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Joe Iovino Posts

Leading the league in assists

Published April 4, 2015
James Worthy, Michael Jordan, and Dean Smith
Left to right: James Worthy, Michael Jordan, and coach Dean Smith, legends of University of North Carolina basketball. Photo by Zeke Smith, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

I have been a college basketball fan since high school. I remember my heart breaking that night in 1982 when Georgetown guard Eric “Sleepy” Floyd, mistakenly passed the ball to North Carolina’s James Worthy with 7 seconds on the clock, icing the championship game for the Tarheels.

This weekend I plan to watch all three games. While I’m not a fan of any one of the four teams left in this year’s madness, I will be rooting for Michigan State and Kentucky (a) because I picked them, and (b) because one is the underdog and the other is going for history. Won’t that make for a great championship game story?

One of the things I like about college basketball is the importance placed on the assist. For those not familiar with basketball, a player receives an assist when they make a pass that leads to another player scoring. While the guy hitting the 3-point shot or making the thunderous dunk may get most of the applause and headlines, assists get noticed. They are an official stat listed alongside points and rebounds in the boxscore.

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Is God a football fan?

Published February 1, 2015

After his Seattle Seahawks made their remarkable comeback against the Green Bay Packers two Sundays ago, sideline reporter Erin Andrews put a microphone in front of quarterback Russell Wilson. Down 19-7 with just 4 minutes left in the game, the Seahawks finished the game with a ridiculous 2-point conversion, the recovery of an onside kick, and completed a beautiful pass in overtime to win. Overcome with emotion and fighting tears, Wilson appeared to attribute his team’s unlikely victory to God.

Russell Wilson, quarterback
Russell Wilson is the dynamic quarterback of the Seattle Seahawks. Photo by Larry Maurer, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

“God is too good all the time, man. Every time,” he said.

A few minutes later, he was again asked about the comeback, specifically how badly he had played up until those final 4 minutes. “That’s God setting it up,” Wilson replied, “to make it so dramatic, so rewarding, so special.”

I really like Russell Wilson. I’ve heard several interviewers say that the public persona is not put on. He is the real deal. I’m reasonably sure that sometime during the never-ending pre-game we will see a profile piece on him showing him visiting kids in hospitals and doing good all over Seattle. Wow, I respect that. And I will be rooting hard for his team to vanquish the evil empire this afternoon.

But I have some serious questions about his post-conference championship game theology.

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A call to passion

Published January 19, 2015
Photo by BK on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.
Photo by BK on Flickr. Used under Creative Commons Licensing.

I know we Christians are sometimes seen as sullen, serious, and stoic. The truth is far different.

In my day job I have the privilege of communicating with Christians from every walk of life, albeit within my own denomination. I have conversed with pastors in California and counselors in Georgia. I have sent and received emails from church leaders in Africa and Europe. I have spoken with members of churches in Texas and Pennsylvania.

What I have found is not droning lectures about the burden of their ministries, this thing they must do for God. Instead, I have heard… PASSION. People are excited to talk to a complete stranger about the work to which God has called them.

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Veritas: The Truth – Sermon Text

Published October 14, 2014
Sermon Series: I Am a Follower: The Way, Truth, and Life of Following Jesus Part II
Text: John 18:28-38
Preached: October 12, 2014 at Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church
Audio: Tri-Lakes UMC Sermon Podcasts

“The Truth Is Out There”

The_Truth_Is_Out_There_tagline
Click to see the X-files opening on YouTube.

For 9 seasons this opening played on prime time television, even following a Super Bowl once—I remember because that was what got me watching the show. The X-files followed the cases of FBI Agents Mulder and Scully who investigated paranormal activity for the federal government. Agent Scully, played by Gillian Anderson, was the skeptic. She had trouble accepting the world didn’t work the way she had been taught, and was always looking for a logical explanation behind whatever unexplained phenomenon they were called to investigate that week.

Agent Mulder, played by David Duchovny, was the opposite. He was curious. He wanted to explore the possibility of what was going on. If you were a regular viewer of the show you saw behind his desk a poster with the picture of a flying saucer and the words “I Want to Believe” below it.

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Praying to an empty chair

Published September 2, 2014

ChairHave you ever felt guilty about your prayer life? I have. I’ve read books and listened to sermons about prayer, and known I don’t measure up to the standard being presented. But trying to pray “right” is a misnomer. It would be like having a conversation with your spouse “correctly.” We don’t do that. We just talk. Prayer is the same thing. We shouldn’t be worried about saying some special words to make God happy, or to convince him to do what we would like to have done. Instead, prayer is about a relationship — like talking to your spouse or a close friend.

Consider this story

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Won’t You Be My Neighbor – Sermon Text

Published July 28, 2014
Preached at Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church
July 27, 2014
Text: Luke 10:25-37
Listen to it HERE

Many of us in this room grew up singing that song. Everyday at the appointed hour we sat down in front of a television and hung out in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.

Wont-You-Be-My-Neighbor

I have a vivid, albeit silly, memory of the profound impact Mr. Rogers had on me as a child. One day I tried to feed my goldfish the way he did—by sprinkling the food across the top of the water in the fish tank. A few minutes later, as my mom was changing the water in the fish tank, she explained to me that our fish food container didn’t have a sprinkle lid, like Mr. Rogers did, and the clumps of fish food I had dumped into the water were dangerous for my fish.

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Time to Go – Sermon Text

Published June 27, 2014
Preached: June 22, 2014 at Tri-Lakes United Methodist Church
Texts: Zechariah 14:16-21; Mark 9:2-9 
Audio: HERE
YouTube player

Can you relate? I can. As a kid growing up in New Jersey, I was surrounded by family. Within just a few minutes from my childhood home, lived both sets of grandparents, many of my aunts and uncles, and more extended family. We were in each other’s houses quite a bit and it was a great deal of fun. One grandmother had a pool, at the other’s we would play horseshoes and cards. But the coolest was my Aunt and Uncle’s house because they had an Atari and a large screen television in their den. I remember playing Pong and Tank Battle on the biggest screen I had seen outside of a movie theater, which I’m sure would pale in comparison to what we have today.

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