How the Harbaughs Helped Dad

Some of you know that I'm an NFL fan, although my team was knocked out of the playoffs.  Over this last weekend, the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravins won their playoff games to advance to the Super Bowl.  What's fascinating is that the Head Coaches of those opposing teams are brothers.   John Harbaugh coaches the Ravins, while his brother Jim coaches the 49ers.

I'm posting this story from Yahoo sports about something that happened with the Harbaugh brothers and their father, Jack, who was a college football coach.  I'm not sure what this story has to do with faith, but it speaks loudly & clearly about 2 brothers who supported their Dad.  And that is a lesson on family support and perhaps for a church family as well.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--harbaugh-sons-used-unconventional-means-to-help-father-build-college-football-powerhouse-053413373.html
"Jack Harbaugh, the patriarch of the NFL's reigning first family, was in coaching trouble back in the mid-1990s; his Western Kentucky program was skidding through repeated losing seasons, and Jack's future was tenuous.

That's when his sons, John, then an assistant at the University of Cincinnati, and Jim, then a high-profile starting NFL quarterback, made it their unprecedented mission to moonlight and save him. 

John Harbaugh, left, and his brother, Jim Harbaugh, talk with their father, Jack. (AP)On Feb. 3 the brothers meet with a Super Bowl on the line – John's Baltimore Ravens against Jim's San Francisco 49ers. Not two decades ago they teamed up to help their dad and in the process built the foundation for a championship program – in this case at a lower-division college that neither even officially worked for at the time.

In 1994, WKU suffered its fourth losing season in five years under Jack Harbaugh. No one ever doubted Jack's ability to coach. He clearly needed better players, though.

Enter the Harbaugh brothers, both big-dreaming workaholics looking for a side project.

The plan was simple: Jim owned a home in Orlando, the heart of one of the most talent-rich recruiting areas in the country. So he became an NCAA-certified volunteer assistant coach for WKU, which allowed him to recruit. John, meanwhile, leaned on the scouting services, deep contacts and endless high school game footage they had at Cincinnati, which as a Division I-A school had a far larger budget than Division I-AA Western Kentucky.

After NFL seasons, John would supply a list of potential hidden gems along the Interstate-4 corridor in Central Florida that, while not right for Cincinnati, could be great for WKU. Jim would pay them a visit and use his stature as an active NFL star to talk up a little known school in Bowling Green, Ky.

That's how Willie Taggart came home one day from track practice at Bradenton (Fla.) Manatee High School and got a message from his sister.

"She told me a guy by the name of Jim Harbaugh called," Taggart said. "I was like, 'What?' "

Manatee High was a football powerhouse at the time. It was the school that had recently sent Tommie Frazier to Nebraska and at that time featured the state's Mr. Football, Shevin Wiggins, who would also sign with the Cornhuskers.

Taggart was the starting quarterback, leading the team to a state title as a junior. Yet few coaches envisioned him playing QB at the collegiate level. Nebraska and Tennessee, among others, were recruiting him primarily as a defensive back. What Taggart couldn't really understand was why an NFL starting QB was calling him. So he called him back.

"I called and asked to speak with Jim Harbaugh," Taggart recalled to Yahoo! Sports on Tuesday. "He said, 'This is me speaking. Willie, do you know who I am?'

"I said, 'the only Jim Harbaugh I know plays for the Chicago Bears. [Harbaugh may have been an Indianapolis Colt by that point.] He said, 'Yeah, that's me.' I was like, 'yeah, right.' "

Harbaugh explained he was trying to round up some talent for his dad's program. He told Taggart that he and his father were watching tape of Manatee and asked, "Who is that little skinny guy?" Jim said he thought he should play quarterback in college and he'd come by the school on Tuesday at lunch to discuss it further.

Taggart hung up and assumed it was a prank or something. "I called my high school coach and he checked on it and said, 'Yeah, Jim is Jack Harbaugh's son.' I told my coach, 'Well, he's supposed to be here Tuesday at lunch.' And sure enough, Tuesday at lunch Jim Harbaugh walked into the cafeteria.

"I thought I was the big man on campus. I've got a NFL quarterback coming to see me."

Later, Jim visited Taggart and his family at their home.

"We were out in backyard throwing the football around and people are riding by yelling, 'Hey, Jim Harbaugh!' " Taggart said. "They were coming over for autographs. He was talking to everyone."

The recruitment was essentially done. Harbaugh, Taggart said, had a way of making an instant connection. "The moment you met him you felt like you knew him for years.

"After I met Jim, and then Jack, I was like, I want to be around these guys."

The big-name schools were out and Western Kentucky had its quarterback of the future. Taggart would go on to become the starter as a freshman in 1995 and finish his career with 3,997 yards rushing (then an NCAA record for QBs) with 47 touchdowns on the ground and another 30 through the air.

He also was the start of an onslaught on Florida talent headed to Western Kentucky, corralled by Harbaugh brother teamwork. It included unheralded recruits who would one day even reach the NFL such as Bobby Sippio out of Kissimmee, Mel Mitchell from Rockledge and Rod Smart, also known as "He Hate Me," from Lakeland.

"John gave Jim a list of names in Florida and Jim came out and recruited us, school by school," Taggart said.

The direction of the entire program changed.

"We went 2-8 my freshman year and then started a run of 10 consecutive winning seasons," Taggart said.

Jim later expanded his recruiting turf to Indiana, where he played for the Colts, was popularly known as "Captain Comeback" and had his own TV show. Back in 1996 he told reporters about winning NFL games on Sunday and touching base with Indianapolis high schools as a college recruiter on Monday.

"I called the coach at Warren Central [High School] last year after we beat Miami,'' Harbaugh said at the time. "I introduced myself and asked if he had any prospects. There was quiet for a moment, and then the coach said, 'Yeah, and I'm Mike Ditka.' "

Willie Taggart says his football life changed the day he met Jim Harbaugh. (AP)In 2002, the program peaked with the Hilltoppers winning the Division I-AA national championship. Jim was credited with signing 17 of the players on that team. Not bad for a volunteer.

Jack, who finished his career on a 61-24 streak, retired from coaching after winning the title. Jim called it quits as a player the same year and became a low-level assistant with the Oakland Raiders. By then John was an assistant with the Philadelphia Eagles and out of the high school prospect business.

Meanwhile, WKU seized the momentum and kept growing. In 2008, it transitioned to Division I-A.

And in 2010, it hired a new head coach … Willie Taggart.

Taggart remained close to the family after graduation. He calls Jack and wife Jackie his second parents. He was part of the wedding party in Jim's wedding and Jim served as his best man.

When he needed a break in coaching, it was John – then an assistant with the Eagles – who got him an internship in Philadelphia. He was an assistant coach for Jim at Stanford when WKU hired him.

"Ever since I met Jim Harbaugh that day in the cafeteria my life has gone nowhere but up," Taggart said. "He's been my role model. And he showed me the blueprint to recruiting, coaching and building a program."

In some ways, it's a familiar blueprint. After three years at WKU, including consecutive seven-win seasons, Taggart was hired in December to resurrect the University of South Florida, a Big East program in Tampa.

His recruiting focus now is the school's backyard: that same I-4 corridor the Harbaugh brothers targeted as a way to save their dad's program all those years ago."     by Dan Wetzel, yahoo sports

Are You Influenced by FEAR or FAITH?

I admit that sometimes I’m influenced more by my fears than by my faith.  My mind tells me that the Master who loves me is in control.  Yet, dread or doubts affect my feelings and thoughts.  Others have shared this dilemma with me.  Our feelings, often because of our afflictions, make us susceptible to fear.  At times we get carried away by fearful thoughts and doubts.  We imagine the worst in our minds rather than the best, and this increases our fears.

According to Hebrews 11:1,“faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.”  Faith is believing without seeing.   Believing that things are going to be OK while not feeling it, trusting that God will make a way for us when we can’t see a way forward – this is faith.  Are you going to believe what you are feeling, what your circumstances are saying?  Or will trust your Lord and Master for the outcome?

One time I sat in a Sunday School class lead by a retired elder.  A young woman shared that she sometimes felt afraid of the end times and God’s judgment that awaits us.  The elder said, I don’t worry about that because Jesus loves me, and He’s in control of everything.

We face a choice everyday. Although we CANNOT control some aspects of our lives, we can believe and trust in the Lord of All Life.  When our fears, doubts and weakness seem strong, let us turn to the One who overcame sin and death, the One who controls the wind and waves of the storm (see Mark 4:39).  We can trust Him even when life is dark with thunder and lightning.

It is not easy to trust the Lord in the midst of difficulties that exceed our strength and resources.  When we rely on ourselves, we tend to mess things up.  Let us admit our sins and inadequacies to Jesus who endured an arrest, ridicule, beatings, fickle friends, and was nailed to a rough wooden cross. 

As Don Moen wrote in his popular song,

God will make a way, Where there seems to be no way. 

He works in ways we cannot see; He will make a way for me. 

He will be my guide; Hold me closely to His side. 

With love and strength, For each new day. 

He will make a way; He will make a way.

For those who may not have access to a Bible, here is the Mark 4 story that's referred to in the 3rd paragraph:   Jesus Calms the Storm - 

³⁵ That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” ³⁶ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. ³⁷ A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. ³⁸ Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

³⁹ He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

⁴⁰ He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

My Take: Jesus Was a Dirty, Dirty God

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/05                                                               Jan. 5, 2013

Editor’s note: Johnnie Moore is the author of Dirty God (#DirtyGod). He is a professor of religion and vice president at Liberty University. Keep track of him @johnnieM .

 (CNN) - Jesus was a lot more like you than you think, and a lot less clean cut than this iconic image of him that floats around culture.

You know the image. It’s the one where Jesus is walking like he’s floating in robes of pristine white followed by birds singing some holy little ditty. He’s polished, manicured, and clearly – God.

But despite the Christian belief that Jesus was both fully God and fully man, Jesus was a rather dirty God.He was the “earthly” son of a carpenter, and life in the first-century was both more lurid and unfinished than our collective religious memory seems to recall.

To that end, I suggested recently to several astounded colleagues of mine that Jesus actually had to go to the bathroom, perhaps even on the side of the road between Capernaum and Jerusalem.  What tipped them over the edge was when I insinuated that Jesus, like almost every other human being living in the rural world in that time, might have even had dysentery on an occasion or two.

Someone said, “You mean that Jesus might have had severe diarrhea?”

“Yep,” I replied, “That’s exactly what I mean.”

It seems like an obvious statement if you believe that Jesus was “fully God” and “fully man” (as most evangelicals believe and call the Incarnation), but to some of us it seems in the least, inappropriate, and at the most, sacrilege, to imagine Jesus in this way. We might believe that God was also man, but we picture him with an ever-present halo over his head.

But, actually, the Jesus of the Bible was more human than most people are conditioned to think.

I call this the dirty side of Jesus. He was grittier, and a lot more like us than maybe we believe, and that’s one of the reasons why so many thousands of people followed him so quickly.

They could relate to him.

He was the teacher from a small town who knew and understood the economic insecurity that was common in the first century. Times must have been rather tough for Jesus at points in his life, for he even spoke of being homeless, having to sleep on the ground with no roof over his head.

He also knew what it was like to have his message rejected and how it felt to be misunderstood. Jesus was regarded with such little significance in his hometown that one of his critics once remarked sardonically, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son?” Jesus eventually had to move to different city (Capernaum) because his teachings so infuriated the people living in his hometown that they drove him out of Nazareth and even tried to throw him off a cliff.

The real Jesus had dirt underneath his fingernails and calluses on his hands. He probably smelled badly from sweating profusely in the Judean sun on his long hikes to Jerusalem, and Jesus was, without a doubt, rumored to be a hypocrite or absolutely mad for all the time he spent with prostitutes and those afflicted with leprosy.

Not exactly have a clean-cut image.

He had a rather shady reputation.

Some people thought he was a revolutionary. The religious leaders called him a heretic, and others even accused him of being a drunkard and a glutton - in no small part because of the vagabond group of disciples he had with him. No serious religious leader of his day would have ever recruited such people.

For his core 12 disciples, Jesus included a tough-as-nails, bombastic fisherman (Peter), a chief tax collector named Matthew (the most hated popular figure of the time), an eventual traitor who was stealing money out of the offering bucket (Judas), a prolific doubter (Thomas), two jocks nicknamed the “Sons of Thunder” (James and John) and Simon the Zealot, a member of a radical political party which believed in using violence to kick out the Romans.

Jesus was sarcastic, too.  He often snapped back at the Pharisees with a tone fit for late-night television, and in a terribly embarrassing moment for all those around him, Jesus even called these respected religious teachers “snakes” that were probably sons of “Satan.” 

That’s not exactly the behavior of a sweet, self-help teacher with a halo over his head.  It’s the behavior of a frustrated man who might also be divine, but sure knows how it feels for annoying people to get under his skin.

Christians believe that Jesus chose to be born fully human, too, but why?

Lots of theologians have laid out opinions over the centuries, and in their opining they have tried once again to hijack Jesus’ humanity by defining it in philosophical terms. I believe it’s simpler than the philosophy and church councils and centuries of argument.

The brilliance of Christianity is the image of a God, named Jesus, arrived with dirty hands.

Jesus came in a time period when Greco-Roman gods were housed in gigantic temples and portrayed with superhuman powers and with superhuman physiques. Gods were believed to be far away from people on their mountains or hemmed up in their sanctuaries.

Jesus arrived in defiance of this prevailing imagery.

Jesus didn’t come flinging lightning bolts from a mountaintop, or playing politics in Rome. He came to live in a typical Middle Eastern village called Nazareth that was home to a couple hundred typical people. He didn’t decide to brandish his power, but to spend most of his time with the powerless and disenfranchised. And when he started a religious movement that reshaped history, he did it in the most profound and anticlimatic way:

He let himself be killed, and then he busted open a tomb.

In Jesus we meet a Savior who understood the desire to sleep just a few more hours, and who had to control his temper sometimes. In Jesus we find a God we can relate to because he chose to relate to us.

He was the God who became dirty so that the world’s souls might be made clean.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Johnnie Moore.

Why Do We Need Religion?

We hear of religious cover-ups, pedophiles, and crusades; so why do bother with religion?  For many people, the word religion is a negative idea.  So why do we need religion?

When I was a non-religious teenager, I went through a period when I felt like my life had no real meaning.  School, family and daily activities seemed like an empty routine.  I wondered, Why do I exist?  What does this life mean?  How should I live?  That search led me to go to church, to listen to the sermons?  That led me to read the Bible for myself.  I discovered a personal relationship with God, a God who forgave my sins through Christ’s death and resurrection.  I’d been created by God to honor and glorify God.  I found MEANING in religion.

Years later, I learned that my search for meaning was not unique.  In the last generation or two, American lifestyles have provided more free time and material things than our grandparents could have ever imagined; so we have more opportunities to consider whether our lives have meaning or purpose.  The results are not good.  Millions suffer from depression.  Countless others escape through drugs or alcohol.  Too many give up and end it in suicide. 

Many have found meaning and purpose through religion.  Why are we here?  What does it all mean?  How should we live?  - these questions are answered by religious leaders and texts such as the Bible. 

Viktor Frankl survived the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, and after the war, he studied the Nazi death camps and their survivors.  He was startled to learn that it was not the youngest, strongest, or smartest who usually survived the death camps.  It was those who had found meaning in their lives.  People need a reason to live.

Many of us believe that we’ve been created to glorify and honor God.  Many gather each week to worship Jesus Christ as our Higher Power.  Healthy congregations also function as extended families that support each other as a faith community.  Many participate in religious groups that provide food and clothing for low-income folks, such as Sharing Hope in Hugo.  The Salvation Army is well known for housing the homeless and other charitable work. 

Some say we need God or Jesus, but NOT religion.  Our desire for God and Jesus becomes religious when we gather and organize and decide who will teach, lead worship, count the offering, and have officers and committees or teams.  We gradually go from seeking God and Jesus to a religious organization.

Christian leaders teach forgiveness, love of God and loving your neighbor, and justice.  We also acknowledge that there are bad religious people among us, individuals and groups that do not reflect God’s values.  However, the best forms of faith and religion answer the questions of why and how.  We need a reason to live, a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  I believe the Biblical values of faith, hope, love, joy, and peace are found through a relationship with the Lord God.

Here’s my question to you: Do YOU have a REASON to live?  Why do you desire to live on this earth?  What does this life MEAN?  If you’re not satisfied with the meaning and purpose of your life, seek out a church in your area, that answers those questions.  Ask church leaders how their faith gives them a reason and purpose for living.  What does their faith mean for this life on earth?