Winning the Battle

This morning, my pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel in Rockford, preached an outstanding message entitled, "Winning the Battle Over Sin".  I instantly knew that I wanted to share this on my blog not only because it is so convicting and powerful, but also because he relates it so strongly to the sports arena.  His whole point was to encourage us and inform us of the necessity it is to "make war" with our sin on a daily basis.  So many times we find ourselves just doing the typical "Christian" thing and making sure we are just doing OK.  But I was really challenged in this message to take initiative and really take a "Holy violence" against my sin. He had 3 things we need from Colossians 3:1-7 that he used to make that point to us.  The three points were:

1. You must have a good OFFENSE

2. You must have a good DEFENSE

3. You must have good TEAMMATES

The entire passage talks about our utter dependence on God and how me must put on a "New Self."  I thought it was so awesome how he related sports analogies to our walk with Christ.  I was extremely convicted of my walk with Jesus and how I am playing "defense" too often.  I just want to fight sin and stay out of trouble.  But Jesus really encouraged me to take the "offensive" in winning the battle over sin.  I was also struck back by how important it is to have the right 'teammates' on your side to encourage you in your walk.  Instead of summarizing the entire sermon in this blog post, I would rather allow you to listen to it yourself.  I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE you to listen to this sermon while your working out in the morning or while your driving your daily commute to/from work.  I feel like this idea  of "making war" or "winning the battle over sin" really needs to be strengthened in my walk as a Christian and I believe that it can be directly translated to the way I coach a basketball team.  I hope you are as encouraged by this message as I am and I would love to hear your feedback!

Encouraging Others

Nothing is more powerful than our words.  The words we say can impact someone's life in a great and mighty way.  As coaches, it is crucial for us to realize this and emphasize the importance of encouragement amongst our team.  Not only do we have to make sure our players are mindful of their words, but we have to be an example of this in our own lives.  Paul writes in his letter to the church at Ephesus about the importance of their speech.  "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." - Ephesians 4:29.  This is a powerful verse.  Author and leader of Sovereign Grace Ministries, C.J. Mahaney, describes this verse in further detail in his book, Humility: True Greatness.  Mahaney writes, "'Let no...but only...'  There's a certain kind of speech that's never to come from our mouths, and another kind that should be in everything we say."  I was taken back when I read that because it is true that God is very precise in telling us what kind of speech we need to have.  As a coach, I know that I am not always saying things to my players that is probably giving them grace or uplifting them.  I know we can't be perfect, but I want to strive to be that kind of coach.  In order to effectively communicate like this, we need to know each individual player on our team.  Talk to them, get to know them as a person, and figure out in what ways we can best communicate with them.  We need to be able to edify each player with appropriate and timely words.  And finally, the biggest area that I need work in and probably most coaches need work in is: How do I edify my players when I am trying to correct them?  Every area of correction needs to be directed to the gospel.  If we can't give our players hope in the gospel, then our correction is going to be wasted.  I have been really convicted of my words as a coach, and I know that I need this more than anybody.  I strongly encourage you to read Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney if you get the chance.  It is a great book and most of this has come from it.  Keep coaching "coram deo" and remember your purpose as a coach is to ultimately bring glory to God, not yourself.

The Power of Encouragement

As coaches, we know that in order to achieve success on any team, there needs to be an element of encouragement amongst our players.  In fact, encouragement is so important that it should never cease to be done at any point in our lives.  Positive talk was something that Coach John Wooden stressed with his team and exemplified in his everyday character.  One of my favorite Wooden maxims is, "Nothing can give you greater joy than doing something for another."  As I was working at Walt Disney World today, I witnessed this first hand.  A football team from Lakewood High School, Colorado was in Orlando for a game at ESPN Wide World of Sports.  I first encountered them in the queue line for Tower of Terror where there just so happened to be a crying little girl who didn't want to get on the ride.  She was trying everything in her power to talk her parents out of taking her on the ride, but it just wasn't working.  The parents dragged the crying girl into the elevator and buckled her in with no turning back.  All of a sudden from the queue line I hear loud clapping begin, and shouts of, "Go Emma! You can do it!" start up.  It was the group of football players from Lakewood High School.  They just kept clapping and the more they clapped, the happier Emma became!  What happened next was the coolest thing.  This little girl, Emma, brightened up and put the biggest smile on her face.  Not only did Lakewood's encouragement impact Emma, but it impacted me and many others just standing around. The clapping and cheering from these high school football players encouraged her to go on the ride and have a great time.    Now, I don't know if the coach of this football team stressed things like that within his program, but any coach would've been proud of those players for their positive encouragement to Emma and her family.  Even if those guys were just trying to be funny or if they were just goofing around, they turned a horrifying moment into a lifetime magical memory for this girl just by lifting her spirits up.  I hope that moment will impact those football players for the rest of their lives and I hope that they realize what a little positive encouragement can do for someone else.  Keep that up and it will change your season, or more importantly your life.  "Nothing can give you greater joy that doing something for another."