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Yesterday the White Sox Mark Buehrle throws a perfect game against the Tampa Bay Rays. How exciting! Its only been done 18 times in all of major league history. I watched the replay of the ninth inning at least five times on ESPN. Eight perfect innings, then in the ninth, the Rays’ Gabe Kapler is first to the plate… the fans are tense with anticipation with what might just happen… other major leagues teams are watching via TV in their clubhouses as they prepare for night games… when Kapler hits a long drive – this just might spoil the perfect game, the no-hitter, and the shut-out with one swing. Center fielder DeWayne Wise is running back, back, back and leaps, snaring the ball just as it is about to clear the wall for a home run! Wise impacts the wall which causes a bobble… but he regains control for the out! Awesome. Buehrle retires the last two Rays for his perfect game. The fans go wild and in other clubhouses around the country the players are thrilled at what has been achieved. The terrific leaping catch adds magic and thrills to what will be legend.

I use make that exact catch countless times in my imagination as I acted out such a scenario while throwing a ball against our chimney and catching it against the wall of our neighbor’s house as I lived the dream of Little League baseball.

Plus, my Phillies, after a ten game winning streak, drop one and come back to their winning ways last night. A great night for baseball.

It is easy to determine who wins in baseball. But as Andy Stanley pointed out in “7 Practices of Effective Ministry”, it is important to clarify the “wins” in church work too. We’re experiencing some wins at Crossroads church:

Salvation decisions.
Families joining Crossroads Family Ministries.
Baptizing frequently (6 times so far this year with more waiting to be baptized).
A spirit of victory and attitude of potentially great things for the future seems to be catching on.
Successful small groups.
Terrific live music and praise.
People beginning to serve that had not done so in the past.
Thriving youth and children’s programs.
Personal spiritual growth in many.
People understanding they have a responsibility to God with their tithe and with their time.

It is not always so easy to notice the wins in ministry – but they are there on many levels – with a great deal more importance than baseball, even if they lack some of the momentary excitiement. Thank you, Lord! And thanks to the people of Crossroads.

- Pastor Jim

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Jesus said: “Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar’s, and unto God the things which be God’s”. Luke 20:25.

Caesar was, of course, the highest political authority of Jesus’ day. Our Lord was saying that God has delegated a limited sphere of authority to government and that we owe honor and submission to those of civil rule over us. That such authority is limited is made clear in such texts as Acts 5:29: “Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.” When civil authorities would require us to disobey the Word of God, we must obey God instead.

Of course, civil authorities rule only because God has given them their position (Daniel 5:21; Romans 13:4; 1 Peter 2:13-15). He is sovereign.

Christians further have an obligation to pray for those placed in such positions that they will do their duty to protect our freedom to serve God and share the gospel (1 Timothy 2:1-4).

July 4th is a great holiday indeed. No other nation has enjoyed government “of the people, by the people, and for people” as have we. Though governmental power has expanded well beyond what our founding fathers ever intended and our freedoms are shrinking under the weight of big government, we, nevertheless, still have opportunity to share our faith, preach the truth and serve the Living God of Creation. So let us use our freedom to every advantage in doing just that!!

- Jim Fox

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For Father’s Day I’ll repeat a post from a couple years ago:

For escaping eighth grade, my dad bought me a kit to build a pram. A pram is a snub nose dinghy, about seven feet long, three seats. He and I built it in the basement over a two or three week period.

I was excited about having my own boat. Several of my friends down the beach along the Chesapeake had prams and so we formed a little armada. Rowing, exploring, using it as a swim platform, tender to larger boats — it provided endless hours of recreation limited only by my imagination. My Uncle Joe gave me a half-horse Goodyear outboard motor which swelled my fun many fold. I still have it forty-five years later — it’s displayed in our church’s Solid Rock CAFE’.

But my thought in this blog is about the investment my dad made in my life while building the pram. I learned a lot about basic carpentry and tools, but the real lessons were about life. I learned more of his love for the sea and heard him tell some of his experiences in WWII while in the Merchant Marines. I was taught about “doing things right”. There were little things, innuendoes — things about being a man that boys learn only by being around a man.

Dads — invest time in your sons. There were the occasions that I had to help dad do things I wasn’t interested in… but this was a project for me! Dad thought that through, I think. It surely was not about rewarding me for academic achievements in eighth grade — as I said, I barely “escaped”. Fathers, find something your sons want to do and get involved with them. You will build memories and have opportunity to impart manhood and demonstrate Godliness.

And, remember, your girls need “dad time” too!

“Train up a child in the way he should go…” Proverbs 22:6

- Jim Fox

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The quotes below are from leading evolutionists. Their honest concerns about the validity of Darwinism show through. This is but a surface sampling of such quotes. – Pastor

“Evolution is a fairy tale for grown-ups. This theory has helped nothing in the progress of science. It is useless.”
– Prof. Louis Bounoure (former Pres. of Biological Soc of Strasbourg and Director of the Strasbourg Zoological Museum)

“Scientists who go about teaching that evolution is a fact of life are great con-men, and the story they are telling may be the greatest hoax ever. In explaining evolution, we do not have one iota of fact.”
– Dr T.N. Tahmisian (Atomic Energy Commission, USA)

“I believe that one day the Darwinian myth will be ranked the greatest deceit in the history of science. When this happens, many people will pose the question: how did this ever happen?”
– Soren Lovtrup (Prof. of Embryology, Univ. of Umea, Sweden)

“We have had enough of the Darwinian fallacy. It’s about time we cry ‘the emperor has no clothes.’ “
– Ken Hsu (Geological Institute at Zurich, former Pres. of International Assoc. of Sedimentologists)

“Contrary to what most scientists write, the fossil record does not support the Darwinian theory of evolution. It is this theory which we use to interpret the fossil record, but we say the fossil record supports this theory. We are guilty of circular reasoning.”
– Ronald R. West, Ph.D. (Prof. of Paleobiology and Geology, Kansas State University)

“It is therefore a matter of faith on the part of the biologist that biogenesis did occur and he can choose whatever method of biogenesis happens to suit him personally; since the evidence for what did happen is not available.”
– Professor G. A. Kerkut (Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, University of Southampton)

“The chance that higher life forms might have emerged in this way is comparable with the chance that a tornado sweeping through a junk-yard might assemble a Boeing 747 from the materials therein.”
– World renowned astronomer, Sir Fred Hoyle (Prof. of Astronomy at Cambridge University)