TimSisk.com

Merry Christmas!

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Originally uploaded by timsisk.

Christmas Eve Blair Witch Project

The day before this was video was shot, we were leaving the house and saw that one of the cats had caught a mouse and was playing with it. This was a new experience for the kids, who were pretty fascinated by it.But because we had to go, we didn't know what the fate of the mouse was. The next day, the remains of the mouse were found on the carport. The kids were excitedly running in the house telling me to "come outside the cat killed the mouse, come see daddy". While I was getting ready, they ran outside and discovered they weren't the only ones who had found the mouse. Our dog, Jack, had discovered the mouse. Here are the true events that followed that chance encounter...

A Post to Brag on "Mrs. Preacher"

It genuinely embarrasses Lorie to call attention to her achievements, but I'm proud of my wife. Last night Lorie was honored by the Amory School Board for achieving her National Board Certification. One other teacher from Amory Schools achieved certification this year.

The video I took was at an awkward angle because the school board meeting was in a smaller room and more informal setting than I expected, so I just kind of taped it from my chair.

Added: Tupelo Daily Journal News Brief on it. Scroll down to Monroe County.

"Leaders Have a Shadow Side"--Leading from Within

My first blog post on the booklet, Leading from Within, by Parker J. Palmer, may be found here.

Last time I blogged on this booklet, Parker J. Palmer had made the case that "consciousness precedes being". As I understood Palmer, the external world is influenced by how we project our spirit upon it. What does spirituality have to do with leadership? Palmer first gives a definition of a leader:

a leader is a person who has an unusual degree of power to create the conditions under which other people must live and move and have their being--conditions that can either be as illuminating as heaven or as shadowy as hell. A leader is a person who must take special responsibility for what's going on inside him or her self, inside his or her consciousness, lest the act of leadership create more harm than good.

Palmer continues his discussion by observing that "Leaders Have a Shadow Side". This potential harm can come from the shadow side of leadership. Parker urges to expand our understanding of leaders beyond just leaders of nation states. Consider the classroom teacher, the clergy person, the CEO of a corporation, the potential of projecting light or ominous shadow.

Earlier this fall, I led two sessions of our Monday Night Bible study. This group is one of our stronger "small groups" in the church. They are fairly self-contained (in a positive way). Led by our music minister, this group doesn't need the encouragement and support of the pastor. The group, however, had some questions, particularly about text and canon to answer, "How did we get the Bible". So in two meetings, I shared with the group a little bit of church history and ancient history, a favorite subject of mine. While I could have been more structured in my presentation (I essentially led it without notes), my enthusiasm for the subject inspired most (if not all the class), in their own words.

One of the members of the group asked me when I became interested in history. The moment, happened, I explained in Mrs. Haynes seventh grade social studies class, which actually our first experience of history. The first day of class, Mrs. Haynes began a unit on the Assyrians, one of the earliest ancient empires. Nothing was cooler to a seventh grade boy to hear about their practice of impaling. That wasn't the first moment I expressed an interest in ancient history (I was an early reader of Greek mythology), but that year was my happiest year of my educational experience. We studied the ancient Egyptians (and learned about embalming) and studied various important civilizations. If asked that year who here best student was that year, I'm sure she would have said it was me. I look back on that experience as one of those "spiritual markers" albeit in a secular setting that led me into the ministry. She brought light into the world of a 12 year old boy in 1983.

I could contrast her with other teachers I studied under over the years. And not to pass responsibility to others, but one reason I was an indifferent student in a couple of subject areas, was indifferent teachers. One particular teacher "projected shadows" and it still hurts when I reflect upon my experience with him.

Clergy, and other leaders, suffer from a problem, Palmer says.

The problem is that people rise to leadership by a tendency towards extroversion, which means a tendency to ignore what is going on inside themselves. Leaders rise to power in our society by operating very competently and effectively in the external world, sometimes at the cost of internal awareness.

This is a very dangerous place for any minster to place themselves. And that is why I'm try to work my way slowly and contemplatively through this booklet.

Miriam prior to her "Hotel Bethlehem" performance.

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Originally uploaded by timsisk.

Our children's choir had a wonderful Children's Choir performance at St. Andrew's tonight. I'm processing video right now and will try to put up a few clips on Youtube in the next few days.

Lifehouse: Everything Skit

I lost my composure about 3:48 of this video.

Cause that's the way it feels sometimes that you have to fight through sin to get to Jesus. I thought for a moment that the girl was going to fight through the sin and finally get to Him, but the dramatists got their theology right and Jesus came and placed himself between the sin and the girl so she can receive peace.

Very well done.

Lifehouse - Everything lyrics

Hat tip: Matt Hughes

Thats the Truth

Received an email from one of my church members this week. I LOVED reading this and I hope you do to. Sydney pays attention to what I say when I preach better than most of the adults in the congregation.

The email said:

Take a look at Sydney's note to Santa. She wrote this last night after church when the preacher talked about gratitude and God would provide our needs not wants.

Attached was letter she wrote to Santa. I'll transcribe it in case it isn't readable from the image that was attached. I blurred Sydney's address out of the letter.

She wrote:

Santa

Dear Santa,

I no you probly think that I don't need any of the things on my santa's list but some of the things I want to try to see if I like it and to get some exsercise on a jump rope. And their is some toys that I want to try to see if I like them. And maybe if I like them & they go outside that may keep me from the telavishon. Oh & I would like to see a raindeer.

Love Sydney

Address

Thats the Truth

Sydney once asked after one my sermons, "Is the preacher mad at us?" She's not the only one that keeps me humble, but she's doing her part to make sure that I am.

Ron Cherry: My Favorite Quote of the Year

Wished I had seen this live:

Apparently a reference to this NFL event:

Hat tip: EDSBS

Update: I just noticed the last several posts have been about football? A change in direction for this blog? Nah, it's just what we've been talking about around here.

Somebody has lost their mind

And somebody will get a very, very good football coach when they hire Jeff Bower.

I don't think Ole Miss will be smart enough to hire Jeff Bower. Alumni will consider Bower to be USM's leavings. But Bower is exactly the kind of coach Ole Miss (or God forbid Croom leave, MSU). A coach that can run a smaller program and win, who can take the below blue chip players, coach them, and win.

I'm shaking my head in amazement that USM has made this move.

Life is Good

But no gloating...

There have been many commentators (lay and otherwise) who point to Coach O's boneheaded decision to go for it instead of punting at 4th and 1 midfield as the reason Ole Miss lost the game. While I agree it was the wrong decision, I don't think it was the turning point of the game. Yeah, State scored on that possession, but Ole Miss was still up by seven points. State was driving again, but then Ole Miss intercepted the football. One commenter on the ESPN scoreboard site said, "Game over." And it looked like it was for Miss. State. But the reality is that Ole Miss has faded in games all season long.

That fourth and 1 play as really one of those "if you make it you are the hero, if you miss you are the goat" plays. It can be argued that he had every reason to believe if he missed getting the first down that his team could hold Miss. State, they had all game after all. Still not the best decision, but hardly the worst coaching decision ever. I will agree that the games I watched Ole Miss play this season I saw a lot of bad coaching decisions.

Hardly anyone has mentioned the personal foul committed by Corey Actis that pushed the Rebels from the 11-yard line back to the 26. Ole Miss eventually missed the 37 yard field goal. Actis committed a similar foul last week against LSU. To his credit, Coach O pulled Actis from the game. (Isn't Actis a senior? What a bad way to end your college football career).

Honestly, my opinion of Coach O was that seemed to embody a kind of thuggishness that I was glad we didn't have at Miss. State. While I pretty much supported Jackie Sherrill through his career at Miss. State, I eventually fell out with him over the way the program seemed to encourage thuggish behavior. Coach Croom has really bought a sense of class and respect to our program, that even if he hadn't been successful, I was going to support him. True, our players have gotten in trouble. But I think it is safe to say that that conduct is hardly encouraged or glossed over.

And what to make of this? No comment other than I found this picture hilarious.

While googling Coach O, I came across a story about Coach O's first team meeting with the Ole Miss Rebels that is rather old, but I wasn't aware of until now:

"I'm going to walk out of here right now, and when I come back in here, I'm going to have my shirt off, and I want everyone of you motherf*****s to have your shirts off too."
"He walked out and everyone, confused, started taking their shirts off. Sure enough, O walked back in, bigger than alot of the guys on the team, without his shirt on. He started yelling and telling the team that they needed to get loud. He said, "When I point to this side of the room, I want you to say 'Ole Miss.' When I point to this side, I want you to say, 'Wild Boys.'" Standing there with no shirt on with every guy in the room shirtless, started pointing to each side of the room. Half the team would yell, "Ole Miss" while the other would yell "Wild Boys." Apparently it got pretty crazy and guys started flipping chairs, yelling, and throwing cooler acrossthe room while chanting Ole Miss... Wild Boys. "
"He then stopped and said, "One more thing. If any of you motherf*****s thinks you can take me, you come up here and get a piece of me right now." He gave everyone an opportunity to come up and fight him and said, "That's what I thought," and walked out of the room."

Actually, just go to EDSBS and search the archives for Ed Orgeron and you'll come up with gems like this (NSFW). Almost a Chuck Norris meme.

Update: Croomed! I think there is a crisis of leadership at Ole Miss when three weeks ago this was the news:

Khayat said he'll stand by Orgeron, even if it takes six years to turn the program around.

Later Update: LOL.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO