automatically you think you do it.
I don't know if anyone else noticed but I felt better about last Sunday. Pacing was better and the sermon was more focused, leaner. Sometimes I allow the side trips my brain takes to come out my mouth, and they're usually irrelevant and off point. For me, that problem is solved by very thorough preparation and disciplined delivery. Know exactly what you want to say at each point and don't deviate from the plan.
In homiletics we talk about the preacing "event." That term is meant to suggest that the delivery of a sermon is complex and dynamic. A preacher often goes into the event feeling either optimistic, or perhaps pessimistic, only to feel afterward that it went 180 degrees opposite. Sometimes a sermon takes it's own direction in the midst of preaching and at the end the preacher asks himself, "What just happened?"
But those kinds of experiences should be the rare exception. 99% of the time the preacher should do his prep according to the time-honored processes of homiletics, a series of steps far more specific and objective than most people would ever guess. Then he should deliver the sermon in the same way - in accordance with the rules of oratory, rules that have taken contemporary forms but remain the same in their essence.
So that's what I've tried to do again this week. The first half of that. Tomorrow morning we'll see if I'm successful at the second half. But don't expect an analysis tomorrow night. First, because I am my own harshest critic. But it also seems somehow profane for the preacher to say, "this was good" or "this was bad." If I do my job as faithfully as I can then everything beyond that is his. If, as has been the case, I am dissatisfied with my work, the only thing that remains is to re-double my efforts for next week.
Make any sense?