so…

is Heaven a tomato patch? read on and let’s sort it out, shall we.

 Todd Miechiels is rather a hip and weird (in a good way) dude that is an awesome Dad that coaches his kids in soccer, creates pretty slick videos for secular business, and is trying to strap-on a pair of massive balls by integrating a ministry called The 3:15 Project with his business capabilities.

I’m coaching Todd and (ironically) challenged him to craft a video for his own purposes (and, Gods) telling his side of the story. I did that because he needs capital to fuel his vision. and, if you buy the notion that people should publicly profess their faith, and the video medium is a slick, profound, and bold method for doing just that, you should financially support his efforts. do it!

here is an otherwise (ponder that choice of words) description of Todd, that I did not generate:

“Todd Miechiels is the guy that was handed the vision for The 3:15 Project. He is in love with his high school sweetheart Kim, and the proud father of 3 sons. Todd lives in Tucker, GA, and attends StonePoint Church.”

he created the above video for all the right reasons. but, he called it: The 3:15 Project Needs a Tomato Cage for reasons that, at the moment, elude me. but, my question is whether he was actually handed Kim, and is just showing-off. I posit that because he is doing good work. and, most of us fellas do that because we are inspired by the fair sex (a gift from God) to perform at our best. never mind that I’m currently in the guest room (mine, not Todd’s).

I Googled, “what is a tomato cage” and discovered that if you want to build a tomato cage you should follow these instructions (just click, here). oddly, the title of that piece is “how to cage tomatoes”. so, it’s possible that people that support ministries are some form of tomato. or, tomatoes are both delicious and good for you, and me, and God. or, all of that. let’s just let God sort it out. but to support Todd and The 3:15 Project you can do that, here  (“help fan the flame”).

NOTE: just pouring over Todd’s site has given me a lot of “coaching to-do’s” for Todd. he is a terrific talent, with a genuine gift that will help all of us – but, is awful about asking for help. so… I’m doing it for him (and, Him).

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

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2. evidently I’m a 3:15 project for Todd Miechiels
3. let those who worship evils might Beware my power
4. God feel I
5. God created Atheists
6. Love Kats aren’t pussys
7. grey is never black or white – it comes down to truth and light
8. God tests character man tempts faith
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this post is not about mission work.

…yes it is.

everything is about “the mission”, life-work, “being on a mission from God”. there are as many ways to say it, as there is to describe it, along with opportunities to realize it.

I feel, today, that the best mission is how we positively impact something that we believe in that is bigger than ourselves.

that can be God, family or country. it can also be about business. or, being in the business of all the rest.

all that said, my mission statement is, “helping men that change the world make better decisions”.

I find that opportunity in some of the most unexpected ways, manners and places.

over the course of a recent episode of Justified, which is awesome, a pasty-faced villain that is very easy to hate less than despise, offered-up words of wisdom for everyone. he said in a fairly pivotal scene, “if you wanna win you should bet on the horse in front”.

his example aside, I consider myself a leader. so, I focus on helping other leaders be better leaders. for the moment, God is letting me do that.

today has been simple and certainly gratifying. early-on I had a group of genuinely terrific men in my conference room that come form many points in my past, yet find themselves squarely in both my now and future. great things are afoot. meaningful and profitable and change-oriented things. I had to run to the bank quickly and found myself unexpectedly stopped by a young local entrepreneur that tracks me. he has an opportunity in the educational space quickly approaching on the 18th. he is convinced that is going to change his life. he asked me what he needs to do to be ready. I only had a moment to think, but the words that formed instantly in my head then fell out of my mouth were…

what makes you different? what’s your differential?

why are you relevant today?

what is the customers ROI for going with you?

I told him people that make decisions can really only focus on three things immediately. if you can address their pain and offer a solution that makes sense to them (speaking their love language), you are very likely to win the opportunity. his eyes lit-up, and he said, “I knew you had the answer for me”.

that felt great. then I got the text from one of my Lacrosse Moms…

“__________ is out of his mind. he got to be part of that small practice you ran last night and they got special attention from you. you are so awesome. he has never been this excited about anything.”

where karma can be a bitch, destiny need not be.

more later. I just pray it never stops.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

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so…

yesterday I picked-up on s story about Pope Francis and his decidedly un-traditional approach to the Papacy, and offered-up a quick post: Pope Francis is a “Love Kat”. while I don’t feel that qualifies him as a contrarian (other than within the Catholic Church), it was enough to get me thinking about other lines drawn in the “proverbial” sand.

NOTE: just to be chosen for his role he had to appeal to a majority, some how. that has to say, if not indicate something meaningful about what people want, or think they want, or maybe what God wants. but, we’ll investigate that later.

meanwhile, what I decided to pick-up on was the references to the “traditional Catholics” that had their collective backs up. they evidently have blogs. reference: Rorate Caeli, one of the most-read traditionalist efforts. they reacted to the Pope Francis foot-washing ceremony by declaring the death of the prior Pope Benedict’s eight-year project to correct what he considered, “the botched interpretations of the Second Vatican Council’s modernizing reforms”.

“The official end of the reform of the reform — by example,” ”Rorate Caeli” lamented in its report on Francis’ Holy Thursday ritual.

I think to keep things balanced, within reason, I’ll need to include Muslims because they appear to be a growing organization /1 - kind of like the way Samsung Android devices outnumber the iPhone. …what… in fact, there are evidently seventy three (73) different types of Muslims that include . sunni, shia, bahi, sufi, mirzai, wahabi, and, alawites.

are traditional Catholics to the Catholic Church what the Orthodox are to the Jews (is that the correct way to reference those fascinating people, “the Jews”?), and Extreme is to Muslims?

while we (assuming you are tracking with me, here) are at this, are “traditional”, “orthodox”, and “extreme” qualifiers along the lines of “evangelical” in terms of Christians? if things got heated enough could some describe Evangelicals as Extreme? I’m thinking the Holy Wars funded by the English nobility that riled Muslims so much that they decided to promote the idea of Jihad. but, I digress.

there must be a significant difference amongst the groups because they all get heated-up about their positions, roles, view points, stances, and ability to dance.

is there a point system?

and, why don’t they have sports teams? I’m certain they all have blogs. and we know they have schools. and, if they do, can they all throw a baseball well, or kick a soccer ball effectively?

well… many of them actually do have sports teams and athletic clubs. the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, for example. there are probably many others, just as there are secret societies. but, I don’t care about any of that, for the moment.

all the major religions (referenced in this blog post) are centered on God. and, they all have very similar rules of conduct with the focus cast on Old Testament, which I find very comforting, mind you (the common foundation more so than the confusing, albeit epic, story-arc nature of the Old Testament).

I’m making less of a point, here, than I am setting-the-stage. I’m a ponderous thinker. so, more later. I’m probably just getting started.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

1/

• The largest religion (Christianity) is aprox. 68% larger than the second largest religion (Islam) and 246% larger than the third largest religion (Hinduism).

• The nine smallest religions combined have fewer adherents than the third largest (Hinduism).

• And the eight smallest religions combined have fewer adherents than the fourth largest (Buddhism).

• The combined adherents of the three primary Abrahamic religions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, makes up approximately 52.8% (3,202,240,666 persons) of the total population – more than half. Some times also Sikhism and the Bahá’í faith are counted as Abrahamic religions, in which case that number will be slightly higher.

• Non-religious people and people belonging to religions not part of the 12 world religions makes up slightly less than 27%. A smaller number than the largest religion, Christianity, but larger than the second largest religion, Islam.

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that which cannot endure but always shall. and, I’ll add, here, [should?]

so…

I sent Jane Pope a simple email today.

“courage”.

with my own relationships evolving, what do we try and hold on to? what should we expect of ourselves and those around us?

I added a different type of post to the ever-growing inventory earlier this morning after a pointless effort at sleeping. that is all about the endless quest for answers.

is Self Reliance it’s own principle or quality?

all that said, with so many questions burrowing through my head to my soul, I’ll remind you that God took Bill Pope and his son Bryce from us with today the events tragic anniversary. or, did He borrow them? why would God need those solid figures more than ourselves? is that how it works? or, did some evil force intervene, and we need to remember and work hard to keep the good memories of better men alive in our hearts.

…the mystery.

that said, I’ll share some other – and yes, earlier efforts with you, all of you, to keep Bill in our hearts, and in our beings. he was my friend, and nothing can take that from me.

moments like these

standing with Bill Pope

I hope you will write about Me some days

I’m lucky God took my truck

taken aback by Bill Pope

in no certain order, mind you.

walk with me Bill. as my Grandad might have said, “you were a good man in a storm”.

peace be to my Brothers and Sisters.

brian patrick cork

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1. standing with Bill Pope
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3. moments like these
4. death is morbid but Meaningful and we need to be Ready
5. taken aback by Bill Pope
6. how does God pull us to Him?
7. I’m lucky God took my truck
8. And, you could easily beat up T. S. Eliot. He was sort of an effete, elitist, fragile weenie
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