This past Friday (July 11), the sports world received something far greater than free Slurpees (7/11 day) with the much anticipated announcement from LeBron James. Instead of returning to Miami in an attempt to continue the Heat’s near monopoly on the Eastern Conference, LeBron decided to return to Cleveland. I’d guess that most of you reading this post are already familiar with this story and perhaps you’ve already read his personalized letter for Sports Illustrated. If not, check it out here.
Like most sports fans, I’ve been rooting against LeBron for the past 4 years. The manner in which he left Cleveland, his hometown, for South Beach—with his thirty-minute ESPN special The Decision—was perhaps the single most self-indulgent moment in sports history. Yet with the recent SI.com letter, LeBron’s announcement was brief, simple, and—to my complete surprise—moving.
I had no idea why I was feeling the way I was as I read LeBron’s letter. I nearly got teary eyed as I read about LeBron’s announcement to go “home”. I couldn’t reconcile my response to the letter with how I’ve felt about LeBron—here’s a guy that I thought was a greedy tool bag, and now I’m getting slightly emotional. I tried to fight it and didn’t want to feel anything positive about the letter. But as I read it I wondered to myself, Why do I care?
And then I realized—I’m coming home, too.
In exactly two weeks from today (July 29) I will be leaving Scotland and the University of St Andrews to finish up my PhD from home in the city of Las Vegas. The very next time I’m scheduled to write a blog post for The Two Cities is the day I’ll be flying home. I’ve been fairly nostalgic about the idea of leaving for several months now. It’s bittersweet. I’m sad to be leaving this town, the research community, the proper Scottish breakfasts, etc, but I’m also genuinely excited about the prospect of going home (I haven’t lived at home for a full year since the 2004—2005 academic year). And this is why I found LeBron’s letter moving.
Now, to be clear, I’m no LeBron James and I’m not trying to compare myself to him. Please don’t misunderstand me. LeBron is returning to Cleveland to finish his career, whereas mine hasn’t even begun yet. Also, I am not comparing my “talents” in the scholarly realm with LeBron’s corresponding talents in the athletic realm. That’s not part of the analogy that I want to make. In fact, I’d be entirely content to be the Greg Ostertag of the scholarly world! So, just to be clear, I don’t think I’m LeBron or like LeBron or even close to LeBron.
But Las Vegas is a lot like Cleveland.
Cleveland is in a significant sporting drought. As a major sports city, they haven’t boasted a championship team in fifty years (The Browns won the football championship in 1964, just before the Super Bowl era began; see more on the “Cleveland Curse” here). Analogously, Las Vegas is in a drought of it’s own—theological education. There are plenty of wonderful Christian women and men in Las Vegas and far more churches than people might think. Yet the State of Nevada as a whole does not have much to boast in terms of theological or religious education. This is particularly odd for the Las Vegas valley where the population is over 2 million people. In the State of Nevada there aren’t any Seminaries or Bible Colleges to train future ministers. Likewise, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) one cannot major in biblical studies, or theology, or even religion.
Only recently has the presence of a Christian University emerged in Las Vegas. Lincoln Christian University, which is based in Illinois, has created an extension campus in Las Vegas (administrated by Paul Trainor). I’m pleased that I have an opportunity to come home and teach in my hometown at LCU. There is such a need in our State for theology and Christian education, and I am pleased to be able to return home, for at least a year, and come alongside those who are in the process of trying to rectify this problem.
And so I greatly covet your prayers as I approach this transition.
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