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February 02, 2009
Set:
Tom was not a good athlete, but loved sports. He could not dunk a basketball, but was a valuable member of the program. He could not spike a volleyball, but his impact on the team was greatly appreciated. Who was Big Tom? He was a servant and worked for buildings and grounds to prepare the gym before each contest.
In Romans 12, Paul lists spiritual gifts. One gift is out front where everyone can see and hear it. The other gift is behind the scenes and often goes unappreciated. Big Tom was a student worker who took his gift very seriously and made every effort to serve the Lord as he served our teams in Oklahoma. Each year teachers were awarded for their excellence in the classroom, but Big Tom went unnoticed.
October 15, 2009
Set:
In high school, a few of my football teammates shared a pre-game ritual. Before each game they would sit down in the locker room. The first guy would wrap his left wrist with a roll of tape and hand it to the second guy. The second guy would wrap both of his wrists (left first) then hand back the roll. The first guy would then finish his wrap on his right wrist, and hand back the roll again. He would then get up, move to the other side of his taping partner and toss the roll to a third guy. This guy would then put the roll in his locker until the following week . . .to do it all again. These guys swore by this ritual. Did it work? We went undefeated in the regular season, so the ritual must have worked, right? But in the playoffs, we went down in flames. What good was it then?
September 10, 2009
Set:
Years ago Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Namath guaranteed that his underdog New York Jets were going to beat the powerful Baltimore Colts in the Super Bowl … and wouldn’t you know … they did it! But since that time there have been many athletes and coaches who have guaranteed a win and it didn’t turn out that way. Why? Nothing on this planet is truly guaranteed. As a matter of fact, there are very few real guarantees in life. Even when you purchase something that is guaranteed, that doesn’t mean it’s going to work forever. It just means that when it breaks, the guarantor will fix or replace it.
February 08, 2010
Set:
These words from the book of Ecclesiastes ran through my mind during my senior year in high school. We had just won the state championship the year before, but it seemed nearly everyone had already forgotten. The things of the world failed to satisfy my cravings for what was truly real, lasting, and meaningful in life. I was invited to an FCA Huddle meeting where Coach Patterson, one of the school’s football coaches, was scheduled to speak. At a time when I refused the wise counsel of most adults, the idea of hearing a coach’s speech attracted me. The advice of a coach has tremendous influence and power because most athletes are conditioned at a young age to listen to and respect their coach.
January 06, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Goal judges were first used around 1877 in Montreal and stood right behind the goal (a brutal job for someone with no pads). Years later, they sat in elevated cages behind the glass and when they would see the puck cross the line, they’d turn on the bright red goal light to signal to everyone that a goal has been scored. The red light is a hockey icon now being a symbol of scoring a goal.
May 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Martin Brodeur used it as a popcorn bowl when he took his wife and children to see the movie ''The Kid'' in Montreal. Scott Gomez brought it into an Anchorage park on a dog sled. Petr Sykora took it to an orphanage in Prague. Scott Niedermayer flew it by helicopter to the top of the Rocky Mountains in Cranbrook, British Columbia. It’s been used as a flowerpot, baptismal, and champagne glass. Yet regardless of all the uses it has seen, the Stanley Cup is still a symbol of hockey greatness and the most prestigious trophy in all of sports.
February 11, 2010
Set:
How many of you know if all your friends and family are saved? How many of you would have the nerve to simply ask each and every one of your friends and family, "If you died today, do you know 100% where you would spend eternity? My answer to both of those questions to this point would be, "No". These are questions that I spend a pretty fare amount of time thinking about, but can't muster up the courage to ask.
December 27, 2009
Set:
All athletes have experienced it. The day after a hard work out, we roll out of bed barely able to move. Aching pains shoot like firecrackers through our bodies, making us feel 100 years old. The fact is, during those hours spent in the gym, running, or at practice, we were literally pulling our muscles apart. The resistance of weights and movement caused the muscles to tear and the soreness felt is the body struggling to rebuild those fibers, stronger than before. Isn’t it crazy the pain we endure for a desired physical result—that six pack of abs and a set of pythons to make the Rock jealous? But what are we willing to suffer to be conditioned spiritually?
November 16, 2010
Set:
When our athletes become unnerved, out of breath, and in need of a break, we know it’s time to reenergize, refocus, reward, and reassure. Something as simple as a water break helps players reenergize and get going again. They are thirsty for water, just as our thirst for God requires that we take time-outs to be reenergized by Jesus Christ.
December 30, 2009
Set:
Our power lies not in our perfection, but in our pursuit. We are a results-driven people, especially athletes. Perfection is the goal and we do what it takes to get there, even if that means sacrificing what really matters. There is much good in wanting to perform well. However, tunnel vision comes when we place our worth, security, and joy in our idea of perfection. But we can never arrive at perfection. Perfection has no power because it leaves us empty. Pursuit, on the other hand, holds what is real. Pursuit says, “I’m not perfect, but I will do what I can with what I have in the moment I have been given, in the midst of where I am.” In pursuit we find God.
November 13, 2009
Set:
Have you ever had a change of plans? This week I was at a friend’s house planning to eat dinner and watch a movie and just relax. It had been a busy work day after a busy weekend, and I still had another conference the next morning. We wanted to just sit and relax for an evening, but God had other plans. My friend had forgotten that he had committed us to speak at another church opportunity. So, off we went.
God’s Word is very clear that when we have the opportunity to bring the Good Word, we are to seize the moment. Second Timothy 4 tells us to preach the Word whether now or later. When opportunity knocks, we are to speak out for Christ whether to a group of two or 200. We must take the chance to share about God with those who are willing to listen.
December 08, 2010
Set:
Dave Barnes is a coach at a large public school in Spokane, Washington. He is a legendary, state-honored coach, having led his teams to city championships in each of the last twenty years. However, what is more impressive than all his titles is the fact that he is a father to so many of his students and athletes. When Dave was two years old his father abandoned the family, remarried, and moved to another state. When his mother remarried three years later, this new dad became a true father to him. Sadly, when Dave was ten years old, his stepfather was struck by lightening and killed. His mother married a third time a few years later, but this new stepfather was an alcoholic. Dave never really had a dad who lasted.
February 17, 2010
Set:
I’m not sure if this verse is true, I thought at first. After all, I had accomplished things in life long before I had trusted in Christ. Yet Jesus was clear: “You can do nothing without Me.” Those are hard words. In fact, there are many coaches who don’t believe in Christ, and they have been able to help players become better players and people. Many of them are coaches at prominent schools; they have great jobs, an abundance of material possessions, a terrific athletic program, and championship trophies. So what did Jesus mean when he said we can do nothing apart from him?
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Chasing the puck is easy to do but a bad play to make. Imagine if you had all 5 skaters on your team chasing after the puck and nobody keeping to their positions. It would be a big mess. We all want to grab the puck and make the play, but we need to remain controlled and play our position to make the winning play for the team.
September 01, 2009
Set:
In the Psalm 55, we find King David in anguish because his third son, Absalom, has spearheaded a revolt. One of David’s most trusted advisors also betrayed him by giving Absalom advice on how to successfully dethrone his father. In this time of lamentation, David gives us a good example of how to handle the wounds from a confidant.
September 11, 2009
Set:
One of God’s greatest gifts to us is that he is willing to direct our paths. He has prepared a way for us, but we must be willing to follow it. It is easy to say we want to take God’s path, but it is just as easy to get off course.
September 10, 2010
Set:
Hockey Chat: Mark Messier was a great goal scorer with 694 goals in his 20 years of playing. But he doubled that number with the passes he made that helped his teammates score time after time. His linemates knew that he was a great playmaker and were ready to grab goals of their own from his assists. His efforts won him and his teammates six Stanley Cups.
November 01, 2008
Set:
Every team needs leaders on and off the field who set examples at practice, in the classroom and with their friends. Leaders show the way to work in all areas of their lives. However, many players do not want that responsibility.
When I share with athletes and encourage them to be leaders, I usually get the same response: “Who, me?” They feel that nobody is watching them and that no one cares what they do on or off the field. I beg to differ. Athletes are under the microscope. People are watching. Peers are watching. And fellow athletes are watching.
February 04, 2010
Set:
A few years ago I was privileged to participate in the memorial service for a faithful servant, a dear friend and a former head football coach. More than two thousand of this man’s family, friends, colleagues, and student athletes attended the service. As I stepped into the pulpit of the church, I thought, Look at all these people. The grandstands are packed for him today. Everyone here is a cheerleader! What a great send-off for a coach, and a great testimony to a life well lived.
September 22, 2010
Set:
The fall of 2005 brought a record number of hurricanes to the Atlantic Basin, several of which impacted the coastline of the United States. After Hurricane Katrina struck first the Florida coast, then the Gulf states, the nearly total devastation of coastal communities was shocking. Of the many images seen in the aftermath, one news photograph stood out, capturing a makeshift sign rising out of the rubble displaying an address and name, acknowledging the location of the family’s former home. All that was recognizable was the foundation, giving testament to the location where reconstruction after total loss will begin.
October 10, 2010
Set:
In 1979, as a Christian follower for fourteen years, I awoke to find my world crumbling. I had tried to be a good coach, a good provider, a sharing Christian, a church deacon, and a well-conditioned athlete. But I learned a great lesson that day. Sometimes I can be doing God’s work and not God’s will! I had been trying to do God’s work, but His will was for me to love my wife more.
I turned to my Bible and immediately turned to the verse above, 2 Timothy 3:1–5. I knew this was written for me. Immediately I read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in order to know Jesus and His words. I said, “If I was an apostle with Jesus in His time—what would I have thought?”
March 09, 2010
Set:
Over the past fourteen years, I have been a defensive coach in our high school football program. Specifically, I coach linebackers. In order to play linebacker successfully at our level, a player must make a total commitment to the expectations placed upon him. It requires an unwavering self-discipline.
May 08, 2009
Set:
All my friends and I are turning 16 this year and, let me tell you, that’s a big one. I always know who’s just had a birthday, not because their school locker is decorated or because of that faint scent of butter cream frosting on their breath, but because of something far more significant: that shiny new driver’s license burning a hole in their wallet! Hey, that is a milestone in a kid’s life. And that little piece of plastic pretty much tells it all. I mean, it tells your height, your weight, your eye color—everything you’d need to know about a person. But, if you ask me, even with all that information, a lot of kids in my generation are having a serious identity crisis!
September 16, 2010
Set:
New coaches are often brought to a team in hopes of resurrecting a hurting or weak program. The coach will likely implement a new approach to whatever has been the source of the team’s problems, and the rebuilding process gets underway. After a while the team may regain hope for a better season and the hope of brighter days. However, no matter how good our team becomes, we will be disappointed if set our eyes on a successful season. That’s because life itself on this earth is often more characterized by “losing seasons” than by great victories. Therefore, Christians learn to put their hope in brighter days that transcend life here and now.
November 29, 2009
Set:
King Josiah was just eight years old when he began to change his world. Even at such a young age he decided to live in the ways of the Lord and do what was right in His eyes. I wonder if we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord at our age.
God asks us to change our lives—our worlds. If we think about it, our personal lives are pretty much our world. We feel like the world is falling apart when we are having difficulties. We do have the power to change a world—our world—when we rely on Christ, “not turn[ing] to the right or to the left.” And I believe that we can have an impact on others as well when we do “what is right in the Lord’s sight.” Don’t just read it!
