July 27, 2015 - Coaching To Bring Out Potential

Last week I was reading a book by Chip Ingram called Good to Great. In the book there is a chapter about empowering other people. I also got to walk the sidelines as a coach last week in the Dominican Republic and was reminded of one of the reasons I loved being a coach… empowering players and putting them in position to succeed. (And by the way… I have a winning record as a coach overseas… the guys on the trip made me look good.)

I love giving players more responsibilities than their previous coaches have given them. I love to see them get excited about their expanded role as a scorer or ball handler. But one of the keys to that working is the player himself being willing to step into that role; but usually when he know the coach believes in him then he will start believing in himself…

Spiritually speaking I think of Barnabas investing in John Mark. Paul had given up on John Mark but Barnabas saw potential and equipped John Mark to be a great man of God… one that Paul eventually said was of great use to him. Great leaders grow great leaders!

 2 Timothy 4:11b …Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.

Chip Ingram put it this way: “Good Christians ‘live the life’; great Christians ‘leave a legacy.’”

If you are a young Christian reading this I encourage you to find a great man or woman of God to “train” or mentor you… (if you are an athlete you have probably considered a trainer so why not think of that spiritually?)

If you are a mature believer, and especially if you are in leadership, then I encourage you to target those you can invest in… train… mentor… leave a legacy. (Ingram even gives some great hints on how to target these people… he says to look for F.A.T. people… those that are Faithful, Available, and Teachable.)

If you are a parent start at home empowering your kids…

I love coaching basketball and empowering players; but it fails in comparison to seeing my “team” rise up in ministry!