For many years and generations, our society has been losing a most valuable ingredient: our men. Why do we see so many insurmountable problems? Why do we see so many perversions come to be accepted as “normal” and “natural”? I believe that most men don’t know what it means to be godly men and fathers. And women long to be women, but when men run away from their responsibilities women are left confused, as well. We must reach a place of brokenness before God to find our true identities.

Champ Bailey didn’t see it coming. Nobody did — except maybe Ken Watson. “Where is Benjamin?” Ken asked his wife as the two-inch Bailey sprinted across their television screen and down the length of INVESCO Field. It was the third quarter of the 2005 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos; Bailey had just picked off New England quarterback Tom Brady’s pass in the end zone — a throw meant for Troy Brown — and he was now sprinting the 100 yards toward the Pats’ end zone. “I know he’s going to be there!”

Years ago, I was on a 15-mile run along the coast with one of my unchurched buddies when the conversation turned to faith.

He asked, “Will a relationship with God help my running?”

Translation: What’s in it for me?

People don’t always say it, but that’s their question. Listen close and you’ll hear it a hundred times a day in a hundred different ways. We can’t help it; we’re egocentric by nature.

Every great moment in sports has its own soundtrack — a song that fuels the emotion of the moment. Would movie goers be half as moved if they watched Rocky Balboa train for a fight without hearing “Eye of the Tiger”? Imagine any college team taking the field without the band playing the school’s fight song. As an athlete, have you ever tried to prepare mentally for the game without using music? Would fans come to the games if they had to sit in silence?