John was the man. He was the star of every team he played on at his school. Had the best car, the best girl, the best of everything. On the outside, he lacked nothing. Everybody wanted to be like John. His lifestyle was fast and furious. He played hard and partied hard as well. Most people thought it was good to be John. But John was not content. He knew he was missing something in his life. After practice one Wednesday, Bill, a teammate of John's, invited him to come to FCA that night. Bill thought John would never come, but he showed up. John heard the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it made him think. He asked Bill if he could come to church with him that Sunday as well. Something was happening in John's life.

“Coach, I couldn't make it to weight-lifting on time because I had to get my hair cut.”

Apparently there wasn't enough time in the day for this athlete to handle his busy schedule. It's not like there was any other time in the day he could have gotten a haircut. It must have been a life-or-death situation!

Lost in excitement of the NCAA basketball tournaments is the fact that the college baseball season is now in full swing. In past years that meant I was spending many hours on a bus and away from my family. Unfortunately, my daily devotionals usually took a hit during that time of the year too.

How many times has a coach handed us a playbook or drawn a play diagram for us on the board? How many of us ever take our playbook home and look at it before bed just so we have an idea of what is going on? If we don’t understand the plays from the playbook, how many of us ever take the time to ask the coach about the plays and how to execute them properly? I used to be one of the guys who thought he’d learned something just by looking over his playbook.

As Christians many of us do the same thing with our Bibles. We pick them up here and there and look for the right “play” for our situation, or we skim them over hoping that we will gain wisdom by reading without going into depth.

I’m a fan of Coach John Wooden’s book, Pyramid of Success. Throughout my teaching and coaching career, I’ve shared with others how it has influenced my life in many helpful ways. Recently, during an FCA coaches’ Bible study, it occurred to me that the ideas that influenced me could just as easily be called the “pyramid of significance.”

Webster defines success as “an outcome or result; favorable or desired outcome; the attainment of wealth, favor or eminence.” The definition of significance reads, “Something that is conveyed as a meaning often obscurely or indirectly; the quality of being important.”

Los Angeles Angels All-Star Josh Hamilton’s career was initially derailed by the abuse of and addiction to drugs and alcohol. After several stints in rehab, he was still unable to escape those vices under his own power.

Josh admits that at the time, he didn’t realize how he was hurting those closest to him as his life revolved around satisfying his cravings for more. Once he hit bottom at his grandmother’s home in 2005, his heart was opened to God’s love and how much he needed Christ’s help to overcome his addictions and heal the brokenness in his life.