A Mere Baking Thought

If anyone likes to ask me (or care enough) today what is the indispensable quality a church leader must possess without a second thought I’ll say it is a warrior heart. A good Christian man knows how to live an upright life for himself but I’d much preferred a fighter who is not afraid to bleed his heart out for Jesus and his church.

In an unrelated story, Diego Chico Corrales, a rising boxing star at age 29, has just died from a motorcycle accident when he (riding in 100 mph) hit the back of a car, flew over and got ran over by an oncoming traffic.

Dan Rafael (the author) is obviously very fond of this man and his way of life.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/columns/story?columnist=rafael_dan&id=2867504

“It wasn't the only time Corrales showed guts and will. How about when he was knocked down five times by Floyd Mayweather in their junior lightweight title fight? Corrales kept getting up until his corner threw in the towel, a move he raged against. There was also his first slugfest with Joel Casamayor, in which Corrales suffered a horrific cut all the way through his lip. Although the fight was stopped, Corrales begged to continue as blood poured from the wound. Trailing to Acelino "Popo" Freitas, Corrales rallied, knocking Freitas down three times to win”

“I vividly remember sitting inside the Mandalay Bay Events Center watching the spectacle of the fight with Castillo unfold. When Corrales was knocked down for the second time in the 10th round, most of us sitting ringside thought it was over. But Corrales had a warrior heart and a never-say-die attitude. He got up both times and then rallied to score one of the most incredible comebacks in history. Not just boxing, mind you. Sports history.”

I never boxed, never got into a serious fight in my life, and I can count the number of times I’ve watched the matches. But when I read this story my heart just goes out for him, because Diego understood that a fight (or life) is over the moment he no longer counts himself dead. If only the dude knew how to fight for people’s hearts and you give me a few good Diego, and I’ll show you a church that overflows in the scale of Pentecost.

Self Amusement

Ask a Mexican:
http://www.ocweekly.com/columns/ask-a-mexican/

Maybe I should run a column of something like “Ask a Chinaman”.

Q: “Why is ‘Chinaman’ considered derogatory?”
A: I am just as well puzzled. The English suffix of –nese actually refers to things of object and thus ‘Chinese’ and ‘Japanese’ ought to sound even more condescending (and why do Koreans get all the break?). Personally I think there is an underlying flattery that ‘Chinaman’ is named in equal rank with “Englishman”.

Q: “Why do Chinese eat weird stuffs like inner cow linings?”
A: Once upon the time when China was in her most glorious days of history not found in the Bible, parents fed their kids cow linings and cultivated them on different tastes of food, natural or acquired. The movement grew its momentum and offended the Indians very much, and they fought wars over whether cows are meant to be worshipped or eaten. Until today this divisive issue remains one of the hot flashes in Asia and the Bush administration are asking both countries to lay down their arms to aid the war on terror.

Q: “What is the difference between a Taiwanese and a Chinese?”
A: A Chinese prides himself in everything Chinese but gets offended in being compared with other Chinese. A Taiwanese considers himself everything Chinese but gets offended in being called a Chinese. (It's okay if you don't get the joke...)