What it's all about

Last Saturday morning my usual football Saturday routine was disturbed....disturbed by the sudden presence of some watery substance welling up in my eyes. Here's why:

I am sure than almost all of you are aware of the Penn State scandal, so I won't rehash the details. The fact is, I don't have the stomach for the details. I couldn't even get past the third page of the grand jury report (and no, I'm not going to link it) because it turned my stomach and also was beginning to get into details that I don't believe I should be letting into my mind. But the things that happened there are abominable, and it is hard to see how anything good could come from it.

But the God of the universe is bigger than even this and he is sovereign. He can make good out of anything. Scripture after Scripture reveals how he makes all things work together for good, which is to say, to bring him glory. I don't know all the ways he is going to work in this situation, but I know one.

So...Saturday morning. I was watching ESPN College Game Day as usual, when suddenly they began making their picks at around 10:30...15 minutes early. What's up with that? And then Lee Corso donned the Stanford headgear (btw, great pick coach!) at 10;45 and they were done. I checked every clock in the place - I was confused.

And then I knew why. They cut to Penn State to cover the pregame festivities because it was, after all, the biggest story in the country. My first thought - a little morbid to do that. Well, after a few minutes of coverage, they showed the most amazing thing I have ever seen on a football field. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, please watch:



As the stadium went quiet and everyone - everyone - on the field gathered for the prayer, my eyes welled up. It wasn't just a show of religion on a football field; we see those all the time and it's hard to know what's real and what's show. This one was obvious. In the face of great adversity, God showed up. And it was powerful.

One more video hammers the point home. This one is raw footage from on the field where we can actually hear the prayer being led by a Nebraska coach. (The fact that it was led by the visiting team makes it even more remarkable to me - he was praying for his suffering brothers.) This was no formality, or... You know what? I'm going to stop rambling and let you watch:



Wow!

"Father, thank you for being a God who loves us despite all our failings. Thank you for the comfort, hope, and love you give when we are hurting most. I know that there are thousands of your children in State College who are hurting because of the things that happened in their midst - some of them are friends of mine. I pray for the children who were the victims of the atrocities, and also for the entire community. Thank you for taking just a few moments Saturday to show them that you are there, you love them, and you will bring healing. Amen"

The Penn State situation

Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. (James 3:1)

It is a sad day for many of us, for many reasons. We have learned that an institution that we respect has been tainted by the most insidious of crimes for many years. And we have learned that people in powerful positions who could have done more to stop it...didn't. And they have paid with their jobs and their reputations.

I have dozens of thoughts running through my head, most of them filled with anger and outrage toward the perpetrator. But some of them serve as a warning...a warning that we must always be on our guard to do the right thing. Not just complying with the law, but doing the right thing no matter what the cost.

• First and foremost, my heart is with the children who were hurt and their families. I cannot imagine the damage that has been done over the years to them. That is the most important thing here. I can only pray that they will experience God's unconditional love and healing over time.

• Turning to life lessons, you can erase a lifetime legacy in a single failing of character. There is no disputing how much positive influence Joe Paterno had on young people over the last 46 years. He has been considered a beacon of building a successful college football program the right way. But from reports (including his own statements and grand jury testimony) it seems he became aware of an unspeakable evil and stood by doing nothing. He did what the law required, but apparently he did not use his power and influence to make sure it stopped (or - perhaps - to dig into how serious it was; this is part of the responsibility when you have been put in charge of young people). How will he be remembered? Sadly, for this. For all of us, when we face that moment where we can take the path of least resistance (inaction) or do the right thing, we must do the right thing. If we don't, we risk losing a lifetime of building a good reputation.

• As the announcement was made tonight that Paterno and President Spanier had been dismissed, I thought about the Scripture at the top of of this post. When you take on the responsibility to be a leader, the bar is raised. Any of us who want to lead people, we need to count the cost. If we want to lead young people, the bar goes even higher. I think that's why the PSU Board had to move.  Not because we know all the facts; it's possible we'll learn later that the coach was incredibly naive. But because regardless of how the whole thing is resolved legally, the leadership in the face of this evil did not meet the high standard of James 3:1. And that had to be addressed immediately.

I am sad for my friends in Pennsylvania who are part of the Penn State family. I have so many friends there who I met over the summer and my heart hurts for them. I cannot even imagine how I would be feeling if this had occurred here in Alabama. If you are reading this, please know I love you and I know that the pockets of evil do not erase all the good things about your university. As a friend posted this afternoon, "We Are...more than this scandal." We know that. And we know you will come through it strong.

A era is over. It's sad.

Children have been injured. It's outrageous.

God is sovereign. And I can rest in that. But it's not easy.