Last week: 9-4

Season total: 87-42

Chicago at San Francisco

Both squads bring their A-game. Jay Cutler and Matt Forte turn loose a couple of big plays late to break away.

Bears 30, Niners 28

Detroit at Minnesota

This one turns into the Percy Harvin Expo early on.

Vikings 38, Lions 17

Denver at Washington

Upset special: the Redskins, able to contain the Broncos struggling rushing attack, rattle Kyle Orton and contain Brandon Marshall. 

Redskins 20, Broncos 17

Update: Considering the Clinton Portis concussion, I think Denver wins, 17-13.

Atlanta at Carolina

Tough to call. Both teams are looking to come back from tough losses to New Orleans. Carolina is trying to cure DeAngelo Williams of the dropsies. In the end I’ll go with the more bruising running back and psychologically-stable QB.

Falcons 27, Panthers 20

Tampa Bay at Miami

The Bucs are coming off a big win against Green Bay, while the Dolphins attempt to bounce back from a loss against New England. The Bucs’ D was able to pin its ears back and fly at (and into) Aaron Rodgers last week, but they won’t have the same liberty against Miami’s Wildcat.

Dolphins 24, Bucs 13

Jacksonville at New York Jets

This is going to be a season of what-ifs for the Jets, whose defense has felt the loss of larger than life DT Kris Jenkins. Maurice Jones-Drew shreds them, and frustration begins to set in the Big Apple.

Jags 24, Jets 20

New Orleans at St. Louis

This puts the easy in Big Easy.

Saints 49, Rams 14

Buffalo at Tennessee

This Tennessee game-plan of Vince Young doing just enough through the air to keep defenses from sitting on Chris Johnson is working just fine. It’s unlikely, but what if Tennessee actually does run the table the rest of the way? They would have to be the most dramatic playoff entry in recent memory. But let’s not get carried away.

Titans 31, Bills 16

Cincinnati at Pittsburgh

Hold the mustard Ochocinco. Mike Tomlin’s team isn’t losing such a crucial divisional game on their home turf in November. Cedric Benson meets reality.

Steelers 31, Bengals 17

Kansas City at Oakland

A lot of dysfunction on the field (and sidelines) for this one.

Chiefs 24, Raiders 23

Dallas at Green Bay

A lot of attention is going to New England-Indy and Cincy-Pittsburgh, but this battle in the Upper Midwest will have much to say about the outcome of the NFC East and North. The Packers can’t afford to fall another game behind Minnesota, plain and simple, while Dallas is trying to establish itself atop the East and in the highest echelon of teams league-wide. Expect a Green Bay effort to hold off the Dallas rush with a lot of Ryan Grant stunt runs. 

Packers 30, Cowboys 27

Seattle at Arizona

There is simply no way the Seattle secondary is going to contain Fitz and Co.

Cardinals 35, Seahawks 17

Philadelphia at San Diego

Two of the hottest teams in the league. Two offenses with plenty of weapons. I’ll go with the stronger defense to make a couple more plays down the stretch.

Eagles 28, Chargers 24

New England at Indianapolis

The Colts secondary is depleted. Peyton depletes all secondaries. The Colts will get more pressure on Tom Brady than the Pats can send to Peyton.

Colts 35, Patriots 31

Baltimore at Cleveland

Brady Quinn is back. It’s Monday Night in Cleveland. The Ravens get caught looking ahead just enough to make this game.

Ravens 27, Browns 23

I’ve been letting neglecting this blog. I need to ease my way back into the process of writing, so I’ll do something a bit fluffy and roll out a little “Ten Things I’m Thinking This Morning.”

1. I think Facebook needs to add the capacity to write in italics so that its users can evolve beyond the ALL CAPS emphasis.

2. Book that I want to read this month: Thy Kingdom Connected by Dwight Friesen.

3. Book I’m glad I read this month: A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. For the foreseeable future, my mantra is going to be “Live a good story.” I think this book changed me. Maybe in a few months I’ll be able to prove it.

4. I think that the Facebook pages created for non-entities (e.g., Bare Feet, Texting in Awkward Situations, Sunsets) contribute to the eventual undoing of Facebook, expediting Facebook’s destiny to become the new MySpace (embarrassingly juvenile, provoking shame) while some other social media site emerges as the new Facebook.

5. Book for which I’m becoming impatient: Myth of the Blueprint by Greg Boyd. This article (dense but lovely) has me salivating to read the entire work: http://www.gregboyd.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/two-motivations.pdf

6. Two more wins and Ohio State is in the BCS. Just saying.

7. I spend a lot of my time working in coffee shops — putting together Paradigm’s liturgies, updating our website and social media, assembling print materials, and meeting with people in our community. So having a few different coffee shops I can rotate between helps to keep me sane. 

Here are the factors that I consider when choosing a place to get some work done (listed in order of importance):

- availability of electrical outlets (if I can’t use my computer after a few hours, there’s no use)

- proximity to home

- quality of drinks

- quality of music played (none is better than bad, but good is best)

- design and decor of space (will sitting there for a couple hours stifle every ounce of creative spirit?)

- store hours (most mornings I get going at 6:30-6:45, and every now and then I have a night where I’m plugging away at 10:30)

- size of tables (can I have my computer, a stack of books, and a drink on the table and not feeling scrunched?) and space between tables (when I get up from my table, am I going to need to straddle five other customers to get to the door?)

- friendliness of staff

- vibe of customer base (can I get things done around these people?)

That said, my favorite place in Seattle to get things done is Q Cafe. They have plenty of outlets, Stumptown Coffee, solid music (almost always), and good-sized tables spread out in an open, creative-feeling space. On top of that, it’s six blocks from my house. And they donate 10% of their sales to organizations and non-profits that are making a difference in the world.

8. I taught at Paradigm last night — talked about Micah 6.8, Jewish imagery for “walking with God,” and mitzvot. I don’t hate teaching, but I’ve become less and less enthused about public speaking, in general. If I ever needed to teach on a regular basis, I feel like I could get by OK. But Julie is just so much more natural at it — she thinks as a teacher, and has such an authentic understanding of the material that she doesn’t need to give as many hours to on-the-spot preparation during the week. 

Julie and I are very big about moving into an ethos of teaching rather than preaching. Most Christians either have no understanding or alarming misunderstandings of the central narrative and major motifs of Scripture. They’re really good at being rallied and riled up, but they lack biblical literacy. I think I would be a good preacher, but I don’t think faith communities need preachers as much as they need to get a clue theologically. Good teaching helps toward that end. I’m glad Julie’s a natural teacher so that I won’t often have to be.

9. The Electronic Age is the great equalizer in our world today. Experience still matters in terms of character and wisdom, but in terms of navigating through our present world — regardless of what market/sphere you work in — rapid change humbles and equalizes. Financial recession aside, it’s a good time to be young, I suppose; you’re treading water, but so is everyone else.

10: Meh. It turns out I only had nine things to say.

Last week: 7-6

Season total: 78-38

Falcons 27, Redskins 16

Cardinals 28, Bears 23

Ravens 31, Bengals 20

Colts 35, Texans 31

Jaguars 24, Chiefs 20

Patriots 30, Dolphins 17

Packers 34, Buccaneers 9

Saints 31, Panthers 21

Seahawks 24, Lions 21

Giants 30, Chargers 27

Titans 27, 49ers 23

Eagles 24, Cowboys 19

Steelers 28, Broncos 27

Last week: 10-3

Season total: 71-32

Houston at Buffalo

The Bills have been giving QBs fits in recent weeks, but none of those QBs were of Matt Schaub’s caliber.

Texans 24, Bills 19

Cleveland at Chicago

Are you kidding? Northwestern could best the Browns these days. OK, that’s exaggerating. But USC or Florida might smash them, for real.

Bears 34, Browns 10

Seattle at Dallas

They’re starting to heat up in Big D. Tony Romo throws for 300 yards and four scores.

Cowboys 38, Seahawks 21

St. Louis at Detroit

A multi-win season in Detroit after Matthew Stafford returns to the lineup.

Lions 27, Rams 24

San Francisco at Indianapolis

We might see WR Anthony Gonzalez back in the lineup this week. As if Peyton needs more weapons for his arsenal.

Colts 38, 49ers 16

Miami at New York Jets

Sanchize strikes back.

Jets 24, Dolphins 10

New York Giants at Philadelphia

Overshadowed by the World Series showdown between the same cities, the Big Apple has to settle for a split.

Giants 30, Eagles 27

(Phillies 8, Yankees 5)

Denver at Baltimore

The Broncos might have enough gap discipline to hold Ray Rice in check. I don’t see Joe Flacco winning this alone.

Broncos 20, Ravens 16

Jacksonville at Tennessee

It won’t necessarily be the result of the QB shift, but Vince Young will get to play hero for a day.

Titans 23, Jags 20

Oakland at San Diego

The Raiders almost robbed the Chargers in the season opener. I don’t see the Bolts being caught off-guard again. Lots of Philip Rivers in this one.

Chargers 35, Raiders 3

Carolina at Arizona

Jake Delhomme returns to face the team that assaulted him in his playoff meltdown last January. He’ll be revved up for this one. Maybe too revved up. 

Cardinals 38, Panthers 17

Minnesota at Green Bay

I’m picking with my heart on this one.

Packers 30, Vikings 24

Atlanta at New Orleans

The Saints have run-the-table potential. Drew Brees continues his mastery and the Saints play tough run defense against Michael Turner.

Saints 31, Falcons 24

Last week’s picks: 8-6

Season total: 61-29

Chicago at Cincinnati

The Bears rebound from a tough loss last week and continue to Cincy’s reality check after their fluke of a start.

Bears 30, Bengals 24

Green Bay at Cleveland

The Browns lost their leading tackler, D’Qwell Jackson, for the year. Theirs is not a defense that can afford such losses.

Packers 30, Browns 9

San Diego at Kansas City

It’s win-or-be-fired in San Diego. 

Chargers 24, Chiefs 20

Indianapolis at St. Louis

Another week, another spectacle from Peyton.

Colts 41, Rams 6

Minnesota at Pittsburgh

Adrian Peterson is held off long enough for the Steelers to get by the undefeated Vikes at home.

Steelers 20, Vikings 17

New England at Tampa Bay

There’s probably some pressure on the Patriots to keep their starters on the field for the NFL’s showcase game in London. You know what that means for the Bucs.

New England 45, Tampa Bay 0

San Francisco at Houston

The Texans offense is finding their stride.

Texans 24, 49ers 20

New York Jets at Oakland

There’s no way they win two in a row.

Jets 31, Oakland 6

New Orleans at Miami

The Dolphins have to be wondering what could have been had they signed Drew Brees and not Daunte Culpepper in free agency a few years back. This game will be a painful reminder.

Saints 38, Dolphins 17

Buffalo at Carolina

Should be a quick game, seeing as both teams run so much more effectively than they pass.

Bills 24, Panthers 20

Atlanta at Dallas

Can’t see the Cowboys winning against a team that plays so well in all three phases of the game.

Falcons 34, Cowboys 24

Arizona at New York Giants

The Cards won a game in Jacksonville earlier this year, but their struggles on the East Coast are well-documented. 

Giants 30, Cardinals 27

Philadelphia at Washington

Bingo.

Eagles 31, Redskins 13

Last week’s picks (which I failed to post here until now):

Houston 27, Cincinnati 20

Green Bay 37, Detroit 20

St. Louis 24, Jacksonville 23

Minnesota 30, Baltimore 24

New Orleans 34, New York Giants 20

Pittsburgh 27, Cleveland 13

Carolina 24, Tampa Bay 10

Kansas City 17, Washington 14

Philadelphia 28, Oakland 6

Seattle 30, Arizona 20

New England 26, Tennessee 19

New York Jets 23, Buffalo 12

Chicago 31, Atlanta 27

San Diego 26, Denver 20

Happy birthday to Eugene Cho, and happy day of birth to One Day’s Wages — a grassroots movement started by Eugene and his wife, Minhee, focused on eradicating poverty. I think this is the sort of project we can all rally around and contribute to.

Tony Jones has some good thoughts about euphemism in Christian circles. In the past I’ve made light of those who say mine is a “low” view of Scripture, so I got a kick out of this.

Bob Hyatt has brought back a series of extremely helpful posts from the archive of his blog. The posts are focused on questions of submission in marriage. There are five parts to the series — here they are: one, two, three, four, and five.

This morning I took part in the monthly meet-up of Northwest Hothouse. Hothouse is a group of pastors, para-church ministry leaders, and community organizers who come together to explore what it means to live and lead missionally in our particular contexts. A lot of inspiring ideas and experiences are shared in these meetings. Dynamics like that of Hothouse — intelligent, imaginative collaboration — get me all the more excited about life in ministry.

One of the big questions — it was more of a dilemma, really — that arose this morning was this: What does it mean to appreciate missionality that is “slow steeping” and relational (not an imperialistic take-over), while recognizing that people have urgent, immediate needs to experience communion with Christ?

This is my attempt to answer that question.

First, I think it is important to give Jesus the respect of focusing our attention where he asked us to place it — on the Kingdom of God. It is the Kingdom, not a cosmic transaction, that is at the heart of the Christian story. The latter relates to the former as a means to an end. To say it differently, any truthful soteriology is entirely grounded in truthful eschatology. To say it differently still, the big picture is about the resurrection and reconciliation of creation, not “soul-winning” and an escapist afterlife.

We live in a Kingdom of God story. The Kingdom has come, and the Kingdom is coming. In New Testament studies this is referred to as “the already-but-not-yet.” To reverse the order, what we see around us is not as good as it gets, but it is the current creation which God has covenanted to resurrect. Creation matters because it’s creation that has been, is, and will be the project of God.

Like I said, it’s a Kingdom of God story we are part of. And the future of this story requires both announcement and fulfillment — pictures painted and promises kept. There is rootedness to this idea. We see the interplay of announcement and fulfillment in the words of the prophets and the teachings of Jesus — an urgent announcement to transform our ways immediately so that we can join in the gradual, progressive entrance of God’s Kingdom. Whether along the rivers of Babylon or during the Sermon on the Mount, new pictures of the Kingdom have been painted, and those pictures have inspired, befuddled, and expanded imagination. Picture are painted (immediate action) about a new reality that is being created (gradual, sequential movement). But we would be off the mark to divorce the picture-painting act from the larger sequential movement.

When we paint pictures, we are doing more than more than simply describing something that will someday be. Our descriptions are entities in their own right. Pictures are real. We can hold them on various levels. Pictures have thingness, yes?

Because they have thingness, they also have an irrevocability to them. When we see important images, they stick with us. They delight us. They haunt us. They inspire us. They speak of new realities while being themselves a new realities created. When the pictures we paint are real and true, the audiences to our picture-painting cannot help but own them in an irrevocable way. Even if we paint an image of the future, that future has just happened in that it is now been seen or heard. That is the in-breaking of the future into the present. The future exists in that its picture has been called into existence.

Some of the most powerful moments within our Kingdom of God story have come about when the future is called into the present through picture-painting. Again, I think of the prophets of an exilic Israel sitting along the rivers of Babylon and being filled with the dream of universal exile — a sensus plenior exile. I think also of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Did the future of which King dreamed exist at the time of that speech? We might be inclined to say that it hadn’t or even still hasn’t. There were countless race riots yet to come after that speech, and some racial tension remains today. But I imagine that if we asked those who were there in person to hear King’s dream, they would tell us that something that hadn’t existed prior to that speech suddenly did as King spoke. A new reality came into existence. And many events that have helped to fulfill that dream since the day of the speech happened only because the dream was announced.

Pictures create futures.

An unimagined, unannounced Kingdom never comes. 

We live in a culture that believes talk is cheap. We form a dichotomy between words and actions. Falling to the temptations of our distrust toward the spoken word, we leave little room for speech-acts — for words that not only describe future realities, but also are, in and of themselves, immediate realities. We need to reclaim the speech-act as an essential, prophetic component to our Kingdom of God story.

Sometimes picture-painting happens in front of a large crowd (like King’s dream), but more often it happens in family rooms, coffeehouses, and bars, with a handful of people or just one person at a time. When the picture is beautiful and real and true, there is nothing those small audiences can do but grapple with the picture’s irrevocability and possibly begin to draw that picture, or a continuation of it, themselves. 

As Kingdom of God pictures are painted, we experience an in-breaking of tikkun olam in two ways: our description of where the story is heading is itself an invitation to join the story, and new reality is created because we have chosen to paint.

It is amazing how many people — whether self-proclaimed Christians or people who are unfamiliar with God’s story — well up with hope when they hear the good news about God’s commitment to, and intentions for, creation. While it is possible to dream aloud this good news and still be met with hostility or rejection, I believe that real good news is generally better received than the incomplete good news, the news that explains a cosmic transaction but does not explain where the story is heading. As I said earlier, all truthful soteriology is grounded in truthful eschatology. 

When the story as a whole is told, most neighbors who disagree with us are still generally glad to be our neighbors. We can be very “Abrahamically effective” like that, when we tell the whole story, the real good news.

So how do we face the balance of being an incarnational presence for the long-haul in our ministry context while acting on our concern for so many who have not received what God has for them? We dream out loud. We paint pictures about God’s covenant faithfulness to creation, the Kingdom that is growing, and God’s continuous tikkun olam mission. We demonstratively look forward to a bright future, and in so doing create new present realities that cause people to hope in a way they’ve never hoped before. 

Last week’s picks: 8-6

Season total: 42-20

Cleveland at Buffalo

Fred Jackson gets his, but the Browns defense keeps Buffalo from giving any reason to have our popcorn ready, notching their first win of the year.

Browns 20, Bills 19

Pittsburgh at Detroit

The Lions make a showing in this one, but the Steelers are able to establish pressure on Matthew Stafford and force him into some costly errors.

Steelers 27, Lions 23

Dallas at Kansas City

Minus Roy Williams and Felix Jones, the Cowboys lean on MB3 and Jason Witten, and they don’t disappoint.

Cowboys 24, Chiefs 16

Minnesota at St. Louis

Letdown game? Not against the hapless Rams.

Vikings 31, Rams 0

Oakland at New York Giants

Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw go wild, combining for 300 yards and three scores.

Giants 41, Raiders 9

Tampa Bay at Philadelphia

This is not a good time to be playing against Donovan McNabb, who will be out to remind everyone why he, not Kevin Kolb or Michel Vick, is the guy in Philly.

Eagles 34, Bucs 14

Washington at Carolina

In a showdown of embattled quarterbacks, Jason Campbell prevails. By default.

Redskins 20, Panthers 17

Cincinnati at Baltimore

And the fluke ends.

Ravens 30, Bengals 17

New England at Denver

And another fluke ends.

Patriots 17, Broncos 9

Houston at Arizona

The Texans’ front seven get to Kurt Warner early and often.

Texans 27, Cardinals 23

Atlanta at San Francisco

The only thing that seems certain about this one is that it will come down to wire and be hard fought.

Falcons 20, 49ers 17

Jacksonville at Seattle

It pays to have Matt Hasselbeck back in the lineup.

Seahawks 30, Jags 24

Indianapolis at Tennessee

Peyton Manning has another MVP-type game. Another best-quarterback-of-all-time-type game.

Colts 31, Titans 27

New York Jets at Miami

Jerricho Cotchery is listed as questionable for this game. His presence, and health, will be a huge factor in the outcome. With an extra day-plus of rest for the Monday night game, I’ll assume he toughs it out.

Jets 27, Dolphins 20

In case you were wondering what a Sunday night with Paradigm is like, I’m previewing our liturgy map for this Sunday’s gathering. If you’re in Seattle on Sunday night, we would love for you to come and join us in the pursuit of God.

Sunday nights, 7 p.m., the gym of First Free Methodist Church (3200 3rd Ave W, across the street from Seattle Pacific University)

Last week’s picks: 12-4

Season total: 34-14

Detroit at Chicago

The winning streak ends here. Matt Forte pours it on in this one — 120 yards and two scores.

Bears 28, Lions 13

Cincinnati at Cleveland

Two years ago, Derek Anderson came was brought in as starter in a home game against the Bungles and went on to throw for 328 yards and five TDs in a 58-48 win. The difference between then and now? Jamal Lewis’ health, an offensive weapon at tight end, and Braylon Edwards playing respectable football.

Bengals 28, Browns 20

Seattle at Indianapolis

Indy’s offensive firepower is too much for a Seattle defense that is fighting the injury bug. The Hawks will make a game of it, though.

Colts  23, Seahawks 16

New York Giants at Kansas City

Matt Cassel eats grass all afternoon. Eli pads the stats.

Giants 34, Chiefs 6

Baltimore at New England

Such a tough game to call. The Ravens shut down the run, forcing Tom Brady to beat them in the air, and he can’t get it done.

Ravens 17, Patriots 16

Tampa Bay at Washington

Jim Zorn and Jason Campbell live to see another day.

Redskins 24, Bucs 10

Tennessee at Jacksonville

Guess which team is hungrier for a win. The Titans reel in that elusive first “W” with a steady, balanced offensive game.

Titans 27, Jags 19

Oakland at Houston

The Texans know they need to win their winnable games to hang with Indy in the AFC South. They come out firing on all cylinders in this one.

Texans 35, Raiders 7

Dallas at Denver

The Broncos are who we used to think they were.

Cowboys 24, Broncos 17

Buffalo at Miami

Might’ve called for Miami pulling the upset before the Chad Pennington injury. It’s not happening now, but it’s also not going to be a “get your popcorn ready” effort by the Bills, either, who win by default.

Bills 21, Miami 7

New York Jets at New Orleans

Game of the week between the NFL’s two hottest teams. The Revis Effect has kept receivers like Randy Moss and Andre Johnson very quiet against the Jets, but that doesn’t stop Drew Brees, who is an equal-opportunity passer if there ever was one. Saints march in this one.

Saints 37, Jets 21

St. Louis at San Francisco

Rams sneak up on Niners with two deep passes and something — I don’t know what, but something — on special teams.

Rams 17, 49ers 16

San Diego at Pittsburgh

Philip Rivers takes advantage of that Troy Polamalu-shaped hole in the Pittsburgh defense quite a few times, but James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley show signs of life and force Rivers to blow it in the final minutes.

Steelers 23, Chargers 20

Green Bay at Minnesota

This is my big pick of the week: not only does Green Bay win, but they play with poise to the point of near-perfection and crush — yes, crush — the Vikes on their field on national television. Redemption is green and gold.

Packers 38, Vikings  16