Fight Pastor

Russell Hantz Got Robbed on Survivor 19

Check out my other blog site to hear me rant about Survivor 19's season Finale.

Seattle PI Article Aftermath Thoughts

Thursdays are usually pretty mellow for me. My message has been written, the services have been planned, meetings have been completed so I often try to sneak out early and participate in a Hot Yoga session before I head home. (Yes, I do hot yoga. I am no longer ashamed about it. I am still a man. Just don't tell anyone!) Once home, we eat dinner together as a family and do our Thursday night tradition of watching Survivor (Russell Hantz is the greatest player in Survivor history). Thursdays are normally pretty routine. Not this week.....

By now most people who know me have read the first of several articles we knew were about to be released about Fight Pastor. I must be honest and say I underestimated the level of readership the Seattle PI has. The Seattle PI article by Monica Guzman kept me pretty busy yesterday. The phone calls, emails (to all my different addresses), Facebook comments, tweets in response were pretty overwhelming. By the early afternoon, the radio interview requests started coming in. I pushed most of the interviews to next week because I was too exhausted to sound even remotely intelligent. I ended up agreeing to do the Ron and Don Show because Sky (Media Dude at the church) promised they'd be nice to me. They were fairly cool, though I still may never listen to Sky again.

Anyways....everyone wants to know what my thoughts are about the article and the myriad of responses. So here are the Fight Pastor's responses to Thursdays events. I apologize now for their randomness.

Overall I thought the article was very good. There were some minor errors which could be due to me misspeaking or Monica misunderstanding. Either way, the purpose of her article was fulfilled. For the record, I benched over 300lbs not 400lbs with Travis Kerwin as my spotter. We have 4 services on Sunday not 5 (once we add the Saturday night Fight Church we will have 5 services a weekend). The property on highway 9 is for a new building for Canyon Creek Church. It will eventually include a gymnasium which I want to call Fight Church Gym.

The majority of the feedback I have read or personally received is VERY positive, especially from the MMA community. I anticipated some negative feedback from MMA haters and ultra conservative Christians. Neither bothers me in the least because neither are our target demographic. I know some people were shocked by the comments they read in response to the article, in particular from a couple religious people. While I appreciate many of you jumping to my defense, the one thing I have learned in my 17 years of ministry is ultra conservatives are often more concerned with attacking ministers, churches, and other Christians rather than fulfilling the great commission. Arguing with those individuals is fruitless. There is a saying that I quote often, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." Remember what Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:23:

"Don't have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels."

This too is from the NIV :)

I enjoyed reading all the different MMA forums that had posted the article and the different MMA sites that had written a response. I was thoroughly amused by the MMAMania article where I borrowed the above picture from. Most forums were full of incredibly positive feedback. Here are a couple: Forum 1 and Forum 2. There are many more sites and forums with similar responses.

I will be on KISW this coming Wednesday at 4:30. Before you tell me, I already know I am about to be mocked. I am just hoping to get a backstage pass for Def Leppard next time they are in town. A little humiliation for a free ticket might be worth it. For new fightpastor.com readers be warned, I firmly believe music peaked with 80's heavy metal.

Thursday's highlight was, by far, the awesome emails I received from people that were inspired by what we are striving to do with Fight Pastor and Fight Church. Here are a few awesome quotes from people around the nation (I left the names out for their privacy)..

"I am a chrisitan and have competed professionally in MMA, just thought I would connect and support your site. I am still in prayer if the Lord will have me fight again, I havent had peace about it since my first pro fight. I think he is working out some things in me and polishing me, but I have come to learn alot through MMA and if I dont ever fight again I will always be a christian martial artist trying to become the best i can be and spreading the gospel to wherever the lord wants me to, whether thats in the cage or not:)"

Thanks for being a positive influence in our community.  We need more people who believe in the love of God-he can do amazing things if we allow him.  I have a son who is in recovery from drug abuse-17 years old and has been hit and miss for the last 4 years.  He made mention that he really liked MMA-he went to a fight when he was living in a recovery house in Mt Vernon.

My son-in-law just took up Brazilian Jui Jitsu 2 years ago, training under the Gracie Barra group in Yakima.  He felt disconnected in church and was having a tough time bringing his desire to “fight” with his walk with God.  I will be forwarding your web site to him.

Those are just 3 of the dozens of comments I have heard like this! Those are my thoughts on a unique Thursday for me. I am more convinced than ever that Fight Pastor and Fight Church are God ideas. Thanks for your support and see you tomorrow night for fight night at Canyon Creek Church.

Go Diego!

Chone Figgins about to become a Mariner. Big deal? No!

 

We have heard all week on Sports Radio, the newspaper, and internet sources that the Mariners are about to sign Chone Figgins to a 4 year, 36 million dollar contract to replace Adrian Beltre at 3rd base. My only real comment about this is......who cares?  Chone is NOT the answer to the Mariners offensive struggles! He is a good player but not an offensive answer at all. Mariner fans thrive on hope. Any time we trade for or sign a player we believe he will turn into the second coming of Ken Griffey, Jr. (See Jack Wilson trade for recent example. BY THE WAY I WAS RIGHT! Everyone who debated with me, where are you now?)

The Mariners need players who can hit the ball out of the park. Your corner infielders are suppose to be your power hitters. Chone will hit .273 7 hrs 65 rbis and steal 35 bases. He is Randy Winn at 3rd base. Nice try Mariners but I want a power hitter! The Mariners would be better trying to keep Adrian Beltre. Mariner fans, don't fall for the hype this time or your heart will get broken again.

Greatest Player in Survivor History

I have been a Survivor fanatic since season 2. It has been my favorite show for the last 10 years. (As Christian will confirm, when I get into something, I really get into something!) I am embarrassed to say that I have seen every episode of Survivor multiple times. I am still waiting for CBS to distribute all the seasons on DVD. (Please call, email, and harass CBS into releasing them.) I have done message series around Survivor. I even created a really lame T-shirt when I was a youth pastor with a Survivor theme. I consider it an honor to call Mike Skupin (guy who fell into the fire) a friend. I have applied to be on Survivor a half dozen times. One of the highlights of my life was attending the Survivor Vanuatu Finale and sitting in the section with all the former Survivor contestants (thanks again for the tickets Mike). Needless to say, I am a committed, obsessed, long time Survivor fan.

Russell Hantz is the greatest player in Survivor history. Half way through Survivor Samoa he had already proven to be one of the best but tonight he passes Boston Rob, Brian Heidik, Chris Daughtery, and Richard Hatch as the best ever. Finding a second immunity idol, without even one clue, and strategically playing it tonight was epic. (Best Survivor episode in 3 years) The play not only saved his life in the game but, with Shambo's impending defection, also evened the game. Incredible.

If you have never been a Survivor fan or gave up on the series after the atrocious China season time to jump on board (again). We are witnesses to Survivor immortality. Russell is the Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Joe Montana, Dale Earnhardt, Carl Lewis, Brock Lesnar of Survivor. Hop on board. Don't miss Russell in all his Survivor brilliance.

The Adventures of Hawaii Di

Di and I get asked often whenever we go on vacation why there are so few pictures of her. Truthfully, she prefers taking pictures over being in them. You hear that often from photographers! On this vacation I wanted to make sure and prove to the world that Di was actually with me in Hawaii. So I present to you in pictures, what I call the Adventures of Hawaii Di.

Di texting Heather Taylor from the lanai of our Kapula Cottage.

Di just finished preforming the hula at a luau and is now enjoying a refreshing Hawaiian beverage. Notice the sun burn which proves we aren't in Seattle. Once she finished this drink she once again returned to texting Heather Taylor.

Di learning to play the ukulele. She will be playing with the worship team on Sunday, which is another reason to not miss The Amazing Race this Sunday, October 25th! When she mastered this instrument she immediately went and texted Heather Taylor.

Di about to catch her first tube on the North Shore. Once she rode several waves, she dried off and texted Heather Taylor.

Di reading propaganda at a local Hawaiian market. When she finished, she quickly texted Heather Taylor to tell her all about it.

Di was an extra in a movie called Tying the Knot which was being filmed at our hotel. You can get more information from Heather Taylor. Di texted her all about it.

Di went snorkeling and ended up spearing a tuna. Notice the beach in the background once again proving she was not in Seattle. I cooked the tuna for dinner while Di texted Heather Taylor.

This is me sneaking into the outdoor spa area while Di was not paying any attention. She was too busy texting Heather Taylor.

This is the site where they filmed a scene from Jurassic Park. This proves that Di and I were together in Hawaii. Unfortunately we had no cell reception from this location so Di was unable to text. The real reason she was in this picture with me.

Hope you enjoyed the Adventures of Hawaii Di. We have two more days before we arrive in Seattle so there is a good chance you will be seeing the Further Adventures of Hawaii Di.

Have I mentioned lately that Heather Taylor is 41?

Bring Griffey Back!

There is a growing debate in Seattle whether or not the Mariners should bring Ken Griffey, Jr back for another year. The man formally known to Seattleites as "the kid" hasn't had a great season at the plate in his triumphant return to the Mariners. He has been injured often and when he has played hasn't been all that impressive. Currently he is batting .220 with 14 homers and a handful of RBI's. This is a far cry from his prime with the Mariners when he would lead the league in home runs and RBIs and win me fantasy baseball leagues single handedly. This is definitely Griffey in the twilight of his career.

But I want him back for one final swan song season with the Mariners. Why would I want the Mariners to sacrifice next season by allowing an over-the-hill player to take the roster spot of an up-and-coming minor leaguer? Because the Mariners are still a season or two (or three) away from legitimately contending. I know they are over .500 now but lets be honest, if it wasn't for Felix Hernandez they'd probably be 10 games under .500. The Mariners are making positive strides to become a good team in the future but it isn't next year. Even with the surprising season this year they are still one of the most boring teams to watch. I am a huge baseball fan but even I have a hard time watching them. They are so DULL. Griffey is the one player who makes every fan stop what they are doing and watch. He brings excitement to the ball games.

So bring Griffey back for one more year. Let us watch him play for one more season with our kids. Give us one more season to tell our kids stories of the home runs we remember, the spectacular catches, and the game winning hits. Let us have one more season to remember when he was "the kid" and made people in Seattle realize we had a baseball team. BRING GRIFFEY BACK!

Top Ten Things in Las Vegas I am Looking Forward To

10.    Getting lots of free stuff by sitting through time share pitches.

9.  Shopping at the many malls with Di.

8.  Going up into the Stratosphere.

7.  Seeing the sun.

6.  Staying at a suite in the Venetian.

  5.  Seeing Criss Angel's show Believe at the Luxor.

4.  The special Q and A session with Frank Mir.

3. UFC 98 weigh ins.

2.  UFC 98.

1. Going on a gondola ride with Softy's reigning wife of the week.  KJR AM 950

Final Election Thoughts

I am mentioning this Sunday but thought I would take a moment to share a couple quick thoughts on the historic election. My dad asked me on Saturday what I thought, as a pastor, about Barack Obama being elected president. My response surprised him. I said I didn't really care. Ultimately, whoever was elected president wasn't going to change my mission or life purpose. But, I do have two thoughts about Barack Obama. First, mellow out Christians! He is not the anti-Christ! Second, get real everyone, he isn't the savior. Henry Paulson just announced (every time this guy talks something bad happens) some changes to the bailout. Immediately the stock market drops 350 points. This is then followed up by an AP article which states that 72% of Americans believe President Obama will fix the economy. Obama and economy.
I have mentioned repeatedly to our church....be careful to put your hope in a man. Our hope has always been and must always remain in Jesus!
I came across this scripture in my devotions, Jeremiah 17:5-8
"Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands; he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

I think we need to pray for our president-elect. He has a huge job ahead of him and even larger expectations. Expectations that are probably going to lead to many disappointed. Unless, their hope was and has always been in Jesus.

My Cars Tell A Story.....

In my years of being a pastor, I have discovered that people don't necessarily  like  change.  For some it is due to fear for others it is because they like things the way they are. I, on the other hand, love change. God brought Di into my life so I would have some stability. If it was up to me, everything would constantly change. But I have learned over the years to be patient....and to be normal. This past week I was having a moment of nostalgia and I was thinking back to all the different cars I have owned in the 20 years I have had my drivers license. I purchased my latest car, a new Dodge Challenger. (Which by the way, is the coolest car I have ever seen.) I started to count the number of cars I had owned and realized that my new car is the 20th car I have owned. My wife has been driving for as long as I have and she has owned 5! I don't think any aspect of my life illustrates my love of change more than the vast array of cars I have owned. This may interest no one other than me but here are 20 cars I have owned over my 20 years of driving. Each has its own unique story and reflects my life situation at that moment. Enjoy.
Plymouth Reliant K. My first car. I get my license and am all excited to start driving and... my dad buys me a grandma car. It was yellow, barely drove the speed limit, and my dad's friends nicknamed it "birdie". It only had an AM radio so I had to strap in my boombox, which used 8 "D" batteries, so I could listen to my favorite CD (Pyromania). After several months of my complaining my dad finally sold the car and bought me my next car.  When he found the car I was all excited because he said it was a Mustang. I had visions of girls swooning as I drove around in my 1965 Classic Mustang. When he took me to get the car, I was surprised when I saw it because it looked like a Ford Pinto to me. 

This was my 2nd car. It is called a Mustang 2. Yes, it was really this sad looking. Surprisingly, Ford decided to scrap the classic Mustang look and try this. Someone obviously got fired. Needless to say, no girls swooned. About 6 months after my dad bought this car I was on the way to a movie (The Burbs) with some friends and got in my first accident (and only accident that was my fault). The Mustang 2 was no more. My dad was pretty tired of buying me cars so he made me pay for the next one. Unfortunately he wasn't tired of picking out my cars. So along came my third car which my girlfriend affectionately referred to as Scooter.

As lame and non-masculine as Scooter was, I enjoyed my old school Honda Civic. It was easy to work on when it broke down, insurance was cheap, and got great gas mileage (45mpg). Good choice Dad! I drove Scooter my entire senior year of high school. That summer I was saving for college, so I drove Scooter to Northgate for my bank job during the day and delivered pizzas at night. One night, after my pizza delivery job, I was driving home and got rear-ended by an ex-con on parole without insurance (no joke). Scooter was no more!

The red scirroco (4th car) was the first one I actually picked out myself. I had money coming from the insurance settlement from the previous accident but needed a car sooner than the money was coming. I decided to sell my huge football card collection and use the proceeds to buy a car. Several months after purchasing this car (I was now at Northwest University) I was at my girlfriend's house in Everett. After spending several hours studying for a psych exam, it was late, I was tired and decided to go home. To my shock, my car was gone. This was my first experience with the city of Everett. My car had been stolen by a bunch of teenage boys from Cascade High School. They took my car off-roading and destroyed it. On the plus side, I did wind up marrying the girl I was studying with that night.

The teenagers got arrested and convicted of "joyriding"! They were ordered to pay restitution but were given 10 years to do it. I needed a car for college so my dad, once again, helped me buy a car. I chose another scirroco (5th car). This one was brown and had a roof that slid back (mixture of a sunroof and convertible). This car was a piece of junk. I remember going snowboarding with Di and all the electrical randomly stopped working. The only way we could get the lights to stay on was if I held the brights as I was driving. I hated that car and couldn't wait to get rid of it. I finally sold it to a friend who promised to make me installment payments. He only paid me half of what he was suppose to but I didn't care because the care was a pile of junk. For my 6th car I decided to join the rest of America and borrow money for a car. I was starting my sophomore year of college and wanted a cool car so I bought a black Mazda Rx7.

My best friend Jeff and I bought matching black Rx7's. I can't believe I am actually typing that. It sounds so metro..... This is a picture of the actual car taken on our road trip to Cali. We couldn't afford a hotel so we slept in the car in a hotel parking lot. Don't feel bad for us. We still used the hotel's pool and shower. I eventually sold this car because Di and I had become volunteer youth leaders at her Lutheran Brethren church and a two-seater ceased being practical to hall teenagers around (at least legally). I sold it to a buddy (Chris Langsea) who wrecked it 3 months later. At least he paid me for it.

My 7th car was a white Toyota Celica. This car was horrible from the start. It leaked whenever it rained, the tailgate rusted, it smelled funny, and the stereo kept breaking down. I kept the car for about 6 months and finally couldn't take it anymore! I knew no one would buy this car so I had my first experience trading a car in at a lot. I traded it in and bought a blue Bronco 2.

It looked a lot like this, except blue. It was the car I drove when I got married and started as the youth pastor at BCA. I actually drove this for about a year and a half (my record up to this point). Our youth ministry was exploding at BCA and our biggest hurdle was transporting teenagers. While visiting an inner-city ministry in Portland I got the idea to sell my Bronco and buy two vans to transport teenagers. I did some serious wheeling and dealing and ended up with these vans.

Though I owned this van, I rarely drove it. We left it parked at the church and various youth leaders drove it. Funny, would you let your teenager be picked up by an adult in a van that looked like this? Only in North Everett..... This van actually had a back seat that folded down into a bed! This proved very convenient for all the homeless people that would break into it and sleep in it during the night at the church. The van I drove was.....

The creamsicle Volkswagon Vanagon. My 10th car, if you are counting. It looked exactly like this. It could haul up to 8 teenagers at a time. It was the perfect vehicle for a youth pastor ministering in North Everett. My fondest memory of the Vanagon was driving on the freeway and hearing a rumbling underneath the car. I looked into my rear view mirror and watched my muffler fall off and nearly hit the car behind me. Good times. BCA finally purchased a couple vans and I was able to sell both my vans and buy a real car again.

On our honeymoon, Di and I rented a 5.0 convertible mustang. I loved it and had always dreamed of some day owning one. Since I was a poor youth pastor, I compromised on a 4 cylinder convertible mustang. I use to joke that it had the form of a mustang but denied its power. At least it looked kind of cool. I ended up cracking the head and had to have it replaced. I couldn't afford to have a shop fix it so I hired Jeremy Sandeno. We purchased a rebuilt head and he installed it. I will never forget coming down to the garage after he was done and see all these random parts to my car laying off to the side. I asked Jeremy about them and he told me I didn't really need them. If you know Jeremy, you will find that quite amusing. Unfortunately, the car was never the same again so I traded it in and bought a real mustang.

My 12th car was, finally, the 5.0 mustang I had drove on our honeymoon. It looked like this car except had a black top. The car was a blast and was definitely my favorite car up to this point. The only bummer was that I worked in North Everett. My convertible top got slashed at the church 3 times! It cost $750.00 to get the top replaced each time! After a year I sold the car so Di and I could buy our first house. I sold the mustang and used the money to help us with a down payment. To help us out, Di's mom sold us her car at a discount price. Along came my 13th car.....

It was a green Toyota Celica GT similar to this. Our plan was to keep the car for a year and then I would buy something I wanted. The car was nothing special but was well maintained and ran great. The only quirk about the car was that it smelled like my mother-in-law. Now, I am not saying Patty smells bad. She smells fine. I am only saying that the car smelled like her. Anyways, we kept the car until the summer and traded it in for a black Jeep Wrangler.

Di and I were living in Lake Stevens at the time and Jeep Wranglers were the car of choice in that area. It seemed that every third car was a wrangler. Mine was really cool. It had a lift, nice wheels, roll bars, hard top, and a great stereo. I kept it for a couple years and eventually sold it when I moved to Modesto because it didn't have air conditioning. I discovered a black jeep without AC in 110 degree heat doesn't work (even if it is a dry heat).

The 15th car I only owned for a short period of time. I bought Pastor Berteau's white Infiniti Q45. This car is affectionately referred to by all as Pastor's Car. The car was in great shape and was pretty fast but made me feel too old. It definitely wasn't a youth pastor car. A couple months after buying it I had the opportunity to make some money on it so I sold it to one of my interns, Corey Matney. Corey proceeded to take the car and drive it like he was racing for Nascar. I will never forget watching him do donuts in the church parking lot with it.

I then bought my first new car, a Mazda Protege 5 from Mazda of Stockton. Jacob Davis had mentioned to me how cool he thought those cars were so in my desire for him to think I was cool, bought one. I drove this car for 2 1/2 years. My personal record for automobile ownership. After a year of living in Mill Creek I traded it in because I wanted a car that didn't look like a teenagers car anymore.

My 17th car was a 2004 Infiniti G35. I bought it used from a dealer on the Eastside. The car was great! One day I was driving down highway 9 when a large piece of metal fell of the truck in front of me and I drove over it destroying the underside of my car. The truck driver's insurance fixed the car but it never quite drove the same so I traded it in on another Infiniti.

My dad suggested I try leasing a new vehicle since I never keep a car very long anyways. So I decided to give it a shot and leased a new 2006 Infiniti G35x. The car was incredible with every extra imaginable. I kept this car the entire 24 month term of the lease and decided to take it in to the dealer and drop it off. I know Dave Ramsey says to avoid leasing but it really isn't that bad. You get a nice car for a super low payment. Not a bad deal. Good idea Dad.

Once I turned the Infiniti in I decided to check out the new Dodge Challenger. I had seen them advertised in the latest edition of Men's Fitness. Unfortunately when I went looking they weren't out yet. I ended up test driving about 10 different cars and on my way home drove by a lot that had a yellow convertible mustang for sale. I had always like the new retro mustang body style and decided to give it a spin. On a bit of a whim, I made an offer to the dealer expecting him to turn it down and to my shock he accepted. I was now the proud owner of a 2006 convertible yellow mustang (I would have preferred black). After about a month of driving the mustang I noticed an annoying rattle. Took it into the shop and found out it had been in a massive accident and had permanent frame damage. I also discovered that driving a bright yellow car has its disadvantages. I took an immense amount of grief for the car leading to my infamous sermon when I referred to it is being made out of solid gold. Anyways, I begged and pleaded with my wife to let me get rid of it after a brief two months of owning it (my shortest stint of car ownership). She finally agreed as long as I agreed to sign a contract stating I wouldn't buy another car for at least 3 years! Thrilled, I gladly signed the agreement and bought my 20th car, a brand spanking new 2009 Dodge Challenger!

Sometimes change is good! They say you can tell a lot about someone by the car they drive... What if you have driven 20?

Travis Blog #6

Week 6

Oct 18, 2008

I think those sleeping pills I took last night gave me insomnia instead of making me tired. I tried to sleep but I was wide awake until 2:30. We took a test in school and the rest of the day was spent rehearsing the dramas we will be performing on our ministry trip at the end of the month. I was in agony because I was so tired and I had to drain my colon. I tried to exert as little energy as possible as to not have an accident in front of the rest of the class. The girl I asked out via text message still hasn't replied, I need to learn this language so I don't have to have conversations through text message with my dictionary or bilingual buddy near by to translate. After school, I walked to the Soriana and I bought a hooded sweatshirt for 50 pesos. It felt weird buying a hoodie when it is 100 degrees outside, but I took it over to Chris' house and cut the sleeves off Larry the Cable Guy style. I now have the luxury of a hoodie, with the comfort of a sleeveless shirt. During youth group I had to get up before the sermon started because it felt like my lower intestine was about to burst. I ran to the bathroom right as Pastor Jesse started speaking. The one thing I both lave and hate about toilets is the incredible acoustic capabilities they posses, every noise has an echo. This can be fun if you are on the phone with a telemarketer, but it is disastrous when you are at church in the middle of the service. The worst part was that there was a momentary lull in the sermon and I let loose with what sounded like a thousand babies crying at once. No one said anything, but I'm sure they knew. After the service I went out with some people to a taco cart on the side of the road. They were much smaller than normal so I felt like a giant when I was holding them. I got dropped off at home and the neighbors were having a party, complete with a band. As I lay in bed at 2 in the morning, I could still hear the band. It sounded like the special-ed kids escaped from their building, smoked a bunch of crack and broke in to the band room and started playing the instruments. The party finally ended and I was able to get to sleep.