I have hit the beloved 1000th post. As I drew near to this momentous board occasion, I have been reflecting on my reputation that my 1000 posts have conveyed. How am I perceived amongst my peers? A noob with a medal? A good sportsman? An unknown and lame ogre? A welcomed friend with great input? the dreaded spammer? When I show to tournaments, what emotions do I create in others? As a youth pastor, I try to hold myself with the utmost honor and integrity. I try to have all my posts to be either informative or encouraging. Occasionally, I have been testy or been misunderstood. I have approached those people, and hopefully I have cleared it up or deleted offensive posts all together. My life goal is that people to not necessarily see Jonathan, but to see Jesus Christ through me. I will continue to try and being an informative, encouraging witness on these boards. May I continue to take the attitude of John the Baptist:
John 3:30 (NIV)
He (Jesus) must become greater; I must become less.
The second part of this post is to describe what Redemption means to me. Aside from my competitive gaming attitude, Redemption has been a wonderful journey. I encountered it twice in my life. The first time in 1999 at a Youth Specialties convention. I got a couple of packs thinking that it was "neat," but I didn't have the money to invest in any further (being a newlywed youth pastor). Fast forward to the summer of 2004, I see an eye catching banner with an angel at a concert weekend at Kings Island. I ask about the game and buy a deck right away. It's another year before I figure out that there are tournaments and a website. Probably another year, before I figure out that there is a message board. I used it as a teaching tool in the beginning at youth group: encouraging youth to learn the books of the Bible to become better at the game, and to read the background stories of their favorite characters. Personally, it was a game that I could feel good about investing in. It renewed old friendships, and it helped create new friendships. In some ways, it helped the Bible come alive because at times I think of cards while reading a passage of Scripture. Though, I don't get to attend many tournaments because of my remote location....I still have fond memories of the tourneys that I have been too. It still kind of exciting to be teaching a lesson, and have a youth (who plays) raise their hand to say they recognize the character or story because of redemption.
I hope Redemption continues to have success because I look forward to the day where I can share the joy of this game with my own sons and compete with them. Until then, I will continue to play and post on this board.
