Getting Disc Golf Right....

Here in Colorado Springs, we are blessed to have several days of tags and doubles matches sponsored by the different disc golf clubs, and our neighbors to the north (Denver area) also have a run of opportunities. I belong to the Pikes Peak Flying Disc Club (shameless plug inserted here) and my comments are directed towards this club and its members. Remember, I am only one member and really can't speak for everyone, I hold no office or unique title. I am just a disc-golfer on an incredible journey and want to stop and smell the flowers every once in a while.

Disc Golf is an addicting game and can be played by some many people on so many different levels of play. It attracts all ages, genders and types of people. It is growing wildly here in the Springs and I imagine everywhere else too. You can play disc golf casually for fun, you can compete against your peers and age groups, or you can compete in PDGA (Professional Disc Golf Association, governing body internationally for disc golf) events and really measure your game and progress. Disc Golf can be played as an individual sport or in doubles matches. All this to say that disc golf has something for everyone.

I recently played in a local doubles match at one of our courses, Aviary Disc Golf Course here in the Springs. I was on a card with three teams playing-and most of these guys are beasts, really good players-and I land around the bottom of their talent pool. As we started off, you could see it was going to be a very hot round with some great scores. As the round went on, it didn't disappoint. There were huge drives, precision second shots and pretty much a putting clinic going on out there (I even got into the act once too). I bring all this up to point out a very important part about disc golf... We want everyone to do well... to win...

As the round went on, you could just feel something big was going to happen, an Ace Run, a 600 foot drive, an upshot of huge proportions. The best part is watching each player cheering on each the other, waiting to see what shot would bang chains next. This is the excitement that is disc golf. And you can be part of it too.

I play to get better, to have fun, to become an all around player. Going out on rounds with guys I know shoot better and have better technique than I do is my plan. Seeing these guys play and getting wrapped up in the excitement is a great time and a great way to spend the day. In many ventures of life (disc golf has many life lessons) becoming a student of the game is a solid way to improve and get better at your craft.

People have told me that the disc golf crowd is not a good crowd, they say that they have heard about "disc golfers". Well you have heard about the few, not the many. To be sure, there are some folks out there that can make being associated with disc golf a painful experience. Maybe you have read a few Facebook "rants" and figure you could live without the drama. Yes the drama is real, but in all honesty, it makes up for about 2% of what disc golf and disc golf players are all about. I encourage you to get out and meet the real faces of disc golf in our community. You will be glad you did.

So get out there and get playing, play with players that will challenge you to get better, and play soon,,, because as we all know "Winter Is Coming"...

David Fournier

The Importance of Study... Not a Practice, But a Lifestyle...

For years, many Pastor friends of mine preach to their congregations the importance of studying their Bibles. Not just reading, but pouring over the Holy Writ, looking deeply into verses so familiar to us we know them by heart, but yet seek to find something fresh and awakening in our view. Think of it like visiting with old friends, you may only have the stories of your past to share, but yet when you get together, all the stories are made alive in your retelling.

So it is with our Scriptures. Our pastors are correct in pushing us to study, to read and to know our Bibles. Knowing God's Word for the Psalmist David was the way of a sinless life when he said, "Thy words I have hid in my heart, that I might not sin against you". So I want to offer my pastor friends a perspective from an unlikely (maybe even unknown source) of Jewish literature called The Zohar. In summary, The Zohar is a 23 volume commentary covering the first five book of the Bible, also known as "The Torah" or "The Law of Moses". Yes, 23 volumes covering five books. You know, like a Baptist church business meeting, long and detailed.

In The Zohar, Volume 5, Section Vayetze, Chapter 15 (And Jacob went out of Beer-Sheva), paragraph 109 we read; "And whoever is occupied in the studying of Torah attains freedom from everything, but especially freedom from death, which ahs no power over him. He who studies Torah and attaches himself to it, holds the Tree of Life. If he relaxes his hold on the Tree of Life, the Tree of Death dwells upon him and seizes him. This is the meaning of the verse: :If you relax in the day of adversity, your strength is narrow" Proverbs 24:10. The word "relax" means relaxing one's hold on the Torah.

Rabbi Aba goes a step further and says, "Happy are they who maintain Justice and do Righteousness at all times. Those who study Torah and follow God's ways are freed from ruin-that is-power of death. Those unrighteousness, on the other hand, are abandoned by the Shekinah (Holy Spirit) and become vulnerable to the Evil Inclination, the temptation to do harm."

Now don't have a doctrinal heart attack here, try and work with me. Let's just look at the wisdom of the words for now, and let them breathe out a bit. The New Testament documents are clear that faith comes by hearing, and this hearing comes by the Word of God. In a sense, this type of hearing is like vision, the ability not to see the future, but to see clearly where we are heading and how God is leading us there. And we all know that without vision, the people perish.

Most Christians seem very happy and content getting sprayed every once in a while with the Bible. They occupy pews in rows like cantaloupe, waiting for someone to sing to them, entertain them and read a few words from God's Word. This is a great strategy if your life spiritual goal is to become a cantaloupe, but if you aim to be an Agent of Change in this world for Messiah, its going to take a bit more commitment. Okay, a lot more.

So I issue you this challenge, a challenge for the ages. Contact you Pastor, your Bible study teacher, small group leader (whatever you are calling them these days) and ask them what you could be doing to dig deeper into your study life. Once they get off the floor, give them a minute to respond, you will be glad you did.

Maybe our Jewish brothers are on to something. Maybe we can try and take our faith deeper and not wider. Maybe one of our measuring tools can be our literacy and knowledge transforming the world around us into the place Messiah called us to when He said, "Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven".

Believe when I say I an not here to lecture you, but offer some humble advice... "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a worker that needs to not be ashamed". Oh, and listen to your pastors and leaders about this too, you will be glad you did.

David Fournier

David Fournier in the Senior Instructor at Restoring Grace. David teaches classes on Hebraic Perspectives, Early Christian Communities and New Testament Formations and Canon. David is available for your church, youth group, seminars and retreats. Email David at:dfour26@gmail.com