Duke Youth Academy news

The 2011 Duke Youth Academy Students and Staff

The Duke Youth Academy for Christian Formation has recently announced that applications will be available on December 1st for the 2012 summer session.

DYA is a summer program for high school youth. I have worked on staff at DYA for the past four years, and I have found it to be one of the most compelling examples of youth ministry that I've seen. If you know a rising junior or senior in high school who might be interested in a two-week summer immersion program in Christian formation and discipleship, please encourage him or her to apply!

There are also a number of staff positions open at the youth academy, including ministry coordinators, mentors, resident assistants, and artists-in-residence. I can tell you from my time with the program that serving on the DYA staff is a rewarding and formative experience in itself. If you would like to know more about serving on the DYA staff, I encourage you to visit the youth academy's homepage.

The dates for the 2012 summer session will be June 17-30. Further inquiries can be made to the Rev. Jeff Conklin-Miller, who is the Director of Youth Ministry Initiatives at Duke Divinity School.

Count Dracula's Cape

Bela Lugosi in 1920 (Source: Wikipedia)

I don't know if you've heard this yet or not, but you will soon be able to bid on Count Dracula's cape.

Yep, that's right. the cape worn by Bela Lugosi in Dracula (1931) will soon be put up for auction. But you better bring your piggy bank. Expected price: $2 million.

I could go on for quite sometime about why I think this piece of news is absurd. But I fought that tendency (well, mostly) and instead wrote my most recent column in the United Methodist Reporter about what the phenomenon of Dracula's cape can tell us about our culture and how a Wesleyan perspective on stewardship offers a corrective.

For the Wesleyans out there, you've probably heard about John Wesley's counsel to "Gain all you can, save all you can, and give all you can."

Wesley's own reasoning behind why this phrase gives us a good guide to the stewardship of our resources goes deeper than the label itself. I go into that reasoning in my column, which you can read here.

Prayer for First Advent

Merciful Father, you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation. Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

- United Methodist Book of Worship (alt.), p.250

Thanksgiving Day Prayer

Almighty and gracious Father, we give thee thanks for the fruits of the earth in their season and for the labors of those who harvest them. Make us, we beseech thee, faithful stewards of thy great bounty, for the provision of our necessities and the relief of all who are in need, to the glory of thy Name; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

- Book of Common Prayer, p.194

Into the Tiger's Den

It would be nice to say about the upcoming Arkansas-LSU game, "So it comes down to this." And then the winner goes to the SEC Championship Game and - quite possibly - the national championship.

For LSU, that is certainly the case. The Tigers are (deservedly) ranked #1 in the country. Keep winning and they play for the BCS Championship in New Orleans in January. But for the Hogs, things aren't nearly so simple. The talking heads over at ESPN (including "BCS guru" Brad Edwards) are predicting that even an Arkansas win over LSU likely won't be enough to push the Hogs past the #3 ranking they currently hold. (Edwards attributes this to the 1/3 of the BCS formula that is made up of the computer rankings, which has consistently showed favoritism toward LSU this season.)

It gets even more complicated, though. Even with a win over the top-ranked Tigers, the Razorbacks wouldn't be assured of a trip to Atlanta to play in the SEC Championship. That's because the there would be a three-way tie atop the SEC West standings, with Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU all owning 7-1 conference records. The tie breaker formula wouldn't likely favor the Hogs because Alabama is currently ranked ahead of them and would be the probable representative from the SEC West in the SEC Championship Game with a win over Auburn on Saturday.

What does all this mean? Will the Hogs get left out in the cold even if they stun the Tigers in Baton Rouge? Maybe. Obviously, the best case scenario is a Hogs win coupled with an Alabama loss to Auburn. (The latter isn't likely to happen, though like all rivalries the Iron Bowl is capable of surprises.) I suppose the best that can be said is that the Hogs need to control what they can control and hope the rest of it works itself out. They need to beat LSU, retain the Golden Boot trophy for another year, and let the chips fall where they may.

Greg Alperin: Loves the Hogs

So now on to the prediction. All the experts are picking LSU to win. The game is in Baton Rouge. The line currently shows LSU favored by 12.5 points.

And you know what?

I'm picking the Hogs.

As my friend and fellow Hog fan Greg Alperin told me on the phone earlier this week, "You gotta go with your heart, baby!"

Bonus Link: ESPN's Ivan Maisel has written a great piece on the impact of Arkansas WR and special teams dynamo Joe Adams and LSU kicker Brad Wing in the game on Friday. It is worth checking out.

Special Note: Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of Arkansas TE Garrett Uekman who died suddenly last Sunday. It was a terribly sad event and both Uekman's family and the Razorback football team are in deep mourning over the loss of a young man who was, by all accounts, a great teammate and a great person. May he rest in peace.

Now on to the numbers...

Last week: Arkansas 44, Mississippi State 17

Arkansas' record: 10-1 (Me: 9-1)

This week: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. LSU Tigers (Friday, November 25th at 1:30 pm CST)

Location: Tiger Stadium - Baton Rouge, LA

Prediction: Hogs 31, Tigers 24

Reason: The annual Battle of the Golden Boot has turned into a great Thanksgiving week rivalry for Arkansas and LSU over the past few years. Arkansas has won 3 of the last 4 meetings. It will be a hard fought contest, matching LSU's outstanding defense against Arkansas' high-powered offense. Many experts have pointed to the way the Hogs were beaten decisively by Alabama early in the season. Those experts haven't paid close attention to the way the two rivalries (Hogs/Tide and Hogs/Tigers) have gone the past few years, when Arkansas has been forced to play Alabama early in the season before becoming battle-tested by the rigorous SEC schedule. Both teams have a lot to play for. And I think this one will be a more exciting game to watch than the "Game of the Century" between Alabama and LSU was earlier this fall. In the end, I think that "Game of the Century" label may be better applied to the game we're fixing to watch. Time will tell. Go Hogs.

A regular Dawg fight

I was out of commission last week and didn't put up a Hogs post prior to Arkansas' 49-7 dismantling of the Tennessee Volunteers. That was a remarkable game in the way it showed two features of the Arkansas football squad this year: Quick strike ability on offense and a dangerous special teams attack. (On the latter point, you should really check out Joe Adams' punt return TD if you haven't already.)

I'd like to say the 7 points Tennessee managed as evidence of the Arkansas defense's improvement; perhaps it did, but the anemia of the Tennessee offense probably owed more to Tennessee's problems since QB Tyler Bray's injury than anything else. Still, the Hogs only owned a 3-13 all-time record against the Volunteers prior to last Saturday. So the win was a nice one.

This afternoon the Razorbacks will take on the Bulldogs of Mississippi State. The Dawgs only sport a 5-5 record (1-5 in conference). But that record masks the actual quality of the team, which is forced to compete in the toughest division of the toughest conference in the country (i.e., the SEC West). Coach Dan Mullen is a talented leader, and his Dawgs are better than their record indicates. I don't think MSU has the athletic talent that the Razorbacks do, and you've got to wonder how demoralized they are at this point in the season after so many tough games. Those factors plus the fact that the game will be played in War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock may make it a long afternoon for MSU.

Oh and the resurgent Hogs' running game under RB Dennis Johnson? That won't make things any easier for Coach Mullen and his crew.

Bonus fact #1: Arkansas holds a 14-6-1 record all-time against Mississippi State, including 9-1 in the last ten matchups.

Bonus fact #2: Arkansas has won 9 straight games at War Memorial Stadium, where Saturday's game will be played.

Last week: Arkansas 49, Tennessee 7 (Me: No prediction)

Arkansas' record: 9-1 (Me: 8-1)

This week: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs

Location: War Memorial Stadium - Little Rock, AR

Prediction: Hogs 38, Bulldogs 14

Reason: Mississippi State has had a tough row to hoe this season. Put the Bulldogs in a conference like the ACC or the Pac-12 and they'd probably be near the top of the heap. But they live in the SEC, and more specifically, in the SEC West. That's the same SEC West that features 3 of the top 6 teams in the BCS standings (LSU, Alabama, and Arkansas). MSU usually gives the Hogs a tough fight, and I don't expect today's game to be any different. But in the end, I don't think the Bulldog offense will be able to keep up with the Hogs. Their best hope is to catch Arkansas looking ahead to their Thanksgiving weekend game against LSU, but I don't think Coach Bobby Petrino and his staff are going to let that happen.

Gratuitous cat post #6

Lulu and Ruthie enjoying a morning snack

I've been a little bit AWOL on the ol' blog the past few days. So how better to get back in the mix than with a little cat blogging?

The picture above depicts Lulu and her older sister Ruthie enjoying a morning breakfast of FancyFeast. After gorging themselves for awhile, they went immediately into cat comas. Life as a cat is good.

It's a busy time of the semester, so my posting may be a little slower than usual for awhile. But never fear, gentle readers, I'll be back as often as I'm able.

Barnyard Brawl

Okay boys and girls, it's Pigs vs. Chickens later today when Arkansas and South Carolina take the field against one another.

The Hogs / Gamecocks rivalry is an interesting one. You wouldn't normally think two schools from opposite sides of the conference would develop a rivalry at all. But Arkansas and South Carolina have a certain connection with one another due to the fact that they came into the Southeastern Conference together back in 1992.

The two schools are also inter-divisional rivals, meaning that they play one another yearly even though Arkansas is in the SEC West and South Carolina is in the SEC East. (Every SEC team has one such inter-divisional opponent.)

Arkansas has generally gotten the better of SC in recent years, having won 4 out of the past 5 meetings. And the Gamecocks have been hampered offensively due to the loss of star RB Marcus Lattimore to a season-ending injury. Even so, this game worries me. The Gamecocks' struggles on offense haven't stopped Coach Spurrier's club from marching to a 7-1 record. And Arkansas has had its own difficulties of late, playing very flatly in the first halves of its past two games (against Ole Miss and Vanderbilt).

So let's move on to a very tentative prediction...

Last week: Arkansas 31, Vanderbilt 28 (Me: Hogs 34, Vandy 14)

Arkansas' record: 7-1 (Me: 7-1)

This week: Arkansas Razorbacks vs. South Carolina Gamecocks

Location: Razorback Stadium - Fayetteville, AR

Prediction: Pigs 28, Chickens 17

Reason: With Arkansas and South Carolina, you've got two good, well-coached teams with a lot of similarities. Both have had their ups and downs, but both have also managed to persevere through most of the 'downs' and as a result find themselves ranked in the Top 10. I'm going with the Hogs in this one, for a couple of reasons. One is that this is a home game at night for the Razorbacks, which is a scenario that always favors the home team. And the second is the overall offensive firepower that Arkansas possesses, which I think will be enough to score some points against SC's very tough defense. Let's just hope the Hogs get a good start out of the gate.