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September 16, 2013
Set:
Daniel is one of my favorite people in the Bible. He kept a great attitude in spite of his circumstances. He was moved to a strange land against his will, kept in captivity for most of his life, and had his life threatened. He was loyal to his boss and worked for some difficult people. If we think our coaches are tough sometimes, look at David’s life. Nebuchadnezzar laid siege on Jerusalem, tried to kill Daniel’s friends, and eventually lost his mind. Belshazzar was a heavy drinker, had several wives, and stole sacred items from the temple. Darius had Daniel thrown into the lion’s den for being obedient to God. Yet, Daniel never complained.
July 30, 2012
Set:
The movie "Invincible" tells the true story of former Philadelphia Eagles fan-turned-NFL-pro Vince Papale. After losing his job and his wife, Papale was told that he would never amount to anything, that he wouldn't make any money and that he wasn't going anywhere.
Has a coach ever told you, "You're not talented enough. You just won't make it."? Has a co-worker, spouse, friend or parent buried you in doubt?
In 1 Timothy, the Bible says that Jesus gave Himself as “a ransom for all, a testimony at the proper time."
September 25, 2012
Set:
Recently, I was reminded of a football game my younger brother played years ago. It was a classic Friday-night match-up between the top two teams in the conference. Both teams were highly rated for both their dominant defense and offensive efficiency. Each entered the battlefield with spotless conference records and brought bus-loads of fans to the game. The atmosphere was thick with pressure.
As in any such classic battle, the game was well-played on both sides, and it all came down to the last stand. My brother’s team was down by four. They had the ball on the one-yard line and four full downs to get into the end zone.
“Defense!” was the cry from across the field. “Stand firm!”
October 04, 2012
Set:
In any sport, we as athletes are susceptible to adopting a number of bad habits that can hinder us from becoming the best athletes we can be. Whether it is a sloppy technique or poor reads, any bad habit prevents us from becoming the “perfect” athlete that each of us strives to become.
February 14, 2014
Set:
The song “Overcomer” by Mandisa is one of my favorite songs. But it’s more than just an emotional and spiritual pep-rally. As believers in Christ, the attitude of an overcomer is the one we are to walk in every day regardless of circumstances. Romans 8:37 (NIV) says that we are “more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
It’s easy to feel this way when it seems like everything is under control. Our relationships are great, we have good health, we’re doing well in school or at work, we’re excelling in our sport, etc. However, circumstances will change. And what we do when that happens makes all the difference.
March 11, 2013
Set:
The statement, “Your ‘yes’ must be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no’ must be ‘no’ ” is at the heart of what it means to be faithful. A faithful person can be trusted. Jesus told the disciples that they should be so well known for their integrity, that they should never have to take an oath. The oaths of yesterday are the legal contracts of today. We can do almost nothing today without a legal contract. Fifty years ago a handshake was considered binding. People felt keeping one’s word was important. Today, our word means nothing because of a general lack of societal integrity. Faithfulness is not just keeping our word, it is telling the truth.
November 07, 2012
Set:
I love the fact that Paul draws a comparison between physical and spiritual training. But most of us do one of two things with this passage. We either completely discount the benefits of physical training, or we miss the fact that we should actually engage in spiritual training.
January 09, 2014
Set:
As athletes and coaches we are, by nature, very competitive. We strive for perfection and are driven by the desire to succeed. Applying that same attitude to our walk with Christ can be extremely frustrating. No matter how hard we try, we will daily fall short of God’s expectations.
April 07, 2014
Set:
Like most high school coaches, I had a goal to help an athlete win a state championship some day. As a former 800-meter runner myself, I wanted to help an athlete win that exact event. In my first season as a high school distance coach, I stood at the state meet as God taught me a valuable lesson. One of my runners was in the finals of the 800-meter race.
September 28, 2012
Set:
The Israelites had just lost their leader Moses. It had fallen to his second-in-command to take over. Joshua had led before, but never had he been THE man. And on top of that, he was replacing a legendary figure. The expectations would be enormous. Joshua had to have been terrified.
Sometimes we find ourselves in over our heads. Fresh out of seminary, I applied for my first campus ministry position expecting to be an associate campus minister. Well into the interviewing process, I was informed that I had been misinformed. If I were hired, I would be THE campus minister. With no real experience and no other offers looming, I accepted the position. I was terrified. Yet, I remained in that position for over 20 years.
August 28, 2012
Set:
Preseason: a time of intense workouts, two-a-days, ice baths, and maximum exertion!
Fall sports are just now emerging from this intense time. Great teams are being forged through the crucible of preseason and are getting ready to run the gauntlet of the regular season. But as tough as those preseason workouts may be, there is one day that athletes dread even more: the day the cuts are made.
As an athlete, I remember the rapid heartbeat in my chest, the doubts and anxiety, the holding in of my breath as I walked into the locker room to see if my name was on a list. I dreaded the voice of the coach saying, “Son, step into my office.” But, on the flipside, it was always such a great experience if I did make the cut and saw the diligence pay off!
January 24, 2014
Set:
What does it take to be the coach of the number one football team in the nation? Most people are under the assumption that one must neglect his family and everything else that is important and spend every waking moment preparing his team for success. What does Bob Stoops, head coach of the 2000 national champion Oklahoma Sooners, do? He and his staff start their day at 8:45 a.m., usually end in time to be home for dinner, and have Wednesday night family gatherings with their wives and children. It appears that Stoops has set some priorities in his life and has a good handle on the often-difficult task of balancing family and career.
October 30, 2013
Set:
A soccer player falls in the penalty box after being tackled. She gets back up, walks to the referee who is pointing to the penalty spot, and explains that she just dove to avoid the tackle and there should not be any foul called on the play.
After signing his scorecard, a golfer notices an error, reports it to the officials and gets automatically disqualified after winning the tournament.
Even though her first serve was called inbound, a tennis player, knowing that her ball was out, overrules the line judge’s call and gets ready to second serve.
A baseball centerfielder admits that he caught the ball just after it touched the ground and tells the umpire that the batter should now be on first base, not out.
April 14, 2011
Set:
Every time a track meet comes around, memories of my past throws (shot put and discus) come rushing back into my mind—all of the times I’ve choked or have failed to do my best. I’m so anxious about how I need to make up for my short comings of the last meet that I never truly enjoy competing. Shame of the past always seems to bring me down.
December 22, 2013
Set:
The ministry of FCA is about many things, but one specific thing is influence. In athletics today, we all are influenced. Athletically, athletes are influenced by teammates and coaches by other coaches, but where is the spiritual influence coming from? One athlete recently told me that when it comes to athletic excellence he could help any teammate get to the next level, but when it came to growing in Christ he was not the man! An honest and compelling commentary for sure.
January 30, 2014
Set:
You hear it on ESPN, read it in the papers, see it on the news: smack! Smack is a common form of vernacular used by players and sometimes coaches to establish or self-promote their performances. In short, it is trash talking. In every league, game, and team there is someone who has the gift of smack. Usually this person has an ego the size of Texas, humility the size of Delaware, and common sense the size of an M&M®. Smack-talkers usually just talk the talk, but fail to walk the walk.
February 21, 2013
Set:
Imagine there is a bank which credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day, and every evening when you lie down to sleep, it cancels whatever part of that amount you had failed to use during the day. And the only variable is that you don’t know when your bank will stop this process. So, what would you do? You would find a way to spend it, right?
In theory, we all have such a bank. It’s called “Time.” Every morning, God credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night God has to write off as a loss whatever you failed to invest toward a good purpose. This account will not carry a balance over, either.
August 11, 2013
Set:
Everybody knows that WWJD stands for “What Would Jesus Do.” A couple of years ago the saying swept across America like wildfire, becoming so popular that this witnessing tool also became a fashion statement, even to unbelievers. However, most athletes and coaches, men and women, young and old wore it to share their love for Christ. Even though WWJD is not new, the message is still powerful.
The last thing we need is another acronym, but GGTG is a great reminder for athletes and coaches. It should be the reason why we compete. As competitors, it helps us to focus on the main thing. The message is plain—it is not about us, but about Christ. So what does GGTG stand for? It stands for “Give God The Glory.”
April 29, 2010
Set:
All coaches know that to give their athletes or their team the best chance at success or reaching their goals, three things are needed: discipline, training, and a game plan. The game plan simply means to use one’s strengths to exploit the opponent’s weakness. A good game plan is a must. Often, we fail because of the wrong game plan or simply a faulty one.
Life is a competition. We meet challenges every day that present opportunities to help us be successful. We also construct game plans for daily life. We must know our strengths and weaknesses, our opponent (Satan), listen to our coach (Jesus Christ), train hard, and have discipline to reach our goal of knowing Christ.
February 03, 2012
Set:
Tomorrow, June 26, 2010, thousands will gather at a memorial service to honor the life of legendary coach John Wooden who passed from this life to the next earlier this month. Coach Wooden lived 99 full years. He lived well, died well and understood his eternal fate. He once said, “There is only one kind of life that truly wins, and that is the one that places faith in the hands of the Savior.”
February 16, 2014
Set:
“If the rush gets close, fall down and act like you were hit. We get an automatic first down if we draw a roughing-the-punter penalty.” If the referees are not calling holding for offensive linemen, have we ever instructed our athletes to hang on just a little? Do we influence the referees by showing our players how to have “hinged heels” when drawing an offensive foul in basketball? Ever silently wished that the best player would miss just this one game so we don’t have to play against the best of the best? Do we coach gamesmanship, win-at-all-costs attitudes with manipulation of the rules? Is winning more important than teaching character in sport and life?
February 27, 2013
Set:
Athletics are full of emotion. Excitement, enthusiasm, disappointment, happiness and joy are all part of the competitive experience. Paul reminded Christians at Philippi to rejoice in the Lord, and the message is the same for us today. But we live in a difficult world with real battles. As John 10:10 tells us, “A thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy.” What is the thief after? Not anything that can be seen in the physical—no, he wants to steal the joy in our hearts.
January 20, 2014
Set:
“Too small…too short…can’t play…can’t survive…can’t make it in the NFL.” Who were the so-called experts talking about? It was Buffalo Bills quarterback, Doug Flute. He was too small in the estimation of many NFL scouts. Yet, in the Canadian Football League, Doug Flute is considered to be the best player in CFL history, winner of six Most Outstanding Player awards in eight years, quarterback of three Gray Cup champions, holder of most of the league’s passing records (41,355 career passing yards and 270 passing touchdowns).
August 31, 2013
Set:
One of the things I have always liked about Notre Dame football is the fact that the players don’t have their names on the back of their jerseys. There is a sense that when you play for this school, you are part of something far bigger than you. There are decades of history, legendary coaches, and miraculous wins.
No one player is more important than the team. It takes commitment, sacrifice, and a relentless pursuit of excellence from every single person in the locker room—from the water boys to the head coach, from the athletic trainers to the quarterback.
February 17, 2014
Set:
I accepted the Lord at thirteen years old and had no problem sharing my faith with friends in junior high and high school. Not only was I a Christian, but a wrestler too. Wrestling gave me an audience to spread the Word, so I made a T-shirt that would show evidence of my faith.
