CONFESSIONS OF A STARBUCKS PASTOR

Isn't that what long-term congressmen and women say when describing their work in D.C.? They are "serving their country" through their public life in government. Service implies an act of nobility at one's expense that goes beyond expectation. When I think of service, I think of members of the military who put their lives on the line, or doctors without borders who spend significant time in third world countries donating their skills for those far less fortunate.  Service also makes me think of paid and unpaid people at churches donating their time and money to make a church experience more relevant.  Service reminds me of teaching staff and volunteers who invest hour upon hour every day in order to give children the best possible education. And of course service makes me think of anyone in the food business that has to interact with customers while delivering a tasty dish... or mocha. What does not remind me of service is a government employee - representing a cer...

That would be the Super Bowl, now in its 48th year. Let's look at what that means in today's over-marketed, over-saturated contemporary culture. In order to do that, first set that thought aside and think about topic sentences. You know, the thing 6th grade teachers used to club us about when we couldn't find the main point during English class. The thing that no longer matters because everything flows together like the Ohio and Missouri into the Mississippi. (Woa, how very #DennisMiller of me just then.) Our culture is suffering because of marketing bleed and the Super Bowl is a perfect representation. The game that used to be about football is now about what people do with football as an add-on. Super Bowl Sunday has been hijacked. The pre-shows for the recent Bowl had television and film stars taking photo shoots promoting their next project in the context of "being caught attending the Super bowl". I love you Hugh Jackman, but do I really need to know ab...