About The Blog

“What does that mean?” These were my wife’s words when she saw the title of my blog, employing that tone wives use when husbands do something they think is clever. She has no wrestling history. She never saw Jimmy “The Superfly” Snuka leap from a turnbuckle and put a leather-tasseled beatdown on one of those no-name wrestlers of the 80’s. She never wished her last name was also “Luger,” because she never saw the 4 Horsemen live in all their chemically-enhanced glory. Her ideas about “The American Dream” do not include an asterisk with ”Dusty Rhoades” next to it in the subtext. That’s ok. Some of you are saying to yourselves, “Dusty who?” You, like my wife, get a pass.

A turnbuckle is where the ropes meet in the corner of a wrestling ring. It’s the cosmic place from which God soars to deliver a crushing elbow of truth to my half-baked notions and overblown ego. God wrestled with Jacob, a dirtbag (like us if we’re honest, but we’re so often not and that’s what makes us dirtbags). Through Jacob, God intended to carry out some important plans as related to redeeming humanity. Jacob was changed for the better because of that wrestling match. He came away limping but with a better understanding of God and himself. I don’t mind limping away, and the tensions of ministry and life make being victoriously gimpy a way of life. As they say, the truth hurts. But it’s the kind of pain that makes you a better human being on the other side of it.

I’m sure I’m not the only person whose life and ministry are sometimes as much a collision as they are a collaboration. Maybe you’re a young(ish) minister trying to make a difference - not just a dollar - in an increasingly post-Christian society. Maybe you’re sick of hearing all the easy ways to avoid burnout from people who have the time or money (or both) to just relax. Meanwhile, you’re leaving your guts on the field every play, every day. Maybe you’ll find encouragement and motivation here. That’s my hope.