The Heath Mullikin Project

Since my last past, much has happened in my world.  Here’s hoping I don’t miss anything.

1.  Tommy Bowden “resigned.”  Do you know how to tell when someone was really fired?  When the boss has to constantly remind people that the coach “resigned?”  And if Bowden resigned then why is he getting the $3.5 million buyout?  I like Dabo Sweeney, but he’s got his work cut out for him to overcome the culture of mediocrity.  Due to Deb’s urging, I will give them until the end of the season before renouncing my fandom.

2.  Assumed the unofficial title of special assistant to the assistant as I went to FUEL at Wesleyan HQ.  There were three benefits from this trip.  1-Got a behind scenes look at FUEL and HQ.  2-Got to hang with Matt, Deb, and Gary T. Rich.  3-Got to recharge my batteries.  I also got to see these two videos.

3.  More on FUEL-Matt did an amazing job leading this event.  It was more laid back than years past and Kevin Myers hit the marriage covenant pretty hard.  The final session was the best FUEL moment ever with transparent speakers and a foot washing ceremony.  Did I mention that Dustin and Miriam Ah Koui did an amazing job leading worship?  It was great reliving some SWU days and hearing the name of Steve Chandler uttered.  I think Tom Giljam was mentioned as well.

4.  God is amazing.  Matt had been in a car accident the week before and somehow God used that to lower their debt, connect them with another believer(who just happened to own a great car), and buy a Honda Element for an amazing price.  It was cool to be with them and just to witness the miracle happening in their lives.  Yeah, and Leo bit me on the face…kinda.

5.  Karen ran in a 5k race on Saturday while I was gone.  Her goal has been the half-marathon in Raleigh on Nov. 2.  She ran 10 miles yesterday.  It’s been pretty inspiring to watch her train for this.  It’s pushed me to announce the 34 by 34 initiative.  I basically have half a year(178 days) until my next birthday and I want to weigh a healthy weight by then.  For progress reports, check out the 34 by 34 link at the top of the page.

6.  I finally got my NC East jersey and it fit and felt great.

I have so much to do and so much to say, but I don’t know if today’s post truly explained how awesome my trip to Indy was.  More manana.

This weekend was a combination of things I had never seen before and moments of deja vu.  Here we go:

1.  Friday we left for South Carolina for a family reunion.  It was also my mom’s birthday on Saturday.  It was a quick trip that didn’t allow for the normal meet and greet with SC friends.  The reunion was more of a “meeting” in the sense that I had to meet people I had already met but couldn’t remember and we have a treasurer and president in charge of family reunions.  I was also shocked to see K-Fed there.  I think he is my third cousin.

2.  Friday night my dad and I hung out at the Mcalister’s where they were cooking a pig for a BBQ on Saturday.  Around Pendleton, my dad and Steve McAlister have become famous for their barbeque and Steve’s son(and my best friend), Alan, has taken the torch.  Alan married my cousin, Angel, so it’s great because I get see two of my favorite people.  Angel was like a sister growing up and still is.  Not surprisingly, the conversation centered around Clemson football and the debacle that is Tommy Bowden.  Saw this great article today.  Best moments of the night were the argument about closing the gate so the cows don’t get out and the trip to Wal-Mart.  Alan and I got in this old truck and I said, “It’s Friday night around midnight and we just got in an old truck.  Are we in high school again?”  Memo to Wal-Mart, you do need to have more than one register open when there are 20 people in line.  Why did a mother have a 2 year old in Wal-Mart at 12:30 AM?  Caution-rant ahead-skip to #3 if you don’t want to hear what I have to say-you’ve been warned!   Due to conviction I just deleted my rant because I really shouldn’t judge a person’s whole life based on the fact they had their kid at Wal-Mart at 12:30 AM.  Speaking of high school, my brother is rocking the stand alone stach again.

3.  On Sunday morning, the kids ministry sponsored friend day and over 80 kids were present.  They had games, a hayride, and face painting.  During the first service, a HUGE pitbull showed up with no tags.  He could snap your leg with one bite.  We tried to run him off…correction…a man braver than me tried to run him off.  Imagine my surprise when the dog met me as I went to pick up my kids after church.  I hope to be over my dog-phobia soon, but once you’ve been bit, it’s hard to forget.  Hey, that rhymes and will be a song on my next CD.

4.  Other unusual, not bad just things I haven’t seen before, situations arose at church.  We had a big crowd and an awesome spirit.  Lots of people responded to Charlie’s message.  It’s evident that people want to change and be who God created them to be.  I’m excited to preach on the 26th!

5.  FUEL is this week and I get to stay with the Rhodes, Matt and Deborah.  Gary T. Rich will also be there and FUEL is always a refreshing time.  I think it will be strange for Gary and I to be staying with Matt.  He is one we can look at and know that investment pays off sometimes.  Not only did he marry a great woman, but he is in charge of FUEL and has a great job at Wesleyan HQ.  It’s a long way from Greenville, SC, Table Rock, and South Dakota.  I think I’m just as excited to visit the church plant Matt is helping with, Harvest.

I will post tommorow, but may not be able to until next week.  I will do my best to keep everyone updated.  Much love to all.

Last night, our youth group worked a consession stand at the Wake Forest-Clemson game.  This stand is our major fundraiser for the year.  I have been a Clemson fan since I found out my dad was a Clemson fan and my uncle started taking us to games back in the early 80’s.  When you’re a child of 10, watching the Tigers run down the hill is something that blows you away forever.  Watching it live never, ever gets old.  I will never forget leaving the Georgia Tech game in 1998, another Clemson choke job, and hearing fans chanting Tommy Bowden’s name in the hopes we would hire him as our new coach.  Bowden was in the midst of leading Tulane to an 11-0 season and is the son of All-Time great coach and thorn in Clemson’s side, Bobby Bowden.  Even then, walking to my car, I told everyone within earshot, “Having the right last name doesn’t make someone a good coach.”  Sure enough, Coach Tommy West was fired that week after the Tigers finished 3-8 and Tommy Bowden was hired.  In fairness, Bowden inherited a program in decline with facilities that had become subpar.  I attened his first game against Marshall in Death Valley.  I saw our kicker absolutely shank a field goal at the end that would have tied the game.  To this day, I have never seen such a horrible miss.  A one legged man wearing a blind fold would have gotten it at least a little closer.  For me, this became a sign of things to come:  disappointment upon disappointment, unmet expectation after unmet expectation.  For the past ten years, I have been consistent in saying that Bowden got the job based on his name and should be let go.  Ask anyone that knows me, I have been a vocal critic of his coaching(he is welcome to speak at my church any Sunday because of his solid faith) since the beginning.  I have never believed and never said that he is, was, or ever will be the right man to coach the Clemson Tigers.  For years, I have pulled against Clemson in the hopes that enough losses would lead to Bowden’s dismissal.  Always, somewhere there was a place in my heart that held true and loyal to the Tigers and hoped for the best.  Last night, that all changed.  I have been to lots of sporting events, but have never cheered as loudly as during Clemson’s last drive last night.  I was genuinely excited to see them fail.  I was cheering more enthusiasticly than any of the true Deacon fans(they are just my adopted team) and hugging anyone that would let me.  It was a new strange feeling as I watched Clemson do something that has become their calling card:  play a mind blowingly bad game against a beatable opponent.  On the way home, the Clemson team caravan passed us.  I recognized the Young buses from when they would transport the Tigers from their home locker room to Howard’s rock and the Hill.  I then saw a semi-truck painted in Clemson colors pass by.  On the back was a list of Clemson’s ACC championships.  What I realized shocked me.  Their last title came in 1991.  That means, that I have now spent more than half my life pulling for a losing(in terms of titles) program.  The glory days of my youth are long gone.  Across the south, many 30-somethings are waking up to the same reality.  Now, there are alot of more important things in life than having a team to love and that is what makes having a team to love so important.  It’s an escape.  It’s a safe place.  It’s home.  I will be going home this weekend, to Clemson, for a family reunion.  I hope I see that semi-truck again…parked in front of Tommy Bowden’s house.  There’s lots of youth groups that will help him move for free.

Most of you know I’m a comic reader, mainly Batman stuff.  Well, there’s a huge storyline going on now called “Batman: R.I.P.” and I am racking my brain trying to figure it out.  The main villain is a mug called the Black Glove who is probably someone we already know.  Now, with a movie I could just read the spoiler at www.themoviespoiler.com.  Not so with comics.  I have to wait another month to see what they’re going to do with my favorite character.

No, I did not watch the debate last night.  You watch debates to hear the candidates stand on the issues.  I know their stands on the issues because I have been paying attention for the last 2 years.  I don’t know if this election is going to be as close as many originally thought.  To me, and I’m not basing this on faulty poll data, there is no energy right now with either campaign and they’re all grasping at straws.  I think Obama has moved to the “Four Corners” offense and is trying to make sure that neither he or Senator Biden make any game changing mistakes.

Tamba Bay Rays…meet the Oakland A’s.  They used to be like you.  Young, cheap, and in the playoffs.  Soon you will be like them…your roster raided by big market teams and on the outside looking in.  By the way, has anyone noticed that most of the guys who left the A’s(Hudson, Zito,Giambi, Tejada) never were the same again.  It’s the Moneyball curse.

Let me know what you think of the new layout.

I just found out that there is no paper trail concerning my ordination.  NC East needs a transfer, but SC and Penn-Jersey have informed me that they have nothing to transfer.  Am I legally ordained?  Was it all a dream?  Does the document make the minister?  I have a sneaking suspicion where the mistake came from.

Ok, so I get a call Saturday that a young man named Scott had a bad accident.  Scott came to our church in Pennsylvania and I got to baptize him on my final Sunday there.  Saturday, Scott was changing the brakes on his truck when the jack collapsed and the truck fell on his leg.  Several people had to lift the truck off of him and it was feared that his leg was crushed and he might lose it.  The paramedics feared the worst.  A few hours later, I was informed that Scott had no broken bones and was just sore and on crutches.  What a miracle!  I have told that story dozens of times and it never gets old!  God is awesome!

Congrats to Adam Jones who got married on Saturday.

Going to have lunch with the Apostle Tall today AKA Andy Hames AKA…well, we won’t go there.

Is it just me, or is my blog becoming like Larry King’s USA Today column?

Life is more fair than fantasy football.  Fantasy Football is more about how many points your opponent scores and you have no control over that.  Good thing Fantasy Basketball starts in a few weeks.  I think Jerry said it best when he said of Kramer,”His whole life is a fantasy camp.”  Or did George say that?

I’ve rambled enough.  I am out.

Okay, here’s what happened in the last few days.

1.  May Rally was awesome.  Great to be with the East youth and Josh LeRoy did a great job.  God has challenged me to let go of some things(DVD’s), help a friend in need, and have a challenging conversation with another.  As of this minute I am 1-3 although my friend is still in need.  The other two I hope to get to this week.  Where’s the best and fastest place to sell DVD’s?

2.  Josh LeRoy and I had a great conversation about a man in his community.  Josh referred to this man as a hustler.  He had spent time in prison, was recently shot, and basically just “hustles” people to get by.  I did not take this to mean that he was doing anything illegal from the way Josh spoke of him.  My only question was, “Is hustler really a good name for him and what he’s doing?”  Seems to me that if someone really hustled then hustling would be unneccesary, but, technically, they would still be a hustler.  No one has ever accused a hustler of actually hustling.  My coaches always told me I never hustled enough.  Oh, I beg to differ.

3.  Just finished reading Rob Bell’s new book “God wants to save Christians.”  Go buy it right now.  I love all his work.  God uses it to really kick my butt and get my mind in gear.  This book amazed me in the way it was critical of some things our country does without sounding un-patriotic and partisan.  Rob connects things in scripture that blow me away every time.  He’s got two DVD’s out:  Everything is Spiritual and The Gods aren’t angry.  I’ve seen one on DVD and one live.  Both amazing.

4.  I heard from several of you on the write a book/standup comedy question.  I am printing off info from Wesleyan Publishing House as we speak on submitting a book proposal.  It will incorporate some of my standup material.  Lots of work to be done before next week.  Thanks for your encouragement.

5.  Did I mention that the Red Sox won?  There is the potential of a Dodgers-Red Sox World Series matchup.  Now as I’ve mentioned before, I am no Manny hater.  That trade has worked out great for both teams as Jason Bay scored the game and series winning run(and got his hand spiked in the process) last night.  Such a matchup, to me, would only further Manny’s legend as he would then before the first $20 million man to lead 2 teams to the World Series.  How many great players can say that?  I was surprised by the Red Sox celebration last night.  I guess it was deserved since they beat the best team in the AL and were the underdogs record wise.  Sure would be nice to see them win the whole thing at home for a change.

6.  Today is going to be a great day.  Hope yours is too.  If you haven’t registered to vote…better luck next time because you missed the deadline.

Do you know how hard it is to watch a debate, wrestling, and playoff baseball at the same time?

I didn’t hear anything in the debate last night that I hadn’t heard before.

How good do the Phillies and Dodgers look right now?

I think TNA wrestling is going down the same path that ruined WCW.  They keep signing old talent from WWE instead of growing their own.  Sounds like the Yankees.

I’m heading up to May Rally at Victory Mountain Camp this weekend.  It used to be in May.  Now it’s in October.  At least they didn’t call it “Fall for Jesus.”  Now, see if there’s at least one bulletin board in your church that has that slogan on it.

I’m being serious when I say this:  we should start something called Operation Clean Sweep.  I’ve been thinking about it for a week now.  Basically, it would be a push to replace all the politicians with regular people over the next 8 years.  It will take willing citizens and a whole lot of cash.  Of course, everybody think their representative is doing just fine so nothing ever changes.  Term limits sound like a great idea too.  If you think the circus will be over after election day then you are mistaken.  This is the new America where we are just moving from one election to the next.  The election cycle never ends.  Let me end my political riff with this:  in four years, whoever the president is will have to explain their vote for this bailout bill.  It’s not a good bill and will have enourmous repurcussions for all of us.

A friend of mine pointed out a blog that said a church can’t focus on the people inside and reach new people at the same time.  The blog’s opinion was that churches need to focus on the people who are there.  It seems to me that most churches aren’t doing either.  If your church closed tomorrow, would the community notice or care?

Sometimes I wonder if Eve hadn’t eaten the fruit and given some to Adam if we would all be going around naked.  If she hadn’t, then naked would be normal and not such a big deal.  Then again, it’s pretty cold today.  In conclusion, I wish there wasn’t any sin, but I would still like some clothes to wear.

I’m either going to write a book(which would just be like a long blog with chapters) or I’m gonna work on my stand up comedy routine.  I just decided this so let me know which one you think I should pursue.  Would Wesleyan Publishing House put out a book called, “I’d let you in my head, but the voices say there’s no room”?

Have a great weekend-go red sox-phillies world series-Clemson please lose again-and good night now!