practicing what i preach

When I say I practice what I preach, I mean that--literally. At NewPointe, I speak 10-12 times per year on Sunday mornings...and I also speak at pretty much every First Wednesday. It's one of my favorite things to do. I love being able to connect with and audience and deliver a (potentially) life-changing message.

Because there is so much at stake (i.e. eternity), I take it very seriously. That's not to say I don't have fun when I communicate because...I do! What I mean is, I work hard to do everything I can to make sure the message is delivered with excellence. And the main ingredient in my preparation is practice. I give every one of my talks to an empty room several times before delivering it to an actual audience. I also practice it in front of a team whose opinions and critiques I absolutely value and trust.

Here's how it works: We usually do this on the Thursday before the Sunday I'm going to speak. I give them my outline ahead of time, they come into the room, and after a quick overview I begin delivering my message as though it was Sunday morning. I don't stop. We don't "tweak" on the fly. They don't stop me. They get the whole thing, just like I'm planning on delivering it on Sunday morning.

They take notes, they have me on a timer, and they pay careful attention to every detail of what I'm doing.

When I finish we sit down and have a pow-wow. They offer suggestions for improvements. They mark the time intervals based on my outline--I need to know how long it is (I typically have exactly 30 minutes to speak) because our services are programmed down to the minute. We discuss what to keep, what to cut, alternate ways to say things, strategic pauses, all that stuff.

The feedback I get from these folks is invaluable. It's huge. And I think it makes me a more effective communicator.

Here's a link if you want to listen to my last message (scroll down to 1-21-07): NewPointe messages online

gotcha day

Yesterday was Andrew's 'gotcha day.' Andrew is our four-year-old. We adopted him from Guatemala exactly four years ago, yesterday. So every year we celebrate that by calling it 'gotcha day' and doing something special for him (yesterday we took him to lunch at one of his favorite places--Walnut Creek Cheese--and let him get Superman ice cream--yeah, he's in to Superman--and gave him a gift). We don't hide the fact that he's adopted...in fact it would be hard to--he's a dark-eyed, dark-skinned, black-haired Guatemalan...and, well, we're not. So, instead of not addressing his adopted-ness, we celebrate it. We want him to embrace it. One of the things we tell him is that we chose him--unlike his sisters, who we got 'stuck' with :) ...we chose him. That makes him very special.

Andrew is a great kid. If you know him, you already know that. He's probably the most outgoing, least-shy kid that I know. He'll talk to everybody--he likes everybody--and boy, does he have a lot to say!

So if you see Andrew around (and you'll know if he's nearby), wish him happy Gotcha Day.

the pursuit of happyness

Jenny and I went on a date last night. We don't get many date nights so when we have a chance to be sans kids, we always enjoy it. The only problem was: we didn't know what to do with ourselves. When we lived in Columbus we always had plenty of options (for both dining and entertainment). Now that we live in Sugarcreek, there just aren't as many options. We only had a few hours so a trip to Cleveland, Columbus, or even Canton really wasn't an option. So, as we drove toward New Philly, we kept throwing out ideas...the best ones (the only ones) included dinner or--are you ready--dinner and a movie. Yep. Just before we got to the mall, we had pretty much settled on dinner at the Pro's Table. Then, while at the stop light at the mall, we spontaneously decided to go see a movie (even though I was in the wrong lane). So I whipped the minivan to the right and we headed for the theater. We figured we had about three hours together and so, if we played it right, we could see a movie and then grab a bite afterwards (rather than going to dinner, finishing at 8:30 and then wonder what we'd do till 10:00).

Now the question was: Which movie? There were several good options but we settled on The Pursuit of Happyness. For several reasons: 1. we like Will Smith, 2. it's based on a true story, and 3. we'd heard from others that it was good. And it was.

I'm tellin' ya, I'm puttin' this flick in my top-ten all-time favorites right now. It was strong. I love a movie that makes me laugh, makes me cry, makes me think, inspires me, motivates me, and this one did all that...and it flat wore me out. If you've seen it, you know what I mean when I say it wore me out.

I loved it. Will Smith was incredible. His son in the movie was played by his real-life son. Very cool. Unbelievable story. I don't know how much it was embellished but boy, did it make for a great movie.

Go see it (I'd imagine it'll be at the cheap theaters soon--there weren't very many people watching it with us last night...I think it's been out for a while)...you'll be glad you did.

And, oh yeah, Jenny and I did make it to dinner after the movie. At at Gavin's (formerly Fly Boys). It was good to. :)

this post is brought to you by...

By the title of this post, you might think that I'm going to bash television...telling you that you should stay away, and that, afterall, good Christians shouldn't be spending so much time in front of the boob tube. We'll it's not like that. I like TV. I grew up during the golden age of TV. I mean, good grief, TV dinners were common in my household.

But it really is amazing how prevalent TV is in our lives. TVs are everywhere. We are a media-crazed, information-addicted society. I have four TVs in my house (and a computer with high-speed internet...and a portable DVD player for the car). It's amazing how addicted we all are to media.

I like TV. I LOVE to watch sports on TV. I love to watch movies. Jenny and I watch about two movies from Netflix a week. But as much as I like TV, believe it or not, I don't have a single TV show that I watch regularly (except for when it's American Idol season--our family rarely misses an episode). I have shows I like (Dog The Bounty Hunter, Glenn Beck, American Chopper, Parental Control, to name a few), but I don't watch any one show faithfully (again, with the exeption of American Idol with the family). But I watch TV almost every single day. So what am I watching? Absolutely everything. I can watch eight shows at once due to my skillful handling of the remote control. Are you at all like me? Chances are if you're a guy, you are. Women tend not to flip through channels the way guys do. Man, I just sit down and start flippin'. I'm not really as interested in what's on as I am in what else is on. Drives Jenny crazy sometimes.

Why am I like this? I'm not sure. But I think it stems from one source: commercials. I just flat-out hate commercials. Can't stand 'em. Durning American Idol, it seems as though there are as many commercials as there are contestants. During an NFL game it goes like this: Touchdown-commercials-kickoff-commericals-three plays, timeout-commericals-punt-commericals-touchdown-more commercials. Good grief. And as if that's not enough, they add more commercials during the game (tonight on FOX, a dark secret has kept one man in hiding for more than a decade, tune in tonight...), or today's game is brought to you by...(yeah, caught that, they all had commercials less than 30 seconds ago!).

So, my mission in life is this: to avoid commericals. If a commerical comes on, click...next channel...check back...still on commerical...click...click...click...

I do the same thing in my car. Radio seems to be getting worse and worse with commericals. If one comes on, I'm gone to the next station. Problem is: it seems they all do commercials at the same time! I have literally scanned then entire radio dial at times and found nothing but commercials!

Thank God for the remote control. Click.

group link...HELP!

When we began planning the January 2007 Group Link event, we expected a lot of interest in it. We had a feeling that it could be bigger than any of our previous four Group Link events. What we weren't prepared for was the 160 people that actually signed up for it! That's right--160. Our largest past Group Link was about 70.

Group Link is a two-hour event that allows people to meet and connect with other people in their area and/or stage of life in order to form small groups. In fact, it's the primary way we connect people to small groups at NewPointe.

We're thrilled to get a huge response like the one we got. We're just freaking out now trying to figure out how we're going to pull it off. Space is not a problem, thankfully (it would have been a problem in our old building). The main concern is having enough small group leaders (either starting new groups or opening up their current groups so that we can offer more options to the 160). Everyone in the Group Life department at NewPointe would appreciate your prayers.

Oh, and everyone's invited...even if you just want to come check it out and see what Group Link is all about. You're welcome to come be a "fly on the wall" and just observe.

not your daddy's church

At NewPointe we talk a lot about being relevant. We feel strongly that church should not be boring...it shouldn't be predictable...and most importantly, it should never be irrelevant. The reason we believe that is because God is not boring, predictable, or irrelevant. God is exactly the opposite. And our experiences show us that most people haven't given up on God...but they have given up on church. The reason: church typically is not relevant to their lives.

One of the reasons I love NewPointe so much is because we go to great lengths to be relevant. In fact, we say that we'll do anything (short of sin) to reach people for Jesus. Two Sundays ago the band opened the service with a Coldplay song--and they nailed it! But here's the thing: It wasn't just a random, "hey, let's do Coldplay," no it was very intentional. It set up the whole morning (they played "Fix You" which led into the topic of the day--problems). It was incredibly effective...and we're still hearing comments from people about how it impacted them.

It's safe to say that we're not your daddy's church. We sometimes get criticized for being irreverant or over-the-top...but actually, we're just trying to be relevant. Because we think God is very relevant. Our goal on Sunday mornings is to change people's minds about church. We love to rock peoples worlds. One of my favorite things is when people leave here saying, "I didn't know church could be like that." We consider it a huge "win" if people want to come back.

So I love getting encouraging notes like the one I received this morning (I think this illustrates my point):

John,
I met someone who attended our church for the first time Sunday. He was invited by a friend. He's Chinese, lives in Canton and works in Uhrichsville. He's not a believer and doesn't attend church. But he was very interested in our church. He said the service and the sermon were different than any other church he's been in because it was relevant to his life, and he's thinking about coming back.

That's it right there. No telling what God is going to do in this man's life through his first relevant church experience. We hear stories like that each week. I'm thrilled that I get to be in on it.

restriction vs. freedom

Each spring at NewPointe we like to encourage our people to engage in a 40-day fast leading up to Easter. It's kinda like a Lent thing but we just take the 40 days immediately preceeding Easter and ask anyone who's willing to fast something during those forty days...in other words, give up something (could be a particular food, say, desserts, or junk food, or pop, or it could be something like TV, or Xbox). The fast is about growing your relationship with God. I believe God's not as concerned about what is in your stomach as He is about what is in your heart. Basically the fast is a spiritual discipline we do in order to deepen our relationship with God and to walk in step with His plan and purpose. Typically we get there through substituting our regular food (or TV, etc.) intake with Bible reading, praying and journaling. The overall goal is to experience a genuine hunger for spending time with God.

I've fasted in the past. Unfortunately, I haven't made it a regular discipline. I probably should.

Recently I read about something called a "Daniel fast." Have you heard of it? Daniel made a decision to not eat the king's food was an outward symbol of an inward commitment he had made to God.

Typically there is no definitive list of foods for the Daniel fast, it is truly the spirit of Daniel's decision that gets imitated over a set period of time (sometimes 21 days). The Daniel Fast is a partial fast, meaning that some common thingsget eliminated from the daily diet, but generous options are usually available. Most Daniel fasts that I've heard of focus on eating fruits and vegetables that are pure and simple.

As I was reading, a question was asked that struck me:

During this fast, have you focused on the freedom or restriction? We are free to eat of all the fruits and vegetables God has created. There is no way to count all the possibilities. Yet, with all the freedom we have been given, it is tempting to focus on the few restrictions.

Satan can manipulate the freedom God has given us in many areas of our lives. He can make God’s freedoms feel restrictive.

And so I started thinking...how huge is that? Man, that question/statement rings so true. My tendency when I'm fasting, no, in life often times is to focus on the restrictions rather than the freedom I have. If I'm truly free in Christ then I should live like I am. Following Christ isn't about keeping a list of dos and don'ts. It's about experiencing freedom! It an abundance mentality vs. a scarcity mindset. The restrictions, see, aren't really restrictions. In fact the "rules" that God gives us are actually guidelines for successful living. I'm learning that God's way is always the best way. It's just tough to get it through my thick skull sometimes.

Restriction vs. freedom. What's it gonna be? 2 Corinthians 3:17 says: where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. That's huge!

gordo and bubba joe make their internet debut

Gordo and Bubba Joe entertain the KidStuf crowd with their own unique rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas"...Holmes County style.



Believe it or not, I've had several people tell me that I looks suspiciously like Bubba Joe. Others absolute swear that there's no way the Bubba Joe and me could possibly be the same person. So the question to ask is this: Have you ever seen Bubba Joe and me at the same place at the same time? Hmmm.

KidStuf is great, isn't it?

my 2007 movie watching list

Yesterday I blogged about my 2007 reading list. Afterwards the thought occurred to me: I'll probably spend more time watching movies in 2007 than I do reading (sad, I know). My wife, Jenny, and I really enjoy watching movies together. That's how we relax and unwind together. We don't have any TV shows that we watch regularly (except American Idol now that the new season has started--but that's the ONLY one--seriously). So when we put the kids to bed, a couple nights per week we'll head to the basement and watch a flick together on the big screen. It's a lot of fun for us. But it got me to thinking...you know how we'll create reading lists (like I did for '07)...well nobody really does a "watching" list--like here are the movies I'm going to watch in 2007. I know, it seems silly to do so, but it's fun to think about: "These are the movies I want to make sure I watch in 2007." Nobody does that. But then I got to thinking...I guess I really DO do that. See, Jenny and I subscribe to Netflix...we get our movies through the mail. We love it, by the way. As many movies as we want (three at a time), and we can keep them as long as we want--all for like $17.99 a month. So with that in mind, here's a partial list of my 2007 "watching" list (movies in my Netflix queue as of right now):

• One Night With The King (I thought I'd start with the "spiritual" stuff)
• North Counrty (No, I haven't seen it yet)
• A Time To Kill (No, I haven't seen that one yet either...I hear it's good)
• The World's Fastest Indian (Hey, I'm a motorcycle guy, what can I say?)
• Tristan & Isolde (Yeah, I'm kinda a sucker for a good chick-flick)
• Saved! (I'm curious)
• Snakes On A Plane (I'm weird that way)
• The Illusionist
• Facing the Giants (because I get asked all the time if I've seen it yet)
• The Marine
• A Good Year
• Stranger Than Fiction
• The Prestige (I'm REALLY looking forward to this one)
• The Return
• Borat (I want to see what all the hype is about)
• Deja Vu (TOTALLY looks like my kinda flick--love Denzel--love thrillers)
• Dreamgirls
• Night At The Museum
• The Good Shepherd
• The Pursuit of Happyness (I've heard it's awesome).
• We Are Marshall (even though I'm so sick and tired of Matthew McConaughey)
  

At home right now, I have Lady in the Water. I'm looking forward to watching that (maybe tonight). I'm a huge M. Night Shyamalan fan (you know, Signs, Unbreakable, The Sixth Sense, The Village--I love that stuff). Recently Jenny and I watched Little Miss Sunshine. Decent. Not great but interesting...and laugh-out-loud funny at times (waaaay too many F-words, though).
Send me your movie recommendations. I'm always looking for stuff to add to my queue.

my 2007 reading list

I'm still finishing up Leading With a Limp by Dan Allender. Great book, by the way, I highly recommend. I have 16 books on my 2007 list (I know, a puny list by some people's standards) but I know that list will be supplemented by stuff Dwight throws at me along with killer new stuff that I just HAVE to read right away. Anyway, in case you're interested, here's my 2007 list:

1. It Came From Within Andy Stanley
2. Emerging Worship Dan Kimball
3. Chruch Reimagined Doug Pagitt
4. The Deity Formerly Known As God Jarrett Stevens
5. A Divine Confrontation Graham Cooke
6. Small Group Leadership As Spiritual Direction Heather Webb
7. Out of the Question...Into the Mystery Leonard Sweet
8. Working the Room Nick Morgan
9. The Language of Love Graham Cooke
10. Preaching Reimagined Doug Pagitt
11. The Likability Factor Tim Sanders
12. Stumbling On Happiness Daniel Gilbert
13. The Blogging Church Brian Bailey with Terry Storch
14. Confessions of a Pastor Craig Groesche
15. In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day Mark Batterson
16. Confessions of a Reformission Rev Mark Driscoll

Hold me accountable. When you see me, ask me, "Hey John, how are you doing with your reading list?" Thanks!

tension is good

In a staff meeting yesterday, our lead pastor, Dwight Mason, took one of his famous little side trips during our discussion and talked to us about tension. He says tension in an organization is good. It's actually healthy--as long as it doesn't lead to friction. He argued that if there were no tension, we'd never really get anything significant done. He used the example of a guitar. He said that without tension in a guitar string, it would not be playable. Too loose = unsuable. Too tight means the string breaks. So the question becomes, how do we navigate this? How do we find the right balance of tension without having it lead to friction? The key, he said, is this: Relationships. He said relationships are the oil that lubricates the gears in the organization. As long as our relationships with one another are healthy, we can have tension without the worry of friction or having things break down on us. He went on to say this about the the importance of healthy tension: "If we didn't have people questioning what we do, I'd wonder if we're really doing anything worthwhile." Chew on that one for a while. That's rich.

g.r.a.c.e.

My favorite acronym for grace is this:

God's Righteousness And Corresponding Enablement.

Isn' t that great? That's what God offers us through his Son, Jesus--his righteousness, in other words, when God looks at you, when he looks at me, he sees someone who is as pure, as blameless, as wonderful, as his very own Son. Not only that, but Scriture tells us that all the good things Christ ever did--all the wonderful, amazing, gracious things he did--that gets credited to us! That's Christ's righteousness imputed unto us. Incredible! That, alone, is enough grace to qualify as "amazing." But this must be added: not only do we receive the righteousness of Christ (Phil. 3:9), but we also get the corresponding enablement that comes with that. Because of Christ's righteousness, we can do anything God asks us to do. Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." That's amazing. That's grace.

boy, was i wrong!

A couple of days ago I blogged about how the Buckeyes would win their second national championship in five years. Oops. The boys got smoked. For the record, just let me say, Florida deserved to win that game. The Bucks were out-manned, out-hustled, and out-coached. Honestly, it was embarrassing. But I'm over it. It was a great season...a lot of fun...just not the ending I expected or was hoping for.

I'm ready to move on to Buckeye basketball. The Buckeye hoopsters are currently ranked #5 in the nation and they play against #4 Wisconsin tonight. Will my heart be broken two nights in a row? We'll see.

If you happen to bump into me, do me a favor...don't bring up last night's game. Honestly, I'm through talking about it. I don't know about you, but for me, when my team loses a big game like that, I don't want to talk about it, read about, and no way do I want to watch SportsCenter and have to relive the agony. I'm moving on--to basketball.

Go Bucks! (and take the offensive line with you)

sundays @ newpointe

Here's part of an email I received a couple weeks ago. I'm including it (along wiht my response) in this blog because this issues raised are issues that we seemingly address time and time again. The letter was well-thought-out and came from the heart. I appreciate that. Often times the letters that are critical of what we are doing come to us from "Anonymous." That's not the case with this one. We're always open to feedback and critique. And I'll always respond to these type letters. Here it is:

Hi John,
Since you are the Director of Group Life I thought that perhaps you would be the one for me to share my thoughts and concerns with; if I am wrong please direct me to the right person or persons. What prompted this letter was my conversation with others where I work. There are several people (where I work) that are now attending NPCC and I enjoy being able to share my experiences with them. It was during one of these conversations that I realized that I am not alone in my concerns.

My background includes being a Christian all my life and always sharing a close feeling of guidance from God. We all have our stories so I won’t go into that but I will say that if it had not been for my faith and God’s guidance I know that my life, my four children’s lives and my husband’s life would have had a completely different outcome.

I enjoy your talks and Dwight’s talks, I enjoy the music, and I love seeing the youth and all the attention to the family unit that takes place at NCPP. You are doing a great job connecting with so many different levels of development in our partnership with Christ.

Several months ago I answered a question on what I was looking for in a church. My answer was that I needed to feel the presence of God. Being over 60 and growing up in the traditional church setting I find something missing in an auditorium. Perhaps your goal is more at home connection with God and that is where the one on one time should come in. Maybe I should not expect to have that at NPCC. And my time there is only for listening to Dwight and yourself and the uplifting music, all of which I truly do enjoy.

I felt that with time I would make that connection and I would not be as concerned if I had not felt so disappointed with the lack of traditional Christmas spirit last Sunday. We all need to know about Herod and I look forward to watching the series evolve. But I guess what I am trying to say is please don’t forget the “grown up in the traditional church over 60 group”. Perhaps we don’t need the statues, the crucifixes, the stained glass windows, the manger, the poinsettias (I really don’t know what I am missing but I know I am not alone).

Please do not take this as a criticism because I know you are on the right track. I am just trying to share a concern.

Thank you and please keep up the good work.

My response:

Thanks for e-mailing. I appreciate your candor and concern. I’d like to take a shot at addressing some of your comments.

On Sunday mornings our number one goal is to change people’s minds about church. We’ve found that most unchurched people view church as irrelevant to their everyday lives. We think that’s unfortunate because we’ve found that God is very relevant. As a result, our Sunday morning services don’t really look like “typical” church services. We want to be able to connect with people who have not been to church in a long time, or maybe they’ve just given up on church. I’m someone who, like you, grew up in church. I know all the language, the hymns, the way to dress, etc. 60% of the people in our area do not attend church. One of the reasons (a big reason) is simply that they don’t view the church as relevant and if they were to go to church, their expectation is that it would be awkward and uncomfortable for them because they would be “outsiders.” They’re afraid they’d stick out like a sore thumb…or they wouldn’t know how to act, or dress, etc. Our goal is to take that fear away. We want NPCC to be a place that outsiders are comfortable coming to. So, consequently, our goal is to get them to change their minds about church and to have them want to come back.

The tension comes when we have people like me, life-long churchers, who come in with a certain set of expectations. We think we know what church should look like and how it should be run. Even more tension enters the equation when we realize that those are the ones who are giving the money. That’s why we spend a lot of time casting vision and trying to help others understand why we do what we do. We want NPCC to be a place where attenders feel comfortable inviting their friends, family, neighbors, coworkers.

We don’t think our community needs another church. There are hundreds around here. But, we do think our area needs environments where people can invite unchurched friends to hear the Gospel presented in a compelling way. So for us, it’s all about creating relevant environments to capture the imagination of unchurched people. That’s what we want to be about. So here’s what this means: We don’t ever want NPCC to be about who we’re going to keep. We’re always going to be about who we want to reach.

Do we do everything necessary for me, personally, to be able to connect with God in my favorite way? No. But I’m okay with that because I know that church isn’t primarily for me (a Christian), church is primarily for those who are unchurched, far from god, seeking, disenfranchised, cynical, hurt, wounded…you get my point. When I begin to look at what we do at NPCC through their eyes instead of my own, it changes my whole outlook.

Here’s an email that came in through our website just today: We've been attending NPCC since the move to the new location and intend becoming members. We're very impressed with the church's dedication to details in every aspect of our experience so far. We've never felt so welcomed in any church as we have with NPCC. That’s the win! That’s what we’re going for. That’s why we do what we do on Sundays.

Sorry if I come across as “preachy.” That’s not my intention. Mainly, I just want to help you understand why we do what we do. We are so glad you’re a part of NewPointe. And you’re a huge part of what we’re trying to do.

We believe that methods can and should change in order to remain relevant. But the message is non-negotiable.

Thanks again for expressing your concerns. We really are interested in your viewpoints. Feel free to write or call any time.

maybe this will make it seem more like winter...

Here in NE Ohio, we've had an unseasonably warm (to say the least) winter so far. In fact, I think nature is confused...flowers are trying to come up, trees are thinking about budding...weird. We're used to snow--and lots of it by this time of the year. This past weekend, it was in the 50's. Hey, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm definately a warm-weather guy. I could get along very nicely living in say...Florida. I'm into golf, and swimming, and motorcycling, and baseball...and those are things you just can't do in the winter in Ohio--typically.

So for those of you who miss winter and wish for "whiter" days, here's a fun (and addictive) little game to remind you of Ohio winters past. Good luck trying to beat my high score of 10,671,160.

Winterbells

reasons the buckeyes will win on monday

The Ohio State football Buckeyes find themselves playing for their second national championship in five years. They've been waiting over 50 days (since beating Michigan) to play for the championship. This year's victim is the Florida Gators. The Gators are good...but they're not Buckeye good. In fact OSU is favored by a touchdown in this game. That's not to say that the Gators don't worry me, though. In fact, this game has a lot in common with the last national championship game the Bucks were involved in--the one in 2002 against Miami. Only this time, the shoe is on the other foot. Going into the 2002, Miami was the HEAVY favorite. Most experts didn't give Ohio State much of a chance. The prevailing thought was that the Buckeyes had been lucky all year, barely winning close games. And that Miami was far superior and would pound them into submission. As we know, that didn't happen. This Florida team the Bucks are playing Monday is similar to the 2002 OSU team...they won a lot of close games...but they won. And here they are with a shot to knock off the Buckeyes.

OSU and Florida have never played each other in football. Ohio State has won seven national championships to Florida's one (1996). Ohio State has the nation's best player and Heisman Trophy winner, Troy Smith, playing quarterback. It seems like OSU should roll. But like I said, I'm still a little worried. Florida loves to run crazy, creative trick plays. No doubt they'll have some interesting wrinkles to throw at the Buckeyes. And if the Bucks turn the ball over like they did against Michigan...they could be in trouble. But here's why I think the Buckeyes will win:

Jim Tressel. Is there a better big-game coach in the nation? 4-1 in bowl games (3-0) in BCS games including always playing well in Arizona.

Troy Smith. Is there a better big game QB in college football? It seems that he is able to will his team to victory. He's 11-1 as a starter against ranked opponents.

Balance. There's simply no weakness for OSU...special teams, offense, defense, coaching, intangibles.

The kicking game. didn't realize Florida's place-kicking game was so horrible. That could be HUGE in a game like this. Huge advantage to the Buckeyes there. Florida's place-kicker, Chris Hetland, has missed 9 of 13 field-goal attempts. His longest successful kick has been from 33 yards. He's just 1-of-7 from beyond 29 yards this season. Yikes.

I can't wait! I plan to watch some, if not all of the game at a special party at NewPointe on the big screens in The Warehouse.

Go Bucks!