July 23, 2012 - And1!

The past 10 days we spent on the road on one of our ROCK’em Road Trips. These trips are great for training/discipling young men both on and off the court. Therefore we spend a lot of time discussing the hard work and effort it takes to be successful in games; and the effort it takes to be successful in life…

Clay - And1!



Our theme verse this past week was Proverbs 14:23. In essence it says that talk is cheap and that action is what we want to see. The title of our trip was: “The Show-Me Trip” (we travelled to Missouri.)

During one of the last days I had asked the guys to clean up our living space (we had camped out all week inside the youth bldg. at our host church.) As I went through to inspect I still saw some things that were not taken care of. When I mentioned it in front of one of the players he responded by saying “I took care of my stuff; that wasn’t mine.”

Another area we had been emphasizing was the idea of being a TEAM. In fact last week I wrote about that. I quickly reminded the player that we were in this thing together and sometimes have to pick up the slack where another has faltered.



A strong team does have every member taking care of his own business; yet also seeing where he can help out the team. I quickly told my assistant coach that we needed to talk to the guys in the van about this and we called it our And1 ministry. (We take care of ourselves and look for a place to help.)

Why the And1 idea? Simply put And1 was started based off of the streetball culture where basically they determined you gotta put up or shut up! (Sounds like Proverbs 14:23) In fact their logo, The Player, is based off the idea that if you talk you better be able to back it up.



The church has spent far too much time talking a big game. We discuss how we should be servants. We discuss how Christ humbled Himself and is an example to us. We show up at “practice” (church) and then fail to take it to the streets and back it up.

It is time to get a little “Spiritual Swagger” and not just talk the talk but also walk the walk! It is time that we look out not only for our own interests but also the interests of others. (Check Philippians 2)

When I was still lacing up the sneakers to play I loved playing a power game. I loved to absorb some contact, make the shot, and declare “And1!”

Now I want to live my life and be willing to absorb some contact (hardships) and still declare “And1!” I want to make it a point to daily look for someone else to serve! I want to finish strong!