Rant of the Exiles

The Jeremy Lin story has been incredibly inspirational. It is a story about grace – the miracle of God. It certainly is also about his hard work and determination and perseverance. He is a singularly unique player. No one predicted this kind of success. He got ready and he got the opportunity. And it’s nothing short of amazing what he’s doing with the opportunity. I don’t think hard work can fully explain it. Certainly, he was novelty at Golden State but he was always a great college player, albeit at Harvard. No one could have predicted this level of success. His athleticism, passing ability, driving creativity, sneakiness and all-around game are just unbelievable. This is the best sports story of a generation. We’re going to look back on this in awe and just wonder how it happened. I feel completely inspired and encouraged by what he’s doing. It’s like he’s on a mission from God to destroy every possible stereotype about Asian American men. I wish I could think about someth...

UPDATE: A more nuanced and balanced blog post by a fellow Cal bear and Campus Crusader who allows for the choices Jeremy Lin makes. My intent was to dispel the American myth that hard work always leads to success (and here ). In doing so, it may seem like I'm denigrating Jeremy's work ethic. I'm not. Every basketball player makes it the NBA by the grace of God but it's only something we see in retrospect. Or hard work and choices do play a role but my emphasis is on God's power in all of it. ************************************************************************************************* Jeremy Lin is the latest NBA and media sensation – having led the moribund New York Knicks to three consecutive victories. There’s an article about Jeremy Lin that closes by saying this is what hard work accomplishes. The implication is that hard work is what enabled Jeremy Lin to be successful on the highest scale; it is what allowed him to score 76 points in the past three game...

I’m leading a bible study with a group of high school seniors and college freshmen. This might be the most motivated group of people I’ve ever worked with. Its very exciting. When we met last night to go through Genesis 2-3, they brought out 20-30 significant questions about the text. It takes courage to ask questions. You’ve got to feel comfortable with who you’re with – you can’t be afraid to look stupid. There needs to be a feeling of safety, of protection. More than that, you have to be hungry. You genuinely want to know the answer. Its about curiosity but it goes beyond curiosity. There’s a hunger to know more – to recognize the answer might impact and change your life. It’s a hunger to be impacted, to be taught, to learn at a deeper level. One thing I have learned is its not the answer that matters. It’s the process of asking questions and searching for answers. Someone asked why the authors of the Bible didn’t write a companion guide to their books – to give an...